Matt Caughthran is the vocalist of California punk-rock band The Bronx, who just dropped their badass new album, Bronx VI. (Need a copy? Head on over to our webstore.) In addition, he fronts Mariachi El Bronx, hosts The Sailor Jerry Podcast and is a talented photographer. Here, Caughthran shares shots from a fraught, complicated summer in his hometown of Huntington Beach.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
The past couple of years in Huntington Beach have been absolutely bonkers. Protests, partying, politics, police and surfing. All as far as the eye can see.
Yes, It is mostly a conservative city. Hell yes, it is sometimes a Stargate and safe haven for the ignorant and uneducated.
However, there are also a lot of great people in HB. Generations of California coastline that kept their heads screwed on straight. Families, businesses, artists, musicians, and locals. Level-headed, beach-loving, free-thinking motherfuckers who will proudly stand up against the universal evils of racism, oppression and inequality.
But unfortunately, freedom isn't always about level-headed progress. Sometimes, it's just about barbaric self-expression. Shit pops off here. It gets ugly. It gets emotional. It gets embarrassing — and it gets violent.
But I love it.
I don't want or need to live where everybody thinks and believes the same as me. I want action. I want juxtaposition. I want discourse. I want sun, sand, surf and solitude. And I found it all in Huntington Beach.