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NEWS • Entertainment Written by Yunisa DELGADO-FLORES • May 28th, 2022 - 7:00AM The rise and rise of the Dead End Brigade Art, Ben, and Jojo from the Dead End Brigade talk with the Daily about their new song, the process behind making it, their influences, as well as possible plans for the future. The Dead End Brigade, live at Stooges. Art on bass and vocals (left), Ben on drums (middle) and Jojo on guitar (right). - Courtesy of Art from the Dead End Brigade. The Dead End Brigade, one of Los Santos' fastest rising indie punk bands, has been making waves in the national punk scene as of recent. A few months back they concluded their tour to New York City and are now discussing plans for a possible future tour. Within Los Santos, they're often booked for grunge-themed bars such as Six Rounds and, prior to their accidental fire, Stooges. However, they've also been known to play venues in West Vinewood such as the Split Sides comedy-club. Art, the lead singer for the band, and Ben, the drummer, joined the Daily News for an exclusive interview. Mags, the bassist, could not attend the interview due to scheduling conflicts Jojo, the guitarist, took part in a one-on-one interview at a later time. "Me and Ben been tryna do something for a minute, we known each other for a long time and a couple years ago we started Dead End Brigade, it took a little minute before it started taking off though." Art shared with the Daily's Yunisa Delgadlo-Flores. "I'd say we started gaining some traction like half a year ago?" Ben also recounts one of their first gigs. "Round new years. We played that one show for an MC then went silent for a bit. Then that's when we started picking it back up, yeah." Like many other bands' beginnings, it wasn't instant success. Art briefly touched on their experience performing at one of Los Santos' many night clubs. "It was just a failure. Wasn't the venue for us. Happens though." "I met them after I caught up on their music— plus, they had been playing at the Community Center here in Vespucci." Jojo tells the Daily on how she came to be in the band. "I been playing myself for a while but I never could find a band to play in, DEB was looking for new members and I gladly joined up. And that's how the ship started to sail, dude. "I started playing guitar when I was fourteen. I was really frustrated with the whole system and what not, being stuck in a strict family or work for some a--holes." Jojo shared, telling the Daily how she used music as an escape from an oppressive household. "I have four brothers and three sisters, three of my brothers are incarcerated— my sisters are all doing whatever they are doing. Politics, doctors, you name, the whole sha-bang. I graduated in becoming a lawyer myself believe it or not, but I just don't like being stuck to something— you know? "I don't like work for some a--hole in a suit that tells me what I can and can't do." The band's style is varied, taking inspiration from a bunch of different sources. As Art described, "All our songs kinda sound different from one another too." This rings especially true when Art's solo career is taken account, where Art's much mellower solo performances contrasts heavily with the raging rock rampant at a Dead End Brigade show. The Dead End Brigade, live at Six Rounds. - Yunisa Delgado Flores. 22nd May 2022, 00:10AM, The energy behind the Dead End Brigade's live performances can be summed up as loud, violent and thrilling. The music shakes the walls, the vocals screech through the speakers, and the crowd can cause an earthquake. As is common in punk, the mosh pits are frequent at their concerts. "Yeah, I know people ain't really listening at our shows, they just wanna go crazy and have some fun.", Art tells the Daily. "We try to give them that." "I kinda envy it.", adds Ben. "We should write a song with no drums so I can go mosh for a couple minutes" The band just released their new song titled Taking the Cure. Art and Ben shares their process in creating the track and the rest of their songs. "I was just sitting in the studio and, again, the lyrics just kinda come." Art told the Daily. "I just have to work out a melody that fit em. It's usually me and Ben locked in a room and working something out. He work magic on the drums. "Sometimes it go in that order, other times it's the other way around" When asked about any future plans for tours, the noted their large fan-base over in Brazil. Ben immediately suggesting that they go to Brazil, to which Art said their next tour will be kept in the US. "Yeah, yeah, definitely gonna get a summer tour booked." Art shared. "We got some comments about Brazil but we probably gonna keep the next tour in the US, too." "I love those peeps out in Brazil, they got a whole different scene going on there" Joey talked about her experience with international fans. "We've have fans all over. Brazil, Europe, even f---ing Asia— like, Japan and all that. "We're also thinking to do a more international tour someday, but for now? We stick in the US. And I mean like— The UK, Europe, Asia, you name it, dude." Their next live performance is scheduled to be at the Six Rounds bar in Vespucci on the 3rd of June. Comments are enabled: Username: Comment:

The Varrio Harpys gang (HPS) also known as Harpys 13 or Varrio Harpys, is a predominantly Hispanic street gang that originated in the area of Grove street in the Western of South Central Los Santos by the 1960s. This group of teenagers have been known to terrorize the city throughout the years until recently back in 2017 that the group has suffered from the first ever gang injuction at South Central. History of the Harpys gang The Varrio Harpys gang (HPS) also known as Harpys 13 or Varrio Harpys, is a long-standing Hispanic street gang that originated in the area of Grove street in the Western of South Central Los Santos by the 1960s. The heart of their neighborhood stretched from Chamberlain’s gas station to the dead end of Grove Street. The roots of the Harpys can be traced back into the early 1960s when a group of teenage immigrants decided to make a name for themselves among the surrounding gangs in the area of Los Santos. The gang took their name from the Harpy Eagle, which is the largest and most powerful raptor found in America to symbolize power. They frequently were seen wearing baseball team Houston Astro's merchandise as the team's logo is a large H. The Harpys unwillingly shared their turf with two other small gangs who were believed to be nothing but two local football clubs under the names of The Dead End and the Wild Bunch at the time. As years passed by the Harpys became more centralized and the gang increased in size, gaining its reputation for violence. During this time the feuds between the two football teams and other football teams in the area were escalating, eventually ending with the rivalries leaving the field. Fights escalated between the two groups starting from low risk brawls, and quickly evolved into stabbings and eventually shootings.The public was quick to realize that the groups were no longer just football clubs and gang units marked both clubs down as their own gangs, noting their rivalries. Resulting for both of the small gangs to emerge into a single, unified Harpys gang in order to strengthen themselves and beef up their numbers. They consisted of multiple cliques such as the 25th Street Tiny Locos (TLS), 27th Street Chicos Malos (CM), 28th Street Dukes (DKS), 39th Street Tokers, and 5th Avenue Midgets (MGS) On September 6, 1980, three members of 18th Street were shot to death by members of the Harpys, giving birth to a long term war between the two sets. The constant warring consisted of a number of shootings, most of which ended in a death. The beef still stands to this day as a peace hasn't been reached between the two sets. 13 Ruben, known as “Doc”, was the leader of Harpys, a Latino street gang in South Central Los Santos. On May 16, 1988, three years after entering the state prison system he rose through the ranks of the prison system to become a dreaded member of the Mexican Mafia. Roman had been a state prisoner since 1985, when he began serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. As a member of the syndicate, authorities said in court documents, Roman was authorized to collect narcotics and extortion proceeds from not just his own gang but a panoply of others in South Los Santos: 38th Street, 36th Street, Primera Flats, Playboys and East Side Trece, among others. By 2012 Doc still managed to maintain his grip on the gang from inside prison, Roman controlled a territory in South Los Santos bordered by Popular Street to the east, Davis Avenue to the west, Adam’s Apple Boulevard to the north and La Puerta Freeway to the south, but on 2017 the feds hit them hard as part of the two-and-a-half year “Operation Roman Empire” investigation, feds say they seized 8-and-a-half pounds of meth, a half pound of heroin, a pound of cocaine, 23 pounds of marijuana and 24 guns. Charging 18 Harpys members and associates, including Ruben’s daughter, Catalina, with racketeering, drug trafficking and various violent crimes. On June 11 2020, Ruben “Doc” Santos, a Mexican Mafia member who controlled swaths of South Los Santos from various prison cells throughout San Andreas, was stabbed to death Wednesday at a substance abuse treatment facility in TTCF, the state prison system said Thursday. History of the Grove Street Harpys Grove street has witnessed the rise of various street gangs. One of the most recent gangs to operate in the area and call Grove street their home was the Ghetto Boyz, previously known as Ghetto Boyz 13 before their feud with the Mexican Mafia. The Ghetto Boyz succeeded in keeping a tight grip on Grove neighborhood, turning into one of the most notorious gangs in the city of Los Santos. The good days were quickly cut short. There are various stories about what happened and why the beef between the Ghetto Boyz and the Mexican Mafia started but throughout all the stories only one thing is consistent, the ending. Some stories say the beef was ignited after a Camarada; An associate of the Mexican Mafia, was shot in Chamberlain during an attack which was carried on by members of the Ghetto Boyz on Tortilla Flats 13 gang. The shooting of the Camarada was said to have led into the fracture between the Ghetto Boyz and the Mexican Mafia. An Associate of the Mexican Mafia was killed under mysterious circumstances on March 6, the Camarada's body was found shot to death in a dumpster somewhere outside Los Santos' county lines and the Ghetto Boyz to blame. The Mexican Mafia was bound to retaliate with Grove Street Harpys participating. This has led to a series of attacks carried on by multiple sets in the city against the Ghetto Boyz. As the "Boyz" were getting murdered around every corner of South Central, houses were turned into ashes. Eventually bringing Ghetto Boyz out of power. On April 6 2017, Dead End Harpys XIII was dragged along with the first ever gang injunction request after the “Operation Roman Empire” succeeded with the downfall of it’s previous leader Catalina “Temper” Santos, and ended up in the arrest of most Harpys gang members. Few members left or tried to take control of the leadership after the former shotcaller Adam “Stoner” Venegas got booked for his involvement during the Arsoning and Capital murders of Ghetto Boyz 13. While in the spree of arrests, the gang now also dealt with their own members infighting for control of the set. The turnout created an unwanted presence between the younger barrio kids, who chose to avoid joining the gang. Eventually leading to their drop of recruitments and ultimately left Grove Street taken over by any current gangs in the area. Today’s Harpys Survivors or otherwise newer generation members of the Harpys 13 gang have adapted themselves into the Roy Lowenstein / Avenues district of Los Santos. A dangerous gang-area known to occupy with gangs such as; Dark Side Neighborhood Bloods, S/S Avenidas, and King Kobras 13 in the general location. For these young gangsters the gang lifestyle is their way to put food on the plate for their families and for their personal needs. This new generation of Harpys soon adopted the ways of the old generation, taking advantage of the already increasing crime rate in the city of Los Santos to bring back the gang together and make a name for themselves under the clique of Dead End Avenue currently led by Miguel “Dreamer” Gomez. The gang’s main revenue was from the street level distribution of narcotics such as Marijuana, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine. In no time, the new generation found their way back to distribute them narcotics using their felonious talents, while petty crimes like tagging walls and slanging drugs make up the majority of the gang’s criminal activity. The varrio Harpys is no stranger to much more serious crimes such as grand theft auto, burglary, armed robbery, small scale business racketeering / extortion, and even murder.