Nina Diaz headlines "Adobe Punk: The Concert.”

Nina Diaz (Girl in a Coma) is headlining the Adobe Punk band with Giselle Etessami and D.X. Machina, and performing songs co-written by Diaz and Theresa Chavez in the concert inspired by the theaterwork “Adobe Punk.” Concerts and interviews will be presented at two different venues and over six nights at Frida Kahlo Theater and at the Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena.

A portion of the concert will include stories from “Adobe Punk,” set in the early 1980s in working-class Bell Gardens. That’s where original punk music finds life in one of LA's oldest adobe homes. Inspired by the bands X, the Minutemen, and the Alice Bag Band, a punk trio builds its songbook as they define their artistic identity and find their place in the musical and early California landscape of L.A.

Theresa Chavez, co-writer of “Adobe Punk” and also the founder and producing artistic director of About…Productions told CALÓ News that the idea of this project came from her son. “Gabriel Garza, was curious about a fire that took place in the early 1980s at one of the Lugo adobes that was built in the mid-19th century in what is now the city of Bell Gardens. I'm a seventh generation Californian, Gabriel is eighth generation. Our ancestors built a few adobes, two of which were built in what is now Bell Gardens; one is still there and is the oldest house in LA County. The other is the one at the center of the ‘Adobe Punk’narrative,” she said. “The fire almost completely destroyed the house, and there was suspicion that the fire was accidentally set by some youth who were hanging out in the house which was vacant at the time because it was being readied to be moved to become a historic site (in Huntington Park). Gabriel thought perhaps the youth were punks since the late 70s/early 80s were a time where vacant buildings, houses, etc. were being used by punks to live, create and rehearse.”

Chavez and her son Gabriel then decided to develop the fictional narrative using L.A. punk scene/music, a trio of 20-somethings from Bell Gardens -- a Mexican-American, Lebanese-American and Anglo American, and the historic adobe. 

“I’m looking forward to reconnecting and collaborating on Adobe Punk,” says Nina Diaz. “Being part of the 2022 production was an inspiring experience that opened me up to my skills as a co-writer, and taught me so much about L.A. punk music in the early ‘80s. This concert version, inspired by the music of artists like X, The Minutemen, Los Plugz, Bags/Alice Bag Band, The Clash, The Slits, The Germs and others, is the creative fire I’ve been needing. Being a performer in this production will give me the experience to participate and be cast in other theater projects.”

About...Productions has created a number of theaterworks that center L.A. history -- early California (“L.A. Real” and “Adobe Punk”), late 1920s (“They Shoot Mexicans, Don't They?”), late 60s (“Evangeline, the Queen of Make-Believe”), and the early 80s with “Adobe Punk.”

Additionally, the event will provide live Punkast mini-session conversations with Jessica Schwartz and punk music trailblazers who are still playing a vital role in punk music.

Schwartz said she is  excited to bring the Punkast series to “Adobe Punk: the concert.” “Being part of the event’s energy, themes, and musical performances will help animate conversations about the complexities of early L.A. punk and its impact on the persistence of such a meaningful subculture,” she said. “This Punkast miniseries will offer a special spotlight on the range of punk creativity— what goes into staging and composing DIY…It will be wonderful for listeners to hear stories from renowned punks and be inspired to go out and create the world they want to live in.”

A number of topics will be explored, including the history and meaning of punk, punk ethos, squatting, L.A. punk geography and punk feminism.

The concert will also kick off with additional one-on-one conversations with the following performers on these dates:

March 15: Nina Diaz, March 16: Jesse Velo, March 17: Mike Watt, March 22: Lisa Fancher, March 23: Teresa Covarrubias, March 24, Jimmy Alvarado. Purchase your tickets here.

Concert #1

Location: Frida Kahlo Theater, 2332 4th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90057

Dates/Times: March 15–16, Friday–Saturday, 8:00 p.m., and March 17–Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

Concert #2

Dates/Times: March 22–23, Friday–Saturday,  8:00 pm., and March 24-Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

Location: Lineage Performing Arts Center, 920 E. Mountain St., Pasadena, CA 91104