LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL

Interview with The 40 Ouncers

San Fernando Valley

This article originally ran in 2015 in the Paradigm web zine.

We’re standing on a driveway in East L.A. and the temperature’s reached near-freezing levels—for Southern California, anyway.

It’s a backyard benefit show and The 40 Ouncers have just finished their set. Every now and then someone slaps the back of singer Juan Delgadillo or nods to the entire group to say “nice job” or dispense some other compliment.

The band hails from the San Fernando Valley, a bit far removed from where much of the backyard action is in East L.A. but they’ve been making moves as of late to play more shows and put themselves out there after a shift in band members.

Drummer Peter Castillo has been carrying much of the weight of The 40 Ouncers from its beginning in 2005 and can be credited with largely keeping it going as some members fell to the side either succumbing to drugs or what happens in the natural course of life as people get older, get married, have kids or all of the above.

“It started in 2005. Then some people left the band and then I found some new guys and we stayed stable for a few years, but it just didn’t work out,” Castillo said. “You know, some people were looking just to have fun and then they found girlfriends and then went their own ways. Luckily, I found these guys right here.”

It’d be easy to discount The 40 Ouncers as just another street punk band, based on even just the band name alone. They’ve got the telling marks of the genre with their thumping melodic bass lines and wicked fast drumming intros wrapped into concise songs good at rousing even the sleepiest of crowds. But they’ve got heart and are hard working, able to walk the fine line between being just another party band and something with a lot more substance.

“Look, you want to have the best interview ever in your life,” Delgadillo asks before the questions even start flowing.

Without waiting for pause, he lightly smacks Castillo.

“I could have punched him,” Delgadillo added.

“I had no part in that,” lead guitarist Krisma Arguayo said looking on from the sidelines.

Castillo brought on Delgadillo, previously of Neglected Youth, because his vocals matched that of the band’s former singer—something hard to find, according to Castillo.

“I met him when I was barely turning 14,” Delgadillo said of Castillo. “He put me in the back of his car and I was drunk and we were coming back from Canoga, from the Cobalt. I got in his car. He’s like ‘Here’s a mickey.’ So I’m like ‘Ah, shit. Something bad’s probably going to happen but fuck it.’ He gave me a mickey so I drank that mickey and then he took me near my pad and was like ‘All right, bro, I don’t know where you live but you gotta get the fuck out.’”

“It was one of those things where we looked out for each other back in the day, whether we knew each other or not,” Castillo said of why he offered Delgadillo a ride in the first place. “Everybody that came into our little circle, we always looked out for each other.”

Castillo and Arguayo have also known each for at least a decade, the two guess. They had worked together at one point and their respective bands also played shows together before she ultimately joined The 40 Ouncers. Hyro Aguirre, the band’s bassist, is the most recent addition having come on board just a few months ago.

“It just fell into place and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Castillo said. “Whether we argue or whatever. It’s not like how it was before [with past band members] where little things became a whole other issue.”

What may not be as obvious on the outside, becomes crystal clear after talking to them. This band’s got the support of many who enjoy their brand of street punk.

“It’s all about the music. That’s what we’re here for,” Arguayo said. “At the same time, we all bring different sounds into it. We all sound a little different.”

But they’re all working class, Peter said, by way of adding context for what ultimately seeps into what they play and what they do outside of the band. It’s dimension for a band that could easily be pigeonholed for being just another bunch of drunk punks by someone too lazy to peel back the layers. 

“If you need to build a house, call [Aguirre],” Delgadillo said. “If you need to have your laptop fixed, call me. You need beauty advice, call [Arguayo].”

“And if you want to kick it on the couch, call me,” Castillo said jokingly.

“Yeah, you want to play video games, call [Castillo],” Delgadillo said. “That’s how it is. A little of everything. You could be a punk rocker; it doesn’t fucking matter. But, you know what? On the side, we’ve all got to make a living. I’m making my living by being a fucking geek....You do what you’ve gotta do to survive. You don’t have to be a drunk fucking punk asking for money.”

It’s a nugget of wisdom wrapped up in a rant fueled by alcohol—we were at a show after all—and many more from Delgadillo as the night unfolded.

“A lot of us say we went through this and that and I’ve been through it,” Castillo said. “I love punk for what it stood for—freedom to do what you wanted to do—not just ‘I’m going to be a druggie and a drunk.’”

A lot of that is in their music, in which they sing about everything from being working class to things they may be going through with family or being drunk, as Delgadillo tells it.

“Life,” Aguirre said more simply.

“I see a lot of bands, they make music and you hear them singing about old wars,” Castillo said. “What we want to do is stuff right now. What we’re going through. We see other bands and they’re talking about riots and stuff like that. We could sing about things happening in the news, but it’s what’s happening now with us. Stuff people can relate to.”

Despite having been around for so long, The 40 Ouncers have yet to release anything formally in the vein of an EP or LP. It’s in the cards, Castillo said, but a focus in the past on playing show after show is what detracted a lot of that from happening. The band, they say, is now more focused on playing the best shows for themselves even if it means playing only once a week or once a month as opposed to anything that comes along.

“All of us work and we have family. It’s reality,” Castillo said. “When you’re young, you don’t give a fuck, but once you grow up, it takes time to get things done. We’re trying to do it DIY. Or is it DYI...?”

“DIY. Do it yourself,” Delgadillo said.

“He’s dyslexic,” Arguayo said by way of explanation.

“You can tell by the way his eyes are looking; he can’t even look at you,” Delgadillo said. “He’s over here looking all cockeyed.”

“Where did she go?” Castillo said.  

Just then another person walks down the driveway congratulating The 40 Ouncers on a nice set.

It’s that support, they say, that keeps them wanting to continue playing shows and seeing people get excited to hear their music.

“Everywhere we go, you meet so many people. It’s so welcoming,” Castillo said. “The vibe, the love and respect. It’s not about let’s get out there and try to sell this and that.”

“I love the experience and just the fun and having a great time,” Aguirre added.

And just in case anyone didn’t catch how diverse and multi-dimensional the members of The 40 Ouncers are, Delgadillo starts in again on what they do outside the band as someone murmurs in the background “OK, she got it I think like the first 10 times you said it.”

“[Peter’s] insta-mom. I’m that one geek that’ll [make] you some bread—“

“I think he’s trying to seduce you,” Arguayo said.

“Then you’ve got this guy who will flex for you,” Delgadillo says pressing on, unrelenting. “If you want to look good, right here [points to Arguayo]. It’s so weird. You’ve got this whole band and if we combined, we’d be the perfect person, but we’re not, you know?”    

Next Show

Dec. 20

2 p.m. to 9 p.m., $5 or free with donation, 21+

5 Star Bar at 267 S. Main St.; Los Angeles, CA 90012

40 Ouncers, Los Creepers, Tres Muertos, Anti-Social, Underground Alliance, Neglected Few, Aggression Equals Action

*Benefit show to help the homeless

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Instagram: @fourtyouncersofficial

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