So is person that I interview is known in the Oxnard Scene one of the bands that he was is influence for my band I want to thank him cause if I didn't get into punk Idk where I would be doing and also I want to take the time and say Rip Nik Ulmer I know I didn't personal know you but the music you did In Heavy Artillery & El Mariachi was awesome and I Thank you for that...What's your name???
Erek "Boner" Kudla. Got the nickname for highschool. The girls a year older made fun of the spelling of my name, that it was "just like erect"! har har har... then a friend of mine Chirs Stinnent came to school tippsy yelling "where's that Erect... that Boner guy"... and it just stuck. What are some of the bands you were in the past???
A lot of bands that didn't do anything so I'll just say the bands that recording something.
-True Patriots was my first band in 1997 with my friend Donovan who introduced me to Trasher Magazine and ultimately punk in general. Played guitar and sang. Played our first show at my 15th birthday party. Played our second show by calling Eddie Numbskull and leaving so many messages on his hotline he finally just let us play a show.
-Bohemian Crapface 1999/2000 I was the worst guitarist in our group so I learned drums for this band. I think we only played twice but had a sweet tape. Those were some of the funnest times with Bryan Russell on bass and johnny Meehan on guitar/vox. It is also the reason I had to go back to high school for an extra semester.
-Shot in the Face 2000/2001 was the first band that I was in that played lots of shows. it introduced me to the process of booking and networking and all that. I can't even explain how Shot in the Face got to practice in the old abandonded house dubbed "The Ghost House" in the avocado orchard that was across the street from Pacifica HS with an empty pool and walls to graffiti on. But we did... for about six months. Crazy times. The last show there inspired starting my zine "So this is Progress" because of how the police treated a house full of punks.
- Heavy Artillery 2001/2006 the first time we jammed was at the Ghost House. Used that knowledge to play more shows then I've ever played before or since haha.
- Knight Hound 2006/2007 this was with Brent Woodward, Mike Doane and Pat Bailey originally but then pat was our after the first show. Then we had Andrew Wakter and added Daniel Fries. With half the band being from Ojai we played some crazy shows up there.
- Covered in Scars 2007/2009 (I think, Porcho will correct me haha) this band had been around forever already. I actually worked with Craig when he was the manager at Round Table like 8 years prior. Tony Molino was on drums with Danny Ornee, Craig McCracken and Scott Porcho. It was really fun and we played some rad shows. Have done 2 reunions since then, which is fun and funny both at the same time.
- Grizzly Shark 2010 started with Javier Cruz, Brent Woodward and Scott Porcho. Got to play bass in this one. After a bit Scott was out and we got Jordan Darby. PLayed a few rad shows and then broke up.
- FBA 2014 I joined because I REALLY liked the band but they couldn't get a consistent drummer. Played a bunch of rad local shows and then it broke up.
- I filled in for Pale Hands, Oni, Global Warning and a few others for shows or tours or brief periods in between all of them.
What the bands or band that you in now???
- TRASH 2015 we started under a bridge in Ventura. Basically I really wanted to start a band themed after my dog Rowlee and his new found love for Trash on the last Pale Hands tour. My girlfriend (now wife) Ocean-Breeze Santillano played drums and I wanted to bring in Kellen Handcock because we'd been friends forever (his dad was the singer for Global Warning) but we'd never been in a band together. We lived in a box van and Kellen lived on a boat so we always practiced by generator on the beach. Played a bunch of shows then got a job in Ohio and Ocean and I moved out just outside of Columbus. We've come back and played shows and flew Kellen out and played shows here in the mid-west. We're doing a summer west coast tour this year as well.
- BODY FARM 2018 Ocean and I moved to Baltimore, Ohio - 30 minutes SE of Columbus - July 2016 and have just been learning the scene and doing our "new people" thing for the last few years. We met Steven Bujdoso at shows in town. He was wearing a cool shirt of some kind (Spazz or Dystopia or something) and we clicked. He said "I want to play in a fast bad" and I said "Me too... Ocean you're singing" and that was it. We didn't have a bassist and I REALLY REALLY wanted a keytarist...but we finally settled on guitar through a bass amp and guitar amp with a foot switch in between. Recorded our first demo and within the week had a bassist. Alex Emmert came on board for bass. Both dudes are about 10 years younger but punk is punk is punk. Been playing a LOT of rad shows and I think this is gonna be a thing for as long as we play. How did Heavy Artillery start as a band???
I can't remember why I started hanging out with Chris Carey. We all called him "Chrispy". He was in our circle of skate friends. But for whatever reason we decided to start a band. He didn't know how to play bass so it was perfect. We picked up Nick Bracamonte and he was going to play drums and I was going to be on guitar. At the first practice all together Nick wasn't that great at drums but was good at guitar so we swapped. Then neither of them knew how to sing and play yet so I figured "I'll try on drums" and that was it. We recorded our first boom box demo right after that. Basically I learned that if you want to play shows you gotta book shows. So i started booking a TON of shows all over the place. Skate Street, The Livery, Cafe on A, house parties, generator shows.... and we played them all. in 2002 or 3 Nick Brac left and we got Nik Ulmer. "Other Nick". Nik took it to a-whole-nother level with Riffs, artwork, shows.... we went on 4 tours and put out a 7". It was nice.
How long was it a band???
Lasted till the end of 06 start of 07. not really sure. Basically I'm lame and had a serious girlfriend for a really long time. We broke up and it got weird with our circle of friends and I acted lame and quit most everything I did. Not a cool story at all. I could have made it cool... but it wasn't.
What was the best show you guys played in??
We played a lot of REALLY cool shows. Distort Vancouver fest with Hell Shock, Lebendin Toten, Chuck Norris, Stormcrow, Iron Lung and a bunch of others was crazy. That whole tour with Masisin was crazy. We played at a jr. High assembly that was a Thailand tidal Wave benefit. That was weird. We played with S.T.R.E.E.T.S. a bunch. Cattle Decapitation once. We played a few headlining shows at the end at the Loft (formerly Skate Street) that were crazy. I remember the show that you guys were playing with I believe it was with James and The Mexicans.. I was tripping out cause it was one of the 1st shows I ever gone to.. I was excited that I was going to see Heavy Artillery but the cops came to raid the show...The good things I was able to see you guys play at the Skate Park...
Yeah... cops are pretty lame. I remember my parents would always say "it's because you're putting yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time..." one time I had my dad work the door at this two day backyard festival I put on that the second day ended up getting canceled - El Rio Fest. I had gotten the permissions, I had porta johns, I had Primo Pizza come in... the works. The cops bardged in and he stopped them at the door "Five bucks".... they ignored him and walked in. He went back in front of the "hey guys it's five bucks"... they walked right back by him. he then tapped him on the shoulder "five bucks guys" they then turned around and had him up against the wall for touching the cop..... after that he apologized and admitted they walk all over us. so who in your new bands???
Lots of people... but always friends
any cool shows coming up???
There are TONS of cool shows everywhere coming up. Here in Columbus and in the Mid-West there are crazy shows all the time. On the west coast crazy. In the 805... crazy. It's good times it seems like and it seems like the internet is bringing us all even closer together.
BUT Trash will be touring July 19-27 from Pasadena to Portland... so that's cool ;)
Is there anything you want to add or give a shout out to??? Thanks for your time Erek
Is there anything you want to add or give a shout out to??? Thanks for your time Erek
Of course gotta give a shout out to Nik Ulmer. He showed me what it meant to be "down for it". Distro, fliers, shows, bands...everything. You have to be all in to be "down for it". I think that has pushed me in every avenue of my life more than a lot of lessons learned.
