Guitarist & Bassist for the Heathen Apostles, The Cramps, Nick Curran & the Lowlifes

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The Mau Maus of Los Angeles and New York

We came across this article on owaahh.com comparing the Mau Maus of New York with the Mau Maus of Los Angeles. For those that don’t know the two histories, it should be an interesting read:

The image that comes to mind whenever you hear of the Mau Mau is that of Kenya’s dreadlocked freedom fighters. Not a gang of Puerto Rican thugs or even a Hollywood band, right?

In 1954, a brutal gang appeared in Fort Green, Brooklyn. The Puerto Rican gang called itself The Mau Maus, of course after the Kenyans. This was at the height of the State of Emergency and Britain was filled with headlines about a bloodthirsty savage group of ingrates who were roaming the forest and defying the perks of being subjugated by a foreign power.

The Mau Maus of Los Angeles and New York

Gang members: L-R Carl Cintron, Carlos Reyes, Melvin Torres & Israel Narvaez (most likely showing the middle finger)

The Mau Maus effectively died out in 1962 with the conversion of one of its main leaders, Nicky Cruz, and the arrests of others. Others moved to rival gangs, but the history of the Mau Maus as an exceptionally brutal gang remained set. Cruz had joined the gang at the age of 16; he rose through the ranks through violence and uncanny leadership, becoming Warlord of the gang only six months later. He later converted to Christianity and renounced the thug life [I had to say that, it was just opportune].

The Mau Maus was formed by breakaway members of the Apaches. They first sought permission from the established Chaplains, another gang, to set up a Puerto Rican gang in Brooklyn. The gang took the name the Mau Mau Chaplains, more commonly known as the Mau Maus. Their insignia was the crimson MM for the Mau Maus right on the breast of special sweaters made for members.

Although gangs had roamed New York before the Fifties, the Mau Maus represented a new wave of teenage gangsters who were less unbridled about brutality than their older counterparts. The gang has been termed as the most feared gang in New York between 1955 and 1958.

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There is another group, a music band, called the Mau Maus. The band was started in 1977 by Rick Wilder after the breakup of the Berlin Brats. It featured Wilder in the lead, Rich Sherman on drums, Roderick Donahue on bass and Greg Salva on guitar. The punk rock band was based in Hollywood, California. They appeared in the movies Rock n Roll High School albeit briefly, and Cocaine and Blue Eyes.

The band only has one album Scorched Earth Policies…then and now but is said to be working on the second one.

The Mau Maus of Los Angeles and New York

Mau Maus of Los Angeles, 1982

The band members changed often, but they all had a notorious reputation as trouble makers starting riots and shooting heroin. The group was, however, virtually unknown outside the LA punk rock scene because of Wilders aversion to major record labels. The Mau Maus of Los Angeles fizzled out in the 1980s, although its members still play to date.

Heathen Apostles in London – Giants of Gothic Americana

Heathen Apostles in London - Giants of Gothic AmericanaAs if plucked from a surreal spaghetti western, Mather Louth and Chopper Franklin made quite the spectacle, striding down London’s Pentonville Road in full regalia. That enigmatic sight not only awakened that mysterious voice in one’s head, that in moments of aging self-doubt makes us slip back into our leather trousers and cut-off cowboy shirts, but also sparked a throwback to Lux Interior’s pre-show red wine chase at Sainsbury’s before a barnstormer at the Town and Country in Kentish Town, many, many moons ago. The crowd erupted in jubilant cheers as the Heathen Apostles, giants of Gothic Americana, took the stage. Under the sonic leadership of the completely mesmerizing Mather Louth, with her stirring vocals and rhythmic guitar, they came alive. They dominated the stage as if they were vampire outlaws in a confrontation that could only end one way. Their performance, laced with elements of the surreal and the mysterious, unraveled like a vividly illustrated Nathaniel Hawthorne poem, with each musician playing a key part. Chopper Franklin’s fiendishly intricate guitar work, Thomas Lorioux‘s firm upright bass, and Luis Mascaro’s evocative violin added a rich depth to their sound.
Heathen Apostles in London - Giants of Gothic Americana

With the first haunting notes of Paint the Stars, we were swept away on a spiritual journey deep into the heart of Gothic Americana. The set was a gripping ride through spectral ballads and propulsive rock anthems that navigated through shadowy and mystifying terrains. Mather Louth’s resonant vocals, laced with an eerie undercurrent, twined with Mascaro’s assertive fiddle, piercing the creeping fog of dry ice, and stirring images of phantom prairies and forsaken souls. Her voice flowed seamlessly with Chopper Franklin’s guitar, which spun complex webs of sound, vibrating with the soul of Gothic storytelling.

The crowd was held captive by Mather’s powerful voice during songs like Lily of the West. Simultaneously, Chopper’s feverish guitar work in Gravedigger’s Song and Long Gone Lonesome Blues created a seamless blend of Americana with Gothic allure. The musicians’ harmonious interplay, bolstered by Lorioux’s rhythmic prowess and Mascaro’s poignant violin, further captivated the audience during Two for the Road and Without a Trace.
Heathen Apostles in London - Giants of Gothic Americana

The atmosphere was dense as Get Outta Dodge and The Reckoning reverberated through the venue, making its very foundations tremble. The spectral melodies, captivating visuals, and the dark allure crafted by Heathen Apostles surrounded the audience in a world between reality and the supernatural, evoking a sense of adventure and mystery.

As the twilight fell over Islington, the echoes of the soul-stirring fusion of Gothic Americana and Country and Western continued to reverberate through The Lexington. Even as the embers died down, we were left yearning for more. The Heathen Apostles had etched themselves into our dark hearts, ensuring their spectral melodies and mystical storytelling would stay with us long after the last note had faded into the night.

Heathen Apostles in London - Giants of Gothic Americana

Heathen Apostles Live – Good Times and Bloodgrass Music

It was the night Bloodgrass came to the dark environs of the Six Six Bar in sleepy university city, an unusually large flock of jet-black crows seen above the ever-reaching spires of Cambridge. The portents were heavy and the anticipation was high. Cutting a swathe across the country on their first U.K. tour, Los Angeles outfit Heathen Apostles were bringing their Gothic grace to the many, whispers of good times and bloodgrass music an irresistible draw.

Heathen Apostles Live - Bloodgrass Music

Heathen Apostles have been casting their own particular spell for a decade now, their own brand of blackened Americana bringing a stark and much needed contrast to the saccharine filled confection that Nashville has made its billions from. They’re an incredibly tight and powerful outfit, the only thing bloated being the rotting corpses in their songs. There’s an authenticity here that keys into the reality of the Old West, grit sprinkled with the Gothic as if Tim Burton directed TV show ‘Deadwood’ but toned down his more archly camp sensibilities. Certainly, the musicianship is dazzling and the songs themselves reveling with an intoxicating atmosphere.

Whilst the lighting in the Six Six is always frustratingly mainly from the back with little to shine onto the performers except light from the bar itself, the darkness and backlit effect worked well in this instance, the band bathed in red and somewhat shadowy. With the glorious voice of Mather Louth, tinted with a Southern burr, the Apostles have the perfect singer to tell tales of things that should be left in the twilight world between Heaven and Hell, her delivery bringing it all to life. Next to her, the foreboding tall, thin figure of Chopper Franklin exudes rock ‘n’ roll from his every move, his guitar and mandolin used with dexterous and deadly intent. Completing the quartet, the driving upright bass of Thomas Lorioux is a thunderous and relentless force, breathless in its drive and the violin playing of Luis Mascaro is the lightning to Lorioux’s thunder as it darts in and out, sometimes dancing but equally capable of bringing a deftly unsettling air.

Heathen Apostles -Bloodgrass Music

Capable of doing elegiac as well as the frantic, there’s a great dynamic at play as the heavy ‘Death’s Head’ and a galloping ‘Fools Gold’ stand shoulder to shoulder with the frisky ‘Shady Grove’ and the folk of ‘Roots Run Deep’. New material hits the spot too as ‘Black Hawk’ illustrates just what a rich seam of material they’re digging and with ‘Gravediggers’ touchingly dedicated to the late, great Mark Lanegan and the grandeur of their cover of Hank Williams ‘Ramblin’ Man’, the outfit show they’ve certainly got the style and talent to continue to work this fertile land.

Closing with the buoyant drinking song ‘Two More for the Road’ and a tremendous ‘Without a Trace’, this black-clad gang rode out of town with smiles on their faces, their job here done and their willing victims slain by glorious murder ballads. Magnificent.

Review by Paul Monkhouse

Heathen Apostles Live – Dark Western Show Review

Gothic Americana supergroup The Heathen Apostles at The Edge of The Wedge, Southsea: ‘Dark and delicious fun’ | Review
If you’re familiar with the dark western show Deadwood, you could imagine The Heathen Apostles as the ideal inhouse band for Al Swearengen’s Gem Saloon. By Chris Broom

Heathen Apostles Live - Dark Western Show

If not (and why not?) picture a dusty, wild west town where talk is cheap and life is cheaper still – but with a great soundtrack.
Hailing from Los Angeles, the four-piece play a gothic take on Americana and bluegrass – which they have aptly dubbed ‘bloodgrass’. And the band walk it like they talk it – no casual jeans and T-shirts here – the men are dressed in funeral-black suits while frontwoman Mather Louth cuts a striking pose with her waist-length red hair. They look as if they could have stepped off the high plains circa 1890.

Heathen Apostles Live - Dark Western Show

Over the course of five albums and various EPs the band have carved themselves a distinctive niche.
Louth’s voice veers from the beguilingly sweet to a snarl that suggests you’d better not cross her.
The set draws on their own material as well as several well-picked covers, including a brace from the ‘hillbilly Shakespeare’, Hank Williams, Sr – Ramblin’ Man and Long Gone Lonesome Blues, the latter getting as close to pure country as this band allow. Another welcome cover is the haunting, natural fit of Mark Lanegan’s Gravedigger’s Song – another artist who was more than a little in touch with his dark side.
Guitarist/mandolin player Chopper Franklin is a veteran of the late-’70s punk scene, and at times attacks his instruments like he’s still in one of those bands. He is an imposing, impressive figure, towering over Louth.
Meanwhile the fingers of Thomas Lorioux on standup bass are frequently a blur as he anchors the others with his furious basslines.
Along the way there are murder ballads, a hefty heap of heaven’n’hell, and plenty of booze – the main set finishes with their own song, Two For The Road.
The final encore, a thundering The Reckoning, is preceded by violinist Luis Mascaro’s blistering version of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor – a piece more typically associated with the organ. I can comfortably say I’ve never heard anything like it. If the devil came down to Southsea instead of Georgia, he would have surely lost his bet again.
This has been the band’s first, long overdue UK tour. Devil willing, they’ll be back soon for more dark and delicious fun.

Heathen Apostles’ Gothic Western Version of Misery and Gin

Heathen Apostles' Gothic Western Version of Misery and Gin

It’s been seven years to the day since the Heathen Apostles blew fans of Gothic Americana music away with their unique cover of Merle Haggard’s classic song “Misery and Gin.” Their haunting, Gothic Western version of the classic track expertly uses haunting strings, a pounding rhythm, and the ethereal vocals of Mather Louth to create a brooding, melancholic soundscape. It’s a style that the band has become revered for, and it’s on full display in this unforgettable rendition. Louth’s voice, in particular, is a standout in the track- it’s powerful and emotive, yet restrained, perfectly capturing the raw emotions of the lyrics.

Heathen Apostles' Gothic Western Version of Misery and Gin

Seven years on from the release of the “Misery and Gin” cover, the Heathen Apostles remain at the forefront of Gothic Americana music. Their unique blend of genres and exceptional musicianship has garnered them a passionate fanbase around the world. And, of course, their talent for reimagining classic tracks like “Misery and Gin” ensures that their Gothic Western-style version will continue to captivate listeners for years to come.

Directed by the Heathen Apostles

Mather Louth as The Dead-Eye Gal
Chopper Franklin as The Howlin Gun
Mister Luz as Black Bart/Buffalo Bill Cody
Natasha Paulson as The Country Girl
Stevyn Grey as The Peacemaker
Timbo Gruse as The Bartender
Ayriel Hartman as The Flirt
Lauren Foulk and Damian Stellabott as The Couple

Special FX aging makeup: Jennifer Corona
Beauty makeup: Alexia Petre
Wardrobe: Cheri Wilson Chagollan, Chopper Franklin, Mather Louth
Shot at Wonderland Studios and Johnny’s Bar
Post Production at the Devil’s Doghouse, Echo Park, Ca.

© 2016 Ratchet Blade Records