To live and DIY in L.A.

>> Mika Miko party hardcore

SMELL THE MAGIC: Mika Miko

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

When you think of Los Angeles, palm trees, health diets, tinsel town trash, plastic surgery, Laguna Beach, high crime rates and celebrities tend to come to mind. For some reason, while scenes like Portland, Providence and Williamsburg are exploding on the DIY front, you never hear a peep from la-la land. Well, turns out that L.A.’s DIY scene is very much alive, producing bedroom labels, guerrilla-style shows in abandoned strip malls and people’s apartments, and semi-legit, all-ages venues. One of the newest such spaces is called the Smell, the birthplace of all-female band Mika Miko.

With a hard punk rock sound, Mika Miko blend the best of the Slits, X-Ray-Spex, Pink Flag-era Wire, early Redd Kross and Crass and distill it their way, with every one of their songs clocking in at just over a minute, in true hardcore fashion. Mika Miko still subscribe to the DIY ethic, volunteering at the aforementioned the Smell, as well as the local indie label PPM.

“We’ve travelled around quite a bit and people have this misconception that there is no underground scene in L.A.,” says drummer Kate Hall. “But a lot of touring bands come through venues like the Smell and really have fun there, so the word is getting out.”

The band take their ethos on tour too, preferring to play parties and more off-the-beaten-path venues than your typical swill hall. “Playing parties is just so much more fun and just so much more insane. We kind of just have this mindset that we’re here to party and we’re here to party with you, and hopefully get you to dance. We’ve played some great shows at regular venues, but for the most part, people are a lot more reserved. At parties, people come with the intention to go crazy.

“One of the funnest gigs we’ve ever played was this breakfast show in L.A. We served pancakes, coffee and orange juice at 10 a.m. and then played at noon and kids were just dancing like crazy. The shows I remember the most are always the parties.”

With the Usasiamonster,
Thundrah and Fat Worm of Error at
Lambi on Sunday, Aug. 26, 9 p.m., $10