Bill Walker knows good music.
Founder of East Side Story Label and Thump Records, Walker, 71, has devoted his professional life to scouting and signing the best West Side rappers, Chicano bands, soul musicians and other artists who replicate the heart of East Los Angeles in their music.
Specializing in "music from the street" and inspired particularly by lowrider culture, Thump Records has big-name artists Malo, Nate Dogg, "Together" band Tierra, Rocky Paddila, Thee Midniters, El Chicano and "La Raza" singer Kid Frost representing their marque.
The Brea record label materialized out of necessity.
"You just couldn't hear this kind of music on the radio back in the day, it was too underground," Walker's business partner Nikko Jocson said. "If you're in your 40s or 50s, then you've grown up with this music and the experience of scavenger hunt finding it on cassette tapes at swap meets."
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Thump's extensive old school and low rider compilation series established them as the go-to label for East Los Angeles sounds from 1990 onward. Distribution by Universal Music Group helped seal their legitimacy and leveraged the label to license songs for major motion pictures and this year's Super Bowl.
The low rider community is celebrating the 36th anniversary of Thump Records this year with the release of the "Thump Records Presents" music festival series, the first of which, dubbed "Mojave Music Festival," will debut May 1 through May 3 at Mojave Narrows Regional Park.
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Oldies are like an heirloom; passed between generations from Victrola to Spotify playlist.
"The younger kids are keeping the genre alive," Jocson said, who is responsible for scouting Victorville as the first festival location.
He says the demographic of the High Desert fits the bill for East Side Story music. Multiples of his friends moved up the hill at the turn of the century to start families in an affordable corner of Southern California. He says he's seen the East Los Angeles influence that his friends and many other migrants brought with them when relocating to Victor Valley.
"We want this festival to be the Chicano Coachella," Jocson laughed. More than 20 Chicano, hip-hop, and oldies artists will take the Mojave Narrows stage for the festival.
Presale tickets start at $40 per day and can be purchased at www.fleetlinemedia.com/thump-records-presents. Camping is also available at the Mojave Narrows for the festival, with three-day passes starting at $200 for non-hookups and $400 for hookups. Camping fees include two three-day festival passes.
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Headliners on Friday, May 1, set the mood for the rest of the weekend.
Latin Legends Live is one of the biggest names at the festival. The 1997 live album features an ongoing concert series with Latin rock bands Tierra, El Chicano and Malo. Event goers can expect the same hits from this tour, including Malo's "Cafe" and doo-op saxophone favorite, Tierra's "Zoot Suit Boogie."
1960s Latino rock band Thee Midniters is another highly anticipated night one act. Known for their slow and steamy ballads and horn section, Thee Midniters' "Chicano Power" is a movement classic.
Saturday, May 2, is the day to attend for those who like to dance. Things get funky with a mashup of electronic classics like "Jam on It" band Newcleus, rap sensations Suga Free and 2 Live Crew, and funky little beats from 1980s freestyle singer Connie.
Besides Latin rapper Kid Frost on Sunday, May 3, most of the day-three acts are more homegrown. Event coordinators are also looking for local talent to perform on the last day, ones who can "make the girls dance."
East Side Story's 'stain power'
Walker's business blossomed from bootlegging tapes to pass out at swap meets in his early teenage years. His counterfeit networking worked, and East Side Story ran the game in the 1990s.
In the early 2000s, however, the record business "crashed." Walker remembers it well. The rise of digital music media was new; it was a trending technological advancement that mobilized personal music for the first time since the Walkman.
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From 2009 to 2013, Walker secured a partnership with 2,900 7-Eleven locations across the U.S. to sell old school and low rider compilation series box sets. Soon, however, corporate management no longer saw value in a physical product and pulled the box sets and the concurrent print magazine "Low Rider Magazine" from stores.
Today's executives at Thump Records regret that the younger generation is deprived of the titillation of thumbing through vinyl at the record store; of skimming through used albums to find some pre-loved gold.
Walker says he's glad that there has been an uptick in vinyl sales "very recently" from the TikTok generation who never got that experience of listening to a scratchy record.
There's "stain power" in records, Thump Records Event Coordinator Brando Padilla says, meaning that they stand the test of time.
The music he represents mirrors the nostalgia of music media. The suave '70s love songs under the East Side and Thump labels almost sound better with a cackle and occasional pop. Walter and his executives know this. The artists they sign, the events they produce replicate that same homey feeling of swapping tapes back when things seemed easier.
McKenna is a reporter for the Daily Press. She can be reached at mmobley@usatodayco.com.
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