BUZZ BANDS

Skip N.Y. to see the Bronx

Don’t read anything into the name the Bronx -- the explosive new foursome is from L.A., where the buzz is approaching a deafening roar even though the band has nothing on disc and has played only a dozen shows, the first in October. The group’s urgent, old school-flavored punk already has earned it a handful of dinners, lunches and meetings with label representatives, and that was before Rolling Stone magazine tabbed the Bronx as one of 10 bands to watch in 2003. “I opened it up and about [fainted],” says 27-year-old frontman Joby J. Ford. “It’s petrifying. And it’s really mind-blowing that people in authoritative music positions like our band.” The quartet has recorded six songs -- available as MP3s at www.thebronxxx.com -- with Gilby Clarke of Guns N’ Roses producing. What the future holds (besides shows Saturday at the Roxy, opening for Hank Williams III, and next Thursday downtown at the Smell) depends on what the Bronx decides about its suitors. “The blueprint about how to do [a record deal] has been completely shattered,” Ford says. “It’s refreshing but scary.”

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Beyond the pain

Go figure. In the space of a year, Greg Stoddard walks away from a recording contract with Warner Bros.; loses his father, Bill, to a heart attack; loses his sister, Mariann, in a shooting; and suffers injuries in a car wreck that require shoulder surgery.

So what does the former Psychic Rain frontman come up with in writing songs for his new band, Beyond 7? Buoyant anthems such as “Life Is Good” and “Here I Go Again.” “There are people who are worse off than me,” Stoddard says. “I had a major-label contract, I had a great dad and a great sister -- yes, I don’t have them anymore, but at least I had those things. Some people never do.” Beyond 7 has a seven-song disc, “Hereandnow,” available on Long Beach indie label Cement Records and another album’s worth of material written. Next Thursday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, the band joins fellow Orange County rockers Scarlet Crush as the opening acts for the Gin Blossoms.

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Fast forward

Speaking of the Coach House, jot down Jan. 31 as a good date for a trip to southern Orange County. That’s the night several local acts will perform a benefit for Darnell Perez, wife of Jimmy Perez of the Missiles of October, for years a fixture on the Southland club scene. Darnell is suffering from lymphoma, and proceeds will help bridge the considerable gap between insurance contributions and the cost of stem-cell procedures. Common Sense will lead off the show, followed by a parade of musicians who have performed with Jimmy over the years, with Missiles closing the evening.

-- Kevin Bronson

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