Introducing Shaky Town Strut
Nico Bones Discusses The New SoCal Rock & Roll Festival
Fans of down and dirty rock and roll, rejoice!
Shaky Town Strut is coming to Southern California with some of your favorite glam, punk, garage and indie pop bands from around the U.S. and the world. The festival kicks off in Long Beach, CA Sept. 6 with shows all weekend at a trio of venues including Supply & Demand, Alex’s Bar and The Bamboo Club.
The acts scheduled throughout the three days include The Hollywood Stars, The Speedways (UK), The Thunderroads (Japan), Debora Iyall (Romeo Void), Doc Burner (Spain), The Fury’s, Roman’s Weirdos, Tigerellas, The Reflectors, Billy Tibbals, Astrologer, Softjaw and many, many more.
Southern California is ready for a festival like this.
“The past few years (my band has) been lucky enough to be a part of similar festivals like Fear City Fun Fest in New York City, RKR Mtn Ripper in Denver, Back From The Grave in Tokyo, and Rip City Rundown in Portland. It’s about time we bring the action down west to Southern California,” festival organizer and Saturday performer Nico Bones told me for the interview below.
I connected with Bones by email a week before the Shaky Town Strut festival kicks off on Sept. 6 at Alex’s Bar. Line up info and passes available here.
Nico Bones Interview
Shaky Town Strut looks amazing. What was the original vision?
Nico Bones: The original vision started at the tail end of COVID when Bamboo Club and Alex’s Bar had these amazing pandemic outdoor tents with stages. While planning for this event the city had ordered all businesses to take down these tents. As a result we ended up going from 3 initial shows to 6 club shows!
I love seeing both international and U.S. artists performing. Who are a few of your dream artists to book?
Nico Bones: If the fest goes well I would definitely love to do it again with international artists. It would be a dream to have the The Rolling Stones and such…but that’s absolutely far fetched, haha!
I was happy to see The Speedways on two of the three bills. What are a few of your favorite Speedways songs?
Nico Bones: The Speedways are an absolute gem. Stellar guys with great personality and music taste. Some songs I really dig are ‘The Day I Call You Mine’ and they do a great Hanoi Rocks cover of ‘11th Street Kids’.
“It’s all about supporting each other and welcoming everyone to grow and be part of something bigger, that’s when the scene truly thrives.”
I discovered The Thunderroads through Shaky Town Strut. They're fantastic. Is there a rock scene happening in Japan these days?
Nico Bones: Japan is absolutely rockin’! Everyone has each others back in the rock and roll/power pop/punk scenes. The community seems to look out for one another and support live music, especially touring bands that come along.
The Hollywood Stars are headlining Friday. You also have legends like The Weirdos, The Tigerellas, The Dogs, Debra Iyall throughout the weekend. Are these some of your personal musical heroes?
Nico Bones: I have a great respect for the musical generations that came before us. Growing up I would’ve never have thought I’d be having a pint with Terry Rae (Hollywood Stars, Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer) at the rainbow, or rockin’ a DTLA club show with The Dogs. It’s an honor to be around such legends and looking forward to their performances!
You also have some of my favorite current SoCal artists like Billy Tibbals, The Reflectors, Softjaw and, of course, your band. What do you think about the SoCal rock and roll scene these days?
Nico Bones: The SoCal rock and roll scene today is thriving! I think it’s super important to bring all these amazing bands together and introduce the younger generation of rockers to the stage. It’s all about supporting each other and welcoming everyone to grow and be part of something bigger, that’s when the scene truly thrives.
Shaky Town Strut Playlist by Nico Bones
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