The smell of sweat and summer air wafts around the grassy, usually neat backyard; aluminum cans and empty water bottles engulf the pink and purple flowers. The screech of a guitar amp being activated sings alongside the gentle tapping of drumsticks on cymbals; a cop car wails in the distance. The normally tranquil, quiet yard turns into a chaotic scene of screaming teenagers, neighbors on porches and laughter circling through the thick summer air. Tonight, the yard serves as a venue: El Chavos is performing.
“I had been seeing other local Memphis bands that were playing house shows,” Xander Sinclair (12) said.
Drawing inspiration from other bands, as well as from old tapes of punk and post hardcore performances, Sinclair set out to host shows of his own.The local post-hardcore powerhouse band El Chavos stars Sinclair on the drums. Over the summer, Sinclair hosted multiple concerts at his house, all free of charge for attendees. Covering songs from popular artists such as Jimmy Eat World, Basement and Blink-182 as well as lesser known bands such as Dogleg and Title Fight, El Chavos developed their own unique sound through covers by tuning their instruments a half step down and speeding up the tempo of each song. As the summer drew on, word spread of the electric music and growing crowds, with each show getting more and more popular.
“We’re hopefully moving away from [covers] in favor of incorporating more original music,” Sinclair said.
El Chavos’s first self-titled EP released in June 2023, featuring three original songs inspired by the band’s post hardcore and pop punk roots. As El Chavos released more music, they began to perform originals to larger and larger crowds of fans singing along to their lyrics.
“[My favorite part] is the ‘Break Stuff’ mosh pits…and stage diving to ‘Nasubi’,” Benjamin Kay (12) said.
Kay is recognized for his wild dancing and intense support of the band at every show. ‘Nasubi’ is one of three of El Chavos’s released originals.
“[The show] was very, very packed,” Sinclair said. “It was very, very hot in there, there was barely any room to get into the house…[it] was crazy.”
The house shows are attended by many White Station students, with Colman Agranov (12) even earning a live feature with El Chavos, performing a song by the band ‘Mom Jeans’.
“I go to all of the shows I can because I’m very good friends with the drummer,” Agranov said. “I love El Chavos and it was really fun to play with them, and I would love to do it again.”
The popularity of the house shows did not go unnoticed by teens, neighbors or even law enforcement. When the first outdoor house show got too loud and rambunctious, from organized shouting at neighbors to one mischievous individual climbing onto the roof, chaos was bound to happen.
“I climbed on the roof because the song they were playing was called ‘Shed,’ so that really inspired me to climb on the shed.” East High senior Adam Griffith said.
Griffith, who is close friends with the members of the band, prints T-shirts to be sold at every show, helping advertise the band with both simple and flashy tie-dye designs.
During the same show as the shed event, El Chavos garnered attention from even unwanted guests.
“It was June 6, 2023, a Tuesday I think…during that show we got a noise complaint,” Sinclair said. “The cops were called, and they showed up.”
After the guitarist of the band organized for the crowd to yell back at the neighbor who filed the complaint, cops arrived to investigate the chaos. Despite police warning Sinclair that he would end up in jail for continuing his actions, Sinclair did not hesitate to host more concerts showcasing his passion for performing.
“If it’s packed, [the crowd] is moving, and they’re loud, then I’m happy,” Sinclair said.