As ‘LA’s house band,’ Chicano Batman brings politics to the stage

“Music is my therapy,” says Chicano Batman’s Bardo Martinez (center). Photo by William Andrade.

This weekend at the Hollywood Bowl, Chicano Batman will take the stage to bring their signature LA sound to the storied venue for the first time.

Bardo Martinez, the lead singer and guitarist, says Chicano Batman is and is not political. “I'm here to be an artist, right? I'm not here to answer to anybody because once you say something political, then somebody's gonna be like, ‘Well you said this, and you're doing the other thing.’ But no, yo, I'm just trying to express myself. And this is like my therapy. Music is my therapy. And I'm going to say what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling, and that's what artists should do.”

After 15 years together, the band members still feel chemistry among each other, he adds. “Shout out to our boys‘Portugal The Man, baby. We're going to rock the Bowl.”

And as for Latino representation in the media, Martinez says that’s improved. “I watched ‘Wednesday’ with my family. And my daughter was telling me that everybody … in fourth grade class, they're just wearing their hair out Wednesday. … Young Mexican, Latina girls … see themselves and they're acting. They're playing the part.”In addition to this weekend’s concert at the Bowl, fans can expect a new single from the band in a few months, plus another album next year.