DIY'd in the Wool

Mike Park boasts quite the résumé. He fronted the legendary ska-punk band Skankin' Pickle, founded the Plea for Peace Foundation – which is Park's effort "to promote the ideas of peace and unity through music" – and established Asian Man Records, a bastion for affordably priced releases from ska, punk, and indie bands. Asian Man's anti-corporate/"stay small" stance has kept it running out of his parents' garage in Monte Sereno, California, with only two other employees (including Park's mom).

Park performs at a kickass-sounding show that also features hometown heroes and recent Asian Man signees Andrew Jackson Jihad. Park tells New Times that his discovery of AJJ was totally by chance: “My friend randomly caught them in a bar in Oakland a couple of years ago. They were all I heard about for a couple of years."