LA Blues Rock Legends Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs Debut Reissue Out Now, Record Re-Release Party Tonight in DTLA
LOS ANGELES BLUES ROCK LEGENDS TOP JIMMY AND THE RHYTHM PIGS LONG OUT-OF-PRINT 1987 DEBUT RELEASE PIGUS DRUNKUS MAXIMUS OUT NOW
Album Re-Release Party Confirmed for Today from 6-11pm at Eastern Projects Gallery in Chinatown in Downtown Los Angeles Featuring Special Guests
Beloved by Celebs and Musicians Like Tom Waits, David Lee Roth, X, Maria Mckee, Steve Wynn, The Blasters and Others, the Band’s Lone Album Has Been Out of Print for 39 Years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES, CA. (FRIDAY JANUARY 23, 2026) – Blind Owl Records and East of Lincoln Productions announced today, the long awaited album from legendary Los Angeles blues rock band Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs lone album, 1987’s Pigus, Drunkus, Maximus is out now and is available on CD (for the first time-ever), gatefold pig pink colored vinyl LP and digital formats and can be purchased and presaved here.
A re-release party and celebration of the long awaited reissue hosted by California Locos, East of Lincoln Productions and Blind Owl Records is confirmed for tonight in Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles at Eastern Projects gallery from 6pm – 11pm and is free to all-ages. No RSVP needed. Food & drinks provided along with DJs spinning the album and special guests will be present.
Beloved by celebs and musicians, Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs fans included everyone from incomparable musicians like Tom Waits and David Lee Roth but also bands like X and The Blasters as well as musicians like Maria Mckee and Steve Wynn (who released the original LP on his Down There Records). Out of print for nearly 40 years, this new reissue of Pigus Drunkus Maximus has been remastered, features a new 16-page booklet of archival photos from noted photographer Gary Leonard, gig flyers and new liner notes from veteran Grammy-nominated L.A. scribe Chris Morris.
Press for the album reissue has been overwhelming with confirmed reviews, features and bookings in Mojo, Uncut, Viva Le Rock, Goldmine, Record Store Day podcast, Record Collector, Ugly Things, Watt from Pedro radio show, NYHC Podcast, Strange Currency (MKUW-FM (NPR) and many more.
Spoken about in hushed tones for their incendiary live shows soaked in booze, blues and sweaty, transformative bacchanalian liberation during the oppressive Reagan years, Top Jimmy and The Rhythm Pigs burned brightly in the L.A. music scene of the 1980s. Known as “L.A.’s high priest of booze culture,” the band was led by Falstaffian front man Top Jimmy (aka James Paul Koncek, 1954-2001), a true force of nature full of roadhouse rantings, whisky and yes, the very person referenced in the Diamond Dave track “Top Jimmy” from Van Halen’s breakout 1984 album.
The Rhythm Pigs included Dig The Pig (Richard Aeilts), Gil T (R. Gilbert Isais), Carlos Guitarlos (Carlos Ayala), Joey Morales & Steve Berlin, the band played famed Hollywood clubs like Cathay de Grande, Raji’s, the Whisky A Go Go and The Roxy. They played the blues to punk rockers starting in the early eighties until their demise less than a decade later. Famous for their spirited covers of everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to Bob Dylan, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Merle Haggard, nothing was off limits if it shook the walls or got your feet moving.
What makes this Pigus Drunkus Maximus reissue so important in 2026 is that unless you lived in LA in the eighties, most music fans might have only heard of Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, or about their legendary output but never actually heard their music or saw them live. So while the band did tour a bit, this was very much a Los Angeles band. But talk to anyone who saw them live, in their element at the Cathay, and their eyes glaze over in a somnambulist-like haze of remembrance. Because for those who did see the band, they never forgot one of the best bands they ever saw.
This lovingly restored reissue of Pigus Drunkus Maximus will go a long way to restoring the band’s rightful place in L.A. music history as one of the greatest bands this city ever produced.
Track listing:
- Dance With Your Baby
- 11 Months and 29 Days
- Homework
- Obviously Five Believers
- Hole In My Pocket
- Spanish Castle Magic
- Do The Do
- Framed
- Workin’ Man Blues
- Backroom Blues
- Ballad Of A Thin Man
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For more information, please contact Joshua Mills at
It’s Alive! Media, 323-464-6314, josh@itsalivemedia.com, www.itsalivemedia.com
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