Manic Hispanic is an American Chicano punk rock band from Orange County and Los Angeles, California, United States. They are a

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

act that plays cover versions of punk rock "standards" by slightly renaming songs and adjusting lyrics with humorous references to Chicano culture. The band's members are all Mexican and use

stage names A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

further marking the Mexican/Chicano image of the band. Manic Hispanic is a

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

made up of former and/or current members of

The Adolescents The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1980. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with ...

, The Grabbers, Punk Rock Karaoke, The X-Members,

22 Jacks 22 Jacks is an American punk rock supergroup, consisting of members of Wax, The Breeders, The Adolescents and Royal Crown Revue. They were active from 1995 to 2001, and again from 2007 on. Career In late 1995, Joe Sib after the breakup of his ...

Final Conflict Final Conflict is an American hardcore punk band from Long Beach, California, United States, formed in 1983. They have gone through various lineup changes with the only constant member being original guitar player (and founder) Jeff Harp. Final ...

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

, Death by Stereo and The Cadillac Tramps.

Band formation

Manic Hispanic was originally started in 1992 by Mike "Gabby" Gaborno (a.k.a. Jefe) from The Cadillac Tramps and

Steve Soto Steve Soto (August 23, 1963 – June 27, 2018) was an American musician. Soto was a multi-talented instrumentalist, a founding member of California punk rock band Agent Orange in 1979, and a founding member of Adolescents in 1980 performing on ...

(a.k.a. El Hoakie Loco) from

, originally with the intent to perform

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

versions of punk songs. Members later recruited are: Chino and Mo Grease (members of The Grabbers), Oso (from The Cadillac Tramps), Mad Ralphie (a.k.a. Steve"Ace" Acevedo a Sound Engineer and tour manager), and Sonny Lucas (a.k.a. Tio). According to their Myspace page, the band members have changed since their first album. The name of the band keeps with their habit of mashing up Latin/Cholo culture with punk culture, the name being a play on Manic Panic, a brand of hair dye popular in the punk scene.

Recorded material

Their first album was released in 1995 on Doctor Dream records. Entitled ''The Menudo Incident'', a reference to Guns N' Roses' ''

The Spaghetti Incident ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', it featured cover versions of songs by

The Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

, The Damned, X, Black Flag,

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

, and others. These cover versions featured rewritten lyrics humorously reflecting the Chicano identity of the band and Chicano/Mexican culture as a whole. Tracks commonly include lyrics sung in Spanish, English, and Chicano "slang" a.k.a. Caló. Examples include songs such as The Damned's "

New Rose "New Rose" by The Damned was the first single by a British punk rock group, released on 22 October 1976 on Stiff Records, and in 1977 in the Netherlands, Germany and France. Written by guitarist Brian James, "New Rose" was also included on t ...

" retitled "New Rosa", and Eddie and the Subtitles' "American Society" retitled "Mexican Society." ''The Menudo Incident'' also contains a version of

Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

musician Freddy Fender's "Before the Next Teardrop Falls", a bilingual hit when released by Fender in the 1970s. The cover art mimicked the

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

release, showing a bowl of menudo, the traditional Mexican

tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep. Types of tripe Beef tripe Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...

specialty. The band returned with a second album in 2001, ''The Recline of Mexican Civilization'' (spoofing the punk film ''

The Decline of Western Civilization ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a ...

'') for

BYO Records Better Youth Organization Records (BYO) is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the California punk rock band Youth Brigade (the third being Adam Stern w ...

. BYO also released ''Mijo Goes to Jr. College'' (aping

The Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a si ...

' ''

Milo Goes To College ''Milo Goes to College'' is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Descendents, released on September 4, 1982 through New Alliance Records. Its title referred to singer Milo Aukerman's decision to leave the band to attend college, ...

'') in 2003, and ''Grupo Sexo'' (spoofing the

Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Circle ...

' ''

Group Sex Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their ...

'') in 2005. These albums modify the original cover art of the albums they are playing off of. The band's out-of-print debut album, ''The Menudo Incident'', was reissued by BYO in 2003. The band has also released T-shirts based on the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

logo,

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

' graphics, and the

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

logo.

Chicano identity

The band's biography information from BYO Records is written in a humorous style, alleging in jest that forming the band was suggestion by one of their parole officers. Although this may be interpreted as tongue-in-cheek, the band has declared in an interview for InMusicWeTrust.com that, "we're not cholos or gangsters, but we come from that heritage and we're proud of it." While most of the band's material is delivered with a sense of humor, political undertones do occasionally appear in their music, such as "Poem" from ''The Menudo Incident'', tells a first-hand account of fearing a potential drive-by shooting, told over a doo-wop backing. In addition, their cover of

Iggy & The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dav ...

' "I Got A Right" includes the lyric, "I got a right, got a right to speak/any language I want, yeah." The band also traditionally plays live in California on

Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo ( in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoz ...

Lineup

* Mike "Gabby" Gaborno (a.k.a. Jefe) - Vocals from Heaven, RIP 2017 * Steve Soto (a.k.a. El Hoakie Loco) - Guitar, Vocals (d. 2018) * Chino - Drums * Mo Grease - Guitar * Oso - Bass * Mad Ralphie - Vocals * Tio - Vocals * Efrem Martinez Schulz - Vocals

Discography

* ''The Menudo Incident'' (1995, Doctor Dream Records; Reissued in 2003,

Reissued Limited Edition Vinyl in 2018

Indecision Records Indecision Records is an independent American hardcore punk record label, which was started by punk photographer and fanzine editor Dave Mandel in 1992 as an offshoot of his fanzine, ''Indecision''. It is based in Garden Grove, California, and ...

) * ''The Recline of Mexican Civilization'' (2001, BYO Records) * ''Mijo Goes to Jr. College'' (2003, BYO Records) * ''Grupo Sexo'' (2005, BYO Records) * ''Back In Brown'' (2021)

References

External links

* Manic Hispanic at MySpace
MANIC HISPANIC , Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos
* Interview with Mad Ralphie and Ti

* Manic Hispanic at

, includes biograph
BYO RECORDS - Punk Since 1982 - Web.archive.org

Manic Hispanic
at AllMusic * Official Site (currently offline February 12, 2009
manichispanic.net
{{Authority control Hardcore punk groups from California Supergroups (music) BYO Records artists Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2017 1992 establishments in California 2017 disestablishments in California Musical groups from Orange County, California