The Santa Cruz music scene is often like the Pacific Coastline itself. It ebbs and flows, sometimes in a tumultuous rage of noise, crashing on the rocks with every new artist that makes waves whether they are big or small. Other times it’s calm and serene, waiting for that next big thing to make a splash. Every once in a while, a compilation will wash ashore–a message in a bottle–perfectly preserving that moment in time of what Santa Cruz had to offer music lovers. The punk rock Bombs Over Santa Cruz by Loreili Records, Sounds of the San Lorenzo–which captured the town’s folk vibes of the early 2000s and the indie rock sampler Someday Coming Down all come to mind as gifts from the past.
But now there is a new compilation for a new generation: Santa Cruz Scene Celebration Vol. 1 (aka SCSC). It’s a 12 band mix of surf, emo, hard rock, indie folk and punk-inspired attitude featuring some of the acts who have been relentlessly making a name for themselves like Trestles, Perch, and Nothing Over Silence.
And on Sunday, May 31 SCSC is getting an official CD release party at Streetlight Records.
“The music community here is very connected,” says Claire Wirt. “They really work together well.”
Recorded at Santa Cruz Recording studio on the Westside, SCSC is the brainchild of Claire and Jim Wirt, a platinum record producer.
Okay, technically, the album came out on streaming platforms back in November. However, the end of the month party will be the release of physical copies. The album features an exciting assortment of bands that came to fruition in the years directly following the pandemic shutdowns. Many of them were underage back then and could be found playing as many all ages shows as possible at venues like the Catalyst Atrium, Urbani’s (ne: Bocci’s) Cellar and–yes–even Streetlight Records.
It’s a project that’s over two years in the making and happened in a roundabout way.
Originally the Wirts had offered several of the bands recording time to show the groups what professional producing could do for them.
“Everybody got the same deal: do a single with us and then we’ll talk about an album,” Claire states. “As we went on, I thought, ‘We have all these great singles, we need to do something with them.’”
That thought birthed the inaugural Santa Cruz Scene Celebration music festival. Held at the Santa Cruz Vets Hall in June 2024, the fest featured many of the artists on the compilation such as Universe, Plum Skin and Career Woman. The festival was curated by Trestles’ lead singer, Hunter Kelly, who also played a part in the creation of the CD.
“That was a fun operation,” Kelly laughs. “We spent many nights at Abbott [Square] over cocktails thinking ‘Fuck! How are we going to do this?’”
Because it took so long to record, produce, master and then find printing for the CD, several of the bands like Sluttony and The Anti-Groupies have since moved to Los Angeles to try to make their name in a bigger market. Hearsing–known for their indie rock ballads–has since been renamed Not Yet, Old Dog, while the experimental, jazz meets funk rock outfit Ladders has been on a hiatus since 2024.
Then there are bands like Perch.
This five-piece emo by way of pop punk band has been tirelessly building a following locally and abroad with live shows and a social media presence. Seriously, check out some of their videos and Instagram reels. These guys have a great sense of humor with a little bit of fun weirdness mixed in. Along with their “Finger Guns, Baby!” single appearing on SCSC Vol. 1, Perch was toiling away in the studio with Jim, recording their debut album set to be released later this summer. The first single, “Baja Blasted” just came out on April 20, which is, cough, very Santa Cruz of them.
In celebration of the Santa Cruz Scene Celebration Vol. 1 CD, Perch will also be performing at Streetlight on May 31 to deliver a little bit of what we can look forward to later. Bassist Tanner “Tig” Chel trained with JIm, learning the tricks of the trade and he also designed the inside cover for the compilation CD, which features a collage of the different bands on the album.
It’s another high-water mark in the local music scene. Despite the fact that it’s already changing, SCSC is a tether to remind us of the important art scene we have when we collectively work at it as the rolling whitecaps of the new become old and the unknown begins that next wave.
Catch Perch at 5pm May 31 at Streetlight Records (939 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz).
