ARTS WAREHOUSE: Art Walk, Exhibitions & Open Studios
ARTS GARAGE: Art of Laughter w David Malmberg ft. Seetha
REVELRY: G Sparticus
REVOLUTION LIVE: Nirvanna, Arms Wide Open
ARMORY ART CENTER: Art Throwdown
STUDIO 1608: First Friday Open Art Studios
2/7
LAS ROSAS: Sex Mex, MOLD!, Slimers, Kinda Culty
FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES: FREE! 954 Punk Rock Flea Markit ft Salem Slot
Machine, Death by Holiday, The Queefs, FWA, The Disorderly, Shakers
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Locos por Juana: Bob Marley Tribute
THE PEACH: Art Walk
REVELRY: Slip & the Spinouts
PROPAGANDA: Desolus
ZIPITIOS: TC Silk, Ian Frandsen
REVOLUTION LIVE: Earlybirds Club
ARTS GARAGE: The Bruce Tribute
2/8
PROPAGANDA: Kinder Gentler, The Dreamer’s Disease, Killed by Florida, The Burn Club
ARTS GARAGE: LP & Vinyl: Blues, Beatles, Bowie
REVELRY: Love is a Circus Burlesque
2/9
CULTURE ROOM: Built to Spill WAR MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM: Sabaton, Pop Evil, Wings of Steel
2/10
PROPAGANDA: Pine Hill Haints, Invisible Teardrops CHURCHILL’S PUB: Dana, Adhesive ARTS GARAGE: All Arts Open Mic
2/11
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Portugal. The Man RESPECTABLE STREET: “Emo & Pop Punk Valentine Show” feat. Good Terms, Dirty Rivals, AWALL
2/11-22
BROWARD CENTER: BATSU! brings Japan’s outrageous comedy style to America, where comedians face off in wild challenges to avoid hilarious punishments like electric shocks, paintballs, or a giant egg-smashing chicken!
RESPECTABLE STREET: We Are the Punx LXIX ft Slimers, Out For Blood, The Spiky Tops, Oi!Takus, Impact Driver, War Lovers, Moose Knuckle, Unwanted Noise, Clit 45, Blanks 77, Breakout, Menace MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Digable Planets “Blowout Comb 30th Anniversary Tour”
J STREET LW: Mardi Glow J St Block Party ft Guavatron, The People Upstairs, Rockin’ Jake, Lake Worth High School Marching Band, Mardi Gras Parade & more!
PROPAGANDA: Mardi Glow J St Block Party ft Insomiacs, The Wax Worms, The Creature Cage POMONA: Mardi Glow J St Block Party w DJ
LAS ROSAS: Surfer Blood, The Jump Cuts ARTS GARAGE: Isle of Klezbos
REVELRY: The Ricca Project
2/13-22
BROWARD COUNTY: IGNITE Broward! Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood w daily public hours varying by location. ignitebroward.com
2/14
RESPECTABLE STREET: We Are the Punx LXIX ft CTE, The Horribles, Knoxious, Soap Charge, Broken Cuffs, Broken Heroes, Knuckleheadz, Wrekt, Who Killed Spikey Jacket?, The Erections, Sloppy Seconds, Shit-Faced
LAS ROSAS: Prison Affair, Adhesive
CHURCHILL’S PUB: Jacuzzi Boys, Daniel Milewski, DJ Set by Snacks
PROPAGANDA: Valentine’s Darkwave Goth w L.U.S.T., His Panic, Jelani Rose, Offerings ARTS GARAGE: Welcome Home: Legacy of Carole King
CONNECT RECORDS: Warm Leatherette REVELRY: Americana w Smerks & the Nightmares
2/14-3/15
MTN SPACE: Vincent Stracquadanio, Shut Your Eyes and Burst Into Flames 2/15
RESPECTABLE STREET: We Are the Punx LXIX ft Sewerside Bombers, Membrains, GAVL, Pena Maxima, Poor Impulse Control, Strike First, Noogy, Rotten Stitches, Still Pist, Parasitix, IRA, Oxblood, Slaughter & the Dogs
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Molotov
THE PARKER: Robert Cray Band
REVELRY: Revelry-Diculous Stand Up Comedy
2/15-3/1
MALTZ JUPITER THEATRE: Good Night, Oscar
2/17
REVOLUTION LIVE: Maddox Batson, Timmy McKeever, Just Jayne
ARTS GARAGE: Spoken Word Open Mic
2/18
REVOLUTION LIVE: Aries PROPAGANDA: Comedy
2/19
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Oigovision Superjam ft Electric Kif, Anemoia, Lemon City Trio, Twyn, The Lab
REVELRY: Bring Your Own Vinyl: Wax On Wax Off
2/20
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Krishna Das REVOLUTION LIVE: Last Dinosaurs THE PARKER: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy ARTS GARAGE: Generations of Soul REVELRY: Tricia Danieli (Winehouse Trib)
2/21
511 BAR & LOUNGE: Light in the Dark Fest 2026 ft. SUSTO (solo), Hurricane Yellow (Oscar Sardiñas of Jaialai), 6ixx, Kenny Moe, Snare, Ainara, Flimsy, Bearhugger, Steph Leyden, Crystal Guerrieri, The Expedition Collective Collage with Mad.E, Transcendental Poetry Tent with Omavi Waite, Discussion Pit by Living Dialogues
STUDIO 1608: The Void art show opening RESPECTABLE STREET: Millington
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Chew on This Podcast CONNECT RECORDS: Sine Harmonia
REVOLUTION LIVE: Monaleo
ARTS GARAGE: Yoko Miwa Trio
REVELRY: Notorious A (Duran Trib)
2/22
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Move Fest ARTS GARAGE: Linda Ronstadt Experience: Tristan McIntosh
2/25
RESPECTABLE STREET: Resistor, Yosemite In Black MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Montreux Jazz Fest presents the Miles Davis Centennial PROPAGANDA: Jazz Night
2/26
MIAMI BEACH BANDSHELL: Makaya McCraven PROPAGANDA: Dead Boys, Straightjacket
2/27-3/15
LW PLAYHOUSE: Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues
2/27
RESPECTABLE STREET: Godsmacked, The Pantera Experience, Evil Pony
ARTS GARAGE: Blues Beetles
PROPAGANDA: A Killers Confession, MRSA CHURCHILL’S PUB: Dead Boys, CTE, Sewerside Bombers
REVELRY: Joel Dasilva
2/28
RESPECTABLE STREET: Matte Blvck, So Much Blood, L.U.S.T
PROPAGANDA: Salem Slot Machine, Swift Knuckle Solution, Death by Holiday
CONNECT RECORDS: Open Spin
THRIVE ART DISTRICT: Art Walk
MIRAMAR AMP: Steel Pulse
ARTS GARAGE: Blues Beetles
REVELRY: Johnny Edwards
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
david rolland
It’s highly unlikely that South Florida will host another American band coming from as far away as Portugal. The Man. The indie rock group’s origins extend all the way to Wasilla, Alaska, where singer, guitarist and songwriter John Gourley wanted to make music a little less emo than that of his previous band, Anatomy of a Ghost. A move to Portland, Oregon followed, and Portugal. The Man still sounded very earnest with their music if not their punctuation on their 2006 debut album Waiter: “You Vultures!”
After a prolific run of seven records over seven years, it took a break — four years between albums — for the band to really break through. The 2017 album Woodstock features the song, “Feel It Still,” that you know even if you don’t recognize the title. It’s the dance-y number featuring Gourley’s falsetto squealing, “Ooh-woo, I’m a rebel just for kicks, now/ I been feeling it since 1966, now.” “Feel It Still” was inescapable on rock radio, appeared in children’s movies like Peter Rabbit, was a staple at sporting arenas during timeouts, and was used to sell iPads and vitaminwater.
When I caught them in 2016 at a late-night slot at the inaugural Okeechobee Festival, Portugal. The Man gave off art school vibes that you wouldn’t have imagined if you only knew them by “Feel It Still.” They inserted thrash guitar into a cover of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and messed around with with another classic — The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” The band they most reminded me of was early Radiohead, maybe just because Gourley’s voice goes to those high ranges Thom Yorke would sometimes visit.
Their newest album Shish has them revisiting free-form territory, going from 21st Century psych rock a la MGMT or Foxygen on opener “Denali” to Slayer-like metal on second song “Pittman Ralliers.” Perhaps the most experimental thing they’ve done was, on their three most recent concerts in Texas in late December, not playing their biggest hit. Portugal.The Man play at 7:30pm Wednesday, February 11 at Miami Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach. portugaltheman.com
OIGOVISION SUPERJAM
by david rolland
On the third Thursday of every month for the last few years, the Rhythm Foundation has put together a free night of music at their home venue, the Miami Beach Bandshell, and dubbed the event the North Beach Social. More often than not, the Social spotlights local bands in a range of genres, from the garage rock of Jacuzzi Boys to the Latin hip-hop of Locos Por Juana. For the February 2026 edition, attendees will get a bouillabaisse of Miami music with the debut of Oigovision Superjam
Oigo, aka Adrian Gonzalez-Arredondo, is a Miami-based multi-instrumentalist who plays over live loops to conjure, in his words, “immersive soundscapes that captivate audiences,” employing various musical styles that also showcase his versatility. His Oigovision Superjam will bring together a Miami supergroup comprised of members of Electric Kif, Anemoia, Lemon City Trio, Twyn, and The Lab. There will also be a special appearance by Smurphio, aka Tony Laurencio, the wild-haired Miami mainstay best known for his roles in Afrobeta and Suenalo, who will also warm up the crowd as the opener.
A quick primer on the Superjam roster: Electric Kif is an instrumental fusion quartet that wrangles grooves, melodies, and atmospherics; the duo Twin play futuristic jazztronica; Anemoia, a three-piece, swims in currents of jazz and psych rock; The Lab is a rock power trio bringing energy to any hip shaking line-up; and Lemon City Trio build their grooves around soulful organ.
Will the sum of all these complimentary parts make for something greater? Like the robot cats of the ’80s cartoon Voltron merging into an all-powerful mechafighter, Oigo is teeing up what aims to be an unstoppable superjam. The Rhythm Foundation, for its part, says this one-night assembly represents “the beating heart of Miami’s live music scene — a night where Latin funk, soul, fusion, and electronica collide in pure, joyful experimentation.” As a bonus it’s a free night out under the open air, just steps away from the beach.
Oigovision Superjam kicks off at 8pm Thursday, February 19 at Miami Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach. oigomusic.com
NO CLUBS
by olivia feldman
If you lived in Tampa Bay in the late 1980s and early 1990s, you might remember the Pearl Jam show at Jannus Landing in 1992 when Eddie Vedder did a backflip off the top of the venue’s center pole. Or maybe you were at the Green Day performance at the Florida State Fairgrounds in 1994, weeks after their breakthrough album, Dookie, hit record stores.
Name any emerging punk, hardcore or alternative act from that time, and No Clubs Presents probably booked them in and around Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg. Thank founders Tony Rifugiato and Dave Hundley for the work, which continues to this day.
Forty years after hosting their first gig, “Tony and Dave” are getting their due with No Clubs Presents: Live Since ’85, an amalgam of concert posters, fliers and photos at The Factory St. Pete in St. Petersburg. The exhibition offers a rare look back at the cultural labors that helped to build and define a scene. The 40-year milestone “felt like the right time to have everyone in the same room together,” exhibit curator Robbie Williams tells PureHoney
Tony and Dave presented their first concert on Dec. 20, 1985: Suicidal Tendencies at the Cuban Club in Ybor City. At the time, few venues in the area were equipped — technically or temperamentally — to host club gigs for touring punk and thrash bands. But the show sold out, and No Clubs was born — its name a nod to a challenging environment that was about to change for the better.
The duo booked 340 shows just in the first decade, among them 7 Seconds (a record 10 times), Beastie Boys, Circle Jerks and Red Hot Chili Peppers at venues with 2,000 seats or less. Record store owner Tony and circus advance man Dave had different musical tastes but clicked as a team. Tony’s knack for knowing which bands would draw in the kids complemented Dave’s diverse production background.
“If there were any problems, we quelled them quickly or didn’t allow them to interfere,” Dave tells PureHoney. “We had brought a level of professionalism into more than one area, and we made sure everybody got paid.”
Working with venue owners and other businesses, they built a live-music ecosystem that emphasized “camaraderie,” Dave says. They even rented buses for teens in the outer suburbs to make it to shows for $20 a pop. And when the alternative bubble burst, No Clubs pivoted, booking reggae and world-beat artists such as Jimmy Cliff and King Sunny Adé, and adding a converted 1920s movie theater, The Orpheum, to their circuit of venues.
Inside The Factory St. Pete, each wall of the No Clubs retrospective covers a chapter of the promoter’s long timeline, including shows at the historic State Theatre (now the Floridian Social Club); the founding of the No Clubs Records label and a regional nightlife magazine, Focus; and Tony’s Daddy Kool Records store, also founded in 1985.
The exhibit began as an archive project helmed by Williams, a former No Clubs flier artist. “Tony and Dave remember a lot of things,” he says, “but 40 years is a long time to remember every detail.”
With a laptop and scanner tucked into his backpack, Williams traveled the Bay area, rifling through old friends’ garages for fliers and other concert keepsakes, doing the kind of archival digging that turned up — among other elusive items — a newspaper article and a long-lost flier previewing a Fela Kuti and Egypt 80 concert on Sept. 17, 1989.
The exhibit opened on January 3 with around 500 people in attendance, among them members of an ’80s local hardcore punk band, Belching Penguin, who hadn’t been in the same room for decades. People sat with their kids, telling tales of getting too drunk at the Social Distortion show in 1990 or stage diving with nobody to catch them. It was also the first time Tony and Dave saw everything from the last 40 years gathered in one place.
“To make yourself vulnerable for a second and look at what you’ve done takes some strength,” Williams says. “This is our love letter to them. We’ve all cherished them as much as we’ve cherished the music.”
“No Clubs Presents: Live Since ’85” runs through Saturday, Feb. 28 at The Factory St. Pete in St. Petersburg. Admission is free. noclubs.com
ABIGAIL E. PENNER
by kelli bodle
In his book on creativity, legendary music producer Rick Rubin wrote, “Living life as an artist is a practice.” For PureHoney artist of the month Abigail Ervin-Penner, that practice is a lifeline. The Lincoln, Nebraska-based illustrator spends 4-10 hours a day drawing what she calls “monster girls” — not as a dalliance, hobby or side job, but as a means of navigating both her internal and external realities. “Illustration and poetry are what drag my soul in every direction,” Ervin-Penner tells PureHoney. “They pull me out of any abyss I find myself in.”
A formerly “super devout Catholic” who turned away from the faith, and a college dropout whose health issues derailed her pursuit of a fine arts degree, Ervin-Penner describes an existence of seeming opposites: A “nurturing artsy family environment” at home, on the one hand, with a loving husband who helps manage her career; and “crippling mental and physical illnesses” on the other, in a field where economic precarity is the norm. These conflicting dynamics, in combination, “drive me to keep creating,” she says.
Stylistically, her prints, posters, and clothing feature deceptively cute monsters depicted in bright colors with delicate tracery and borders paired with poignant text that feels both whimsical and deep. In one work, disembodied, devilish monster heads float above a reptilian pink creature with eight eyes, and above the words “I was scared until I became fearsome, too.” A woman’s face — maybe the artist’s avatar — peeks out from inside the lizard creature’s mouth, suggesting more a woman in a costume than a monster finishing its meal.
The foundational texts for Ervin-Penner’s style are gothic children’s books or empathetic storytellers like illustrator Oliver Jeffers. “My biggest inspiration in terms of my illustration style is definitely Maurice Sendak, she says, referencing the acclaimed writer and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are. “I’ve always identified with Max, just a kid trying to break away and be wild. But my illustrations of monsters and ‘monster girls’ have more to do with the monsters that reside within.”
This is perhaps the key to Penner’s popularity: her work is less spark and more grind. She isn’t creating daily to achieve perfection; she’s subsuming her personal demons in more palatable figures. In ancient mythology, the naming of a demon gave you power over it.
“I struggle with anxiety, depression, truly crippling ADHD, along with a slew of physical illnesses (spondyloarthritis, vasovagal syncope, EDS, etc. etc.),” she says. “These illnesses tend to make me feel less than human. And I know that I am not the only person in the world with them, so I like to draw something that everyone can relate to, regardless of identity. We’ve all got monsters.”
“Truthfully, I would not consider myself a ‘successful artist,’” she says. “After talking with my friend Brian [Coate], a painter in Lincoln, Nebraska, the most pressing issue for artists is that people don’t want to pay for art. It’s not a new revelation, it’s a story as old as time: ‘The Starving Artist.’ I am successful in the way that it is my only income, but even now, I’m taking odd jobs and doing the most random shit to make ends meet.”
Penner’s artwork falls within a growing genre of the aesthetically cute image with teeth. Flowers, doll-like figures, and cozy interiors set the stage for pithy and vulnerable quotes like “You cannot frighten me, I am my own horror.” With 83,000 followers on Instagram, her aesthetic is well-received but she cautions that “having an established following doesn’t mean you’re making money.”
She has thoughts sometimes of putting aside the constant pursuit of follower counts, e-commerce traffic and maximized visibility to engage with people more intimiately. She loves working with bands, and names Julien Baker as a wish-list collaborator: “Everything about her songwriting and lyrics just grabs my heart and rips it out of my chest.”
“I have this dream of doing a show of all these self-portraits I’ve done and reading a small book of poems I’ve written,” Ervin-Penner says. “I think it would take like 30 minutes total but it would be so amazing to share my words and the way I view myself, selfishly, to see if there’s anyone else who could tap me on the shoulder and be like, ‘Same, girl.’ ” @abigailepenner
WE ARE THE PUNX
by tim moffatt
South Florida has a lawless history in the punk scene. Find an old head and ask them about when Black Flag played the Cameo Theater in the 1980s, allegedly with the ambulances lining the street before the show started. Pick their brain about Murphy’s Law playing Summer’s on the Beach in Fort Lauderdale and the ensuing melee that spilled through the plate glass windows out onto the beach.
A seasoned younger punk can regale you with the story of the Casualties’ first tour in the ‘90s and the skinhead riot that happened at the now-defunct Happy Days in West Palm Beach, or even the banner heist conspiracy that emerged when Slapshot came to town a while back.
Maybe it was the local “Florida Man” reputation for hazard, but at a certain point some bands stopped coming. But a new generation has sprung up emphasizing scene first, changing the equation to ensure a good time and build a new legacy. Hardcore For Punx, Equinox Booking, and for this discussion, We Are The Punx have all put on great shows where the kids could let loose without felonies or misdemeanors. This year marks the return of We Are The Punx, the festival, for the first time since 2020, and the line-up of more than 40 bands over three days at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach is a wild one. PureHoney sat down with Jake Wexler of We Are the Punx to discuss the scene, the festival’s absence, and the future of South Florida punk. Was the last We Are The Punx the one at Beer Punx?
The first We Are The Punx was back in 2018 at Beer Punx. It was actually the very first show ever held there, and it also turned out to be the last official Menudo Death Squad show. The last We Are The Punx we did was at Respectable Street right before the pandemic hit.
What accounts for the long interval, in addition to the pandemic and the scene being hit hard?
The pandemic was definitely part of why things went quiet, but honestly, it wasn’t the main reason. After that last fest, I stepped fully into tattooing and put everything I had into learning and transitioning out of Howley’s [Diner]. At the same time, the other partner who had been helping run the fest didn’t want to return because of how much work it really takes to pull something like this off.
The real reason We Are The Punx started back up again is because of PJ [Rodrigues] — one of my best friends and really the only person outside of my old partner that I trust enough to do this the right way — kept pushing me to bring it back. With his help, it became possible again.
Would you agree that South Florida seems to be having a bit of a renaissance with shows? There’s this event, Montreal’s Béton Armé, Churchill’s and Las Rosas reopening. For years, some of these bands wouldn’t come this far down if they came to Florida at all.
South Florida is absolutely experiencing a renaissance right now. Venues are opening left and right, DIY spaces are popping up, and both new and longtime promoters are stepping up and killing it. Groups like Equinox and Hardcore For Punx are really taking the reins, and Hardcore For Punx has also been helping us directly with the fest. The reason this fest works as well as it does comes down to the overwhelming support from the entire scene — local promoters, bands, and just punx who want to help. We genuinely couldn’t do this without them.
Do you guys intend to continue every year from here on out? This is 100 percent going to be an annual festival again. … What keeps us motivated is building a real platform for street punk, pogo, and Oi. There really aren’t many fests like this, especially outside of LA Punk Invasion, our buddy Nacho’s event, and we need an East Coast equivalent to help unite the national and international scene. If we can continue to expand and do this right, we’d love to be those people.
We Are The Punx LXIX, featuring Blanks 77, Slaughter & the Dogs, The Erections, Menace, Destructive and many more bands, kicks of 5pm Friday February 13 and runs through Sunday the 15th at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. wearethepunx.com
SLAUgHTER & THE DOgS
THE EREcTIONS
BLANKS 77
UNWRITTEN LAW
by abel folgar
Some bands don’t just survive the churn of punk rock history; they endure, carrying their scars, their songs, and their audience forward with them. Unwritten Law is one of those rare Southern California acts whose story mirrors the genre itself: fast beginnings, hard lessons, unexpected growth, and a refusal to disappear quietly.
Formed in Poway, just north of San Diego, Unwritten Law emerged in the early 1990s when skate punk still smelled like asphalt. Their early releases, Blue Room and Oz Factor, captured a band running on the adrenaline and instinct of tight riffs, rapid tempos, and an unmistakable hunger. They weren’t chasing crossover success yet; they were chasing the next show, the next van ride, the next moment where sweat and sound blurred together. That hunger eventually led them to a broader audience. With 2002’s Elva, Unwritten Law found themselves straddling two worlds, the punk scene that raised them and a mainstream spotlight that demanded hooks, polish, and emotional clarity. Songs like “Seein’ Red” and “Up All Night” became unlikely anthems, introducing the band to fans who may never have set foot in a skate park. It was a pivot point, one that expanded their reach while testing their identity.
At the center of it all has always been frontman Scott Russo, whose voice carried both the defiance and vulnerability that defined the band’s evolution. Unwritten Law’s catalog charts more than stylistic shifts; it documents personal reckoning, setbacks, and the difficult work of staying upright in a scene that rarely slows down for anyone. Rather than smoothing over those moments, the band let them shape the music, giving later material a depth that resonates differently with fans who’ve grown up alongside them.
They’ll be sharing the road with fellow California stalwarts Goldfinger and Zebrahead, bands formed in the mid ’90s that have achieved considerable fame in their own right: Goldfinger with a third-wave strain of ska-punk blending brass-powered energy, melodic punk hooks and socially conscious lyrics; Zebrahead with a genre-blurring fusion of punk rock, hip-hop, and metal.
Unwritten Law and Zebrahead open for Goldfinger 7pm Thursday, February 12 at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale. unwrittenlawofficial.com
SEX MEX
by erik kvarnberg
When a 13-year-old Clark Gray first heard “Hope” — the buzzing, two-minute breakup classic by Descendents — it started an obsession with melodic garage punk that set him on the path to becoming Sex Mex, a solo artist from San Antonio, Texas writing his own energetic hooks by the fistful. “It’s like losing your virginity,” Gray tells PureHoney. “You think back on it and you say to yourself ‘I can’t believe I went this long without experiencing this.’”
Gray, who tours with a full band, has been churning out recordings largely on his own at a brisk pace since 2021. His sound is equal parts Big Black, if that abrasive combo were employed at an amusement park, and Grouplove, if the latter’s anthemic “Tongue Tied” were played by a construction crew through a broken speaker. Sex Mex songs like “Fucking It Up” and “Dragging Me Around” bristle with lo-fi energy and a sense of fun meant to be enjoyed without scrutiny. Oddball bards like Mike Krol and Jay Reatard would be proud.
Hyperactivity is baked into the Sex Mex experience. “When I was younger I was just a really annoying kid who did stuff to piss people off,” Gray says. “I’m toned down in day to day life now, but all that energy needs to go somewhere, so I guess it just gets funneled into music.”
This energetic purity also keeps Sex Mex’s output honest and free of excess. Gray’s releases are typically short: The two most recent EPs, Down in the Dump Trucks and Don’t Mess With Sex Mex, follow an honorable punk tradition of not conceding productivity or artistry to the almighty full-length album. “The idea of an album is so alluring to people that they’ll completely ignore something just because it’s called Singles 06, 07, 08 or whatever,” Gray says. “I just want to avoid that.”
Sex Mex videos follow suit, exuding a youthful freedom that never takes itself too seriously. The clips accompanying songs such as “Goodwill” and “Nerds Who Play Guitar” feel like chaotic teenage memories, born out of restlessness and creativity.
Sex Mex plays 7pm Saturday, February 7 at Las Rosas in Miami. sexmexsux.com
