Live at the Hong Kong Café

June 26, 2019 7:36 PM

When Bill Hong said yes to the promoters, he was trying to be practical. He knew the restaurant needed more customers; maybe letting a few young bands play could help bring them in. He never could’ve foreseen that his family’s establishment, the Hong Kong Low—located on a small street called Gin Ling Way—would become a focal point for a seminal music scene: West Coast punk.
posted by zamboni (4 comments total)

Huh. So Chinese expats enabled both punk and reggae (recent fpp).
posted by sjswitzer at 8:23 PM on June 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Wait, does this tie in to the Hong Kong Cavaliers somehow? Mind, blown.
posted by aramaic at 8:43 PM on June 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Flyer for a show at Kin’s Coloma, 1981. The $3 price of admission included access to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

Holy shit. Even for '81, that's a pretty good deal.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:48 PM on June 26, 2019 [7 favorites]

Great article, thanks for posting it. Bit of West Coast punk history I didn't know about.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:16 PM on July 2, 2019