The Plugz
- Composer
- Soundtrack
The Plugz are an excellent and exciting Mexican-American punk band from
Los Angeles, California. The group first formed in 1977. The original
members were: Tito Larriva (guitar/vocals), Charlie Quintana (drums),
and Barry McBride (bass/backing vocals). The Plugz have the distinction
of being one of the initial Chicano punk outfits. Not surprisingly,
their music often reflected the anger and angst of growing up Chicano
in the City of Angels, as confirmed by their sardonic sped-up cover of
Ritchie Valens' signature hit "La Bamba." They were also one of the
first Do-It-Yourself Los Angeles punk bands who released their albums
on their own label called Plugz Records. The group played live gigs at
the famous Los Angeles punk clubs the Masque and Madame Wong's. The
band released their debut album "Electrify Me" in 1979. Their second
album "Better Luck" was issued in 1981. The Plugz contributed three
songs which include an inspired rapid-fire Spanish cover of Johnny
Rivers' smash hit "Secret Agent Man" called "Hombre Secreto" to the
soundtrack of the marvelously outré sci-fi punk black comedy cult
favorite "Repo Man." Moreover, the group's song "Electrify Me" was
featured on the soundtrack to the hugely successful porno classic "New
Wave Hookers" and its first sequel "New Wave Hookers 2." In addition,
the song "Adolescent" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie
"Scarred." On March 22, 1984 the Plugz appeared with legendary
singer/songwriter Bob Dylan on an episode of the popular talk show
"Late Night With David Letterman." The group broke up in the mid 80s.
On November 11, 2007 the three founding members of the Plugz reunited
for the Masque 30th Anniversary Party and Book Release show at the
Echoplex in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles.
