OUR ONLY EXPECTATIONS ARE TO PLEASE OURSELVES, RIGHT?
A CONVERSATION WITH CESCHI RAMOS OF CODEFENDANTS
From my first moments with Ceschi Ramos of The Codefendants, a few things are obvious. One, he’s got a genuine passion for music, and two, this project is perhaps the most refreshingly old-school thing in the modern punk scene, even originally forming at the legendary Gilman Street in San Francisco. The combination of Ramos, Fat Mike of NOFX, and Sam King of punk warriors Get Dead, came together like most good projects in punk’s golden era did: they just decided to play together.
As Ramos takes up the story: “It was kind of a pandemic thing, really,” he says. “I don’t think we would’ve had the chance or time to make a new project happen otherwise. Sam met me in Gilman Street, he had the riff for a song which was originally going to be a Get Dead song, and he was always a supporter of mine, so he showed Mike my music, and, well, it blossomed into a whole project.”
It’s clear Ramos can’t believe his luck, particularly in working with Fat Mike (“I’ve respected and listened to him since middle school!”, he laughs) and Sam King, with whom he had been somewhat friendly in the years prior to the Codefendants, but perhaps most poignantly, the fact that the formation of the band gave him a reason to stay in the music industry. “I had already been planning to get out of the industry,” he confides. “My records tend to have revolving concepts, and I was wrapping them up about 2019. The pandemic delayed that, and then by the time we came out, The Codefendants happened, just as I was about to give up making music my job…” he trails off.
This funny, career-saving happenstance, then, first reared its head after its pandemic gestation in 2023, when the band played live on NOFX’s farewell tour. That sprawling, 40-city, two-year adventure took in some insane moments, including the band living together in what Ramos describes as a ‘Las Vegas mansion,’ although this was quickly curtailed when the band found it stifled their creativity. “I think a lot of songwriting comes out of struggle and pain for me personally, so I think as soon as I got really comfortable in my mansion room over there, I was like, “Yeah, I don’t know what to f*cking write about anymore!” he chuckles. “So yeah, we were quickly struggling again. That’s what this band’s about…finding ways to struggle!” he smiles.
All that touring, debauchery, and yes, struggle, was suitable to round the band into shape for the release of an album, This Is Crime Wave, to large amounts of acclaim. The album, by the way, is best described as some sort of mix of punk, hip-hop, synth, and folk influences. It’s out-there enough to land the band on hip-hop festivals like Rhymefest in Los Angeles, while still punk enough to hold spots on others, like Punk Rock Holiday and Bayfest.
CODEFENDANTS WEBSITE
A wide-ranging sphere of influences is anchored by what Ramos calls a personal, community-grounded style of songwriting. “We like to flesh out themes for an album,” Ramos explains. “The first album was more about cautionary tales. Us, as elders of music, kind of guiding kids like us that never had an ‘elder’ properly, you know? Someone to show you the ropes. Because, you know, I’ve gotten in trouble a lot in my younger years…” he says, speaking to some of the inspiration behind the band’s name. “I always wish that somebody could’ve taught me how to talk to police, or about jail and prison a little more openly. I unfortunately, just had to figure it out, go to prison and do these things. There’s also a lot about loss, particularly in and coming out of the pandemic. It’s a therapeutic record.”
The band’s original era will likely end with the release of new live record Codefendants x Zeta Live from Red Lion Studios, a live album that has something of a sad origin. The idea of the album is to capture their collaborations with their friends in Zeta, a Venezuelan band mostly based out of South Florida, who are currently undergoing some terrible issues throughout today’s political turbulence.
As Ramos describes it, “The guys are going through a lot right now – one can’t get back into the US, whereas one can’t leave, and so we wanted to capture a live version of what we do with them in studio, to put it out on some limited vinyl for people, because unfortunately, it might be the only time we’re all together like that,” he laments. “So, at least we’re able to make this, capture it on video and preserve that memory.”
That will be followed by an extensive bout of touring, and a second album planned for release in 2026. Ramos describes the second album as “about the disillusionment with modernity and the spectacle”, a punch back against today’s social media and numbers-led world, and that seems to follow with Ramos’s ethos, and in some way, the whole band. As he explains it: “We barely wanted to be on social media. But then, then over time, promoters are like, “hey, can you promote the show?” So, you do. But we really didn’t want to make it about numbers, or any of the things, you know, the monthly listeners, or any of the things that people get obsessed over, because I see all those things as temporary, right? I don’t see those numbers really mattering,” he says.
“What I do care about are old forms, like the album and, fortunately, Mike is legendary when it comes to putting together albums,” he smiles. “So, we really have kind of an older, old school perspective on it. We were barely even making this for the digital age.”
Our time goes by quickly, mostly because of the obvious enthusiasm Ramos has for the art his collaboration is producing. As he says himself: “When we started the project, we didn’t know how far we would take it. But then when Fat Mike got involved, he really wanted to go all the way with it. He thought it was the greatest thing he’d heard in a long time. So, what are we gonna say? I think it’s been an amazing opportunity. I’ve learned to not make have too many expectations in this life. I don’t expect much of other people. I think that could be the biggest disappointment: building expectations too high, Our only expectations are to please ourselves, right? Make records as we can and see what comes from that, and if it moves other people, as it has so far, that’s amazing.”
In an increasingly digital, always-on, world, there’s something reassuring about the Codefendants no-frills, old-school approach. It feels like a return to punk’s roots, and yet, the music is an evolution of that approach, too: something fresh, different, and breaking new ground. It’s certainly moved me, and I suspect if they continue, it’ll move you, too. The court is adjourned.
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Main Photo Credit: Joe Altmann | Background Photo Credit: Nik Hampshire
SPILL NEW MUSIC: NOFX DROPS BRAND NEW SONG FEATURING RISING PUNK ARTIST CODEFENDANTS | LISTEN TO “WHAT ARE WE DOING THIS FOR”
