ESPERANZA

so many experiences are passing you by // so much life wasted inside of those closed doors

The first few shows I ever played in Los Angeles were beyond disheartening. By the mid-'90s we (the "we" in this sentence was FUCKFACE) had found a few pockets outside of LA proper, and had some great shows in Orange County and the Inland Empire, but Los Angeles was still a total bust. Everything changed in '97 when we (the "we" now refers to WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?) played a show at the PCH with LIFES HALT. It seemed like the whole metro area had just exploded with fast, political (and fun) hardcore bands, and a house show with DIRTY DIRT &THE DIRTS on a subsequent trip (actually, it may have been the day after the PCH show) solidified that impression. Young kids tearing shit up with intent and purpose were everywhere, and all of a sudden Los Angeles was the raddest place on the planet to play. Countless killer bands came out of that era, and like ESPERANZA, many of them were gone in the blink of an eye. Rich from DIRTY DIRT and Steve from THIS MACHINE KILLS (who booked the shows at The Pink House in Santa Barbara [wait - shit, was it Biko House? am I getting my decades mixed up?], another former strike out city that had become a great place to play) joined forces to crank out this powerhouse demo - bare bones hardcore with breakdowns that perfectly personify the brand of New Millennium West Coast hardcore that turned my life around and opened my eyes. These dudes were fun as shit but the lyrics are smart and visceral - and this eight minute demo and a few comp tracks (Histeria and Barbaric Thrash Demolition) is all we got. Rich and Jake went on to PLEASE INFORM THE CAPTAIN THIS IS A HIJACK (and Rich is now a PhD), Steve went on to be insanely famous but still the same dude the few times I've run into him, and the other members were in DESCARADOS, MUGRE and certainly more that I'm either forgetting or never knew about. This demo makes me nostalgic and determined without lamenting for the past - it's a reminder that whatever your "present" is, it's going to be somebody's "past," so you need to make it as awesome as you can. 

ESPERANZA

Whenever someone has something to say you say "fuck it" but you, you never say shit

At the very least you could offer and argument but you never even say shit

It's quite plain to see that there's a lot more to be done,

And working for change isn't necessarily contrary to fun

This is a part of my life, not an escape from it

THIS IS A PART OF MY LIFE NOT AN ESCAPE FROM IT