Before there was punk, there were Los Saicos. Started by four guys in Lima, Peru, Los Saicos thrashed their way through local venues and cinema matinees in the 1960s, eventually flickering into obscurity almost as quickly as they’d arrived. But they left behind a roster of hits, including “Demolición,” a buzzing maelstrom of a song driven by the guttural screams of lead singer Erwin Flores, whose orders to smash a train station capture the lawlessness of these proto-punk pioneers. Around the same time in Michigan, a bunch of kids born to Mexican migrants formed Question Mark and the Mysterians, and their runaway hit “96 Tears” became the first song by a Mexican-American band to ever top Billboard‘s Hot 100. Mop-topped and enigmatic, they were also the very first act to be described as “punk” in Creem magazine, years before the term became ubiquitous. And in the Seventies, Alice Bag broke down the doors for women in punk as the frontwoman and co-founder of the Los Angeles punk band the Bags.
[Hollywood Reporter] Audible Strikes First-Look Deal with Fresh Produce Media
Audible has inked a first-look development and production deal with the audio entertainment company Fresh Produce Media.
As part of the deal, Fresh Produce will create multiple scripted and documentary audio series across genres like arts and entertainment, music, wellness, true crime and science fiction. The first Audible Original from Fresh Produce, an eight-part audio documentary series about the Latinx origins of punk music, will premiere exclusively on Audible March 10. The series will be Audible’s first production released simultaneously in English and Spanish.
[Los Angeles Times] Podcasts Made By and For Latinos Finally Make Mainstream Inroads
Audible, in partnership with new podcast firm Fresh Produce Media, plans to release a bilingual Latin music series in the spring titled “Punk in Translation: Latinx Origins,” an eight-part audio documentary chronicling punk rock’s Latin American roots, starting with ’60s garage rockers Los Saicos and the band known as ? and the Mysterians, progressing to the punks of present day. Hosted by Tijuana No! vocalist Ceci Bastida, the podcast will feature interviews with such luminaries as Joan Jett, Julieta Venegas, Alice Bag, the Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra and more.
[Deadline] Jason Ross & Former AMC & Spotify Execs Team to Launch Podcast Firm Fresh Produce Media
EXCLUSIVE: The booming podcasting sector is getting another player.
Jason Ross, who founded consultancy Mercer + Ross, has launched Fresh Produce Media with a cadre of television, film and streaming veterans.
The company will focus on developing and producing narrative audio series and has also struck a number of development deals with the likes of Mick Jagger’s Jagged Films, Gerber Pictures and sports-centric studio game1.
Fresh Produce currently has ten series in production across the arts, entertainment, music storytelling, wellness, sports, true crime, and science fiction genres.
[Press Release] Fresh Produce Media Launches Talent-Driven Audio Company
Fresh Produce Media™, the audio-first entertainment company specializing in narrative audio series, is publicly launching today. Established in 2020 by veterans of the television, film, and streaming worlds, Fresh Produce has already signed several high-profile partnerships and has ten series in production that span the genres of arts & entertainment, music storytelling, wellness, sports, true crime, science fiction and more. Fresh Produce will be announcing major distribution partnerships in the coming months.