Everydaze Music Series
Everydaze Music was the first thrift store and artist cooperative in East LA. It was opened in 2014. It is now closed due to lack of funding and outside pressure from big commercial stores.
Everydaze Music became a platform to launch music careers outside the thriving Silver Lake/Echo Park rock community (that has long been a staple within the Los Angeles music scene).
There, we followed the lives of three musicians that live and work at Everydaze Music. You can hear their stories below.
Everydaze Music Series was produced and edited by Eric Pearse Chavez and Jake De Grazia.
Listen Below
Chris Mercado
(Nico Tolza Photography ©)
This first chapter covers the life of Christopher Mercado who is a first generation American. Both of his parents emigrated from Mexico. He was born with a very rare condition called situs inversus totalis, which means his internal organs developed on the opposite side of his body from their normal positions. He is a young musician who was surviving working in the store while making music with his band The Mad Walls. This first chapter would introduce the store and the precarious its precarious financial situation. (URL: https://soundcloud.com/ericpearsechavez/everydaze-series-chris-mercado)
You can find Chris & his band's (The Mad Walls) music below.
This second chapter captures the life of Julian Porte; he is also a first generation American. Julian’s father is Austrian and his mother is from Mexico. He has been playing his music on the streets of Los Angeles making a living and sometimes struggling with homelessness. He founded Everydaze Music in 2014, opening a much need platform for local bands to play their music. This chapter will cover the musical diversity that has organically developed in Everydaze and would happen if this unique platform would disappear. (URL: https://soundcloud.com/ericpearsechavez/everydaze-series-julian-porte)
You can find more of Julian and his band's (Levitation Room) music below.
This third chapter records the life of Adrian; he is a third generation American native to East LA. He loves to draw and currently makes a living as a tattoo artist in the store. He is the lead guitarist in one of the local bands. Adrian was part of the first army units that entered Bagdad after Sadam Hussein was toppled from power in 2003. This chapter will capture the significance of East Los Angeles and present path of gentrification with all the good and all the bad. (URL: https://soundcloud.com/ericpearsechavez/everydaze-series-adrian-aguilar)
Adrian Aguilar. (Nico Tolza Photography ©)
Videos
Julian Porte (Of Levitation Room)
This story is on Julian Porte, a musician, activist, and founder of Everydaze. Everydaze was a music & creative collective in East LA that became home to many artists reviving a psychedelic rock scene.
We apologize for the low video quality (our computer crashed before publishing the final edited version). You can listen to the full audio series on this page above.