Dirty Spanglish makes a big splash!
Last Saturday night Dirty Spanglish made their debut as a pop rural rock punk band at the Rabobank and boy did they make a big splash with the crowd.

These enthusiastic youths (all only 14 years old) from Bakersfield High School and Stockdale High School played their anti-referee hockey song Zebras, featured on the Growing Up Fighting: Bakersfield Hockey Volume 1 CD (NOW AVAILABLE!) in front of 5,799 loud hockey fans and won over the hearts of everyone in the arena.

How did they do that? I wondered as Dirty Spanglish finished up their hockey song. The crowd roared and cheered, responding more than they have for any other band that’s played the Rabobank on Saturday night hockey games and I was on my feet cheering with them. I was so proud of those kids I couldn’t contain myself!

Here’s what I think all that roaring that shook the Rabobank arena last Saturday night was about. Dirty Spanglish is a group of 4 young, good, clean-cut kids, not a troublemaker in the bunch. And Bakersfield hockey fans are family people; they bring their kids to the games. Their song Zebras is fun, catchy, clean and pokes fun at the hated referees that hockey fans love to shout at: “Refs you suck!” There isn’t a dismal, dark, hardcore, suicidal theme anywhere in their music or in their attire for that matter. In fact their music is catchy enough to dance to and yet still has that punk rock element to it. And thanks to Kenny and Gus of the Filthies, who provided the PA, they sounded really good! And they just looked like they were having the time of their lives.

“Hey, you guys did good! I really liked your song and I’m an old fart.” I overheard one passing hockey fan say to The War Days Director/guitarist for Dirty Spanglish after their performance.

I’ve known the two front men of Dirty Spanglish, The War Days Director/guitarist who is the driving force of the band and Shaun, fellow War Days actor/guitarist and lead singer (a rock star in the making), for a few years now and I can tell you these are talented kids. Everything they do seems to turn to gold! First the War Days movie and now Dirty Spanglish, I can’t wait to see what they do next.

“Are you nervous?” I asked the War Days Director/guitarist before their performance.

“Nah.” He said smiling ear to ear.

They were all too excited to be nervous. In fact Shaun, War Days actor/guitarist and lead singer of Dirty Spanglish, couldn’t stop smiling!

They might have been a little nervous though. For even with coaching from the Filthies, Dirty Spanglish didn’t introduce themselves or talk to the crowd. That didn’t matter though because the crowd loved them anyway! They’ll become more comfortable with their audience when they get a few more gigs under their belts.

After Dirty Spanglish’s performance they were inundated with friends and teenage girls/groupies! These kids know how to work myspace and their high school campuses to get kids out to see them perform. Just wait till they start playing gigs all over town. I have never seen so many teenage groupies in my life!

Ahhhh to be young again and experience that first rock star/band crush…  posted by Matildakay at 7:39 AM