Joey Balls of Old Man Markley on the intersection of punk and folk

• Fred Morledge

Fat Wreck Chords’ Old Man Markley falls in line with a long tradition of folk-punk artists, going all the way back to the Pogues. The band’s sound – lots of fiddle, banjo and washtub bass – is a fun time, communing as it does the energy of a punk show with the chops of a well-oiled bluegrass band (unsurprisingly, really, given that the band counts members of Youth Brigade and other SoCal punk acts among its ranks). The band plays the Bottleneck this Tuesday, May 22, with Street Dogs, the Aggrolites, and local pop punks the Rackatees. We chatted with OMM’s upright washtub bass player Joey Balls about the band’s influences and live show.