Las Vegas is not the most accommodating city for bands looking to play shows. The off-strip venues willing to cater to an all-ages crowd are hard to come by, and hardly ever last. With that in mind, The CG’s sought out venues of their own to host their shows. As the amount of people attending skyrocketed, so did the frequency of shows, and the mayhem that comes with it.
CG’s founder, Greg Weston, is no stranger to that mayhem. Weston almost single-handedly build a network of passionate bands and loyal fans by booking shows for touring bands from all over the country willing to play to a packed backyard or living room instead of a bar with barely any people. The results were amazing. There’s a house show going on somewhere in East Las Vegas almost every weekend, with young bands hungry to play in front of their peers.
The CG’s used that same passion during the XPOZ Battle of the Bands competition this year. Through hard promoting and playing killer sets each round, they earned themselves a spot on this year’s Extreme Thing Festival. With the festival coming up this Saturday, April 2, I talked to Greg about the work he’s put into building a scene, and some of the trouble that has come from it.
First off, tell me about how you started playing in bands around town, and how The CGs came to be.
Well shit, when I was young I loved going to house shows. The thought of no rules in a homey setting seemed fantastic, in my opinion. We could play small venues, and have just as much fun. The atmosphere is more electric, and people tend to have fun and let loose when there is no judgement, no adults to truly judge you. It lets the kids be themselves. It doesn’t necessarily mean drink your ass off either. Although, I use to be that drunk kid who got so drunk and rowdy we’d fuck up the show. So maybe, it’s kind of my apology for being that kid.
You’ve been one of the key individuals responsible for ushering in a thriving house show scene in town. What made you want to take on such a task, and what risks have you had to take because of it?
Well, I’ve been to jail over it, but that’s over my own mouth. These kids usually have respect, and if they don’t, you can only tell them that shit ain’t cool. They’re gonna do what they do, and I was that kid, so I understand. We can only do so much to help, if they want to do what they do, I can’t control that. I can, however, give them alternatives to bettering that and themselves, so later I won’t have to deal with those issues. But with a big scene comes new people and people who think punk rock is about being the drunkest, baddest, loudest motherfucker. So, of course, you get the rowdy ones, but all you really can do is guide them in a direction that betters their fate.
Do you ever get weary of dealing with the youngsters that come to shows who don’t know how to act when there’s hardly any rules?
We have one rule, and it’s respect. Simple as that. I’ve seen drunk kids get their shit kicked in because they didn’t know how to act. It’s a simple rule that some can’t abide by. Yet, we try to enforce it as much as possible.
Without going into detail, some accusations were thrown at the CG’s a while ago. Every story is different, but how did you and the band overcome that and what outcomes came from those accusations?
We know all the real stories and have nothing to hide. We don’t condone any accusations thrown at us, so being accused of all that shit was very heart breaking. Especially when we’ve only ever putting out a helping hand, and in return [only get] jealous stabs back. We speak our mind and we believe in peace, love, unity and human rights. Hang out with us and tell us something different.
Have you ever thought about cutting back on the amount of shows as time passes?
Absolutely. After every show we play, I can barely speak as my voice is shot every night. Plus money and all the extra expenses we put in makes it hard to do it every weekend, but shit, that’s why we bust our ass at work…so we can do what we love the most with the people we care about. Especially knowing almost everyone at our shows, it’s just like a family reunion for me, to be honest. Especially when my parents sometimes even go. So, in reality…probably not.
A reputation of hard partying follows The CG’s. Does that ever get in the way of trying to make a thriving band?
Yeah, it can. Especially with alcohol, it can make it easy to clash heads. But, we’re all big homies, and the next day we show love and slap butts, because we don’t do that drama shit.
What effects have you seen the band make on the local punk scene?
Well, I’ve seen some rad bands start taking charge and throwing their own shows, giving everyone competition. Bands are now fighting for that dope show spot (because in my opinion they all deserve it). I mean, fuck, every house show we’ve played this last year we’ve played dead last due to the fact that we play every weekend, and every weekend our fucking-awesome-loving-bad-ass fans stick around just to see us, and fuck that feeling is irreplaceable! These kids mean the world to us! We only play to make music. We don’t do it for fucking fashion, or pay, so to see all these kids getting down, singing your songs, and making their own music, it’s a feeling all its own. It’s better than smoking pot, and it ain’t just kids, we’ve caught our own parents singing and dancing to our music, and holy Jesus it means so much to us to see the kind of support we get and continue to get at every show. It’s amazing.
What are some things you learned from the Xpoz Battle of the Bands competition for Extreme Thing?
I learned that I look good in a dress. I also learned that everyone in our band is a team player, and we all pull our part as a whole. It’s incredible. The love we give each other is dope. The support and the positivity we give each other is like no other band I’ve been a part of. Even with our new additions, they fit right in and have even helped us out as people as well, giving our band a more well-rounded sound and more options.
What are you looking forward to at Extreme Thing?
I really just hope we get to meet some new cool people! Really stoked to see The Story So Far and Saosin w/ Anthony Green. Carnifex for sure is gonna be rad. In reality, I’m sure I can vouch for everyone when I say we only really want to meet people and have a rad experience with our friends and new acquaintances at this year’s Extreme Thing. Especially growing up as a kid going to this, not knowing that one day I was gonna play. I think that’s what is gonna hit me the most. It literally was my first mosh pit when The Vandals and Bad Religion played a couple years ago. It’s gonna be most excellent!
-Alan Madrigal
The CG’s photo by Anthony Constantine
The CG’S play Extreme Thing this Saturday, April 2 at Desert Breeze Park. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Extremething.com
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