Thee Commons

Since banding together in 2012, psychedelic cumbia-punk quartet Thee Commons have made waves in and around their hometown of East LA. Featuring los hermanos Pacheco and one of several lively session bassists and recently added saxophonist, these romp ‘n’ rollers have managed not only to marry two unlikely genres -- world’s apart -- in perfect pastiche harmony but also are planning to spread this East L.A. sound all throughout the USA this summer. Altogether, Thee Commons have played well over a hundred shows, gaining in the process hundreds more in fans -- those eager for something new to call their own. They have performed at several of Southern California’s prestigious venues, including The Echoplex of Echo Park, The Teragram Ballroom – both of which they’ve headlined -- The Regent Theatre of Downtown Los Angeles, and the Observatory of Santa Ana; have been hosted for a residency by pocho wine bar Eastside Luv of Boyle Heights -- which consisted of a weekly burlesque-dancer-entangled-affair dubbed the “Cumbia Psicodelica Cabaret”; and have opened up for such acts as Chicano Batman, Bomba Estereo, Bombino and even unofficially -- by way of an impromptu guerilla-style street show -- for The Pixies. Discographically, Thee Commons’ “DIT” (do it together) hard work ethic has yielded them a debut 7-inch vinyl EP paradoxically titled Sunburn at Midnight -- self-released spring 2013 -- and a fragmented compilation entitled Rock is Dead: Long Live Paper and Scissors, which is to say an 8-volume limited edition EP series, the volumes of which they released successively throughout 2014 -- and which have since sold out. (Fun fact: the first volume cover was illustrated by drummer René Pacheco, and the remaining seven were designed by frontman David Pacheco.) As of 2015, however, Rock is Dead is available, via their bandcamp, as a full-feature 20-song CD, as a specialty, limited edition cassette originally released by the independent O.C. label Burger Records, and as a limited edition 10-inch -- 10-song -- vinyl. Apart from these endeavors, they have also created musical scores to two film productions, one to underground 1920’s silent film _ and the other to a children’s animated video book entitled Forest Friends, a Producciones con Sal collaborative effort which can be found on YouTube. Looking forward, 2016 has seen a second run of their 10-inch vinyl -- released by Burger -- a new 7-inch vinyl that includes their refreshing cover of Los Saico’s “Demolicion,” as well as a new full-length album "Loteria Tribal" --released by Burger as well-- featuring a repertoire of songs that further bridge the gap between a Latino and non-Latino demographic. Needless to say, the future looks auspicious for these young and determined “chunsters” who doggedly strive to take their music throughout the U.S.A. this summer and perfect their hypnotic yet invigorating act -- which includes an intertextual take on Nirvana's “Love Buzz” and a grungy cover of Selena’s “Baila Esta Cumbia”-- and disseminate the perfect pastiche that is psychedelic cumbia punk. -Martin Cossio