Wednesday, July 06, 2005

The Bags In Portland

This is kind of a cheater post because I'm rehearsing with Punkoustica tonight, but I heard that my old Bags bandmate Terry Graham is in town and was on Indie 103.1, talking about the L.A. punk scene. I knew that I had this video that even Terry probably hasn't seen, so I thought I'd share it.

This short clip of the Bags performing "Survive" comes to us courtesy of Michael Lastra and is taken from a video he shot when we played in Portland in 1979. This lineup is the group of musicians most people know from the Dangerhouse recording sessions: Craig Lee on rhythm guitar, Terry "Dad Bag" Graham on drums, Pat Bag on bass and Rob Ritter on lead guitar. I can only share a small portion of this with you, but I'm happy to be able to share even this tiny bit because Bags recordings of this audio/video quality are extremely rare. The full song appears in Michael Lastra's soon to be released documentary on the Portland punk scene.

I hope you enjoy it. Click on the picture to launch a Windows Media player file. It's a large file, so you'll need a high speed connection.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Alice! Do you have any other details or links to the movie?

Anonymous said...

OMIGOD THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!! I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE OR BETTER YET OWN IT ON DVD! WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFO???

Anonymous said...

very cool clip to share!~

i heard gun club on indie yesterday, it was a great interview with the morning guy.
but who is the person with the loud camera that was on with them>?

thanks!

Anonymous said...

Alice, Another great video. Also on the same subject, were the Bags together, or back together, in 1988? Being something of a pack rat myself, I was thumbing through an old copy of L.A. Weekly from the spring of 88, and in the ad for the Music Machine, the show listed for March 31, 1988 is "Restless Recording Artists The Bags". I don't recall the Bags being together as late as 1988. Was it a reunion? I must of missed that.... Karl.

Anonymous said...

Hi, just to answer Karl’s question, there was another band called The Bags who I think might have been from Boston, and they put out a record called Rock Starve in 1987 or so on Restless. I remember this because as a snotty 17-year-old on my first trip to the US from the UK in 1987 I visited Boston and bought their record thinking it was the Bags from LA (who I only then really knew about from the ‘Decline’ LP and movie. I think I was the only person in our town who had that LP...). Suffice it to say that I was HUGELY disappointed when the record I bought in Boston went on the deck (sorry Boston Bags!). I have no idea if there is/was any connection to the LA Bags, but I doubt it.
Cheers,
BB

darkside777 said...

hi,
Alice, Dickey, wants you on his morning show. I hope he contacts you, because I think it would be great, he has the "old school punks" on his show. Break a leg tonight...

:)

Anonymous said...

Karl, I'm pretty sure BB is dead on about the Restless Records Bags being from Boston. You did not miss an L.A. Bags reunion show because (to the best of my knowledge) one has never occurred, although some overzealous promoters might have used the name in the past.

Jenny - yes, Terry was in town earlier this week and was on the MightyMorning show with Ward Dotson. I believe he will be back fairly soon.

Alice Bag said...

The film is a work in progress. I don't think Mr. Lastra has completed it yet. It documents the early Portland punk scene.

As for Bags reunions, NO WAY!
It must have been the Boston Bags.

Anonymous said...

Alice - where are you playing tonight? If that's what break a leg refers to...

Alice Bag said...

Oops, I almost forgot to mention it. I'm playing with my punk acoustic band Punkoustica at The Tribal Cafe. It's our first L.A. show and we're going to be a little rough around the edges, but if you have nothing better to do please join us.The show is all ages. There is a $5.00 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

The Tribal Cafe is located at
1651 W. Temple Street, in Echo Park. The phone number is (323) 483-4458.

See you there!

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen pogoing like that in awhile...

Anonymous said...

Oh, so there was ANOTHER Bags. I kind of suspected that, but I never heard of any other bands using that name. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't come running out to L.A. for that show. I would have been a little disappointed, and felt a little stupid too. I think Jan Ballard was booking the Music Machine back then, and as in touch with the L.A. punk scene as she was, I would have thought she'd put a disclaimer in the ad... maybe the "Restless Records Artists" should have been the giveaway... Sorry I couldn't make it to the Punkoustica show tonight, Alice. I was hoping to make it, but I couldn't get away from the job early enough. I'll look forward to seeing you guys (gals) sometime soon.

Anonymous said...

Hey, me and my friend saw you at the Starwood, you wore a weding dress that night. My friend through the used condom at you, I will never forget the expression on your face while you were holding it up. haha PRICELESS. LUV YOu