Veterans of the LA rock scene c. 1980-2000 are sure to run into familiar faces at this event, held at the site of what used to be one downtown’s most esteemed institutions. For musicians too prickly to navigate the Hollywood club scene, Al’s Bar was a place where you could get away with just about anything, and often did. The place had a diverse booking policy that favored regulars and promising out of towners willing to play for a piece of the door. This reunion, organized by Lightning Woodcock, features many of those regulars, including the last band to play at the club before its closing, the Black Widows, the theatrical antics of Rosemary’s Billygoat, a special set by Jon Wahl and the Amadans with former bassist Steve Reed occupying the drum chair while yours truly recovers from a broken ankle, a rare sighting of the bomb-blast that is NostraDumAss, the killer beef that is Carnage Asada, the intoxicating attack of Swords of Fatima, funky lowdown-ness courtesy of the Golden Rulers, them shit-kickin’ Groovy Rednecks, and the barely-legal Leaking Pigs, a band born too late to be part of the Al’s scene, but that would surely have found a home there.” - Elise Thomspn

LA Beat

Popdefect was a three-piece pop rock outfit that formed in Seattle in 1980. Guitarist/vocalist Al Anderson and drummer Nick Scott first played together with Tom Price (U-Men, Gas Huffer, Kings of Rock) in a band called Psychopop. After Tom left to form the U-Men, Charlie Hutchinson moved in on bass, and POPDeFECT was born. Shortly thereafter the trio moved to Los Angeles when Anderson left to attend school and the two remaining members left to join him. Their early years in L.A. were overshadowed by the high-profile punk movement of the time, so they decided to tackle other parts of the country. With virtually no advance bookings, they embarked on their first tour -- getting gigs as they went. By the time it was over, they¹d played over 30 clubs and made valuable contacts that allowed them to continue to tour incessantly throughout their career (this DIY-style of hitting the road was chronicled in the film: Live With This). Their touring tactics were successful, and by the late 80s they were an L.A. club and scene staple, where they relentlessly played their favorite musical venue, the notorious Al's Bar. Fans enjoyed nearly 20 years of quirky pop songs, crazy antics and humor-filled performances, but it all ended with a final show back in Seattle, at the Breakroom in November of 2001). Since then, Al has been working in the software industry and raising his son with wife Jill. Nick went on to play with Project K. (with Greg K. of the Paper Tulips and Io Perry), The Shards (with Adam Brisben and Justin of W.A.C.O. and Foster of Extra Fancy and Glue), and with BukoPan Guerra in the Bollywood Disco Punk two-piece The Swords of Fatima. Charlie headed home to Seattle where he tends bar, is married, had a kid and formed the band Milkmaid¹s Crawl.” - Unknown

The Echo Event Calendar

Silver Lake is still a musical neighborhood, but in many ways the party moved elsewhere more than 10 years ago when rising rents and gentrification transformed the formerly bohemian, ethnically diverse enclave into an upscale and homogenous inland version of Brentwood. The quintessential Silver Lake band of the good ol' days was Popdefect, who got their start in Seattle in the early '80s but became ubiquitous fixtures at local dives and backyard parties throughout the '90s. They even starred in their own film, Live With This: Adrift in America -- one of rock's best road movies. Singer-guitarist Al Anderson was like a less careerist (but no less drunken) version of Paul Westerberg, crooning smart, cynical lyrics over a punchy combination of pop, alt-rock, garage and punk, which was powered by the unusually energetic (and just as drunken) rhythm section of drummer Nick Scott (who now plays with Swords of Fatima) and bassist Charlie Hutchinson. Tonight, the nearly mythical trio becomes real one more time at this one-off reunion.” - Falling James

LA Weekly

Probably the band that played the most at Al's Bar was Popdefect. Popdefect is no more so representing will be drummer Nick Scott's Swords of Fatima. Nick teams up with Buko Pan Guerra who sings and plays guitar. What makes the music really interesting is that Buko plays an electric guitar tuned like a banjo who plays really interesting rhythms. The only two melodic instruments are guitar and voice and they both come out of the same person in the same rhythms connected through the heart.” - Dave Travis

— UHF.TV/Bloomfest

On the Road with EEKA EEKA Boom Boom: An Image Review… Posted on July 6, 2013 | Leave a comment  CDS that we have been listening to or new ones. Summer time is the time to do things. So what better thing to do then review some CDs. I shall begin with The Sword Of Fatima EEKA EEKA Boom Boom. Recorded June 2009 , June 2010. https://myspace.com/swordsoffatima/music/songs   When on vacation this CD is a must.. these images are inspired by their songs… on our way through the car wash and then on our car trip through the Santa Monica Mountains… At the car wash… one can experience free art… that vanishes as a Tibetan Buddhist sand painting…    Be inspired on the road to the sounds of The Swords of Fatima ” - Hudley Flipside

Hudley Flipside

The Best Soundtrack for a Film Posted on April 8, 2013 | Leave a comment   (Please click on the YouTube song below by The Swords of Fatima first before reading the story. Read with the music playing to achieve the full effect of the story.. This is a CD band embellished non-fiction review story...) *****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************   raveling down the snake again towards Santa Monica, this drive is so familiar, years and years and even in a mother’s womb when the journey first began. The yellow Sticky Monkey Flower  blossoms are highlighting the canyon hills and the noble Yucca is all dried up this April. To the ocean we go and to the pier. We are going to the place where Mom and Dad lived in their youth at the Santa Monica Pier. As a teenager Dad would dive off the end of the pier for money. They married and soon after the war sold cotton candy from a stand. The stories and images flow through my mind, knowing that they are now both but ashes in separate boxes side by side.   Taken from The Swords of Fatima Monsoon and Sandstorms CD  http://longbladerecords.com/the_swords_of_fatima/ Sunday is the worse day to go to the beach. Crowds of people were everywhere. I almost got run over by a fast red car. There was a mad man at the threshold of a bridge who troubled us. This bridge arches over the Pacific Coast Hwy.  We did not give him any money so he said, “You will lose everything and be out on the streets… fuck you.” “What are you saying?” I said. “Bitch, you will lose everything and will live out on the streets!” He was a very unpleasant man so I walked away and gave him the finger, which made him an extremely crazy mad man. “Fuck you…bitch…you will be out on the streets!” I then gave him the peace sign and said, “I have been out on the streets,”   “Get your kicks on Route 66″ Waking over to the pier the sounds of the cars, bikes and talking people got us feeling down. Should we eat at a restaurant? The beach it covered with crosses and coffins with American flags. We went instead to play some  air hockey but didn’t have any coins.  The arcade was so stuffed and full that I said time to go. They followed as I stormed away thinking, “This is hell, this is hell.” Gazing in at the Merry Go Round and feeling some joy we soon all calmed down for some food and a beer at the Ye Olde King’s Head, but before food and drink, we had to pass by the mad man.   US minus Dancing John Waking up the steps to the mad man we found him singing a beautiful song for some ladies handing him money. I threw some long stem yellow sour flowers at the mad man’s feet before whispering in one of the lady’s ears, “You are lucky you gave him some money, otherwise he would be screaming nasty words at you!” He might have been a mad man, saint or Bodhisattva ! Another man came up from behind me and said excuse me as he then ran by with a purse. It had a broken strap. He looked at me and jumped into his car, which was parked illegally, and drove away. “I bet he pulled that off of some ladies arm.” “You are probably right.” We all agreed that it must have been so. “You’d be surprised how much that happens at a crowed place like this on a Sunday at the Santa Monica Pier!!”   Dancing John  ” - Hudley Flipside

Hudley Flipside

How do you describe a band that mixes flamenco, Turkish, metal, psychedelic, Bollywood, and disco, and all this comes blasting out of just two members: guitarist/vocalist Buko Pan Guerra, and drummer Nick Scott. Awesome, that's how you describe it! Swords of Fatima is a unique little combo out of LA, with ethereal poetic lyrics, minor key Eastern chordings, frenetic tribal drums, and all of it played with as much wild abandon as any punk band. Talking to these two, I began to see how they make it work. Their mutual respect for each other is as clear as the total passion with which they have devoted themselves to their music. See Link for the entire interview....” - Interviewed by Sylvia Juncosa, aka "Sly-Jay"

Stench Radio Magazine

It was off to Bloomfest 2012.  To me, this street festival deserves more attention.  It has the perfect mix of music and art.  The organizers appear to be taking a conservative approach to expanding – though it is growing.  Time fades memories, but I do believe that the size of the festival has grown significantly both in number of people attending and in geographical size since my first visit in 2010.  Bloomfest this year had two main music stages:  the usual Traction Stage and the new Bloom’s Stage. My day started off at the Bloom’s Stage to catch Swords of Fatima.  Their Facebook page describes them as Bollywood Disco Punk. The lead singer wears a headdress and the drummer looks like he came from Blade Runner or The Fifth Element central casting.  It was an interesting way to start my day.” - Notes From Vivace

Intraffik

In an effort to restore balance to the universe, will perform their entire set with no bass player at all.  But you won’t miss it. The antics of Buko Pan Guerra on rip-roaring Eastern-inflected surf guitar and former Popdefect wonder child Nick Scott on drums are always fascinating to behold, and this being the first chance we’ve had to see them in a couple years, we’re looking forward to every moment.” - Bob Lee

LA Beat

The Swords of Fatima are another lo-fi duo, with singer-guitarist Buko Pan Guerra cooing febrile melodies over former Popdefect drummer Nick Scott's surf-garage beats. What makes the Swords of Fatima so unusual, however, is the way Guerra's blurry guitar and foreboding lyrics move beyond punk formula into something more unsettling and much less familiar.” - Falling James

— LA Weekly