KOALAFORNIA CONVICTS TOUR 2012

One of the main events of 2012 took place at the beginning of March: the Koalafornia Convicts Tour. Some of the best Celtic punk bands played together a couple of shows in Southern California: The Ramshackle Army, Lexington Field and Hoist the Colors.

Video and pics are courtesy of Beau Gray (Lexington Field)

Write-up is courtesy of Josh Linden (Hoist the Colors)

A mini-documentary about the Koalafornia Convicts Tour which took place March 1 to 3, 2012 in Southern California and featured The Ramshackle Army from Melbourne, Australia, Hoist the Colors from Los Angeles, CA, and Lexington Field from San Diego, CA. Also joining the fun were Green Ashes (Los Angeles) & The Fooks (San Diego). Beers were consumed, Celtic music was rocked out, tattoos were inked, and great friendships were made! Cheers mate!

DAY 1

 

 

 

DAY 2: 

Tattoos at 3rd Street Tattoo in Hermosa Beach, CA

Friday March 2nd, 2012  Slidebar Cafe in Fullerton, CA.

 

We had been waiting a while for this night to arrive.  Four bands, three spread throughout Southern California, one from the other side of the planet, set to converge for one brilliant night of music! Between Green Ashes, Lexington Field, The Ramshackle Army and Hoist the Colors, there was no way this show would be anything less than awesome!

 

The night started off with Green Ashes, playing some really good covers. Lots of Pogues and some traditional stuff as well.  After losing their singer recently, it was good to see them back up on their feet and stronger than ever! Lexington Field followed up and as always did not disappoint.  From their own songs, "Selfish Bastard" to "Tracy Boys", the energy never left once.  Beau is really belting em out these days and the band is super tight.  I am glad we have become good friends with these guys, and always look forward to playing with them.  As soon as Lexington Field powered through a blistering set, The Ramshackle Army was ready to go.  These guys had been staying at my place for the previous couple days and were really itching to let loose on an American audience.  I was floored.

There is a reason why this band is going on tour with the Dropkick Murphys.  This is one of the tightest, well put together bands I have ever seen.  On top of that, some of the most genuine kids in the scene. Their songs were crisp and packed with passion and energy, making me realize that I was watching something special.  "Bays End Guns" as well as "Fire is Burning" were played during their set and are quickly becoming some of my favorite tracks to listen to right now.  All in all, I was stoked to share the stage with this band, and hope to do so again one day.

It was then our turn (Hoist the Colors) to get up and go.  With a great turn out to the show, we had a blast! Minus a few technical difficulties, (Our acoustic guitar players battery fell out of his guitar from jumping around like a crazed school girl) the show went smoothly.  We were happy with the show went well, being that it was in our area and wanted to show the rest of the bands a great time.  Next stop, San Diego!

DAY 3:

Saturday March 3rd, 2012  Gallaghers Pub, Ocean Beach, CA

I love playing in San Diego.  The people are great, the venues are fun and everyone loves to drink!  This night was no exception.  The lineup went as follows: Hoist the Colors, the Ramshackle Army, Lexington Field and the Fooks.  Kirk from the Fooks was kind enough to open his house to all the bands for a pre show BBQ, which was great times!  We hit the stage first, which was a relief, considering we didnt have to follow any of these guys!  Although, we started rather early for a show at a bar, we still had a great time playing to those who were interested in seeing us. 

 

The Ramshackle Army followed and immediately got the crowds attention.  Gaz is a great front man, really putting everything he has into it while keeping really good pitch.  Kat is incredible on the fiddle, Loc seems like he can play anything with strings on it, especially banjo and mandolin! Nathan shreds on guitar while also lending his vocal talents to the band, and Chris aka Jig, keeps a great rhythm on bass.  The band is held together by the superior drumming of Adrian.  The kid plays super clean.  Put that together, and you get an amazing show like the one they put on in San Diego.

 

Lexington Field came on after, and really whipped the crowd into a manic state.  The energy these guys have when they play is constant, and I have seen these guys a few times now.  Beau knows how to reach the crowd, while Brian really wales on guitar.  Cami plays at lightning speeds on fiddle, while Casey and Vince keep an absolutely clean rhythm section.  Their set ended with their song "Tracy Boys", and Beau made the mistake of inviting the Hoist and Ramshackle crews to come up on stage to help them out which pretty much turned into a free for all!  It was awesome!

The Fooks ended the night with some great cover tunes ranging from Flogging Molly to Rage Against the Machine!  This weekend was great for all bands involved and its one that I will never forget.  Not only did we get to hang with our good buddies, in Lexington Field, we also became great friends with The Ramshackle Army.  I will always follow these guys because I know that they including Lexington Field, are destined for some great things.

Josh (Hoist the Colors)

DAY FOUR:

The gang at Pokez in San Diego and then a trip to PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres