Head On A Platter

CARNAGE ASADA 

Tony Fate, guitar

David O. Jones, bass

George Murillo, words

Steve Reed, drums

Dave Travis, cello

Vince Meghrouni, Woodwinds & Percussion

The genesis of the band Carnage Asada came from three junior high school friends Dave Travis, David Jones and George Murillo who bonded over LA punk rock in the early 1980s. The trio went to shows together and later Dave Travis began putting on his own generator jams in outdoor So Cal spaces like Skull Rock in Temescal Canyon, Malibu Beach and Ventura/LA County Line, and some of the earliest Desert Rock gigs.  

David Jones played bass in SST era band Magnolia Thunderpussy which Dave Travis managed and they played together in another group called Permanent Trails prior to that. In 1984 Travis began filming the underground music scene in Los Angeles, and his live footage of the Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Redd Kross and Twisted Roots appear in his documentary DVD A History Lesson Part 1. He also began working with punk filmmaker Dave Markey starting with Black Flag’s “Slip it In” video and later Love Dolls Superstar and 1991 The Year Punk Broke. 

In 1993 Carnage Asada was formed with George Murillo on vocals, Travis on bass and cello, Jones on bass, drummer Pat Palma (Magnolia Thunderpussy) and guitarist Jesse Engel (Linus on Fire, Pipsqueak). They played some shows together but dissolved one night at a gig in Lawndale at Frog’s Saloon.  

The group continued as a trio for some months then were joined by bassist and drummer Steve Reed (Nightwatch, Bazooka, Legal Weapon). Soon after, drummer/filmmaker/fanzine creator Dave Markey (Sin 34, Painted Willie) became a member. The lineup was filled with a host of revolving and regular guitarists such as Dez Cadena (Black Flag, DC3), Joe Baiza (Saccharine Trust, Mecolodiacs), Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man) and David Green (Tijuana Bibles, Los Abandoned).  

Early Carnage was jam heavy with influences such as Hawkwind, the Stooges, as well as the Minutemen and James Brown. Songs could be long, short, fast, slow, noisy, grooving or broken time. Over the top of the chaos vocalist/lyricist George Murillo spun poetic and debauched tales of life from his East L.A. infused perspective. Carnage Asada has officially released one album Permanent Trails from 1999 with highlights: “Sunday Drive By Afternoon,” “Raymond’s Casket,” and “Take 2 and Call the Doctor.”  

In the 2000s Carnage Asada settled into its most permanent lineup with Jones and Chris Stein (Saccharine Trust) on basses, Travis on cello, Reed on drums, Murillo on vocals and guitarist Tony Fate (the Bellrays, Black Widows). The band has gigged regularly throughout legendary LA venues: Al’s Bar, Mr. T’s Bowl, Bar Deluxe, and 

Dave Travis’ own club Café NELA. The group has appeared in the L.A.Weekly, The L.A. Beat, Flipside, Sparkplug Magazine, Razorcake and in the 2018 documentary Tales of the American about the history of Al’s Bar and the American Hotel. The band’s infamous name even earned an entry into the Urban Dictionary online which reads: “Punk band from Los Angeles 1994-present. Features George Murillo, ‘the Mexican Lou Reed’ on vocals...Famous in L.A. for songs such as 'Mexican Tar'...and 'Drinking the Devil’s Blood.' 'Jimmy: Did you see Carnage Asada at the Blvd. Cafe in Boyle Heights? Jaime: Yeah, and there was a lady selling Carne Asada Tacos outside.’”

In a Flipside fanzine interview from summer 2010 George Murillo describes the inspiration for one of the band’s songs from this era, “Gasoline Sock:” “’Gasoline Sock’ is a true story, got on the ‘RTD’ bus to go somewhere and this cholo is sitting in the back, has his hand over his mouth, and I smell gasoline, and as I looked closer the guy had a sock soaked in gasoline and was inhaling the fumes and was high as fuck. He had this fucked up wicked smile and his eyes were crossing. As kids we used to sniff glue and do spray paint, but this shit took it to a whole, nutha, level. This was probably 1979, before crack cocaine.”  

In 2018 bassist Chris Stein passed away from cancer, and the band continues currently as a five piece with Murillo, Travis, Reed, Jones and Fate. Carnage Asada emerged from the pandemic with a new single produced by Geza X, “Chinese Lady Aluminum Foil/Little Fat Princess,” two more slice of life tales from Murillo and the group. Carnage Asada is releasing a full length album titled Head on a Platter on August 23, 2024.

 CARNAGE ASADA BRING SPICY SOUNDS TO BENEFIT

BRETT CALLWOOD  JUNE 25, 2018

Let’s face it — it all starts with that name. When you’re scanning listings, looking for a plan for your evening’s entertainment, and you see the words Carnage Asada, there’s no way to ignore that. 

The group have, in fact, been around since 1989 and feature Dave Travis on cello. Travis is perhaps better known as the owner of punk hangout Cafe NELA and, as a direct result, something of a sensei-like figure for local musical reprobates. 

Travis had a high school band called Permanent Trails, which led to him joining jazz band Halfway to Cleveland on bass. Feeling a little stifled in that band, Travis and fellow member Pat Palma started a improvisational side jam band and put out a tape, which they tagged Carnage Asada. That would eventually lead to the formation of a full band, featuring Travis and Palma plus Dave Jones on bass, Jesse Engel on guitar and George Murillo on vocals. That lineup would shuffle, though, and at one point they had former Black Flag guitarist Dez Cadena in the ranks. 

“After Steve Reed joined [on drums], we played a lot more often, and then Dave Markey (Sin 34, Painted Willie and movie director) joined on drums,” Travis says. “He got Dez to join on guitar.  We were all friends because I did sound for a couple of Dez's bands like DC3 and Bulimia Banquet. Steve Reed was also a sound man working for bands like Devo, Firehose, The Alleycats, as well as being the house sound man at the Anti-Club in the 1980s. Dez was real fun to work with — he had a vast musical knowledge. His dad was Ozzy Cadena, who was a jazz record producer who produced records for people like Charles Mingus, John Lee Hooker, and Yusef Lateef. Chris Stein from Saccharine Trust joined on bass when Steve was out on tour, and when he came back we had our six-piece lineup of George Murillo on vocals, Dave Jones and Steve Reed on bass, Dave Markey on drums, Dez Cadena on guitar and Dave Travis on electric cello and guitar.” 

Cadena left to play with Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses in his band Loaded, and Dave Green joined in his place. Through it all, Carnage Asada have kept the same punk-jazz sound. 

“We never play the songs the same way twice,” Travis says. “The songs are variable and range from hardcore punk to free jazz. People say we are anomalous, we don't look like we should be in the same band — we just play like we do. George Murillo, our frontman, is the focus. He has had a heavy life with lots of experiences, some amazing, some traumatic, that he brings to the stage. He is someone who has a lot to say, and with Carnage Asada he is able to say it. 

“The main influences on our sound are Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Black Flag, Miles Davis (late ’60s/early ’70s), The Doors, Alice Cooper Group, The Germs, Parliament-Funkadelic, James Brown, The Grateful Dead, Saccharine Trust, Hawkwind, early Pink Floyd, The Minutemen, Black Sabbath, The Stains, The Meat Puppets,” he says. 

Carnage Asada went on a short hiatus in the early 2000s, returning in 2003 to record the album Axis of Evil, though it was never released. Two years later, they took another break, and returned in 2008. They recorded another album in 2014, but again, it never saw the light of day. Travis says this is why they continue to wallow in obscurity despite playing hundreds of shows. 

This week, they perform a benefit for Chris Stein, one of their bass players (not the Blondie guitarist), at NELA. Stein also plays with Saccharine Trust, and he has cancer in his lungs and multiple other places. He’s currently undergoing chemotherapy. 

“He is a great musician and a great, kind person so we are putting this together to help him pay his bills while he is too sick, and to pay for the bills for his treatment not taken care of by insurance,” Travis says. “The punk community needs to help him and those like him, because in America one of the side effects of cancer can be homelessness, so we must do what we can to help.” 

The band only play out about once a year nowadays, and this gig will also mark their 25th anniversary. 

“We are going to practice Saturday before the show and figure out what we are going to do,” Travis says. “We have to modify because Chris will not be playing bass with us, and some of the songs have two bass parts. We are waiting for Chris to get better. We have kind of been on hold since he got sick. Once he has healed, we can figure how to move on.”