Weirdo Irish Punk Pirates Hoist the Colors of a Folk Rock Flag
“We all grew up listening to punk rock… A few of us grew up in families where Irish music and bluegrass was being played… So we took all of that stuff and kind of put it into a blender, which became the sound of our band.”
The band? Josh Linden (mandolin, vocals), Sean Brandlin (acoustic guitar), Sina Etesami (electric guitar), Chris Voegtli (bass), Ryan Sharp (banjo), Ivan De La Torre (drums), Nick Morgan (fiddle): Hoist the Colors.
“It’s kind of hard to explain what kind of music we play,” says Linden. “Which I think is a good thing, because you don’t want to be doing something that another band is already doing.”
Hoist the Colors is a fusion band out of El Segundo, perhaps best described as a Celtic-influenced folk-rock punk outfit. It sounds a bit bizarre, and possibly incredible.
You can decide for yourself Friday night, July 15, as the 7-piece band reveals its debut album “Second City” at Saint Rocke during their CD release party.
The name of the album ties to the band’s South Bay roots.
Linden explains, “We took the name from the town we grew up in, El Segundo. The name of the city came from the second refinery that Standard Oil built [on the West Coast]. So the name is a kind of homage to the small town that most of us call home.”
Linden, Brandlin, Voegtli, and Sharp all went to El Segundo High School, while Etesami and De La Torre originally came from Buena Park, and Morgan from Van Nuys.
While the album name emerges from lesser known local history, the band name itself delves further back in time – though lacking the same depth.
“The way we got our name is pretty cheesy,” admits Linden. “Chris [Voegtli] and I went to the movies one day and heard the phrase hoist the colors used during the film. Hoist the colors is a maritime term which was used by pirates when they were ready to attack… Right before they would move in, the captain would shout “hoist the colors”, meaning to raise their flag… All pirate ships had different and unique flags, so if you saw one, you would know who is coming… It seemed like a good name for a bunch of weirdo kids who wanted to attack every place we played!”
Our local “pirate” punk, celtic-folk rockers have been attacking their audiences to favorable response, and as such have played alongside some impressive cohorts.
“We just recently played a show with Black Pacific,” says Linden. (Black Pacific features singer Jim Lindberg, formerly of the legendary local band Pennywise.) “We have also gone on some small road trips with the Young Dubliners.”
Hoist the Colors have played a couple shows at Brixton with Ignite as well, and have appeared with The Dickies.
Their diverse sound appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners and music-goers. From punk kids, to punk adults, and various walks between.
“I think one of the greatest things about our band is our demographic is all over the place,” says Linden. “We have teenagers who enjoy the music, because a lot of young kids are still listening to punk… Then we have adults who like us because we play music you can drink to (it’s loud enough to get a place rowdy, and has a feeling to where you just want to raise a glass in the air and sing along)… Finally, we have older people that come to our shows. (Our music is deeply rooted in traditional Irish music like The Dubliners, as well as old-time American folk and bluegrass – like Woody Guthrie and Doc Watson.) My grandmother got the opportunity to come see us play, and she loved it! Made me feel pretty good because I had always played in punk bands, and if she would have gone to that it probably would have blown her ear drums out!”
While these weirdo pirates Hoist their Colors and aim to attack the bow and stern of your musical ship, they mean you no harm. They just want to share their craft and blow minds with a cannon loaded by the diversely infused missile that is their music.
“It makes for some music that is really fun to play, which I think is the main idea of the band,” concludes Linden. “The reason we started this group was to play music with friends and take it as far as it can go without losing the general theme; which is to use music as an outlet to celebrate life.”
Hoist The Colors celebrate their debut CD release at Saint Rocke on Friday, Jul 15. The party begins at 7:30 p.m.; tickets $10. Also playing are local bands Headband, All Over, and Brick Top Blaggers. Inquire with Saint Rocke for possible tickets or no-show vacancies, as the event is completely sold out.310-372-0035. ER
