Thee Commons

Since banding together in 2012, psychedelic cumbia-punk trio Thee Commons have made waves in and around their hometown of East LA. 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 also to spread their new vivacious, infectious sound as far south as Tijuana, México and as far east as Phoenix, Arizona. 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, including The Echoplex of Echo Park — which they’ve headlined — The Regent Theatre of Downtown Los Angeles, and the Observatory of Santa Ana, and have opened up for such acts as Chicano Batman, Bomba Estereo, and even unofficially — by way of an impromptu guerilla-style street show — for The Pixies. Their “DIT” (do it together) hard work ethic has yielded them a debut 7-inch 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 a curious 8-volume limited edition EP series, the volumes of which they released successively and on a monthly basis in 2014 — and which have since sold out. (Fun fact: the first volume cover was illustrated by drummer René Pacheco, and the remaining seven were designed by frontman David Pacheco.) As of 2015, however, Rock is Dead is available, via their bandcamp, as a full-feature 20-song CD, as a specialty, limited edition cassette originally released by the independent OC label Burger Records, and as a limited edition 10-inch — 10-song — vinyl. Looking forward, 2016 will see a new 7-inch vinyl, a repressing of a their limited edition 10-inch vinyl with Burger Records as well as hear a new repertoire of songs, songs which promise to further serve their aim of bridging the gap between a Latino and non-Latino demographic. Needless to say, the future looks auspicious for these young and determined “chunsters” who doggedly strive to perfect their hypnotic yet invigorating act — which includes grungy covers of la “Cumbia del Sol” and “La Negra Tomasa” — and disseminate the perfect pastiche that is psychedelic cumbia punk.