The Binges bring on the high-energy rock

If the

Binges had any more energy, they’d plug their amps into themselves. The Los Angeles

quartet (pictured) could be champs at most time spent airborne during a club set, if

they kept such records, but Mayuko Okai — one of two Tokyo-born sisters in the band — is

content with her honorary title of happiest guitarist around.

“It took me six years of experience, with so many other bands ... and now, we have

almost two years with this lineup,” she says. “This is the band I’ve put my heart into.”

Her sister/bassist Tsuzumi Okai, singer Dylan Squatcho and drummer Travis “Skanky”

Smith seem to have bought in too; the foursome’s increasingly sharp, in-your-face punk

rock (as much Stooges as Puffy AmiYumi) must be as fun to play as it is to witness.

“One of the biggest boosts has been the results — little by little, people seem to

find us,” Mayuko Okai says, marveling at the locals who shout along to the Binges’

lyrics even though the band’s output so far remains only “Hear Me Out,” a single

released by indie imprint Sympathy

for the Record Industry (in limbo since label chief Long Gone John moved from Long

Beach to Olympia, Wash.). “We’ve recorded 14 songs, but [releasing them] depends on Long

Gone John,” who is divesting himself of the label, Okai says. “I can’t wait to put out

the album.”

Coming off a raucous three-week residency at Spaceland, Friday’s show at the Roxy

figures to be special — Mayuko and Tsuzumi’s mother, Takae Okai, will be visiting from

Japan and seeing her daughters perform live for the first time.

||| Download: "Pay to Play" from the band's MySpace site.

Photo by

Adam Cohen