From Paradigm Winter 2021, Issue 6.4

 M.A.D.D., M.A.D.D. World

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. The guys from Carson hardcore band M.A.D.D., plus friends in tow, stroll across the parking lot of Carson Park. 

They’re running behind. The group had been waiting on singer Derek Pasquel, who is in town for the holiday. He’s come down from Berkeley, where he’s a freshman studying chemistry.

He laughs when he likens himself to Milo Aukerman, singer of the Descendents who has a PhD in biology. 

“It’s like Milo from Descendents. I thought [chemistry] was cool because [in] L.A. they like blowing stuff up, so now I know how to actually blow stuff up,” he said. 

Guitarist Rayden Agura and drummer Rayce Agura, along with bassist Gavin Gomez, sit quietly as Pasquel smiles. 

If the joke didn’t jump out from the page, Pasquel’s kidding as he went on to later admit he’s still navigating where he wants to go with the chemistry degree once he’s done with college. 

If one is going chronologically, M.A.D.D., the band, skews young when placed in the broader landscape of local bands out there. However, their substance — and maybe, for lack of a better word, their swagger — places them a bit more seasoned than their youth would indicate. Although, they’re a tad difficult to read in an interview. However, what high schooler or college freshman is used to being interrogated about the meaning behind every little thing they do as a band? A bit more digging finds depth in not only what they’re singing about, but their interests in everything from tagging culture and tattoo art to photography and, for youngest member Gomez, wrestling. 

M.A.D.D. made waves only recently as one of the newest bands to come out of Carson, the city bounded by Long Beach, Torrance and the Harbor as part of a pack of bands holding down the Harbor Area and South Bay that include P.D.W., P.I.S.S., Unexpected Fetus and Dimebag just to name a few. 

Rayden described the Harbor Area scene as having its own vibe. Some might say it’s the blend of the Harbor Area and South Bay (the two are often used interchangeably, though locals would be quick to correct you), surfers and skaters, alongside an ethnically diverse population. 

The band is, in some ways, a reflection of all of that and more. 

M.A.D.D. actually got its start as a group in 2019. Although, the music being produced was different than what the band would emerge as the following year. 

The lyrics had a softer edge under the prior band, making the reference to the Descendents earlier in the interview an apt one. 

“We tried to be indie, but it wasn’t working,” Rayden said. “We were trying to be PG, not political.” 

That didn’t last long once the four decided to make an about-face on that plan, switching to the kind of music M.A.D.D. plays today: straight-forward, hardcore punk in the vein of Black Flag and Minor Threat. They cite those bands among some of the top ones from which they derive their influences. 

That’s more fitting with the story behind the band name, too, which stands for Mental At Da Dome. 

“The meaning behind our name M.A.D.D.  is to capture our music meaning and  fast sound, talking about subjects we are madd about and fucking despise. We also use our name M.A.D.D, a well known non-profit, as a scapegoat of the disreputable activities we partake and associate with through our daily life. 

Our abbreviation of M.A.D.D. also expresses our presence and mental states in moments of life, especially at shows,” Pasquel had told this zine earlier in the year. 

Musically speaking, they’re not trying to add a bunch of bells and whistles. 

“We try to keep it old school,” Rayden said. 

“We don’t go into thrash or anything like that, just hardcore punk,” brother Rayce added. 

And, truth be told, their brand of hardcore is exactly as the two described it.  

And, where the subject matter of the songs from the old band dealt with more emotional topics, M.A.D.D. and its eight-song debut album is a pointed snapshot of what’s top of mind for the four right now. 

The 11-minute release has track listings that include “Tagger Kidz,” “Concrete Vietnam” and “HxA.” The tracks produce a mash up of commentary on social movements, cultural signposts and local pride for where they’re from — like a collage that speaks for itself and maybe makes the need for a winding article about them pointless.  

“Concrete Vietnam” aims to draw a comparison between war and daily life in L.A. County, where they say “you never wanna be caught lacking anywhere in this vicinity. And there’s always something happening, whether good [or] bad in our home, which enraptures the beauty of being here.” 

“Cancel Culture” is the song they’ve found to be most popular among their follower base. There’s nothing to read in-between the lines on that one. 

“I mean, everyone we’re around is getting canceled for the things they do,” Pasquel lamented of what drove him to write the lyrics. “People fuck up. We all make mistakes and it’s not cool. Just include everyone. We’re all human.” 

“But, I also think cancel culture people are all about the talk, but they don’t really walk it,” Rayce added. 

“What’s our favorite song,” Pasquel asked aloud, coaching the other three. 

“You’re talking like a dad, dad,” Rayden told him. 

“My favorite ones,” Pasquel continued, answering his own question, “are ‘Tagger Kidz’ and ‘HxA’ because we like graffiti and writing, and the culture behind that. And Harbor Area, we love our home and just want to rep our area.” 

Although Derek is now up north for school and the frequency of shows has slowed for them as a result, he still comes down to not only visit family but for M.A.D.D. to continue playing. He’s coming back for winter break, when the four plan to begin work on the next album. 

And, to the point that they’re not lacking in substance, they have no intention of sticking with the same template of their prior album. 

They say they’re experimenting with the sound. Where the band was a departure from what they described as more PG subject matter, musically, they’re departing for something new. They describe it as a bit darker and going outside the traditional hardcore genre for inspiration. 

“We’re trying to make a new album, but a little bit of a different taste. If it goes right, we’re trying to do Memphis rap, but old school punk. I don’t know. We’re trying to figure it out,” Rayden said. 

The genre has been described as a blend of hip hop with horrorcore, hailing from Memphis beginning in the 90s. 

“Memphis rap just sounds really wicked. It sounds darker or scary,” Rayden said.  

“They have a little piano,” Rayce added.  

Pasquel said he’s also working on learning about the scene up north to try and book more shows for M.A.D.D. up that way to continue expanding where they play. So far, the farthest show has been Riverside for a BMX event that the Aguras’ dad’s friend asked them to play. It wasn’t exactly an audience full of punks, but they enjoyed playing the event. A Los Angeles show in Lafayette Park was another good experience that allowed them to play to a non-South Bay or Harbor Area crowd. 

“It would be sick if we could just tour and go around California and play random places,” Pasquel said. 

“I like doing [the band]. It would be cool to do it forever,” Rayce said. 

“But nothing lasts forever,” Pasquel said.  

It’s easy to see how, growing up, Rayden and Rayce ended up in the hardcore scene. 

Largely influenced by their father, the two got much of their style, musical taste and artistic sensibilities from him. It was their father, by the way, who designed M.A.D.D.’s album. 

That inevitably trickled over to the other two members of the band. Pasquel is their first cousin, while Gomez’s father was married to the Aguras’ aunt. 

“Me and [Rayden] since elementary we were dressing up like studs and spikes. Spiky hair,” Rayce said. 

“We were influenced by our dad. He’s just a legit rocker. He was in gangs, but he dressed like a rocker,” Rayden said. 

Added Pasquel: “My uncle put me onto that. He’s the beginning of it all.” 

The topic of family and pride in where they’re from is a big one for the four. 

“All of our family grew up here, so it’s a big part of our lives,” Pasquel said of Carson. 

“It’s the hometown,” Rayden said. 

M.A.D.D. thus serves as an expression of the intersection of those two things. 

Said Pasquel: “It’s a family effort. It’s the way we bond with each other. As cousins and as family, I feel like it brought us closer to each other. We’re the only ones in the family that ever tried to do anything like this, and all of our family’s pretty supportive of it. It’s pretty cool.”  

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