Northeast L.A. punks Los Creepers have been around for a full 23 years now, and they play on a killer bill that includes Beowulf and Sick Sense at Cafe NELA on Saturday, so we sat down with guitarist Alex Alvarez to talk about it all…

L.A. WEEKLY: When did Los Creepers form, and what was the mission?
ALEX ALVAREZ: Los Creepers started in 1996. The mission was to play whatever we wanted. Rockabilly/psychobilly, blues, surf, ska and country, all mixed with punk — punk being the foundation to everything.

Describe the sound…
We've been together for 23 years with several singing changes. So our sound has evolved with every singer. Javi [Lopez] has been with the band for a while now. We've definitely leaned more towards our punk roots lately. We have too many influences: Punk, metal, old hip-hop, country, blues, surf.

What recorded output does the band have so far?
We have Creeper Stomp. Released in 1999/2000, I believe. Punk Rock Since 96 was released in 2003. City Streets was released in 2006. Onward to Anihilation (EP) was released in 2012. We just recorded a bunch of songs and hopefully will have something released this year as well

What can we expect from the set at NELA? Do you like the place?
The show at Cafe Nela with Beowulf is gonna be great. Both bands are mutual fans of each others' work and we finally get to do a show together. I actually work at Cafe NELA . Its a great place to play at. There's a great music community that congregates there. There ain't too many places left for bands to play at. Newer venues in the Nela area only cater to a certain type of hipster crowd. That is not us.

What's next for the band (talk about Val Fox too if you want)?
We finished up some recordings and heading back into the studio to work on some more. We are looking to release something this year. Hopefully on Wax. Plus looking to play more shows and in places we haven't  yet. As for Val Fox Records, my label, right now I'm mainly just doing shows. Helping bands get out more. Trying to keep our scene going. I mainly book events at Cafe NELA and at The OffBeat. You can get all the info you want from @loscreepers_la and @Valfoxrecords.



Los Creepers plays with Beowulf, Countime, Sick Sense, Revolting Sounds and SLUG at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 4 at Cafe NELA.

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