This past weekend, Codefendants took the stage at The Rhythm Room in Phoenix, AZ, to headline a short weekend long romp through the southwest. Relatively new as a group, Codefendants began as a pet project for industry stalwarts Ceschi Ramos (an independent hip hop artist with 20+ years in the game) and Sam King (lead singer of legendary punk rockers Get Dead), with some production and lyrical/ instrumental backup from none other than Fat Mike himself, of NoFX fame (though it’s worth noting that he rarely makes any live appearances with Codefendants, leaving the touring chaos-making to Ceschi and King). The Phoenix bill was stacked with local favorites opening the night early, with Rad Pinkard, The Conveyors, Moodie Black, and Snailmate running the stage ahead of P.O.S. and Codefendants. While one band was on stage, everyone else on the bill was in the crowd, on the patio, or just milling around the venue hanging and drinking with friends old and new alike. The whole night had the air of a legendary college house party, the kind you’ve only ever heard stories and rumors about, and when it was time for Codefendants to take the stage, they entered from the packed crowd and launched into their set.
With a low stage, dark lighting, and the house at capacity, Ceschi and King began to tear into their truly genre-defying blend of story infused punk and hip hop. Their music sounds like nothing else in any scene, steals from every genre, and cracks like a tire iron to a kneecap. Rapid fire hip hop vocals and lyrics meet screaming punk guitars, groove-filled flamenco beats underlie soul searching spoken word poetics. It’s all there and more, and the audience was onboard from the get go. It’s hard to pick standout tracks from the set, because every song was met by uproarious chorus of approval and excitement, but personal favorites were “Counting Back from 13”, “Sell Me Youth”, “Abscessed”, and “Brutiful”. Ceschi even played a track from his solo catalogue, “Say Something”, which turned into one of the most heartfelt sing-a-longs of the night. Ceschi & King played most everything off of 2023’s This Is Crimewave, and rounded the night with most everything else from their catalogue. More importantly than what they played was how it was played; Codefendants managed to do something with their set that many haven’t felt in a long while. Ceschi and King make punk music feel dangerous and new.
Codefendants will appear at Punk Rock Bowling later this month, and then hit the road this summer for a select few dates, including a couple of overseas festival performances.
