I feel like the mentalities from harder lifestyles never go away. No matter where you go in life, your community and your upbringing molds you into the person you become. We’re all just products of our environment.
I’ve been with Prayers for the last decade or so, I would describe the genre as electronic music with more aggro-street lyrics. Almost like gangster rap, but heavily influenced by 80s new wave & death rock. Rafael Reyes, the frontman and founding member of Prayers is the one that pioneered the genre, “Cholo Goth.” Simply put we’re minorities coming together through music.
We were into different types of music than what was around us.
Rafa is from Sherman Heights, San Diego. Glare was raised in Echo Park, Los Angeles & I grew up in the Harbor Area of Los Angeles.
After touring on and off for years, I can confidently say there’s nowhere I’ve been like LA. It’s a melting pot of all different types of cultures & traditions & history.
If you grew up in LA, you know that everyone here carries themselves differently. Each has their own stilo. I’ve made friends from virtually every walk of life; photographers, videographers, musicians, rappers, actors, artists, punks, skins, metal heads, gang members, drug addicts…
There’s a term called the Six Degrees of Separation – any person can be connected to anyone else through no more than six people. Los Angeles, as large as it is, it’s small. Everybody knows everybody. We all run in the same circles. That’s kind of how we connect out here; a homie, through a homie, through a homie.
There’s a line in an early Prayers song called Only Death Can Set Me Free: “Adored by strangers for rocking shows. At the end of the night, I’m walking home alone.” I would say that’s still pretty relevant to me. At the end of the day, you don’t have anyone other than yourself and your close ones. And I’d rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies.
Truthfully, I didn’t care if I was accepted or not. Like a lot of us that grew up in the 80’s/90’s, I wore oversized clothes. XXXL Pro Clubs and size 50+ pants. I guess I just added on to what I had. Just layers and layers of habit.
All photos by @zer_ghoul
I’ve always been cautious & not really down to do interviews. I feel like depending on a journalist’s intentions, they’ll omit or add things that you may or may not have said. What was that game growing up again? Telephone? You’d say one thing down the line and it’s completely changed by the end? I feel like that about most of the mainstream media. We have to be careful with who we f*ck with, and how we interpret what we see.
At this point in the interview, Chino tells us about previously being a vocalist in hardcore bands, and continues on his initial ventures into electronic music.
I grew up with DJs my whole life. Started with vinyl then everybody moved over to digital.
When we were first introduced to DJing it was house parties & backyard boogies; high energy, freestyle, eighties dance music. Party jams & sh*t. Nowadays we play venues & all different types of music – my event is called “Cholo Goth Night.” What we spin depends on the mood, where we’re at, who we’re around. It’s about reading the room. I don’t pre-make playlists or mixes, it’s all playing it by ear, seeing what people want to hear.
On Erick Zercero’s graveyard shots featured alongside this article: Evergreen’s the oldest cemetery in LA, it’s a trip to see how old some of the gravemarkers date back to. It’s been around since 1877.
How do you stay grounded, navigating through an extended stage presence here and abroad? What connects how you find peace with how you create?
I listen to a lot of oldies. I’d say that all sad music is relatable no matter the genre, I feel like that’s the type of music we all grew up listening to. Oldies are generational. Even with all the neo-soul groups out now, paying homage to the music that shaped us.
What impact do you and your band attempt to bring to goth and alternative lifestyles?
Breaking stereotypes. If you see Rafa, Glare & me on stage, you’d probably think Prayers was a rap group until the music starts.
The people that come out to Prayers shows and Cholo Goth Night… It’s cool that they can relate to us in their own ways. People are familiar with me from different projects and I’m forever grateful & appreciative to be seen, heard, & supported.
-Mr. Chino for Dead Relatives.
