Editor’s note: Steve DeCaprio is a member of the San Francisco-based metal band Embers, as well as a squatter at the Noodle house. As both squatter and musician, Steve lends a unique perspective to the issue of squats; the following article focuses on his experiences living in squats, playing and seeing music in them, and advocating for squatter’s rights.
I met Mila in 1999 at La Scintilla, a squat in Modena, Italy. I was on tour with my previous band Lesser of Two. Mila runs a number of labels including Agipunk, Break the Chains, and Iconoclast. Recently Iconoclast agreed to release Embers’ upcoming album, Shadows.
La Scintilla was a huge fortress with a bar, library/store, a computer workstation, two rooms with free foosball, a large concert space, a guest room designed for over a dozen people, multiple kitchens, storage, an entire floor of apartments, dining room, common space, laundry room, meeting room, and space left to expand.
During Lesser of Two’s tour in ’99 as well as subsequent tours by Embers, we played at many squats such as La Scintilla.
Before touring Europe for the first time, I always thought of squats as merely abandoned properties which people just occupied for shelter. As a teenager, some friends of mine and I had occupied a vacant warehouse. We brought furniture into an empty office in the warehouse and hung out there. I remember when Ash, the other guitarist on Lesser of Two’s first E.P., was kicked out of his parents’ house and began living in the warehouse.
Once his parents kicked him out he was living in the warehouse without electricity, and one of the only places we could plug in was a local park that was known as a pick-up spot for guys cruising for sex. Eventually Ash left town and Lesser of Two became a three piece with my wife, Kelly, who currently plays bass with me in Embers.
After arriving in Europe and seeing the squats there, my ideas about the possibilities of squatting expanded dramatically. Lesser of Two and Embers have played in dozens of squats throughout Europe. Some of the
squats are as good or better than any commercial venue you will play in—they have large stages, professional sound equipment, efficient staff/volunteers, backstage area, food, etc.
Other squats are on the other extreme: burned out or stripped husks of buildings powered by a maze of extension cords plugged into pirated electricity, where a foreboding sense of injury lurks around every corner. There is also every possible variation in between.
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Despite this, even the most blighted squats tend to provide a good forum for metal, with people packed in, getting drunk and rocking out regardless of their surroundings. In fact, sometimes playing a show in a building that is falling apart adds to the post-apocalyptic sensibilities that metal often embraces. Sometimes it’s like playing the most out of control dive bar you could imagine.
La Scintilla was one of many squats I encountered that sparked my imagination regarding the possibilities of squatting. I imagined squatted fortresses and labyrinths with their own self-contained societies rising up in every city. Other squats that inspired similar thoughts include Zoro in Leipzig, Rotteflora in Hannover, Rozbrat in Torun, Ladronka in Prague, El Paso in Torino, Barrikaden in Oslo, just to name a few.
After the show at La Scintilla in ’99, drinking and dancing ensued. Mila began to dance on the bar and tables, jumping from one to another in time with the music. He was soon joined by a boisterous woman. The image of them dancing with such reckless abandon was surreal. Unfortunately, the festivities came to a halt when the two of them came crashing down upon each other, leaving the woman with three broken ribs and Mila with a large welt on his head.
When the Lesser of Two tour in ’99/’00 was complete, my band mates and I split up and traveled around Europe. For those 2 1/2 months I lived primarily in a squat in Madrid. The entire household was comprised of radical vegetarians. One floor was vegan, the other vegetarian. In a culture dominated by bullfights and tapas, being a vegetarian was very much against the grain. At the time there were more squatters in Madrid than vegetarians.
My friend Rekena, who invited me into the house, switched between playing guitar and bass in many punk and metal bands. While I was there he formed a short lived vegan death metal band with one of our other housemates.
At one point, some friends of ours squatted a building in our neighborhood. Rekena and I went there to hang out. While we were there one time, the owner and two thugs kicked in the door and started assaulting people in the apartment. Rekena told me to leave. I wanted to stay and fight, but he was adamant. Later I realized he was looking out for me, because the police arrived and everyone in the squat was arrested.
Squatters in Europe have varying degrees of rights. Spain is a country where squatters have few rights. On the other end of that scale is the Netherlands, where squatters have extensive rights. Most countries fall somewhere in between.
While I was in Madrid, I took the time to study Spanish. I went to a squatted school in a building that was abandoned by the Catholic Church. The school was called La Prospe, and they provided free Spanish classes. Most of my fellow classmates were recent immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East.
Upon returning from Europe after the Lesser of Two tour in ’99/’00, Kelly and I attempted to return to our old routine. All of our lives, Kelly and I have worked low skill shit jobs to support our music, including dishwasher, short order cook, pizza delivery, construction laborer, recycling collection, etc. Whenever we went on tour we’d quit our job and look for another after we returned.
Since Kelly and I were touring and traveling for over 7 months, we decided to move out of our apartment, and look for new housing on our return. We found an apartment with friends, and I had assurances from my previous employer that they would hire me back.
That didn’t quite work out.
After only a few months back, we were evicted, and the manager who promised my job back had been replaced. Without work and housing my options were limited. For a while I slept on friends’ couches while I looked for work. Then I started to sleep in our tour van rather than rely on my friends.
For about a year while I slept mostly in our tour van, my primary source of income became donating my body for various scientific experiments. It was at this point that I became determined to start a squat similar to those I had seen in Europe as a solution to my housing dilemma.
Hellarity was the first squat where I lived. It is a squat that people had been residing in since the early to mid’90s in Oakland. The squat had an open door policy which resulted in a great deal of chaos. Since I was always cooking food for everyone, I was embraced by the household, and eventually given my own room. Often I would come home and find wall to wall people sleeping on every inch of floor space.
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It was at Hellarity that I realized that squatting is not free. Almost every day there were new guests magically appearing on our couch, and we constantly had to kick old guests out to make room. Guests would fight with each other. Housemates would fight with each other. Guests and housemates would fight. It was a constant struggle amongst everyone to best utilize our limited resources.
Of course with all that chaos came a lot of positives as well. There were many amazing travelers coming through. Many of them were musicians. Many of them would help with house projects or help dumpster dive for food. Because of this, Hellarity always had plenty of food for everyone, even if we were all living on top of each other.
All along I knew that I was not comfortable simply using Hellarity’s resources. I needed to strike out on my own, establish my own space, and widen the circle. I left Hellarity to establish a squat in Berkeley, California, which we named Banana.
Banana had been abandoned for more than 10 years and was filled with dust and garbage. The plumbing didn’t work so my fellow squatters and I had to re-plumb the house. We also replaced the broken windows and cleared out much of the garbage. We turned on the water, electricity, and a phone.
The beginning of the end occurred when I was at the house removing the boards on the windows I had repaired. The Berkeley police stormed the property, and held us at gunpoint. I was cited and released, but I stood there while city workers boarded the property back up.
Later, I returned, removed the boards, and moved back in. I was cited again, and the city workers used one way screws to install the boards, and filled the keyhole with epoxy. Again, I was cited and released.
The third time I came back, sawed the screws and doorknob, and moved back in. I was again removed by the police, then cited and released. The city workers then welded the storm door shut with an arcwelder.
At this point, the back and forth between the city of Berkeley and me had become personal. I should have realized the situation was untenable and moved on. Looking back on it now, I realize I was simply being foolish, but the anger I felt about my situation dominated my thoughts. I could not accept that our society would prefer for me to be homeless while an abandoned house rots. We reward stockbrokers, corporate CEOs, real estate speculators, and so on with wealth and luxury, but musicians are forced to work shit jobs, live in slums, and in some cases go homeless.
I returned to Banana with a cordless dremel, a diamond blade, and a can of WD-40. I sprayed the weld joints with lubricant and cut the metal with the dremel. I had cut all the weld points and was in the midst of changing the locks when the police arrived. They took me to jail.
For my efforts, I was cited six times, spent two nights in jail, and spent weekends for a year cleaning up trash on the side of the road after being convicted of three counts of “unlawful entry into a residence.” I had no money for an attorney, and the judge denied my requests to have an attorney appointed to me. I had to represent myself through an entire jury trial and had six out of the nine charges against me thrown out. Pretty good for a beginner, but not good enough.
My legal troubles did not stop there. While out on bail, I returned to Hellarity. The first day I woke up, the house had been served with a lawsuit. Because of my growing legal experience, the duty of litigation rested mainly on my shoulders. I gave the district attorneys a run for their money. For about 2 1/2 years, I litigated them in circles until I couldn’t handle both the burden of litigation as well as the drama of wall-to-wall people; 20 at one count in a house with only four actual bedrooms.
At the same time all of this was happening a documentary on squatting was being filmed called “Shelter: A Squatumentary”. This documentary follows the story of three squats in the East Bay, including Hellarity and Banana.
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Shelter: A Squatumentary (TRAILER)
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Shelter: A Squatumentary (OLD TRAILER)
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During all of this, I had another squat on the back burner. It was completely uninhabitable, but extensive remodeling sounded better to me than continuous litigation. A tree was growing into the roof. One floor was filled with dead animals. The other floor had trash and fire damage. The crawl space had syringes and more trash.
We called the house Noodle.
Today, I live at Noodle. The roof is fixed, the trash is gone, and the house is mostly functional. We have no hot water or electricity, but there is no litigation or drama. It’s my home.
Currently Timm, who plays guitar in Embers, lives with me. Since we don’t pay rent or mortgage payments, one might think that we could save a lot of money and sink it into the band, or quit our jobs and tour incessantly.
Unfortunately, since the house was abandoned for over 40 years, it was in dire need of repairs (or demolition). Because of this, I spend most of my paycheck on repairs and blight fines. I hope that one day the house remodeling will be done, and I can put more time and money into the band.
Despite this, my life has settled down considerably. I have a decent job, there is little house drama, I’m not involved in any litigation, and I get along with my neighbors. My friends and I even started a garden in an empty lot on our street. We built a shack which is looking more and more like a cottage. Our friend is the “groundskeeper”.
Also, since I’ve been in and out of court so much I’ve decided to become a lawyer. When I pass the Bar Exam in 2013, I will become the only lawyer that specializes in squatting. I find myself consulting with squatters often, helping them avoid common pitfalls while establishing or defending squats. There are now numerous squats in Oakland, and the trend is growing.
However, unlike Noodle, not all squats have happy endings:
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Safehouse owners throw bookcase at occupants
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Safehouse barricade: owners throw knives
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I have learned a lot through my squatting experiences. I’ve learned that our society places a higher value on property than human life. I’ve learned how people can come together during difficult times and how they can fall apart and turn against one another.
I’ve also learned that in the U.S.A., squatters have more rights than I originally thought. For example, if you squat a property long enough, then the property becomes yours. This legal principle is called “adverse possession,” and it is the squatter’s holy grail. I have achieved that at Noodle. I don’t know anyone else who has. I’ve started a blog about this subject with this same name, Adverse Possession.
Embers has gone to Europe twice since I first met Mila at La Scintilla. During those tours, we have played in many squats. Playing in European squats can be a good alternative to commercial venues, especially for lesser known bands who are self-managed. It’s exciting to be working with Iconoclast now because Embers shares roots in the crust, squatter, and radical communities, as do a growing number of metal bands today.
In 2009, Embers played at Barrikaden in Oslo. Afterward we visited one of the infamous burned churches of Norway. Playing in European squats can be a good alternative to commercial venues, especially for lesser known bands who are self managed.
Tips for squatters:
1. Research
Before entering a house and living there, it is often helpful to know exactly what you are walking into. With an address, you can find the owner’s name and the parcel number through your local tax assessor’s office. With that name and parcel number, you can find more information at your local courthouse and county recorder’s office. The internet can also be a good source of information, but don’t rely on the internet exclusively. I recommend researching numerous properties, so you can pick the most viable rather than the most desirable.
2. Prepare
Before entering the house, imagine all the possible reactions by people who may undermine your efforts, such as neighbors, police, owners, and city officials. Brainstorm every possible reaction by those people and develop a strategy for taking possession of the house in a way that avoids as much potential confrontation as possible. Develop strategies as well to deal with situations as they arise. Treat such interactions as the theater of life and practice your lines with your friends.
3. Repair
Make sure that the water is turned on and that you fix up the house in a way that both ensures your comfort and secures the respect of your neighbors. I recommend a fresh coat of paint and a garden if you want your neighbors to like you. If you turn an abandoned house into a filth infested shantytown you shouldn’t be surprised if your neighbors turn against you. Respect your house and respect your neighbors.
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HEAR EMBERS
Embers Website
Embers MySpace
Embers Facebook
Embers ReverbNation
Editor’s Note: Previous Invisible Oranges articles about Embers:
Sign Them Already, and Every Band Should Have a Bandcamp
Interesting account. Could you elaborate on this sentence though: “I had no money for an attorney, and the judge denied my requests to have an attorney appointed to me.” That last part sounds a little odd given the 6th Amendment’s “Assistance of Counsel” clause. I know there interpretive points out there about when, exactly, you are entitled to that protection, which is why I’m asking.
I waived the attorney for a preliminary hearing before trial, and afterward changed my mind. I went to the Public Defender who said I was “borderline” indigent probably because I had a part time job. There was a lot of bad communication and the judge refused to force the Public Defender to represent me. Since it was only a misdemeanor I had limited recourse. Since California doesn’t grant a real appeals process for misdemeanors. It’s mostly a rubber stamp for misdemeanors on appeal.
I’ve witnessed many, many arraignments and preliminary hearings (the latter is the first step for a felony) and the judges around here are very willing to appoint a public defender. They would rather be safe than overturned on appeal (in Nebraska misdemeanors are handled in county court, and every county has both a county and a district court; county court decisions can be appealed to the district court, so it’s much better than a simple rubber stamp). I’ve never seen someone ask for a lawyer at a later point, though.
This is a very interesting article. But, a question of semantics, once you have obtained the property through adverse possession, are you still a squatter? Have you quieted the title?
Adverse possession is the rule because the law prefers for property to be used productively. I agree with what you’re doing in that sense (although I would disagree with it if the owner continually tries to kick you out). I’m not sure how I feel about pirating electricity and water, though.
Well since being a squatter is a street term and adverse possession is a legal process I guess it’s up to the individual what they call themselves. In California, and any places that follow English common law, the property’s title vests in the squatter once a specified period of time passes (5 years in California) and the squatter has jumped through any legal hoops that are required (payment of taxes in California).
I always recommend acquiring amenities such as water, electricity, gas, telephone, cable, etc. through lawful means whenever possible, but the world is not a perfect place. It’s always preferable to do things as legitimately as possible to lower the risk of ejection and arrest.
Fair enough. Five years is a pretty short time.
The concept of adverse possession was very interesting to me in law school. Most people have such a strong negative reaction when they learn about it, but most intelligent people see the benefits if they really think about it. If someone doesn’t agree with that, they should think about these:
- Compare it to the statute of limitations. If you wait 10 years to sue somebody over something, most people don’t think that’s fair. It’s the same thing here–if you wait 10 years (or 7, or whatever the term is in your jurisdiction) to sue somebody to evict them, then Right and Fair are on their side.
- If you had any idea how ugly property recording systems and deeds can be, you would be on board immediately. We learned about a case where everyone in a subdivision was living in the property next door to the one they bought, because of a mix-up by the land developer. Because they had all been there long enough, it was a simple enough matter to quiet the titles, rather than have people fighting over what they wanted.
- Sometimes, property is really and truly abandoned–the owner may never be found (and may not even know they own it) or just doesn’t care about the property. It’s better to have property be put to good use. And if you think about it, at some point nobody owned any property, and it ownership derived basically from staking a claim and living there. AP derives from a similar concept.
Thank you for this article. I’ve been to squats across the U.S. I always felt welcome and I’ve seen some of the most memorable metal and punk shows while at those places. It does get really crazy at times, and this lifestyle is definitely not for everyone. Most of the squats that I’ve been to are gone, yet new ones keep on popping up, most especially during this shitty recession where the numbers of the unemployed and the homeless are increasing. I won’t be surprised if most of us ended up in a similar situation in George Romero’s Land Of The Dead where the rich live in the fanciest condominium complex in town while everyone else is left to fend for themselves in the shanty towns surrounding it. It is really appalling how big banks hasten the foreclosure of many homes across the country, the politicians and the lobbyists keep on using the common people as pawns for their own gains, and the corporations and financial institutions are unrestrained with their greed. I think the Occupy Wall Street Movement barely scratches the surface of what’s to come.
Very interesting. I’ve been extremely keen on the idea of squatting since visiting a few squats around Berlin and this helped give a good perspective on it.
Thank you very much!
This is a good article, but its relevance to metal music seems limited. I wish the author had made the correlation between the squatter lifestyle and metal culture more central to the piece, rather than just using it as a place to merely extol the virtues and describe the practices of squatting. As it is, I feel that it deserves posting, just on some other forum than this one.
Fascinating piece, I always and wrongly associated squats with awkward dysfunctional communities in dilapidated messes, only to learn when going to squat gigs there are many that are highly organised and very professional, something your article does well to dissolve this common myth.
I was kinda hoping to see some pictures of Noodle
Interesing read. Embers is a great band you all should check out!
i disagree w/ the sentence concerning musicians being “forced” into shit jobs. that’s a cop out. there are lots of metal and punk musicians who have successful music careers as well as work careers. if you put as much effort into getting a good career as you did into your band, your studies, your squatting… you’d be writing this on your new macbook pro, in an airconditioned apartment w/ your 3 series in the driveway.
i think it’s very commendable and downright cool that people would move into a place and fix it up on their own accord. that’s great for the neighborhood and community. but this article seems to be written from a “chip on my shoulder / the world owes me a living” perspective.
if you break into someone else’s house and get kicked out, don’t bitch about it.
good luck.
Well it’s pretty obvious I should have said “many” musicians are forced, but I think most people know what I meant… dude.
As for the rest of your comment we’ll agree to disagree.
An impressive amount of restraint
Agreed. It’s obvious that Steven is clever enough to think about only himself and do so successfully, if that’s where his heart lies. He has other goals in mind.
Very interesting and well-written article.
However, I completely disagree with the idea of squatting. I live in Northern California and understand that rents are ridiculous and owning a home is a challenge for most. But I think all the time and energy spent avoiding or fighting police, litigating court cases that cost taxpayer money and performing makeshift repairs on buildings that you don’t even own could be better used. How about teaming with other folks to buy a small amount of property, renting a place with others within your means or subletting? Or relocating to a cheaper area that’s more artist friendly? It seems like making a life out of squatting takes tons of time and effort that could be better used and ultimately more productive. The notion of squatting will never be accepted by most citizens and the law. Is this something worth fighting for when we have other pressing needs?
Plus, there’s the whole safety thing. I’d hate to be one of a few responsible folks running a squat that is then used by a bunch of strung-out people who don’t give a shit. Buildings are often closed or condemned for a reason and it’s not necessarily a wise idea to have amateurs rewiring electric sockets or disposing of used needles. Finally, if you worked hard to buy a house and there were 30 people all of a sudden sacking out for free next door how would you feel?
Squatting ultimately falls back on a utopian ideal that people will always do the right thing and look out for their fellow man. It’s almost never the case. I’d rather put my energies elsewhere and try to build something rather than put a Band-Aid on something that isn’t mine. I realize that there’s an enormous class divide in our country but I think there are better solutions and alternatives. Maybe I just cherish my privacy.
Good luck and stay safe.
Wow, now this is a very salient critique of squatting. Yes, I agree squatting is not for everyone, and there are other options. Yes some squats are horrible, but through my experience creating a functional squat is possible; not just a utopian theory. Also, keep in mind the housing alternatives you suggest are also open to dysfunction. Cheers.
Interesting read. I have to agree with Justin on this one. That said, I am curious – once you have done the research and found the information regarding the owner of the property – do you seek any type of permission to squatt the property?
I imagine a situation when an old inactive LLC is listed as owner, and said owners of LLC are deceased, back taxes are due, and in general there are signs that the property has been left to rot, – makes for good squatting?
I’m a big proponent of private property rights, but find the relationship b/t public and private spaces fascinating. I think there needs to be a balance… you have definitely educated me some on the side not spoken for much.
I usually don’t squat properties in which the owner is available to ask for permission. They are either dead or missing. It is always better to get permission if someone with a pulse shows up with a legitimate property interest.
I don’t think squatting undermines private property. It reinforces it by preventing unused property from being seized by the government. Instead the squatters can invest their sweat equity to acquire property inexpensively. If the previous owners show up then at least the property was put to beneficial use.
Higher occupancy rates lower crime and improve a neighborhood’s economy.
There are few actual downsides to squatting in reality. There is just a social stigma, and class resentment which is hard to overcome since they is so pervasive.
Did you share your adverse possession story in Property class, and if so, did your professor’s jaw drop? That is really an unusual accomplishment in modern times.
“Check it out. This one time, I was flying signs…”
this is great, steve. the squatter life isn’t for me, but what you’re doing is highly commendable.
For the record; “Other squats that inspired similar thoughts include Zoro in Leipzig, Rotteflora in Hannover, Rozbrat in Torun,” – Rozbrat is situated in Poznan (Poland), not Torun, take a look on the first picture at the top of article.
Nice One, Steve.
jones