Collectives/Silenzio Statico

The information here is presented as a sort of case study and data to be anlyzed in relation to learning, teaching, and research regarding collectives, art, music and culture.

Discussion/essay questions/ideas

Discussion questions, research ideas, and essay ideas related to above case study are as follow; as noted on collectives, here are some ideas for case study related ideas to consider related to Silenzio Statico.

• How might this collective influence the culture of Los Angeles
• How successful has this collective been in reaching its goals?
• If one were to perform a program evalutation of Silenzio Statico, how might this case study be structured?

• What information would be useful in performing the case study? How could the data be collected?

• What factors have influenced the culture and mission of this collective?

Analysis of one aspect

The Silenzio Statico label has on it a band called Drapetomania. Why might the members of this band have this band chosen its name?

According to Wikipedia, Drapetomania was "a supposed mental illness that, in 1851, American physician Samuel A. Cartwright hypothesized as the cause of enslaved Africans fleeing captivity. This hypothesis centered around the belief that slavery was such an improvement upon the lives of slaves that only those suffering from some form of mental illness would wish to escape".

Quotes on Drapetomania include, ""What had been drapetomania became depression. [...] Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery." -psychiatrist Thomas Szasz

Essay/discussion ideas for Drapetomania

Drapetomania is a band, that is part of the Drapetomania collective.

• Why might musicians in Southern California, choose Drapetomania as a band name?
• What might that potentially indicate about culture or politics in Southern California?
• Might band members in Drapetomania be open to an ethnographic interview for the sake of learning and understanding?
• Why might a band called Drapetomania have songs and lyrics (in Spanish) that "deal with border and police state violence, United States empire, oppressed people/working class struggle," and so forth?

"Drapetomania [bands on the Silenzio Statico Label] started in 2009 as a side project called Atake De Nervios with Tony Abarca (of Vakraant, Asko, Rayos X, etc.) on guitar, Abe Social (of Hit Me Back, Asko, Tuberculosis) on bass and vocals, and Austin Delgadillo (of Tuberculosis, Mata Mata, Sadicos, Zoloa) on drums. They changed their name to Drapetomania after changing guitarists, replaced by Robert, and released a demo in 2011 through Silenzio Statico, a 4-track self-titled EP through Todo Destruido and Silenzio Statico in July 2012, and lastly a cassette titled "Cabesas De Odio" in September 2012. Lyrics are in Spanish and deal with border and police state violence, United States empire, oppressed people/working class struggle, etc. Musically, Drapetomania are influenced by a mixture of 80's punk from South America to Eastern Europe and a touch of Oi!. Drapetomania played their last show on April 2013 but members have gone on to play in other projects; Abe is now doing vocals for Ugly Heads, Austin is playing drums for Sadicos and also doing vocals for Blazing Eye, and Robert plays guitar and vocals for Sadicos." (from the below data)

Data/information about Silenzio Statico

Information and data related to Silenzio Statico, to utilize Silenzio Statico as a case study topic in relation to collectives is as follows.

Silenzio Statico is a collective, initially, based in South Central Los Angeles, which has been documenting and producing radical punk culture. The collective began in 2007 as a group of young punks screen-printing, bootlegging old punk shirts, making mix tapes, and throwing all-ages shows in the South/East Los Angeles areas. In the Fall of 2008, the Silenzio Statico collective has also served as a label to put out music, with the goal to help document the Los Angeles area punk bands which have been mainly been coming from the [[Wikipedia:DIY_ethic|D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself)] “backyard scene.” Since then, the label has continually been releasing cassettes by Latin@ punk and hardcore bands from the Los Angeles areas as well as running a graphic design and print shop, creating a print and video zine, opened an independent record store, and have 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.

Background

Abe Social, co-founder of the Silenzio Statico has been involved in the South Los Angeles punk scene long 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, from early-2000 until 2008. They were almost always willing to play any kind of show, whether it was a venue, house or backyard show. 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 has been well-known for their anthem type songs, positive lyrics, and high-energy performances. They released several records, including: splits with bands Cinder, Out Of Vogue, and Crucial Section as well as putting out one full-length 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. The break–up of Hit Me Back was simply the stepping stone to the formation of the Silenzio Statico collective.

Tony Abarca, former contributor to the Silenzio Statico collective, formed a band in 2001 called Violent Disorder but eventually changed its name to The Vagrants. Shortly after, formed Vakraant which are a D-Beat influenced punk band from South Los Angeles and played in numerous backyard shows throughout the Los Angeles areas, which is how he came to meet Abe Social as they were both in active bands during the same time. The members comprising of Vakraant were just about 15 years old and many didn't know how to play their instruments at the time. Vakraant released several demos throughout its existence unitl breaking-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 discography 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. Asko consisted of 3 friends, whom two of them were Tony Abarca (on guitar and lead vocals) and Abe Social (on bass and backing vocals); the third member being Gaby (on drums), which had previously been in The Beatings. Pure boredom had fueled this short-lived project. Asko had been a heavily 80’s-influenced raw/hardcore punk band; their main influences for this project were The Stalin, Ratos de Parão and R.I.P., having played a somewhat similar style to them. Asko had only lasted a couple of months and played a total of 12 shows until finally deciding it was time to call it quits later in 2008. Although short lived, they managed to record their first, and only, release “Me Das Asko”, on cassette, 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 label and proved to be the first of many releases to come in the future.

The break-up of yet another band resulted in the formation of several other projects which featured members formerly from Asko. This transition period also witnessed greater involvement as well as a growing number of contributors to the Silenzio Statico collective. On the same year that Asko broke-up, Tony Abarca formed another band from the South Los Angeles area called Rayos X with members whom he had met and/or played with in previous bands. 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, Juan (A.K.A. Kaye Jero), joined Tony in this new project, this time playing guitar and vocals. Tony played drums and also did vocals for Rayos X. Before they had started to play shows, they had been known as Polucion but later decided upon a different name to better-suit their band. 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. Many times playing energetic shows with crowds singing along and dancing to every song. 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, titled “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 was recorded at the Lynwood House (formerly the Silenzio Statico headquarters), this time released through a D.I.Y. label owned by Martin Sorrondeguy (of Los Crudos, Limp Wrist, Harto, Tragatelo, etc.), called Lengua Armada. The A-Side of the “Sufrimiento” tape was also released on vinyl the following year by Damaging Noise Records, which was also recorded during the same session as the “Mi Desorden” vinyl release. Since then, Rayos X have officially decided to call it quits and continue with different projects. Their final vinyl release was an LP titled “Soledad” on May 2012 through the label 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 correctly. Rayos X re-formed in late-2012, having played their first show back together on December of that year. The band now has a different line-up thus changing their sound; Kaye is the only original member. Since getting back together, Rayos X has come out with their third cassette release through the Silenzio Statico label, titled "Ansiedad" on January 2014, and are still playing shows.

In 2010, while Tony and Kaye were still active with Rayos X, they had formed a side-project with long-time friend and Silenzio Statico contributor, Kiwi, called Generacion Suicida. The trio had managed to self-release a demo cassette until adding Koopa (of Krüel) on second guitar and releasing a self-tiled EP on Mata La Musica late-2012. Generacion Suicida had faced member changes, replacing Kaye (who had been playing bass) and Koopa due to a falling out between Tony and the aforementioned members. Since the dissolution of the original Rayos X line-up in May 2012, Generacion Suicida has become a full-time band; also releasing a LP on Going Underground records titled "Con La Muerte A Tu Lado" and touring extensively throughout the West Coast and Europe. A new LP is scheduled for release some time in 2014.

Aside from Rayos X, the dissolve of Asko had also resulted in former members Gaby and Abe to form a band of their own. They simply wanted to continue playing music so they recruited two other fellow Silenzio Statico-mates to join them in this project, completing the line-up: Reyna, with no previous band experience, on vocals, Austin Delgadillo, on guitar, Abe on bass and Gaby on drums. This band became known as Tuberculosis and formed in late-2008; playing a harder and more politically driven sound and writing their lyrics in both Spanish and English, taking influences from female fronted punk bands. They played their first shows in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas in late-March 2009, also recording a demo tape and releasing it through Silenzio Statico, 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 the San Francisco-based 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. The band is now inactive as of late-2011 but, as usual, members have gone on to start other projects. Abe Social has since taken over bass and vocal duties for Drapetomania (formerly known as Atake De Nervios, or A.D.N.) with former Tuberculosis bandmate Austin on drums and bassist of Mata Mata, Robert, on guitar. Drapetomania lasted until 2013. Abe currently does vocals for Ugly Heads with Gaby on drums. Austin is now doing vocals for Blazing Eye. Both are currently active bands in the Los Angeles punk scene. Aside from Ugly Heads, Gaby also plays bass and does vocals in Sadicos with Austin on drums as well as including former Drapetomania bandmate, Robert, on guitar and sharing vocal duties.

Since its inception, Silenzio Statico has been greatly involved in helping to document the backyard/punk scene through other ways apart from the record label. A video and print zine, titled Fronteras Desarmadas, was started on early-2009 and created by Tony Abarca as well as two other contributors of the Silenzio Statico collective — Kiwi (currently plays drums and does vocals for Generacion Suicida) and Frank (bassist for Krüel). In the beginning, the three of them were the sole contributors to the print zine, but shortly after the first issue, it expanded to include more contributers. 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. Due to issues, Tony has refused to contribute to the Silenzio Statico collective, thus putting an end to the video and print zine he started.

“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 was a record shop located on: 7230 Maie Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90001. The shop closed down sometime in 2013, and was co-managed by Austin, Abe, Gaby and Robert (Members of Silenzio Statico bands and the collective).

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 also strongly support families and friends who have had their loved ones killed by law enforcement.

Other Bands on the Silenzio Statico Label

Poliskitzo

Formed in 2009 in Lennox, CA. Contains former members of Moral Decay, Oi Toi, and La Banda Ya Basta. Poliskitzo consists of all but one member of La Banda Ya Basta and play a very similar style to the latter but rather utilize a more melodic approach to their songwriting. Their first demo cassette was released through the Silenzio Statico label and have various other self-released material put out through tape format. Their first vinyl release, "Dulce Del Systema" EP, was put out through the Texas-based label Todo Destruido on 2012. Poliskitzo has also put out a 10" EP titled "Armado Con Palabras" through All Welcome records released on February 2014.

Krüel

Krüel are a raw punk/D-Beat band based off of Cudahy, CA. They formed in early-2008 with a revolving shift of members ever so often. They have put out their demo through the Silenzio Statico label, released a handful of other cassette releases, put out splits with Unlearn (from Canada) released on 2011 through Crucificados Pelo Sistema and with Aspex (from L.A.) on 2012 on Konton Crasher as well as a self-titled EP also on the Crucificados Pelo Sistema label.

Mata Mata

Mata Mata is a hardcore punk band highly influenced by the Japanese, Swedish, and Finnish sounds from the 80's. 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 had been set to release a 6-track EP on 540 Records (from Austin, TX) in early-2011 but those plans were delayed. Members consist of Austin Delgadillo (from Tuberculosis, Drapetomania, Sadicos, Blazing Eye) on drums, Robert (from Sadicos) on bass, Philip on vocals, and Eddie on guitar. Mata Mata is currently on hiatus.

Drapetomania

Drapetomania started in 2009 as a side project called Atake De Nervios with Tony Abarca (of Vakraant, Asko, Rayos X, etc.) on guitar, Abe Social (of Hit Me Back, Asko, Tuberculosis) on bass and vocals, and Austin Delgadillo (of Tuberculosis, Mata Mata, Sadicos, Zoloa) on drums. They changed their name to Drapetomania after changing guitarists, replaced by Robert, and released a demo in 2011 through Silenzio Statico, a 4-track self-titled EP through Todo Destruido and Silenzio Statico in July 2012, and lastly a cassette titled "Cabesas De Odio" in September 2012. Lyrics are in Spanish and deal with border and police state violence, United States empire, oppressed people/working class struggle, etc. Musically, Drapetomania are influenced by a mixture of 80's punk from South America to Eastern Europe and a touch of Oi!. Drapetomania played their last show on April 2013 but members have gone on to play in other projects; Abe is now doing vocals for Ugly Heads, Austin is playing drums for Sadicos and also doing vocals for Blazing Eye, and Robert plays guitar and vocals for Sadicos.

Mania

Early-80's UK-influenced punk band from Long Beach, CA. They've released a demo tape titled “Radiation Acid Clash” through Silenzio Statico on 2011. New material is scheduled to be released in the near future.

Zoloa

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. The band is currently inactive.

Sadicos

This band had been a project of the Silenzio Statico punks for 2 years (since 2010) and have finally released their first cassette in 2012. The band plays dual male and female Spanish sung vocals. Contains members from Asko, Tuberculosis, Mata Mata, Drapetomania, etc.

Releases

• 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)
• Drapetomania - "Cabesas De Odio" (SS-15)
• Damages - "Defection" (SS-16)
• Rayos X - "Ansiedad" (SS-17)

External Links and References

• Silenzio Statico Website
• Fronteras Desarmadas
• "Accept the Darkness" Zine Volume 3, January 2011
• Personal Interviews With Silenzio Statico Members
• Terminal Escape Blog
• Hardcore Por Vida Blog
• Cola De Rata Blog
• LA weekly article on the "Backyard Scene"