Anaheim’s Chain Reaction: The heart of the alternative music scene

When people today imagine about live shows in Southern California, many visualize driving up Highland and Cahuenga for a demonstrate at the iconic Hollywood Bowl, as the breeze travels in the course of the hills. 

People today shuffle by 5 different security strains. Some halt by the artist’s merch vans. Many others even explore the Hollywood Bowl museum in advance of walking to the designated seating entrances for just about every segment.

Having said that, for quite a few pop-punk and hardcore enthusiasts in L.A. and Orange County, it’s a unique sight. They know they’ve occur to the suitable location when they can see a prolonged line of people today, dressed head-to-toe in black apparel, wrapped about the block to cram into a little venue.

Chain Response in Anaheim is a location that quite a few admirers of the rock and hardcore genres go to weekly to see all types of up-and-coming bands. 

“You know what type of exhibit you are gonna get. It’s private, intimate, punk rock and sweaty,” explained Oliver Baxxter, lead singer of pop-rock band Broadside, who a short while ago played at Chain Reaction. “Whereas somewhere closer to L.A., a large amount of instances it could just be people from labels and folks who really don’t even really treatment about the scene.” 

It is one particular of the a lot of Do-it-yourself venues that Southern California has to offer you, beloved significantly by fans and artists alike who started out out actively playing and heading to intimate reveals there.

“I started off going to demonstrates when I was 12, so the initially time I went there was when I noticed Allstar Weekend, they were a single of my beloved bands. It is type of a nostalgic location for me,” mentioned Yising Kao, a community live performance photographer. 

In 2020, Chain Reaction closed its doors thanks to the pandemic, as did all the venues in Southern California. With no timeline of when live demonstrates would return, the venue struggled to continue to be afloat. 

Fearless Data President and venue owner Andy Serrao reported he and venue manager Kevin O’Connell set their personal particular income into shelling out the venue’s hire, doing almost everything they could to maintain it open up.

When bands obtained term of the possibility of Chain Reaction closing forever, many banded collectively and assisted fundraise to hold the location open. They made t-shirts and took donations that went right to Chain Response.

In accordance to the Orange County Sign-up, bands such as Adhere to Your Guns, Terror, Knocked Unfastened, Counterparts, Rotting Out and Year of the Knife sold out 300 T-shirts and 75 hoodies they custom made-created to help save the venue.

Chain Reaction also partnered up with Violent Gentlemen, a Costa Mesa-primarily based clothing company and Anaheim’s BlackCraft Cult clothing firm to make limited version T-shirts and zip-up hoodies.

Serrao reported that Incredibly hot Subject and a quantity of substitute tunes labels available serving to hands in the course of their closure. 

“The persons who saved the location ended up the artists that made the venue, definitely. Artists that made the location thriving and made the location by playing the reveals and bringing their lovers and viewers there, they’re the people today that are like ‘yeah, we are not gonna let this materialize, we’re gonna save Chain,’” Serrao reported. 

Formerly identified as General public Storage Espresso Lounge, the location opened in the late 1990s, later on rebranding to the Chain Response identify. 

Lots of occur back to Chain Response for the scene practical experience in its purest sort. The intimacy of a venue with so a lot record is, for some, what separates Chain Reaction from other venues that folks regular in Hollywood.

The location was thought of the beginning point for numerous bands to get out of their hometowns, this kind of as Avenged Sevenfold, Pierce The Veil and Drop Out Boy, who are now enjoying arena shows today.

Taking part in the location has come to be a aim that most pop-punk bands have when they commence touring, even for non-American types. 

“It type of felt like some thing we had to do,” said Jayden Seeley, guide singer of Australian pop-punk band With Self confidence. “Playing it felt like we grew to become aspect of its historical past in a way, staying a component of that wider local community of bands coming up and participating in Chain Reaction. I feel that was unbelievably important and meaningful.” 

The location does not shy absent from giving a nostalgic and intimate practical experience. 

Partitions are included in classic t-shirts from bands that have played there above the decades, these kinds of as My Chemical Romance, Point out Champs and All-American Rejects. A vibrant neon indicator with the venue’s name is hung on the phase wall. And there are no barricades blocking the mutual energy trade in between artists and lovers for the duration of the sets.

It presents no question that the venue brings a feeling of home to just about every artist that plays a display there, drawing them back in for extra demonstrates in the long run.

“When our reserving agent was commencing to put collectively venues and the routing for this tour, he questioned if we wanted to play in L.A. or in Anaheim, and all of us unanimously stated Anaheim,” mentioned Domenic Reid, guitarist of Broadside. “I’d substantially fairly perform in this article than any place else.” 

Chain Reaction’s popularity of being 1 of the most legendary spots to maintain dwell shows even now holds up good today. Practically each individual everyday punk new music listener is aware of the identify when they hear it. 

“We type of just do our individual detail. The genres we like, irrespective of whether that is pop-punk, or hardcore, metal and substitute. That’s kind of it,” Serrao explained.

Every person who works at Chain Reaction has at some position been on a tour and understands the scene from all angles. Serrao says that they run the venue close to their pure appreciate for the punk music scene and absolutely everyone in it. 

The working experience at Chain Response is under no circumstances transforming. 

From the early 2000s to now in 2022, persons nevertheless open mosh pits to their most loved punk songs, carry crowd-surfers and go home counting the bruises on their bodies after the display. Some leave with bloody knees and noses, as a memento from the night’s endeavors.

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