They came from all over the country, with some flying out from as far as Florida. It looked like a line outside the Apple store the day before a new iPhone release.Īfter being cooped up inside with no live music for so long, fans were anxious to rage out their frustrations. Eager fans waited hours in the 100-degree sun just for a chance to buy goods from Scowl, Sunami, Gulch and Drain. It was featured on various music and non-music media outlets, including BrooklynVegan and Stereogum, and is preserved on YouTube.Ī merch pop-up was scheduled for earlier in the day at Printhead screen printing shop (which makes many of the 40831 merch, is owned by Cole Kakimoto of the now defunct Gulch and employed Ciaramitaro), also located in San Jose. People only knew it was somewhere in San Jose on June 19, 2021. The first Bay Area hardcore show after a year and a half of lockdowns location wasn’t announced until a mere two hours before doors. RBS has become a legend in the scene, and yes, it’s all true. Just as the new album’s name implies, dedication pays off.īritish music publication Kerrang! recently called the California hardcore scene a “global phenomenon,” with Drain “elevated to one of the scene’s leaders.” They chalk this up to two things: “Sammy Ciaramitaro being one of the nicest guys in hardcore” and 2021’s all-day RBS (Real Bay Shit) renegade show “that set things in motion, and the world saw first-hand just how alive and spin-kicking the scene had become.” Drain is constantly putting in the hard work all day, every day. It might be a little more complicated than that, but it’s the core truth. “We’re all putting in work,” Ciaramitaro says. From left: Sammy Ciaramitaro, Cody Chavez and Tim Flegal pose with Drain album promo art. So how did a band that began as a fun project for a couple of UC Santa Cruz students become one of the biggest names in the hardcore scene? Streetlight Records listening party. So, we wanted this to give back to the community we love.” “We had a record release show planned, and it all got robbed by the pandemic. “We didn’t get to celebrate with our first album,” singer Sammy Ciaramitaro says. Attendees had the first listen and were the first to buy it, as an homage to their hometown and the 40831 scenes (a combination of San Jose’s and Santa Cruz’s area codes.) On May 4, the scene mentioned earlier at Streetlight Records-Drain’s exclusive listening party for their sophomore album, Living Proof-was the night before the worldwide album release. I never thought we’d play it, so I’m pretty stoked.” “As a kid, I remember watching videos on YouTube of Cannibal Corpse at Wacken,” Chavez says. The 32-year-old fest attracts 85,000-plus attendees, and past bills feature legends like Motörhead, Slayer, Dio, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Saxon. This summer, they’ll tour Europe again and play Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival, the world’s largest heavy metal and hard rock festival. “We’d all get into our own routines waking up, stepping off the bus to get breakfast, and we’re in a new place.” “It was really fun,” guitarist Cody Chavez tells me. It was their first tour by bus instead of out of their van and certainly won’t be their last. In January, they played Australia for the first time with Comeback Kid, and in March, they did a 12-day European tour with hardcore heavyweights Madball and H2O. “We just wanted to start a band, play music and hopefully tour.” “Everything we do now is surreal,” says drummer Tim Flegal. A group that started in small rooms like SubRosa Community Space and Cafe Pergolesi (R.I.P.) has now played large, sold-out venues and received top billing at festivals like Sound and Fury and is about to go out on their first headlining tour sponsored by Monster Energy Drink. Months of planning, back-and-forth emails, texts and calls led to this moment that can be summed up in a word: Drain.ĭad jokes aside, Drain is one of the fastest-rising bands in the world of hardcore punk music, and they’re based right here in sunny surf city, Santa Cruz. “I’m from Wilmington, California,” Giovanna Martinez tells me. Others came from the Bay Area and beyond-one person drove 360 miles to be there. From teens to middle-aged fans, some still in work clothes, others in shorts and face tattoos, took up every inch of every aisle of CDs and records, buzzing with anticipation. One hundred fifty people crowded Streetlight Records on Pacific Avenue in Downtown Santa Cruz.
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