originally written by Kyle Harcott
Waxin’ sticks with the greasiest riffs since ’76, Vancouver’s La Chinga roll it up tight and smoke it loose. Cosmic-birthing some of the rockinest psychedelic space jams, the Rain City power trio have been churning bomboras around the city since late 2011. Sporting a raucous live show in support of their independently-released, eponymous debut full-length, La Chinga rock like Spicoli’s and Wooderson’s record collections got together to jam.
A space-eyed-witch’s Big Riff™ brew of Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh, and Otto’s jacket, La Chinga (the album) is a fuzzwah’d journey of tequila hangovers blunted by Owsley’s Finest filtered through Billy Gibbons’ beard.
That is to say, the fucker ROCKS.
With a heavy rep and the skills to back it up, the boys in La Chinga are poised to conquer. The boogie van’s a-rockin’, and the labels are knockin’.
Of course, we had to know more. Kyle Harcott and Erik Highter got in touch with bassist-vocalist Carl Spackler. We asked five questions, he gave us five answers.
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Instead of jumping trends and going for retro-doom or occult rock, your brand of ’70s hard rock seems both more familiar and less derivative. It’s evocative instead of aping, and while close listening makes me think of a T. Rex moment here, a Zep nod there, it sounds like no one but yourselves. How hard is it to trod familiar ground and find new truths in it?
It’s pretty easy for us I think to stay true, it’s natural. This is the first band for me where the chemistry was immediate. When we got together for the first time, there was no plan to sound like this, I actually had a plan for what we were going to sound like, kinda more laid back was what I thought we were gonna sound like. I had some different songs I brought in, sounds I thought we would be heading for, and it all went out the window on the first jam. Right away it was, boom! The room exploded on the first song we played together. We just took off and I knew right away we had something special. Something I had never felt before.
The songs, yeah, have reference points for sure, but we dig lots of styles of rock, hard rock, southern rock, blues rock, glam rock, proto-metal (my fave!), space rock, rust belt rock, country rock, folk rock, west coast rock, uh, sleaze rock! A lotta rock! And other stuff too, lots of ’70s funk, country, blues, too. But mainly we dig the rock. Ha! And I think that helps us get a bit more range in the songs. Sometimes bands just wanna sound like their one favorite band and if I dig your favorite band a lot, well, why in the fuck do I wanna hear you just ape them? Gimme something that’s real; don’t think, don’t stink. Ya dig? It is really coming through I think on the next album we are currently working on. We are gettin’ it wired after playing so many gigs these last coupla of years, and the new songs make me really stoked! They are definitely a step forward. We really dig what we are doing and I think that’s what makes it true. I love writing music and lyrics in this group, the stuff just spills out; someone breaks out a riff or a half (supa) baked idea and we just start firing…and it goes great with some fine tequila.
The band is La Chinga, and you have a song “La Chinga” on the album La Chinga. This is not only ballsy, it’s hard as hell to pull off. What “the fuck” made you think you step up to the challenge?
We only jammed two or three times before our first gig, and we didn’t really have a name yet settled on, we played the song “La Chinga” at the gig and after the gig people kept yelling it. La Chinga! La Chinga! I didn’t even know at the time what it meant, it was just something I had heard a couple of Mexican surfers say down south after some heavy waves, and I had heard it before in a scene from the first Cheech and Chong movie. (The part where Chong pulls out the giant Labrador joint). So we just rolled with it. I still love it when people yell it at me when I walk down the street.
Van City has been packing some heat of late, especially in its hardcore scene, but also a lot of metal bands are getting noticed and signed. La Chinga has its own trip, but as scene veterans, y’all fit right into the local scene’s pocket no hassle. When you first started, were there any issues finding like-minded bands to gig with? Who are some of the other bands in Vancouver with a similar vibe we should be paying attention to?
Yeah, we are a bit of an odd duck here in Van. No other bands seem to be rocking bell bottoms, puka shells, bonehead riffage, drum solos, and lots of fog juice these days, but that is kool with us as we really dig playing with different kinds of bands and turning on their fans to our boogie down. We have played on Punk-a-Rolla bills, metal bills, psych rock bills, a super indie rock bill. (That was they one actually I thought we were gonna end up clearing the room, or having them throw their library cards and glasses at us! I find indie rock confusing myself, with its asexual white college no groove vibe, but what the fuck do I know? The kids were great that night! They partied down.) We may not win them all over, but a lot people seem to respond to what we are doing. We have a good time and they pick up on that. There is a lot of great bands in Vancouver right now, the ones I dig are The Highway Kind, Three Wolf Moon, Rich Hope and his Evil Doers, the rock band called Time, Anciients, War Baby; shit who else? I know I’m gonna piss off someone if I forget ’em.
You guys put out La Chinga independently; but since then, the talk is there might be some hot label action for Elpee Numero Two. Are you guys looking at signing in the near future?
We signed with Small Stone Records outta Detroit. We sent them the LP and they got what we are doing right away. The new album is set to come out September 1st. We have a lot of songs written for the new album and I’m really stoked for people to hear it. I think it is a real progression from the first one now that we have been together for a couple of years without being some strange left turn, ya know? It’s still us, just better more mojo and stronger vibes.
Kozmic Artifactz in Germany is releasing our first album in Europe this spring with some different songs on it than the version we put out last year. We are hopefully gonna head to Europe this summer to promote it.
Carl, you are known for being the Proto Master. Off-the-cuff, what are your top-five desert island proto LPs?
Ya know this is a tuff one! Just five! Well I’m gonna stick with the classics for sure. The thing that can be tricky with the proto-metal jams is a lot of times the band has only one or two amazing songs on their album (I’m looking at you Crystals!) and the rest are filler, I’m such a sicko that I can still get off on the filler but if I gotta go with just five…
1. Leafhound – Growers of Mushroom
What can you say about this monster? This was the one that set me forever hunting to find more… I couldn’t believe there was a band this good I had never heard of before. Just fucked me right over. I was thrilled and pissed off at the same time to realize at a young age there is no real justice in this demented slaughterhouse of a world, so fuck it let’s rock.
2. Buffalo – Volcanic Rock
These Aussie knuckle draggers crush! If they were around today with this lineup and with this sound they would rule the world! Blast this album and watch dudes go, “Fuck yeah!!!” when they hear the ‘eavy savage, pounding riffage unleashed! And when women hear Dave Tice’s unholy uber male righteous vocals they get a serious case of panty pudding! You can smell it! Oz ‘s Black Sabbath indeed! Their first and third LPs slay hard, too. Not too many other from this time cranked out that many killer records!
3. Sainte Anthony’s Fyre – Sainte Anthony’s Fyre
Sweet baby Jesus! These cranked up, dropped out, greasy hairballs nail you right in the stoned third eye with their deranged, brain damaged, bonged out basement hard rock power trio ways! Serious rock and funky mayhem! They lay it down like a platoon of marauding lunatics storming a fortress on suicide mission; they know they cant win and yet go down swinging with a smile in their eyes! These furry freaks say on every mind bending riff, beat, and grunt, “Do it! Take the drugs! Free Love! Freak out motherfucker! Fuck the man! Kill the Pigs!” And these stoned basement dwellers mean it, baby! This one is not kidding around. I love the production (or lack of!) on this thing! It’s perfect! Woulda love to have seen these crazed mothers burn their draft cards, drop some heroic doses, and open up for Grand Funk Railroad back in the day!
4. Bang – Mother/Bow Down to the King
OK, buddy is wearing a cape on the cover! And the rest of these greasy hairy heads are settling in for a piece o’ pie (get it?!), platform shoes abound and those stoned faces don’t lie! I knew before I spun it I was gonna dig this record! A lotta folk pick their first LP as the best one (the self titled debut, not Death of a Country, BTW), and that one is a rager, but I like the different vibes on the various tunes here. The use of acoustic guitar, the tempo changes (so tight), crazy good hairy chested singing, backwards hi-hat, percussion grooves, more hooks than a fisherman’s tackle box, and RIFFS!!! Did I mention the riffs?! This fucker makes your hips groove and your head tingle! This album is just packed with ideas and yet it is not over cooked. The wah work in “Keep On” never fails to make me wanna get down and get weird! The only flaw I can find with it is the Guess Who cover, and they rock that pretty damn good… I just hate Burton Cummings.
5. OK, getting tuff now to pick the last one… I mean I can go with the obvious, Cap’n Beyond; perfect, just perfect. Iron Claw, Wicked Lady, Johnny Winter‘s Still Alive and Well (if ya have never heard this one grab it! ‘Eavy Rock masterpiece!), Jerusalem, Night Sun‘s Mournin‘! (‘Eavier than Black Sabbath?! Many say yes it is, try listening to “Got a Bone of My Own” and see if you don’t agree.) Yesterday’s Children? That is a contender. Both Dust albums smoke, Damnation of Adam Blessings‘ second record is a classic! Joseph‘s Stoned Age Man when I wanna contemplate my place as a man in the universe. But if I am picking just one more, I will go with a compilation of early ’70s black rock called Chains and Black Exhaust. The best comp I have every come across, damn shame it has never been pressed on wax! This thing is a collection of 45s pressed on local US indie labels long dead and buried, a monster mash of funky grooves and Hendrix inspired rock riffs done by a bunch a brothers who put these out in their hometowns while playing the dive bar seen and then vanished… (Other than Hot Chocolate and The Brothers Johnson who managed to scrape by and strike it rich in the mid ’70s.) The songs are so raw, the production is as well, and the vibe, well ya gotta hear it. Put it on and get wild! You haven’t lived until you have heard the song “Get High” by Gran Am. It sounds like these cats had never played music before, but unlike those ugly bitches in The Shaggs, these dudes got soul, serious groove and a righteous message for all! Fuck that “My Pal Foot Foot” shit anyways! Let’s party!
