Friday, 5/2/97 Voodoo Glow Skulls bring ‘Baile De Los Locos’ to
eager fans Riverside-based ska band believes in ‘keepin it real’ on
stage
By Vanessa VanderZanden Daily Bruin Contributor It’s 9 in the
morning. Is lead singer Frank Casillas of the Voodoo Glow Skulls
sleeping off a wild night of naughty rock star partying? No. He’s
answering fan e-mail like a good band leader should. "We get about
15 to 50 a day," Casillas proudly notes in a rough morning
baritone. "They ask when we’re comin’ to town. Mostly, only kids in
Europe and South America ask us to send stuff ’cause it’s harder to
find stuff over there." As the Riverside-based band releases its
second major label album, "stuff" for Los Angeles fans becomes
easier to obtain. For instance, the Glow Skulls itself can be found
at the Opium Den Monday night, on tour for its new release, "Baile
De Los Locos." And, it seems, everyone will be there. "We’ve been
touring for years and years, so it’s all grass roots basically,"
Casillas says of his fan base. "Our song ‘Fat Randy’ got a little
bit of air play, so we’re seeing some more mainstream people, but
it’s still a blend with old punkers who’ve been goin’ to see us
since when we were playing basements." Though five years have
passed since the Glow Skulls released a 7-inch vinyl and
entertained neighborhood punks for a $2 door charge in record store
clerks’ cellars, they remain humble. "Keepin’ it real" acts as the
ska band’s self-proclaimed motto, as it eschews ritzy costumes for
everyday attire. The fast-paced, Spanish/English lyrics, infused
with horns and speed-metal guitars, have always spoken stronger
than any set of gimmicks ever could. "We just hang out with
people," Casillas remarks. "We just say ‘hey, we weren’t born with
guitars in our hands. We used to go to concerts ourselves.’ I think
I even wrote to Iron Maiden and Van Halen when I was younger." Many
of the seven members of the band site heavy metal as a strong
musical influence, but these children of the ’80s continue to mesh
modern styles into their sound. For instance, trumpet player Joe
McNally’s affection for jazz creeps into the horn section’s groove,
while guitarist Eddie Casillas’ 17 years of lessons pounces on the
rhythm section’s toes. Every musician furthers the Glow Skulls’
evolution. "When we come in to write music, it’s like everyone
brings something different to the picnic table," Casillas says.
"Then we all sit down to eat, and you don’t eat what you don’t
really like or what you don’t see on the table." Trying to blend
the styles of seven rowdy musicians can cause fireworks, which
translate into intensity on the album. Some fans say the band helps
them work out, while others save their energy for Glow Skulls
concerts – a practice Casillas whole-heartedly endorses for
himself. "That’s the whole thing," he exclaims. "We spend the
entire day doing nothing, to put on a show for one hour, and that
hour is spent releasing the tension from that whole day. Me,
myself, I go to punk shows to let energy out." Apparently, Casillas
does not stand alone in this practice. Most fans at Glow Skulls
shows waive their rights to sanity as they aggressively flail limbs
and torsos about in huge mosh pits. Yet nothing compares to
Japanese audiences when it comes to enthusiasm. "Oh, it was
awesome," a speechless Casillas describes. "It didn’t compare to
playing in America. There, it’s just the ultimate. They take
everything to the extreme. There, people come to shows with painted
faces and dyed hair and really go off dancing. They look like weird
little space creatures or something. People dress like characters;
it’s just weird stuff. It just blew us away." After playing two
sold-out shows in Tokyo, the band had a rude awakening at its next
stop: Europe. There, winter snow made members ill and poor
publicity kept concert halls sparsely populated. When the Voodoo
Glow Skulls return to Europe this summer, they hope to meet larger,
more enthusiastic audiences and is prepared to look for the signs.
"You can tell when you get there if a show’s gonna be insane or
not," Casillas states matter-of-factly. "We just played an outdoor
basketball court in Tijuana. It was crazy. Kids were just climbing
the basketball rims and jumping off of them into the crowd, like
catapults. It’s more typical of places where people aren’t used to
hearing bands." Otherwise, crowds become like jaded American youths
who, for the most part, need a push for their energy to overflow.
Yet, 10 percent of the Tijuana concert’s audience came from San
Diego, showing that fans were ready to support the special
education high school the concert benefited. Fortunately, the
Voodoo Glow Skulls managed to cross the border as well, though the
trip was met with difficulty. "We spent the day trying to get into
Mexico because they wouldn’t let us in with our trailer and
equipment," Casillas recalls huskily. "We live only two hours away
from there. Finally someone let us store our stuff in their garage,
so we just left and used one of the Mexican bands’ equipment." The
Glow Skulls have learned to appreciate the support of other people,
without whose assistance the band may never have been well-known
enough to book such varied engagements. Such instrumental help
often arises in odd forms. "We found a Glow Skulls’ home page on
the Web that was made by this guy out of Illinois," Casillas
relates. "He was just a fan, but he had all this information on our
band that we didn’t even have. So we contacted him, lined him up
with our label, and now he is our official Glow Skulls Web page
designer with a monthly pay check. Every time we go to Chicago, we
hang out with him, and he just sits there in the corner staring at
us like he can’t believe he’s actually sitting there. He’s a cool
guy." Just as fans respect the band, the Voodoo Glow Skulls respect
their fans. For this reason, Casillas refuses to stage dive his
210-pound body into crowds at concerts, fearful of squashing a
scrawny 15-year-old. Also, he keeps himself healthy in order to put
on a decent show. "I play and then I sleep, which is what you’re
supposed to do on tour, I guess," he says. "You’re supposed to just
maintain and make it to the next gig and not break any limbs." With
this attitude, the Voodoo Glow Skulls has managed to reach its 10th
anniversary. Celebrating this summer, the band hopes to relax on
Baja California’s beaches for a real vacation away from the tedious
life of touring. But members wouldn’t think of giving up their day
job, despite its sometimes draining qualities. "I enjoy it,"
Casillas rasps out with an early morning sigh of contentment. "For
me, I get to do what lot of people don’t get to do. I get to travel
and play in front of a lot of people. Some people drive trucks, and
I get to sing in a punk band." CONCERT: The Voodoo Glow Skulls play
the Opium Den on Monday. For more info, call the club at (213) 466-
7800.