How did Charged get started as a band?
The singer, Clark, and myself were involved in a band called Based On Suspicion when we were in 7th grade. We were pretty bad (just covered Misfits and AFI songs), and became bored with it after a couple months, so we decided to start our own thing. Clark said his 11 year-old brother was a drummer so we began practicing as soon as possible. We played our first show in late 2002.
Did it take a while to get known and build up a fan base?
I feel like we are still unknown to many people. We’re known in certain cities on the West Coast and in Los Angeles, but it’s definitely taken a couple years to get out there. Our age held us back from touring for the first few years.
Who do you feel is the biggest influence on the band?
We’ve had many different stages of the band. When we first started out, we mostly listened to AFI and stuff like that. Then when Niko came into the band, we were introduced to bands like Discharge, GBH, and a lot of Nardcore and began to go for a faster, more thrashy sound. Our sound progressed throughout high school and lately our individual influences have come together to create our newest songs.
Do you feel like you're a part of bigger Los Angeles scene, or is it more like a separate scene in Newhall itself?
It’s definitely a separate scene up here. Newhall is an extremely small town within the city of Santa Clarita. We simply claim the whole Newhall thing because it is where we play most often. But Santa Clarita has had a rapidly changing and growing scene over the past 5 or 6 years.
You've just recently put a CD out on Melotov Records. How long has that been in the making?
About a year. We recorded all of the songs in two days at Earth Capital in LA. It just took us forever to finally make copies and all that.
Are you all quite involved in the remastered version that's coming out soon, or is it being done by people outside the band?
The original pressing of the CD didn’t come out the way we wanted it. There are 2-second gaps in between every song. We recorded and intended the first 4 songs to be fluid and nonstop. Then the next 2 would flow and the last one by itself. We plan to remix/remaster it and release it again. We can’t afford for other people to do that.
It seems like the idea of DIY is really important to your band. How many of the CDs did you make? I noticed the site says that they're "hand numbered while stocks last'.
Out of all our CDs, we’ve never made more than 200 at one time. We usually make as many as we can afford. In the words of the Last Priority “DIY or Die”.
It's pretty hard to find out about your back catalogue online. Aside from the CD, how much stuff have you put out?
Let’s see…
March 2004 – First demo
2005 – Mixo De Punko compilation CD
2005 – First full length titled “Endurance”
2006 – Second full length “Charged”
2008 – Newest CD (recorded in Sept. 2007)
(There are some more secrets coming soon!)
I saw on your myspace you'd done a big tour across 2007 and 2008. How far did that take you?
Yeah in the summer of ’07 we did a week long Pacific Coast thing. We booked it very last minute so we got crammed on some really packed shows. We made some friends that helped out for our next ’07-’08 West Coast winter tour. Shoutouts to Ukiah, Olympia, Bremerton, Seattle, Denver, Anthony/El Paso…
Have you got any big tour plans for the future?
We aren't too sure on that. As typical as it may sound, college, work, and not all living in the same city has really taken a toll on our band. It's best to be optimistic in a situation like this but there isn't a legit way to see what the future holds.
What do you all do aside from playing music?
Clark plays online poker, Garrett is a genius and plans on going to Stanford University, Niko is a beer connoisseur, and I watch Degrassi and Intervention all day.
Are there any sites, labels, bands, people, or anything you'd like to recommend?
Check out Catch Your Breath, The Sunset Limited, Touche Amore, President Kennedy Is Assassinated, Dangers, and Hallowed Ground. Melotov and Dismantle records. All the kids in Washington, especially Bremerton for being legit homies.
Have any advice you'd like to end on?
FTW, DTA, DGAF…up the punx
Thanks to John for his time. Listen to Charged and a bunch of other Californian punks here.
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