You know, even just walking here… Man, Chaz would be bugging out. ‘You’re walking to our bar (Vine LB), to get interviewed… Again!’ <laugh> ‘About our band!’ We used to sit here and just drink beer and dream about people wanting to talk about our music… Sometimes I feel like I’m getting a little jaded every now and then, but I’ll see Nightmare Enterprises play here, and all of a sudden there’s this magical thing that’s happening, and it’s basically in my backyard. It’s all right in front of me. I think I get carried away with thinking, I want to play here and I want to go there, and I wanna play with this band and this band... Artists can get a little eager and it’s okay to want more, but also, don’t forget about what’s happening and what’s already happened.
But yeah, how’s that going, dude?
… Dead Relatives???
Yeah! It’s taking off, people are stoked on it. I’m so honored to see the growth and be a part of it… It’s really cool, dude. Even at Chaz Fest, you were all posted up in the corner, just kind of observing everything… I was like, ‘This guy’s onto something…’ <laughter>
I mean, honestly, the reason why I reissued your interview for our launch to print – if you look at the archives on the website, you can see I started with more of a Q&A-based approach. And I feel like when you do that you kind of inform what the other person says, you know? Too structured. I remember that night on The Stoop was when I realized the style I wanted for the magazine – we were just chatting and connecting and what came out of it was a narrative. A story. I think it took me around a month to put it out, but I remember even during editing, I was saying to myself, ‘Wow. I don’t even need to put myself in here.’
That was one of the best nights of my fucking life; probably the best night we ever had there. I’ll never forget when we finished our set and I said ‘Merry Christmas’ into the microphone; I heard a roar back and I felt like fucking Santa. It was angelic <haha>. It didn’t matter what was attached to that holiday, it was just about bringing people together. Then Zain throwing presents out the window… Nothing felt real.
I didn’t find the punk community until I moved to Long Beach. I didn’t have social media, my hometown had no scene, and for a long time, I thought nothing like what we’re doing now was even possible anymore. I was the only person in high school with a band – we’ll put it that way.
But the diversity here is insane. People feel loved and accepted in this community, and most importantly, people really feel like they can be themselves. Long Beach brings out the best in musicians and artists, really gives them a place to express themselves however they want.
We all moved into The Stoop right before COVID. When lockdown happened, Chaz & I decided to make a record, so we’d be back and forth from the stoop to the studio. In between all of that, we started having parties because we were like one big happy family between all our friends, and no one had shit to do. For the most part, none of us were really getting sick since we were always together, and that’s what made the stoop such a place of camaraderie and togetherness; we really had nowhere else to go.
WACKO [disbanded] on COVID Clown Parties, Hate Pages, & Dream Composition; NPU/BCP 12/10 – Read the archive here: <https://deadrelativesmagazine.com/2021/12/14/wacko-on-covid-clown-parties-hate-pages-npu-bcp-12-10/>
So we finally finished that record and had a protest show planned out at the skate park for the release on 4th of July, 2020; all local rap artists and bands, and one of our friends was creating a mural. It was a beautiful show of community and peaceful protesting for BLM. The cops came, told us to shut it down, and wrote us a $1,500 ticket. Which eventually got cleared, because what goes around comes around <haha>. But I had a plan B this whole day: if we get shut down (guaranteed), we’re gonna play the record out of our fucking living room. And that’s what ended up happening – the last show Chaz ever played was the first show at the stoop.
I remember a friend gave me this fat mushroom before we walked over there, and it kicked in right before we played. And the whole band – I guess I had this stupid smile on my face – asked if I ate a mushroom, like, ‘What’s going on with you right now??’ I was like, ‘Is it that noticeable?’ ‘Yeah dude, you’re like…’ <laughter>. But I just remember it being so beautiful, and then we had people in the street lighting off fireworks.
That gave us the idea of throwing shows there. Then Chaz died, so we threw an honorary show for him out of the stoop. That was sort of the torch leading shows at the stoop, why people were coming to the stoop to hang out, and it just grew from there. I think that’s what really lit the fire – if anything, it was the first time WACKO played there. Zain invited everyone he could think of and that’s when people with cameras came to our house and started documenting things…
Chaz had a vision, dude. We all did. And to see it all come to fruition… Zain was there the whole time, and for him to still be there and continue it is so special. I was just there the other day filming a documentary about the Long Beach scene our friend is creating, and we did this little walk back into the living room… It’s like I come home when I visit now. It’s weird. I’m just really proud that I was a part of something like that.
German Cops, The Acid Tests, & Chaz Ferrare: The Sleeperz, XMAS Stoop Show 12/18/21 – Read the archive here: <https://deadrelativesmagazine.com/2022/01/02/german-cops-the-acid-tests-chaz-ferrare-the-sleeperz-xmas-stoop-show-12-18/>
But being there for three years and having those gnarly shows, and pretty much being the one to have to talk to the cops every time and clean up the party… I got a little burnt out, you know? We were having a lot of drama with a neighbor who lived there and was on drugs; he thought I was the ringleader of whatever he thought we were doing. He spit in my face, threw a giant rock through our window, kicked the mirrors off of my car… He shit on our stoop. Like, what? Did you really shit on The Stoop, dude?
More serious than all that, he always carried around a kitchen knife. We saw him get into a fucking knife fight in the middle of the street with another neighbor – it was like something out of the wild west, bro. I mean, this is happening on ***** and **** in the middle of the street, people leaning their heads out the windows, screaming. Just craziness.
Our new music’s been really chaotic, intense, and heavy. That was the state of mind I was in. It’s funny listening back, because now that I’m in a good state of mind at my new apartment, I just think, Oh my God. Yeah, you were losing it <haha>. But I’m so happy I documented it; the emotions of those songs come right back when we play live. I don’t wanna say it’s nice to dive back into it, but it’s therapeutic.
I think a lot of people don’t realize that, as crazy as The Stoop seems, and is when there’s a party, we’ve had some really beautiful mellow nights there where we clean and light some candles, maybe watch a movie.
I would say 5/7 nights of the week, it’s pretty tame. We all have jobs and have to be responsible, but we also like to have fun, you know? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do as a 20-something-year-old?
When I lived there, people would smoke a lot of weed and drink a lot of beer. I never saw a needle in that house, never saw anyone putting lines down on a mirror. It was not like that. There was a lot of psychedlics, you know… But I feel like that’s Long Beach. Eat some mushrooms, smoke a spliff, have a beer. There’s acid if you really want to do that tonight! And stay up to watch the sunrise. I’ve had many of those nights at the stoop…
…And then it’s like four or five in the morning; me and Zain are like, let’s just go for a walk. And then all of a sudden we’ll end up at the beach and the sun’s coming up and we feel renewed and alive. I’m so happy I did that in my life, that I didn’t allow myself to think ‘I shouldn’t be doing this at this age…’ If anything, I look back on it now and I’m grateful I was having fun. And doing it in a way where I wasn’t being fucking stupid.
Not too unhinged – I’m still able to have a grip on reality and responsibilities. I gave myself time and space to do that, I planned for it. I’d plan like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna play this Stoop show, and I’m gonna eat a tab of acid and lose my mind. I have this weekend to do that. And then by Monday morning I’ll be back at my job.’ And still keep doing this type of shit, continuously. Because I probably wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t have those nights to live for.
More freaks and weirdos need to know about this place. I grew up in a small suburb in Ventura County – the fact I made it all the way out here is a trip. But I lived in the Valley, then LA, and when I started playing shows in Long Beach – Oh My God. And the fact that the shows here are free? Vine has been the place for all these punks to gather without needing money. To this day I’m still posting & hyped on the lineups here – get on it!
When I moved to Long Beach, I saw the potential. Like how Chaz Fest put all of these different genres together: psych bands, punk bands, math rock bands… It doesn’t matter. Half the time I’m crying in my beer, just so proud to see us all come together. If that’s what this community is doing, then it’s doing exactly what we intended it to.
-Landon Reed.
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