Manic Hispanic
is a punk rock/Chicano rock band from California. They are a semi-parodic act that plays cover versions of punk rock and hardcore punk "standards" by slightly renaming songs and adjusting lyrics to address Chicano culture. The band's members are all Mexican or part Mexican [1] and use stage names further marking the Mexican/Chicano image of the band. Manic Hispanic is a punk supergroup made up of former and/or current members of The Adolescents, The Grabbers, Punk Rock Karaoke, The X-Members, 22 Jacks, Final Conflict, Agent Orange, and The Cadillac Tramps. [2]
Manic Hispanic
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Background Information
| Origin, California
| Genre(s), Punk Rock, Chicano Rock
| Label(s), Doctor Dream Records, BYO Records
| Years active, 1992-present
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Members
| Jefe (Vocals)
| El Hoakie Loco (Guitar, Vocals)
| Chino (Drums)
| Tio (Vocals)
| Oso (Bass)
| Mad Ralphie (Vocals)
| Mo Grease (Guitar)
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MANIC HISPANIC TICKETS
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Band Formation
Manic Hispanic is a band originally started by Mike "Gabby" Gaborno (aka Jefe) from
The Cadillac Tramps and
Steve Soto (aka El Hoakie Loco) from
The Adolescents/
22 Jacks, originally with the intent to perform
doo-wop versions of punk songs.
[3] Members later recruited are: Chino and Mo Grease (members of The Grabbers), Oso (from
The Cadillac Tramps), Mad Ralphie (aka Ace a Sound Engineer and tour manager), and Sonny (aka Tio).
[4] According to their Myspace page, the band members have changed since their first album.
[5]
Recorded Material
Their first album was released in 1992 on Doctor Dream records.
[6] Entitled "The Menudo Incident", a reference to Guns N' Roses' "The Spaghetti Incident", it featured cover versions of songs by
The Buzzcocks,
The Damned,
X,
Black Flag,
Wire,
The Clash, and others. These cover versions featured rewritten lyrics reflecting, often humorously, the Chicano identity of the band and Chicano/Mexican culture as a whole. Tracks commonly include lyrics sung in Spanish, English, and Chicano "slang" aka
Caló. Examples include songs such as The Damned's "
New Rose" retitled "New Rosa", and
Eddie and the Subtitles' "American Society" retitled "Mexican Society." "The Menudo Incident" also contains a version of
Tejano/
country musician
Freddy Fender's "Before the Next Teardrop Falls", a bilingual hit when released by Fender in the 1970s.
[7] The cover art mimicked the
Guns N' Roses release, showing a bowl of
menudo, the traditional Mexican
tripe specialty. The band returned with a second album in 2001, "The Recline of Mexican Civilization" (spoofing the punk film soundtrack "
The Decline of Western Civilization") for
BYO Records. BYO also released "Mijo Goes to Jr. College" (aping
The Descendents' "Milo Goes To College") in 2003, and "Grupo Sexo" (spoofing
The Circle Jerks' "Group Sex") in 2005. These albums modify the original cover art of the albums they are playing off of. The band's out-of-print debut album, "The Menudo Incident", was reissued by BYO in 2003. The band has also released t-shirts based on the
Ramones logo,
Dead Kennedys' graphics, and the
Social Distortion logo.
[8]
Chicano Identity
The band's biography information from BYO Records is written in a humorous style, alleging in jest that forming the band was suggestion by one of their parole officers. Although this may be interpreted as tongue-in-cheek, the band has declared in an interview for InMusicWeTrust.com that, "we're not
cholos or gangsters, but we come from that heritage and we're proud of it." In addition, while most of the band's material is delivered with a sense of humor, political undertones do occasionally appear in their music, such as "Get Them Immigrated", a reworking of
The Offspring's "Come Out and Play. The track lampoons US border officials and urges immigration from Mexico into the US. Another track, "Poem" from "The Menudo Incident", tells a first-hand account of fearing a potential
drive-by shooting, told over a doo-wop backing. In addition, their cover of
Iggy & The Stooges' "I Got A Right" includes the lyric, "I got a right, got a right to speak/ any language I want, yeah." The band also traditionally plays live in California on
Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican national holiday.
[9]
References
- In Music We Trust[1]
- BYO Records[1]
- In Music We Trust[1]
- In Music We Trust [1]
- MySpace[1]
- Manic Hispanic biography from BYO Records [1]
- AllMusic [1]
- Machete Manufacturing[1]
- OC Weekly[1]