Psych Punks Grocery Bag Shred Through Debut Break You
Catch the rising quartet at a Parish release party and Wizard Rodeo fest
By Carys Anderson, Fri., Nov. 24, 2023
As Grocery Bag flooded Chess Club with raucous, flashy psych rock last Thursday evening, the sound suddenly dropped a few decibels. Nothing's coming out of Isabella Martinez's red Mustang. The bandleader, and frequent contributing Chronicle photographer, delicately set down her guitar and tinkered with her amp's knobs before stepping offstage completely, ceding the floor to her bandmates, who continued an instrumental jam.
"I think it blew a fuse," Martinez explains plainly after the show. Only one member of the fourpiece evades an X on their hands, and it's not her. But that's the level of professionalism you can expect from a group of kids who have already logged a solid chunk of their 10,000 hours. Drummer/guitarist Jimmy Mercado also plays in Witches Exist, the Condition, and solo project Merc 30s, while bassist/guitarist Logan Kermann lends a hand in the latter two acts.
Those side quests lean more alternative, but Grocery Bag isn't afraid to shred.
"The better answer is we rocked too hard," Kermann quips of the amp incident. Celebrated this Saturday, Nov. 25, at Parish with Sad Cell, HOT///CAKES, and Bigfoot & the Gregs, debut LP Break You hammers breakneck punk riffs at some moments and indulges in glam rock showmanship at others. Mercado takes the reins on closer "The Bends," a six-minute rumbler that bears no resemblance to the Radiohead classic.
Martinez formed the band in her hometown of San Antonio, then relaunched last year with its current lineup after moving to Austin. Already, they've been welcomed into the local scene. Mercado's Witches Exist bandmate Jackson Baker recorded the album – a "privilege," he says. GB fan and Pussy Gillette guitarist Nathan Calhoun, dutifully watching their Chess Club set at the front of the crowd, sprang into action and grabbed the house stack to replace Martinez's.
On Dec. 2, the band heads to eclectic day fest Wizard Rodeo. San Francisco genre-hoppers Deerhoof headline the $50 event, while co-lead Jake Xeres Fussell deals in folk and blues. Grocery Bag was booked after sharing a bill with country act/fest organizer Garrett T. Capps, another San Antonio native. Now that GB bassist-guitarist Dillon Aitala thinks about it, they've never played at hosting Eastside sandlot the Long Time. Or at a festival at all, Kermann adds.
"Put that off the bucket list," Aitala says.
