Dean Anthony Pascucci is the founder of Blue Tile Lounge Events here in Las Vegas and is getting ready to put on the second in their series of “Skate Punk Reunion” gigs. This year’s event sees the return of JFA, who will be playing alongside Loud Ones, McRad and more at the July 25 Dive show. We think the show sounds pretty cool, so put down our acoustic guitars, shaved our beards and asked Dean five (paragraphs of) questions.
Let’s talk about music. You’ve most recently been the bassist and vocalist for American Buckshot. How did you first become interested in playing music? Can you give us a rundown of bands you’ve been in and how your first one came together?
First of all that’s way more than five questions. More like five paragraphs full of questions. Second of all, I’m flattered you guys want to interview me. Not that I think Punks in Vegas is so darn cool or anything. I mean, every time I see your page there’s dudes with acoustic guitars. I’m just flattered to be interviewed by anyone.
Music. I was only in one other band called “Glue” where I just did vocals. That was while I was in the Army. When I started American Buckshot I just brought all the Glue songs with me. Those poor saps in all the reiterations of American Buckshot had to tolerate being in a band with a guy that only knew 11 songs and took as long as two years to learn a new one. Furthermore, all the songs were politically conservative and no one until this interview ever figured it out. I had pro-cop song (Lockdown), pro-war song (Hacksaw), and pro-Republican song (Train Hoppin’).
I could say I started the band organically from marinating in a lifelong stew of shows and skateboard adventures, but it was really just to get laid. One of my Army friends could play guitar pretty well. He and I went to our favorite local punk rock-ish spot in Savannah, GA called The Jinx near our base in Ft Stewart, GA. The local art college put on a fashion show for their final exam with college girls pretending to be runway models on the stage. We were pretty tuned up on the canned stuff and came to the critical conclusion that the only way a couple of scumbags like us could ever impress them was to take the same stage as a band.
Since I didn’t play an instrument at the time (still don’t really), I had to be the vocalist. But I was enthusiastic to make a fool of myself at the prospect of impressing one of those tattooed art students. Fun Fact; I never met one girl because of my band. I just kept doing it because I fell in love with the therapeutic value of yelling at people thru a PA.
You seem to be just as passionate, if not more so, when it comes to skating. How did you become interested in that and what is it about skating that makes it such a great fit with punk rock music?
I am more passionate about skating, even though my ever growing fat ass hasn’t actually skated in almost 2 years due to a woman running a red light and messing up my knee. A skateboard is just a toy that is available to almost all American kids. The feeling of it just seems to destroy some of those kids’ lives.
I would recommend any parent, do NOT let your kid skateboard. There’s a small chance it will hurl them headlong into a subculture that they may never get out of. How it connects to punk rock is a bit of an intangible, but I’m sure if a person smarter than myself could articulate it, they would use the word “freedom” in there somewhere, and perhaps the word “self-reliance”.
For those who don’t know, can you talk a little bit about Blue Tile Lounge? How long have you been doing what you’re doing and where did the name come from?
The Blue Tile Lounge is a promotion and events company named after a skateable pool here in Las Vegas. BTL started as a promoting deal. You know, being in a band you’re always kind of promoting yourself, so I took all that self-promoting vigor and focused it into a business for profit. Being the greedy capitalist I am, I tried to do things bigger, but now I’m doing larger, very un-profitable events.
Fun fact; I never skated the Blue Tile Lounge on Eastern, North of Tropicana. I moved here right after it was filled circa 1990. I linked up with some pool skaters who, while searching for other pools to skate, would take me there just to see if any one lost their mind and tried to dig it out. Total tease.
I’ve been promoting shows under the name Blue Tile Lounge since about 97’-98’. The first shows I did were at the now defunct Calamity Janes. The Vermin played 3 of the 4 shows I did there. To this day I ask The Vermin and they have no memory of me or the shows. I did get to meet Calamity Jane though. It was years since she had occupied the place or put shows on there, but when she heard I was doing Punk shows there she came in to thank me. She said she was happy to see someone doing something she thought was cool in her old spot.
Your love of skatepunk has led to the creation of the “skatepunk reunion” shows, with volume two set for July 25 at The Dive. Can you tell us a little about where the idea for the reunion came from, how has the reaction been when you’ve approached bands about playing and what people can expect from this year’s event? And was there any talk about having it all ages or was the plan always to go 21+ and which type do you prefer?
The concept for Skate Punk Reunion is exactly this; Thrasher magazine made series of cassette tapes (albums too I guess) starting in 1986 called “Skate Rock” Volume 1 thru 15 or so. The goal of my show was to re-create those albums live on stage. For Volume One, I got a fair number of the bands off of the Volume 1 album to play. (Trust me, I was more surprised than anyone.) I definitely can’t take all the credit for that happening.
I thought Volume 2 would be easier, but the success of my first one has only created a lot of over-promising by corporate sponsors and venues. Navigating thru that over-promising has actually wounded this year’s event. So, in the ninth hour, I just decided to do it out of my own pocket with two bands and make it bigger in 2016. Chuck Treece of McRad said “I’m in!” I said I already spent all the money on JFA and The Loud Ones, Chuck says “Fuck it. It’s a pilgrimage now. I’m playing”. So, if you see McRad’s merch please max out your credit card.
Next year, I will not even initiate a conversation with a corporate sponsor or venue. I’m going to self-fund it completely and do it completely correct to the concept. If a sponsor, or entity that owns half of downtown wants to be involved, it will be after I’ve already set it on a course for purity. Yes, every band in the world wants to play but then again, every band in the world wants to play every weekend. I hope I don’t come off as a dick when I turn down so many of them. I wish I had a show for all of them.
Volume 1 was 16 years old and over. Volume 2 will be 21 and over only. I wish it could have been under 21. JFA almost didn’t play when they heard we could not do under 21. We are working on a pre-event skate jam that will be a big, illegal free-for-all, so we can all get criminal records with our favorite band members who skate. That’s “to be announced” as of now.
Moving forward, Volume 3 Skate Punk Reunion will be 16 and over again. I don’t know where the term “all-ages” came from what does that include? Babies? Babies are all ages. Babies are 1. I’m strictly 16 and over. If there is someone at my show wearing sandals with a toddler on their shoulders I’ve done something wrong. I want people to feel uncomfortable at my shows, like something could happen. That feeling you had at your first show. It was titillating because of the prospect of violence, and the exercising of violence in the circle. I want that old timey, 1986 feel where you think you might bleed at some point.
While Skatepunk Reunion vol. 2 was being planned, you posted on social media about getting push back from the city, and you even had a kickstarter up for a little bit. Can you explain a little about the problems you’ve had getting this going? Did you get any push back from Punk Rock Bowling organizers when you held the first annual skate punk reunion over PRB weekend last year? What can fans do to ensure these events keep happening?
Ok, at this point I’m impressed with your research. However, I never got any push back from the city and I don’t remember saying that I did. Maybe you misinterpreted something, because the city was very supportive to me on Volume 1. I had a few events in the works between Volume 1 and now that were victims of the “over-promising” I mentioned. The city was actually pretty helpful before I had to abandon those concepts.
The Kickstarter was a desperate attempt to salvage the next big outdoor festival that Volume 2 should have been. This was after one of the biggest of the corporate letdowns. The Kickstarter was ill-conceived and amounted to one guy who bought a poster. That guy still owes me 6 dollars, wherever he is. I did get push back from Punk Rock Bowling. They got upset when my show got some momentum. I did everything I could think of to make it mutually beneficial, but they were not having it. I don’t feel like I’m at war with them, so I won’t go into anymore detail than that, but the bottom line is what they bring to Vegas I actually like. Not every band, mind you, but I think what they do is cool. I have a feeling they may never like me, but I’d like to squash any animosity right here.
I live in Vegas and I will never stop doing shows. I don’t think Punk Rock Bowling is ever going away, nor should it. Fans. Fans should not support my addiction to putting on these events. It is a problem I have, and if you go, you’re supporting it. I’m obsessed with these events and someday it will ruin me. Please don’t go! Keep your kids off skateboards, and God bless America.
Thank you, Dean! For more information on Blue Tile Lounge Events, you can check out their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/BlueTileLoungeEvents?fref=ts
Skate Punk Reunion volume 2 will take place July 25, 2015 at The Dive Bar, and tickets are available on the Blue Tile Lounge website: http://www.bluetileloungelv.com/
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