Formed
in 1995 by ex-Power Trip, gravel throated singer Steve "Crabby"
Cabler in a tiny, overheated garage in Newport Beach, California
and bass player Gil Mora. After jamming with a few guitarists,
all were replaced by Denny McGahey, ex-Shattered Faith and MIA
guitarist.
In true punk D.I.Y style, El Centro recorded a raw five-song
demo tape entitled OC GARAGE SOUNDS with the help of longstanding
Orange County producer Jim Monroe (Cadillac Tramps, Manic Hispanic,
Social Distortion). Armed only with that tape, El Centro added
rhythm guitarist Brett Roelen, whose churning guitar grind was
the perfect compliment to McGahey's smokey old school leads.
Distinct songwriting abilities were quickly emerging.
By 1997 the El Centro shows were beginning to turn heads. With
a stage show based on that old school punk sound and songs that
spoke to the importance of believing in yourself, El Centro's
musical presence was obvious. Songs about struggle and surviving
all delivered with a fiery passion that demanded ones attention.
Finger Records paid attention and signed the band in early 1998.
Finger Records brought El Centro to the attention of KROQ DJ
Jed the Fish who was intrigued with the bands new material.
The music was a musical vibe that presents itself as a distinct
blend of coastal-based reggae and blistering punk rock.
El Centro emerged from the studio in mid 1998 with their label
debut, ALTO! . The album brought a slice of the Clash together
with themes of strained brotherhood and the unending struggle
to come correct with it all. Musical themes intertwined with
the early days of old school punk when bands like The Circle
Jerks, Black Flag and the Adolescents raged.
After a successive Warped Tour stint in 1998 and 1999, a slew
of dates followed with bands like Bad Religion, Pennywise, Fear,
TSOL and Guttermouth to name a few. The enthusiastic reaction
of fans now accustomed to the El Centro party (seemingly inherent
in each show) convinced the band it was time to record the second
album and so the work began.
On
their second release, ¡PROHIBIDO!, El Centro shows that
the insane songwriting and knack for modern, punk rock melody
so apparent on ALTO! was no fluke. El Centro set out to record
new songs with some of the old flavor still intact.
Finger
Records and the band turned to English music legend Stephen
Stewart-Short (Johnny Rotten, Peter Gabriel) who heard the
early tracks while working with Andy Troy at Costa Mesa's
Revolver Studio.
Intrigued by the songs and the style, Short and Troy quickly
added tracks and began re-mixing. |
In addition to the privilege of working with two such talented
individuals, El Centro also had the fortune to have worked
with Jerry Finn (Blink 182, Sum 41, AFI) on a few tracks for
the ¡PROHIBIDO! release.
Well the other big development has been the writing and recording
of Prohibido! the second El Centro album. If you guys
liked Alto! you're going to dig this one. First, the songwriting
team of El Crabo, Brett, Denny and Gil has come together like
no other.
El Centro, translated, means "the center". Something
that the rough, dusty town located a few miles from the Mexican
Border might have been at one time, but certainly is not now.
The band's now famous logo comes from the La Familia crossing
symbol (California's official attempt to warn motorists of
migrant families scurrying across the dangerous Interstate
5 freeway towards El Norte) as seen on the last stateside
sign as you head into Baja, Mexico.
Three years after the release of the classic ALTO!, that symbol
which has become somewhat of a metaphor for the bands struggle
and perseverance through the hard times, seems to mean more
now, than ever.
With the album complete it was time to move forward and with
that came the departure of bassist Ray Bones, who had just
joined the band prior to the ¡PRHOHIBIDO! sessions.
With a void left to fill, the call went out and was answered
by original El Centro bassist extraordinaire, Gil Mora. With
all of original El Centro members in place, the line up was
again complete!
In 2002/2003, El Centro was thrust all over the national news
with media interest in the band sparked by the band's lead
singer Steven "Crabby" Cabler. Crabby was one of
the sole survivors of the recent terrorist bomb attack at
The Sari Club in Bali, Indonesia in October of 2002, which
almost all but took Crabby's hearing and equilibrium not to
mention the massive emotional trauma that he endured in the
aftermath.
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What
Crab Lived Through.
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The attack, which has been called the worst terrorist action
since the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, injured hundreds
and claimed the lives of over 180 people including that of
former El Centro manager Steven "Webby" Webster.
Crabby's miraculous and inspirational tale of survival and
determination to make his come back to the punk rock scene
after surviving this horrific ordeal has earned him coverage
on national news broadcasts, television shows such as Dr.
Phil and national print magazine coverage in publications
suck as Rolling Stone and People Magazine to name a few.
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Crab
gets interviewed at benefit show.
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Most recently El Centro made headlines once again as Crabby
and the boys took the stage for a surprise performance, their
first performance since before the terrorist attack, at a
benefit show featuring headliners Pennywise in an effort to
help raise money for Crabby's medical bills.
With Crabby's hard set determination, drive and focus to overcome
his injuries and get back what was taken from him so tragically
and El Centro's hunger to get back on track, they are ready
to hit the road!
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