Thee Commons

East L.A. psychedelic cumbia punk trio Thee Commons appear at The Saint in midtown Reno on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Featuring los hermanos Pacheco and one of several lively session bassists, these romp ‘n’ rollers have managed not only to marry two unlikely genres — world’s apart — in perfect pastiche harmony but have also compiled a prolific catalogue of music to which they toured through the United States in an extensive 32 days, 35 shows tour in the Summer of 2016. Named #15 on LA Weekly’s “LA’s 20 Best Live Shows of 2016”

Psychedelic cumbia-punk trio Thee Commons have been named “Best Band” by LA Weekly in the paper’s recent “Best of LA 2017” issue.

The influential alt-weekly writes, “From acid and folk to tacos and Korean short rib, the tradition of melding unlikely elements is deep in the blood of this city. Thee Commons are the new musical torchbearers of this practice — a band that pull together cumbia, punk and psychedelic rock tighter than the strings on a Fender Jaguar. Their new album, Paleta Sonora, is a Technicolor popsicle of sound, spiked with the sly silliness that makes their shows so fun. The record takes the band even further afield sonically, into disco, space jazz, goof-rap and more. It’s their best work yet. If you’re still not hip, catch the band before they blow up, and let the carnival carry you away.”

Since banding together in 2012, Thee Commons have made waves in and around their hometown of East LA and beyond, having played at such festivals as Coachella, Echo Park Rising, Desert Daze, Horton’s Hayride and the upcoming Tropicalia.

Featuring los hermanos Pacheco and bassist Jose Rojas, these romp ‘n’ rollers have managed not only to marry two unlikely genres — world’s apart — in perfect pastiche harmony but have also compiled a prolific catalog of music.

Their latest is an ambitious 18-song album “Paleta Sonora,” which was released on July 28 via LA-based Cosmica Records.

Named #15 on LA Weekly’s “LA’s 20 Best Live Shows of 2016” outranking the likes of ELO, Bruce Springsteen and The Who, Thee Commons have created a buzz with their vivacious performances.

Chris Ziegler founder of LA Record wrote about Thee Commons, “Live, they’re fearless, confident and ready to go off-script at a moment’s inspiration. It’s wild stuff, just as it absolutely should be.” To which Chris Kissel of LA Weekly further comments, “If Thee Commons aren’t the best live band in Los Angeles, they’re damn near the top.”

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 and festivals, including Coachella, Echo Park Rising, Desert Daze, Viva Pomona, The Echoplex of Echo Park, The Regent Theatre of Downtown Los Angeles, the Glasshouse of Pomona, the Roxy of West Hollywood 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, Thee Midniters 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 7inch 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. As of 2015, however, Rock is Dead is available, as a full-feature 20-song CD, and as a specialty, limited edition cassette and 10-inch — 10-song — vinyl originally co-released by the independent O.C. label Burger Records. 2016 brought about their sophomore album “Loteria Tribal” co-released with Burger Records on CD, Cassette and limited edition Flexi Vinyl. The same year also brought about two new 7-inch vinyl’s that include their refreshing cover of Los Saico’s “Demolicion,” on Denver, Colorado’s Heavy Dose Records, and a single of “La Fiesta” an obscure swinging Mexican cover b/w a grungy cover of Selena’s “La Carcancha” on Steady Beat Records out of San Pedro, CA.

Teamed up with Cosmica Artists Management group and Monterey Int. Booking Agency, the future looks auspicious for these young and determined “chunsters” who doggedly strive to perfect their hypnotic yet invigorating act — which includes an intertextual take on Nirvana’s “Love Buzz” and a punk cover of Selena’s “Baila Esta Cumbia”– and disseminate the perfect pastiche that is psychedelic cumbia punk.