Maybe you’ve been thinking “wow, there are a lot of bad things going on in the world right now—like the hurricane damage to Puerto Rico—I wish I could do something about it.” Or maybe you’ve been thinking “what my life needs is a band that sounds like The Ramones, but isn’t The Ramones, and maybe features acoustic guitar and occasional Spanish.” Either way you should probably be watching Tall Juan at the Que Lio! Fundraiser show for Puerto Rico on November 5th.
Sometimes it’s just hard to figure out how to do good and contribute to a cause, but being part of a benefit makes it easy. Sometimes it’s just hard to listen to The Ramones—actually, no it’s not, if you feel like it’s hard to listen to The Ramones I cannot offer sincere understanding… But that’s beside the point. Tall Juan’s Joey Ramone-esque vocal delivery and incessantly bopping rhythms clearly pay tribute to the early NYC rebels, but there’s also a garage rock, almost lo-fi sensibility to his taste and style (Mac DeMarco recorded his debut album). It’s a sound true to New York from The Ramones, to The Strokes, to that band you saw a couple weeks ago in Brooklyn that sounded way better live than on Bandcamp.
Below, you can watch his new video for “Time Bomb”—a Ramones cover that sounds even more Ramonesque than the original—featuring shirtless Tall Juan, skateboards, and hip little dance moves. And don’t forget to stop by the Que Lio! fundraiser at Baby’s All Right. It’s a donation-based daytime show (12-4 p.m.) on a Sunday, so no excuses. – Cameron Carr, photo by Audrey Del Piccolo.