New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ It's Alive Media) - Frontier Records, the independent Los Angeles-based record label founded in 1980 by Lisa Fancher, and Part Time Punks, a weekly club that focuses on obscure and classic music from 1978 to present, will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the seminal Los Angeles label with a massive blow-out show in Echo Park on Sunday, November 7 at the Echoplex. Tickets are on sale now.
Doors open at 4pm and the event is all-ages. Tickets are on sale and available from Ticketweb.
The lineup is sure to make independent music fans dizzy with anticipation. Confirmed acts include O.C. hardcore legends The Adolescents, a rare one-off performance from the reunited Middle Class, a solo set from guitarist Rikk Agnew, original L.A. '77 punk band Flyboys and the drunken rock stylings of The Pontiac Brothers. Middle Class' EP Out of Vogue is widely acknowledged as the first American hardcore record ever released and the band has not played a live show in nearly 30 years. Rikk Agnew represents a Frontier triple threat as a founding member of the Adolescents, the musical genius behind Christian Death's Only Theatre of Pain, and the composer and sole performer of his own Frontier album, All By Myself. The Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be Circle Jerks frontman Keith Morris. Additional Frontier bands are soon to be confirmed and will be announced in the coming weeks.
In addition to the privilege of attending this once-in-a-lifetime musical event, entrants will receive a rare Frontier promo item and be able to purchase from a treasure trove of Frontier rarities (including imports, rare vinyl, t-shirts, a silk-screened poster commemorating the event and releases of the label's 30-year history) at a one-night-only pop-up store inside the Echoplex.
Prior to the Los Angeles event, fans in Seattle will be able to share in the Frontier Records 30th Anniversary with a live show with the Dharma Bums and Young Fresh Fellows with special guest to be added. This will take place at the Crocodile Cafe' on Sunday October 16, 2010. Tickets can be purchased directly from the venue.
Among the first labels to tap into the Los Angeles punk scene, Frontier Records' initially found success with the release of the first Circle Jerks record Group Sex, followed by Orange County's Adolescents' debut aka the Blue Album, TSOL's Dance with Me and Christian Death's Only Theatre of Pain. However, it was the eponymous debut LP from Suicidal Tendencies, spawning the unexpected MTV smash 'Institutionalized," that really put Frontier on the map. If you caught the Miami Vice episode featuring Suicidal, you knew the mainstream had finally caught up with the underground.
In light of these early punk rock successes, it is easy to overlook the fact that Frontier also brought out well-known records from bands from a variety of genres such as goth, alt country, paisley underground and pop punk. The Long Ryders, Thin White Rope, The Three O'Clock, Young Fresh Fellows, American Music Club and Heatmiser (Elliott Smith's first band) all released full-length albums and EPs on Frontier Records, titles that were as important to the label's evolution as the fundamental punk angst it is most associated with. An unmistakable affirmation of Fancher's keen ear, all of these records have survived the test of time and are considered 'must-haves' for critics and serious music collectors alike.
