Ep539: Dr Strange Records' Summer Bash Festival
Ep539: Dr Strange Records' Summer Bash Festival  
Podcast: The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds
Published On: Wed Mar 18 2026
Description: Dr. Strange Records' Bill Plaster talks Summer Bash and the chaos of booking a festival, punk history, record collecting, Live Strange, and how punk rock can genuinely change lives. Get Summer Bash tix here  |  Follow Dr Strange for Live Strange here Topics Include: Bill Plaster of Dr. Strange Records joins to discuss the upcoming Summer Bash. Punk Rock Bowling's cancellation — visa bans, politics, venue loss — created the opportunity. Bill connected with Gallo, who runs the Fox Theater and the Cathedral in Pomona. The Cathedral: a stunning, refurbished 1921 four-story YMCA venue hosting the event. A massive two-day lineup — 30-plus bands across punk, hardcore, and old-school SoCal. Notable acts include the Effigies, Channel 3, the Skulls, featuring Kevin from Green Day. Every band asked said yes — Bill takes no money, purely doing it for the community. Dealing with booking agents was the biggest headache of organising the festival. Planning started in November; Bill hopes Summer Bash becomes an annual event. The Punk in the Park cancellations discussed — Bill argues protest with your vote, not boycotts. Bill credits Rod for building Dr. Strange's social media profile and making the festival possible. Bill's mentorship philosophy: punk rock can genuinely change lives for the better. The Dr. Strange "family" ethos — making fun of people with love, never punching down. Bill's book discussed — early punk discoveries via Damned, Buzzcocks, and XTC seven-inches. The brutal gang violence at early 80s LA/SoCal punk shows — constantly watching your back. A close call at Spanky's: the guy next to Bill got stabbed during a Guttermouth gig. Biggest missed show regret: skipped Oingo Boingo due to peer pressure from girls in line. Never saw Black Flag — their reputation for brutality genuinely scared him off. Eight years of mail order before opening the store; Voodoo Glow Skulls his biggest-selling record. Live Strange runs Wednesdays and Fridays — the cowbell is Bill's money-back guarantee. High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Apple: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-ios Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-spot Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/tvg-amazon Support the show at Patreon.com/VinylGuide