By DONNA BALANCIA
Drug Church brings its New York attitude and innovative punk rock to the Wiltern tonight to open for Canadian band Alexisonfire. They’re coming off a successful Punk Rock Bowling where they proved they’re recreating the entire punk genre.
Punk rockers Drug Church of Albany, N.Y., don’t mince their words. Of course they’re direct, because they’re from New York. But the Empire State’s capital is a far cry from the New York City of The Ramones and Patti Smith in their heyday. Drug Church is changing all that. LA gets a rare chance to see them tonight.
You have to hand it to these brave blue collars with bravado. It’s not all that difficult to imagine from their tough talk that Drug Church came up in a place where bars are big, mainly because it’s freezing nine months of the year. Their working class roots may have guided their work but half the band members wised up and now live in the warmer climes of LA.
At Punk Rock Bowling, Drug Church impressed the seasoned festival attendees. The band left a curious crowd hanging on for dear life at the second stage, looking like a hurricane had come through.
“That’s one of the best bands I’ve ever seen,” said Robert “Roc” Martin who drove to Vegas from Yuma, Ariz. “They’re direct, they’re in your face and they’re straight to the point.”
Drug Church’s latest album, Cheer, is a blend of good old-fashioned punk with new-era anger. The band is comprised of Patrick on vocals, Chris on drums, Nick on guitar, Patrick on bass and Cory on guitar.
Frontman Patrick Kindlon stopped to chat about Cheer after Drug Church’s set it off at Punk Rock Bowling, saying in a short interview that when it comes to recording, basically you get what you pay for.
“We spent more money so the new album sounds way better,” Patrick said through a heavy New York accent. “My voice has always been the worst part of our music but this time we had a little bit more money so I spent more time doing it a hundred times so when you hear the new record you think, ‘Oh he can kinda sing.’
“I was grateful for the extra couple of thousand to get it right,” he said. “I think the new record sounds good. I’m happy with for everything we do as long as we’re playing to our ability. “
What does Drug Church rail against?
“I hate being told what to do so I hate telling other people what to do and right now everybody is telling everybody what to do,” Patrick said. “As much as people may not like this, it’s not me. I’m never gonna police another person. I chose not to become a cop, I chose not to become a lawyer, I chose not to become a judge, I don’t got time for all that nonsense.”