GO! Pick of the Week LA Weekly

GO! Pick of the Week
from LA Weekly
original article at:
http://www.laweekly.com/index.php?option=com_lsd&task=default&id=140694&tab=calendar&Itemid=571

Kiss or Kill

When Bang Sugar Bang and Silver Needle first put on their own shows under the "Kiss or Kill" tag five years ago, they made a collective decision to avoid ruthless pay-to-pay promoters and nightclubs with high door prices and unfriendly bouncers. They kept their covers low (usually $5), even as their miniscene of friends quickly expanded, ultimately encompassing more than 100 bands, necessitating a move from small bars to bigger venues. They even saved enough money to release two vital compilation CDs that introduced the world to such inventive punk and power-pop combos as the Letter Openers, The Randies, Zeitgeist Auto Parts, Midway, Bobot Adrenaline and the King Cheetah. The musicians named their weekly shows Kiss or Kill after a lyric in the X classic “We’re Desperate,” as Bang Sugar Bang guitarist Matt Southwell explains, “because we were all completely desperate for a music scene in Hollywood where our style and attitude about music fit in.” Apparently the little DIY scene’s success was enough to threaten the complacency of corporate-rock dinosaurs KissT, who have threatened bank-busting legal action under the dubious premise that the “Kiss or Kill” moniker somehow infringes on their mighty empire. Tonight’s the final kiss-off: Roll over, Goliath, and tell Gene Simmons the news. Kiss or Kill presents its final night of rising local pop-punk bands, including Bang Sugar Bang, Underwater City People, Silver Needle, Midway, the Randies and surprise guests. (Falling James)