Will Bakersfield band The Filthies new album Your Turn shake up the pop punk world? - By N.L. Belardes

Hungry and crazy for a new pop punk scene? It's right here...

If the album Your Turn is any indication of what’s to come in 2007 from The Filthies, then I’m going to stop packing my bags right now. Forget moving to Delano to start a Mexican bakery, I’m in for the long haul.

There I was a few nights ago perfecting my own pan de leche mixture, dreaming of delightful pastries and a new Fisher Price baking oven when I screamed, “I want music, good music, and lots of it! I want pop punk Green Day mind-bending energy. I want to hear a Blink 182 edge and some rural rock punk licks straight from the heart of Bakersfield! I want pop punk that can infect my soul!”

At that point I pulled the buns out of the oven.

No, I hadn’t just baked a perfect bread to sell on Central California streets, but discovered Your Turn, one of the catchiest albums to ever grace the soul of pop punk.

And by a Bakersfield band!



Punk mortician guitarist Kenny “Motor” Mount, once told me the story of how he found his way into The Filthies. There was heartache, cross country travel, self-discovery, a weird Freak Show, a guy stealin’ a girl, and Moto Gussi motorcycle redemption. It’s a long story and one that I’d really have to hear again to nail down all the details. What I do know is the song and album Your Turn universalize the theme of someone who does the worst thing you can do to a friend and gets theirs in the end...

What you do comes around, right?


Kenny "Motor" Mount tunes his Bakersfield Special

The Filthies have been in really good shape since bringing Mount into the fold a few years ago. Your Turn marks the fruition of the genesis between band mates on a mission to succeed.

Now it’s their turn to ride the pop punk wave.


The Filthy Lair

Mount’s former bands? The infamous Six Million Dollar Band, and Brian Jones Was Murdered. Both inevitably led him into a rural rock lyrical style and swashbuckling pop punk edge. And he’s not alone. Eric “Guppy” Bonilla and Kelley “Smash my bass on your face” Ratliff have been around the Bakersfield punk scene for 15 years. Kelley and Bonilla were in the band, Old School. They’ve shared the stage with everyone from L.A.’s The Politicians, to legendary punk bands Social Distortion, RKL, The Addicts, Bolemia Banquet, Circle Jerks, Cadillac Tramps, Bad Religion, The Bouncing Souls, DI, and The Offspring. “We were even on a flyer with Green Day, but then they blew up big and cancelled,” drummer Eric “Guppy” Bonilla said in a recent interview.

The Filthies album Your Turn is their break-out masterpiece.

The first I heard The Filthies was in early 2005. I swallowed my pride and jumped into downtown Bakersfield—my first night back into the Bakersfield music scene. I’ll be honest. I had little hope of good Bakersfield music. Back in 1996, the Bakersfield music scene was in a lull. But in early 2005 I was invigorated with a music scene with fresh sounds on an entirely new level of mastery. Why? The Filthies were rocking a bar in downtown Bakersfield with the fastest and catchiest pop music I’d ever heard out of the city that spawned a Korn frenzy. Sure, it’s pop, but it’s alternative and punk. And it’s a style and sound fused by Bakersfield’s exciting rural roots.

Your Turn is an extension of not just the talent deeply rooted in the rural rock punk (Or rural pop punk as Dirty Spanglish calls it), but of Bakersfield culture itself. Recorded at Westbeach Recorders and mastered by the legendary Donnell Cameron (The Offspring, Blink 182, Bad Religion, to name a few), Mount, Guppy and Kelley recorded their fast-moving catchy rhythms in an air of punk history. “We walked in and realized many of the great punk bands of the late 80s and 90s recorded there. It was amazing,” said Mount.



Also exciting, was the studio quickly realized they were onto something; they could capitalize on the sounds of The Filthies. Who knew Bakersfield could churn out an album with so many radio-friendly songs that could explode any pop-o-meter?

“They were courting us, watching us rehearse, “ Bonilla said. And they kept an old school flavor with the recording through how the album was recorded on two-inch tape, imported into ProTools, placed back on tape, and then again put on a hard drive for the mastering studios.

Westbeach Recorders loved The Filthies and offered the band a spot on their label, Fallen Angel Records, which is also connected to Big Wheel magazine. Big Wheel recently featured the Filthies new album on the back cover of their January issue.


You disgust me

The Filthies retain much of the rights to their music in a unique partnership deal. “We were offered a full contract that would have paid for everything. But we wanted the rights to our music. We have a partnership with Fallen Angel records and feel like they’re just another band member. It’s all equal parts,” said Mount.

I have to say, even with all the excitement of seeing The Filthies in 2005, it’s the catchy edge of Your Turn that has been an instant turnaround for The Filthies here in 2007.


Discussing Your Turn at the Filthy Lair

Turn around? Yes, in 2006, guitarist Jeremy “Gus” Gustafson left the band to pursue other projects. Irreconcilable differences? Sure. A bad marriage turned worse? Probably. I spoke to Gus the night he quit the band and had a heavy dose of guilt. Had I broken up The Filthies? Had I totally screwed my favorite Bakersfield band because I told Gus, “Do what makes you happy”? (Right after the phone call he quit the band). I was having irreconcilable differences with myself. The band had been recording their new album and suddenly, they were in a spiral.

“Gus was our ambition for a while,” Eric “Guppy” Bonilla said in an interview at The Filthy Lair—a basement studio in the heart of Bakersfield. Kelley Ratliff added, “We were The Filthies long before Gus. He was a good addition. You’re just going to have ups and downs. You have to have drive and I think we still have a good time.”

After the loss of Gus, Mount said the band had to come around and find itself. “We had a talk. We stepped back and thought maybe we are where we’re at with the label because Gus left.”

“We got determined,” Guppy added.



My reconciliation with my own soul came when I quickly realized it was time for The Filthies to become a three-piece.

I’ve been to a few shows since the line-up change and let me tell you, The Filthies do rock. Mix that with being on a minor label and you also have a new band with a new album. And I’ll say right now, Your Turn is one of the best albums to ever come out of Bakersfield.

Maybe being on the back cover of a magazine is no big deal to some. But I’ve never been. That’s the hype behind this album. It’s that good. That means the people backing Your Turn are believing in the music of The Filthies.

Here are a few highlights from the 13-track album:

My instant favorite is the title track, “Your Turn”. Mount’s vocals are straightforward and edgy. It’s a song with instant youth appeal, grabbing youth-related issues with riffs and hooks as passionate as the vocals. Mount sings, “I know what your feeling. I’ve been there once or twice. And it’s a bad bad feelin’… No one calls you up on the telephone. You’re like the new kid.” If you don’t feel the burn from those lines, you were the most popular kid in school and need to go listen to Mozart.

The Filthies’ cover of “Anything Anything” by Dramarama has instant classic written all over it. Exactly what was told to them in the studio when they doubted whether to put the cover on the album. “No, you’re going to bring this shit back.” It’s a great song all around. You’ll dance in your sister’s underwear. Yes, you will.

“Take My Ass Home” is just as powerful recorded as it is live. Talk about a testament to the weak emotions of men: “You say you love me but you never want to do me… You say tonight you’re going to be alone so take my ass home…” Yeah, guys are stupid and Mount reminds us.

“Embalm You” is a walk through a day in the life of Kenny Mount as a mortician. Yes, it’s true. He’s the living rendition of Six Feet Under, right here in Bakersfield. He will embalm you. If you let him. And don’t get the song wrong. It’s one of the most catchy and playful on the album.



Another song with powerful vocals is “Mission Tonight”. The song is a testament to Mount’s willingness to experiment with his vocal range and toughness behind the microphone. Have a listen and you’ll be instantly pulled in with the riffs. Yet, the vocals are the true smashing power of the song. They build into a frenzy during the later chorus, after a rousing solo. I think I’ve spun this song 50 times in the past week.

And yes, I have to mention “Condorstown”. Yeah, I gave Mount the idea to write the song for the compilation Growing Up Fighting: Bakersfield Hockey. But 99.99% is pure The Filthies rural rock punk brilliance. They’ve brought anthem punk rock to their hometown of Bakersfield, California and people are going to appreciate their love for hockey and home... The new recording includes cool hockey slapshot sounds and a deeper mix and vibe that’s sure to rock Bakersfield hockey for years to come.

You can attend the premiere of Your Turn this January 19th at B Ryders for their CD kick-off and signing party. It’s a free show. B Ryders is located at White Lane and Gosford Road. Show starts at 8pm. Or just go on the road to with the band to Europe. The Filthies To Hell Or Home Tour will take them around Ireland and beyond coming this April. I’ll be tagging along and blogging from the road…


Plotting their takeover of Ireland for the To Hell Or Home Tour


Now it's your turn...

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Monday, January 15, 2007. You can leave your response.