Category: Rock

Something Weird – The Sleeperz on Long Beach Punk.

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.

SPUNK ON THE RISE OF NOS USE AT PUNK SHOWS.

B: I don’t wanna support a system that gets a bunch of kids high. All for one, but there’s a bunch of venues getting traction where kids always end up fighting each other and getting loaded. Just a lot of drama. There’s no point in supporting a spot where people don’t even care to see you. I mean, there’s always gonna be some people at the front who actually dig you, but when people chill outside, in the corners, on drugs… Those hotspots? The ones where everyone’s NOS’d out? Go to a function, don’t go to a show.

Dead Boys, Compton Punks, & Teddy Bear Stuffing: Deth Coast; The Smell 11/5/21

“My background’s mostly Brooklyn punk. I fuck heavy with Dead Boys, but also The Ramones for their poppy fun take on the scene. Saw Best Coast live & I thought, ‘Dude, I’m never going to be that good.’ Around that time all my best friends started doing meth so I stopped talking to them… I’m not the best, but I don’t smoke meth. So it’s Deth Coast.”

German Cops, The Acid Tests, & Chaz Ferrare: The Sleeperz, XMAS Stoop Show 12/18

“She started throwing a temper tantrum & wouldn’t let me get my things to the point where I had to call the fucking cops in Germany. These dudes rolled up like the fucking Gestapo, big ass leather boots & uniforms. They looked at me like ‘What did you do!?’ I was like ‘No! You have to understand, I’m just trying to get the hell out of here. I’m just trying to live my life & get back to California!'”

MyVeronica on Breaking Arms & makeoutclub.com; Halloween UCLA, 10/30

“The track I played called Makeoutclub was inspired by this pre-Myspace social networking site of the same name. It was this internet subculture community ‘for indierockers, hardcore kids, record collectors, artists, bloggers, & hopeless romantics’ (site tagline). I pieced the lyrics for that song from post excerpts…”

Marcy Playground on Deadheads & Modern Influences; The Canyon Montclair 11/12

“John Wozniak, guitarist & singer-songwriter of the band, told The Morning Call in 1998 that he followed the Grateful Dead from ages 14-20 selling LSD & hard-boiled eggs for a living. Reading that he had indulged in over 100 acid trips himself during that time, I asked him how his time as a Deadhead had influenced his sound…”