Codefendants are a genre-smashing punk collective blending alternative, hip hop and rock to create a sound they call Crimewave. Formed by Fat Mike (NOFX), Julio ‘Ceschi’ Ramos and Sam King (Get Dead), the band fuses raw punk aggression with sharp lyricism, dark humor, and street-level honesty. The Codefendants—three dangerous bastards with criminal records and musical ambitions—landed like a Molotov cocktail through the window of an industry built on lip-syncers and safe bets.

Meet your suspects: Sam King, a punk-rock lifer with ink-stained fists and scars from a thousand wrong turns, and Julio “Ceschi” Ramos, a poet, ex-con, and underground hip-hop ghost who once sold weed to pay rent in a world that charged interest on dreams. Both born of Bay Area chaos, they met in the hallowed, graffitied walls of 924 Gilman St.—a punk rock church with no pews and plenty of sinners.

Both had extensive rap sheets—felonies, court dates, and enough bad decisions to fill a Netflix docuseries. Fat Mike, by comparison, once spent 24 hours in Disneyland jail for causing a scene—hardly hardened, but criminal enough for punk rock credentials. It was a match made in legal hell, but the chemistry was undeniable.

In 2023 the trio recorded their first album, This Is Crime Wave, at Baz The Frenchman’s studio in Echo Park. The first single was “Fast Ones,” a bullet of a song featuring The D.O.C., Death Row royalty back from the crypt, lending his voice to the chaos for the first time in two decades. Codefendants took the chaos on the road, from the punk-soaked shores of Punk Rock Holiday and Bay Fest in Europe to the sunbaked concrete of Rhymefest in Los Angeles, where they shared the stage with legends like Xzibit, Dilated Peoples, and DJ Quik, to supporting NOFX on their recent farewell tour.

2026 will be a monstrous year for the punk trio as they gear up to release their sophomore studio album, LIFERS, on April 3rd and continue to tour around the world.

Jakob Nowell and THE CASTLE is the solo project from Sublime frontman Jakob Nowell. Best known for walking in his late father’s shoes, Jakob took the reins as Sublime’s frontman in 2024. While he continues to tour and perform with the legendary group, Jakob now turns his attention back to his solo project ahead of the band’s new album, Lord Scumbag, scheduled for release in 2027.

Previously signed to Epitaph Records and now releasing under Jakob’s own label, SVN/BVRNT, Jakob Nowell and THE CASTLE is a blend of old school meets new. Beach meets the internet. ’90s underground does hyperpop. Imagine lying face up on the beach as waves of retro synth melodies wash over you like static, your body slowly dried by the heat of the emerging sun and skank guitars. It’s both pretty and gritty.

Active since 2022, Jakob Nowell has toured the country with emerging young artists like Sitting on Stacy, legacy musicians Jason Devore and Slightly Stoopid, as well as G. Love & Special Sauce, Common Kings and Long Beach Allstars. They’ve performed at numerous festivals, including Lollapalooza, Sublime festivals and the upcoming Sublime Reef Madness Cruise.

While many have seen Jakob with Sublime, the enigmatic frontman continues to push THE CASTLE, SVN/BVRNT Records and the SoCal underground to new heights. He was recently featured on the cover of SPIN Magazine (August 2026), has been profiled in in-depth features by VICE and NPR, and has guested on countless podcasts, telling his story and that of THE CASTLE.

With the burden of purpose and expectation held proudly, Jakob Nowell and THE CASTLE seek to break all convention and usher in a new era of California music.