Silenzio statico

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Silenzio Statico


Silenzio Statico is a collective based in South Central Los Angeles, documenting and producing radical punk culture. The collective began in 2007 as a collective of young punks screen-printing, bootlegging old punk shirts, making mix tapes, and throwing all-ages shows in the South/East Los Angeles area. Eventually forming a record label in the Fall of 2008, Silenzio Statico has also been helping to document the Los Angeles area punk bands which have been mainly coming from the D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) “backyard scene.” Since then, the record label has continually been releasing cassettes by Latin@ punk and hardcore bands from the Los Angeles area as well as running a graphic design and print shop, creating a print and video zine, opened an independent record store, and has also put together a weekly radio show and audio zine. They have released material from Los Angeles area bands: Rayos X, Tuberculosis, Asko, Mata Mata, Drapetomania, Poliskitzo, and several others. Most of the bands through this label have an old school punk and 80's feel to them and have a lot of attitude and style. Much more is to come from these L.A. punks in the near future.

Their focus, initially, was to document the South Los Angeles "backyard scene" but now include bands from Long Beach and East Los Angeles to their label. Silenzio Statico got its name from a song by mid-80’s Italian hardcore punk band, Indigesti. Their main vision is to be part of a creative and radical punk movement with D.I.Y. beliefs.

Contents

Background [edit]

Abe (co-founder of the Silenzio Statico collective) has been involved in the South Los Angeles punk scene far before the inception of the collective. He was the vocalist for a band called Hit Me Back, which played thrashy/hardcore punk and toured nationally as well as internationally over its years of activity. They were always willing to play any kind of show, whether it was a venue, house show or whatever. They have also notably played in Latino Fest 2008 at Terraza Jamay in Montebello, CA; playing with bands: Sin Orden, Boom Boom Kid, Outraged, Venganza and Fronterrorismo. Hit Me Back is well known for their anthem type songs, positive lyrics, and high-energy performances. They have released several splits with bands Cinder, Out Of Vogue and Crucial Section as well as putting out one LP titled “Life” and a handful of EPs. Their sound is aggressive, catchy, and motivating reminiscent to 7 Seconds, Life’s Halt, and Scholastic Deth. They were active from early-2000 until 2008. The break–up of Hit Me Back was simply the stepping stone to the formation of the Silenzio Statico collective.

Tony (former contributor to the Silenzio Statico collective) formed a band in 2001 called Violent Disorder but eventually changed its name to The Vagrants. He shortly after formed Vakraant which are a D-Beat influenced punk band from South Los Angeles and played in numerous backyard shows in the Los Angeles area. All of the members were just about 15 years old and many didn’t know how to play any of their instruments at the time. Vakraant released several demos throughout its existence and broke-up in 2008. They officially played their last show as a band on October 16, 2009 at the Project Infest Warehouse; opening up for D-Clone and Nerveskade. A CD version of their songs/releases came out in 2009 by SMYT Records which was limited to about 70 copies.

The dissolve of both Hit Me Back and Vakraant very shortly after resulted in the formation of South L.A.’s Asko in the Summer of 2008. It was created by 3 friends who had nothing better to do and it was really done in a hurry. Former members of both Hit Me Back (Abe) and Vakraant (Tony) joined the former drummer of The Beatings (Gabby) to form this 80’s-influenced raw punk band. Abe played bass, while Tony played guitar and did vocals and Gabby playing the drums. The main influences for this band were The Stalin, Ratos de Parão and R.I.P. and they played a somewhat similar style to them. Asko was a short-lived project, only playing a total of 12 shows and breaking-up the same year they formed after the departure of Tony (who later went on to form Rayos X). Although short lived, they managed to record their first, and only, release “Me Das Asko” through their own label Silenzio Statico. The tape was recorded within the month; but the majority of the songs were already written by the first two weeks. The Asko cassette was Silenzio Statico’s first release as a record label.

The break-up of yet another band resulted in the formation of several others formerly from Asko, as well as greater involvement from the group that had already been contributing to the Silenzio Statico collective. After the Asko break-up in 2008, Tony decided to form another band from the South Los Angeles area called Rayos X. They played a heavily influenced Spanish 80’s sound that was most influenced by bands: Toreros After Olé, Eskorbuto, R.I.P., etc. Former Vakraant bandmate, Kaye, joined Tony in this new project, playing guitar and vocals. Tony played drums and also did vocals for Rayos X. They had initially called themselves Polucion but later decided upon a different name to start calling themselves. Rayos X has since then been a very active band, playing consistently in backyards, as well as venue shows and touring throughout the West Coast several times. Their first release was in 2009 called “Mirando A Traves De Sus Mentiras,” recorded in 5 hours in SABER M's (South Los Angeles pogo-punk band) garage; it was Silenzio Statico’s second cassette release. Rayos X then began working on new material and came out with their second cassette released on 2010, “Sufrimiento,” which featured 6 songs. These same songs were then later re-relased into vinyl format featuring the B-Side of the tape as their first vinyl release titled “Mi Desorden,” which were recorded at the Lynwood House and put out by Lengua Armada, a label owned by Martin Sorrondeguy (of Los Crudos, Limp Wrist, Harto, Tragatelo, etc.). The A-Side of the “Sufrimiento” tape was also released on vinyl the following year by Damaging Noise Records and was also recorded the at the same time as the “Mi Desorden” vinyl release session. Since then, Rayos X has officially decided to call it quits and continue with different projects. Their final vinyl release was an LP titled “Soledad” released May 2012 on Mata La Musica. “Soledad” was recorded at the Crash Pad in the Spring of 2011. All the drums were done in one take, but the bass took a few days to get done right. Rayos X had 50 test presses for sale during their final West Coast tour on September 2011.

The dissolve of Asko, back in 2008, had also resulted in former members Gabby and Abe to form a band of their own shortly after. They simply wanted to continue playing music so they got two other fellow Silenzio Statico-mates to join them in this project and completing the line-up: Reyna, with no previous band experience, on vocals, Austin, on guitar, Abe on bass and Gabby on drums. This band, known as Tuberculosis, was formed in late-2008; playing a harder and more politically driven sound, taking influences from female fronted punk bands. Their lyrics are both in Spanish and English. They played their first shows in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas in late-March 2009. Recorded a demo tape, toured the West Coast as well as opened the independently-owned Musica Para La Destrukcion record shop, all during the Summer of 2009. They all moved into a collective house in Lynwood, CA (A.K.A. the Lynwood House) soon after and recorded their second release, their first to be pressed on vinyl, titled “Disfrasandose” on 2010 for San Francisco label Lengua Armada. Tuberculosis has been playing a wide-range of shows throughout the Los Angeles area and toured the West Coast with Rayos X in 2010. Tuberculosis has also been rumored to have been working on new material for a full-length LP on Silenzio Statico but there hasn’t been any sign of the band activity so far.


Since its creation, Silenzio Statico has been greatly involved in helping to document the backyard/punk scene through others ways apart from the record label. A video and print zine, titled Fronteras Desarmadas, started on early-2009 and created by Tony as well as two other contributors of the Silenzio Statico collective — Kiwi (currently plays drums and does vocals for Generacion Suicida) and Frank (Krüel bassist). The three of them were the only ones that would write on the print zine, which was normally 3-5 pages long and the first of its kind in South Los Angeles. The print zine would normally feature a band interview, some “ponk chisme” (any news about the Los Angeles punk scene), reviews, segments written by female punks (titled “Ponkeras”) and several other sections. The video zine was slightly different from the print zine and captured the live performances by local shows from both touring bands and local Los Angeles area bands. The video zine also featured interviews from Los Angeles area bands as well as members of the Silenzio Statico collective.

“Solo Se Oye Punk” was a short-lived pirate punk radio station that pretty much piggy backed on airwaves of radio stations that had licenses. Although you were supposed to be able to hear it through the radio, you couldn't unless you were right outside the house. It was mainly internet radio through raisethefist.org. It has been inactive for quite some time now.

Musica Para La Destrukcion is a record shop located on: 7230 Maie Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90001. The shop is still up and running and co-managed by Austin, Abe, Gabby and Robert (Members of Silenzio Statico bands).

Silenzio Statico throw shows for local and out of town bands. They are involved with different kinds of art projects and raise money for touring bands. When they can, Silenzio Statico offer their resources to help people in the Los Angeles community who need funds for funeral or legal costs or screen printing. They strongly support families and friends who have had their loved ones killed by law enforcement.

Other Bands on the Silenzio Statico Label [edit]

Poliskitzo [edit]

All 3 current members of Poliskitzo were in La Banda Ya Basta and once you hear it, you can immediately tell. All the signature Poliskitzo elements are there. The melodic vocals, the rock n' roll influence, and the great energy. If anything, the only difference between Poliskitzo and La Banda Ya Basta is that Ya Basta is more fast paced than Poliskitzo. Nonetheless, these are some killer recordings and a great piece of LA punk history.

Krüel [edit]

Krüel are a raw punk/D-Beat band based off of Cudahy, CA (a small district from Los Angeles). They formed in early 2008 and have had several cassette relases and a split with Unlearn (from Canada) on 2011. They are set to release a split flexi with Los Angeles raw punks Aspex later this year.

Mata Mata [edit]

Mata Mata is a hardcore punk band with personal/political lyrics in English and Spanish. Formed in late 2009, Mata Mata has since released one tape on Silenzio Statico and managed to complete a few small tours in 2010. Mata Mata has been set to release a 6-track E.P. on 540 Records (Austin, TX) early-2011. Silenzio Statico is producing an E.P. version of Mata Mata's self-titled 7-track demo, as well as a new, limited tape featuring the 6-track E.P. on 540, a live set from Life During Wartime Radio/KBOO (Portland, OR) and some bonus material. An East Coast and Puerto Rico tour w/ Tuberculosis has been planned for mid-2011. Mata Mata is currently on hiatus.

Drapetomania [edit]

Drapetomania started in 2009 as a side project called Atake De Nervios with Tony (of Vakraant, Asko, Rayos X, etc.) on guitar, Abe (of Hit Me Back, Asko, Tuberculosis) on bass and vocals, and Austin (of Tuberculosis, Mata Mata, Sadicos, Zoloa) on drums. They changed their name to Drapetomania and recorded a demo in late-2010/early-2011, did a West Coast tour in the Summer of 2011 and are releasing a 6-track E.P. through Todo Destruido and Silenzio Statico in July 2012. Lyrics are in Spanish and deal with border and police state violence, United States empire, oppressed people/working class struggle, etc. Musically influenced by a mixture of 80's punk from South America to Eastern Europe.

Mania [edit]

UK-influenced band from Long Beach. Released a demo tape titled “Radiation Acid Clash” through Silenzio Statico on 2011.

Zoloa [edit]

A three-piece Crust and Metal-influenced band from Los Angeles with Austin (of Tuberculosis, Mata Mata, Drapetomania, Sadicos) on drums as well as containing other members from past Silenzio Statico projects. They have come out with two cassette releases, the first one titled “Cocolia” which is a 8-track tape on Silenzio Statico and Zoloa Records. The second a 7-track cassette, “Todo El Mundo Es Una Tumba y Nada Escapa,” on 2011 through Zoloa Records. Zoloa played their first show in San Francisco on December 30th, 2011. A 5-track vinyl E.P. release is scheduled to be put out later this year.

Sadicos [edit]

This band had been a project of the Silenzio Statico punks for 2 years and have finally released their first cassette in 2012. It’s self-titled and is 6 tracks of angry hardcore punk sung in Spanish, dual male and female vocals. Contains members from Mata Mata, Tuberculosis, Drapetomania, etc.

Releases [edit]

  • Asko - "Me Das Asko" (SS-1)
  • Rayos X - "Mirando A Traves De Sus Mentiras" (SS-2)
  • Tuberculosis - "S/T" (SS-3)
  • Poliskitzo - "S/T" (SS-4)
  • Krüel - "Terror Tape" (SS-5)
  • Mata Mata - "S/T" (SS-6)
  • Rayos X - "Sufrimiento" (SS-7)
  • Mania - "Radiation Acid Clash" (SS-8)
  • Drapetomania - "S/T" (SS-9)
  • (SS-10)
  • Zoloa - "Cocolia" (SS-11)
  • Sadicos "S/T" (SS-12)
  • Drapetomania - "S/T EP" (SS-13)
  • Destruye Y Huye - "S/T" (SS-14)

What To Expect In 2012 [edit]

Currently Silenzio Statico is working on a big newspaper-style spread for the Olympia, WA zine Nutz. It's an L.A. scene report with band bios, art, info about stuff going on in networks here in the Los Angeles scene, etc. The radio show might come back in the form of an audio zine/mix tape series. Scarlet, who plays in the band Destruye Y Huye, is the coordinator and main host for the radio show (called "Solo Se Oye Punk").

Silenzio Statico has a co-release with the Austin, Texas label Todo Destruido for the Drapetomania E.P. set to be released later this year. After that, Destruye Y Huye tape and a possible L.A. bands compilation. Before the end of the year Silenzio Statico will have a few E.P.s by Sadicos and a full-length for Drapetomania.

Sadicos will also be releasing an E.P. through Lengua Armada late this year. Drapetomania and Sadicos are also planning on touring the East Coast in July and the West Coast in August 2012.

References [edit]

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