Do you like American music?

I like American music...

There are a ton of Web sites devoted to

music all over the world. This will just be

a little bit about some of my favorite music. 

I imprinted on both country and early rock

music -- Lefty Frizzelle, Big Joe Turner,

Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry,

and Fats Domino loom large. So it's no

wonder that much LA and Orange County

music is really appealing to me.

Orange County has developed some great music

from rockabilly to punk to ska.

My favorite band, though, has to be The Muffs.

This is a great pop band that I

never tire of. Kim Shattuck

has tremendous energy, great tunes,

and lyrics that are great fun. Ronnie Barnett plays

guitar, and Roy McDonald is an amazing

drummer. So why doesn't KROQ play them?

Check out a video on their Web page if you can.

I've also fallen in love with Buck.

Lisa Marr, Pepper Berry, and Sherri Solinger

put on a great show. And they have

more great merch than any band around --

How many bands have pillow cases

and socks in addition to the usual

shirts and stickers? Check out the

Buck Web site for photos and

merch information. Alas, you can't see them,

because Buck has disbanded. Lisa has a new band

called The Lisa Marr Experiment. I've seen

Buck show.

 Another great local band is

Third Grade Teacher. Sabrina

Stevenson is a third grade teacher

in Los Angeles who has great

songs and puts on a wonderful

show. 3GT will renew the human

race with a nation of third grade

teachers. Check out John

Perry's pictures of 3GT in concert.

The biggest OC band of late is No Doubt.

And guess what?

The band members are alums of Cal

State Fullerton. I heard them years

ago on campus and have been a fan ever

since. What always amazed me about No

Doubt is that they could convince

about half the students at CSUF to

put No Doubt bumper stickers on their

cars -- at least it seemed that way

when I walked through the school 

parking lot. You say you've never

heard them -- OK, here's a clip from

Spiderwebs. And right here is a picture

of Gwen Stefani of No Doubt.

Social Distortion just about defines

Orange County punk music... a raw sound with

deep roots in rock. Listen to Social D

doing the Johnny Cash classic, Ring of Fire.

Many more video and audio clips are available

at their web site. Fullerton's own Mike Ness

is now recording solo. Check him out.

OC is also home to good rock and

country roots music. Three of my

favorite bands are Big Sandy and

his Fly-Rite Boys,   The Blasters, and

Chris Gaffney and the Cold Hard Facts.

Another fine OC band is

Save Ferris... watch these

kids, they're talented.

And we love the Groovie Ghoulies

from Sacramento. Here's a pic of

Kepi taken when they visited Linda's

Doll Hut right before it closed.

And last but not least, check out

the wonders of SissyBar. They may

not exactly come from OC, but their

inclusion of the Cal State Fullerton

men's chorus on their latest record

makes them local heros in my book.

Their two albums are great fun.

They're best known for their fine

cover of Gin and Juice, but I like

(naturally) their Trailer Song.

I found the dream.

Like I said, I like

American music.