DS Punks Doing Good: Charlie Overbey on the “We Are LA” Fire Relief Single

The Eaton and Palisades Fires devastated areas of Los Angeles a year ago. While a slew of charities worked overtime to bring aid to residents who lost their homes, another project emerged on January 7. Charlie Overbey and Grammy Award-winning producer Tedd Hutt have gathered a who’s who of punk rockers from all eras to record “We Are LA,” a single release with all proceeds benefiting the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

The song will be released physically on a 12-inch record along with a digital single, available for purchase through Bandcamp. There is also an auction set up for fans to bid on a guitar and t-shirt (separately) that were signed by each musician on the track, along with a cymbal and drumstick signed by Atom Willard. These proceeds will also go to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

The track was initially laid down by Overbey, Mike Watt (Minutemen), Atom Willard (Alkaline Trio), and Jonny “2 Bags” Wickersham (Social Distortion). However, Overbey was able to recruit more musicians to jump in and help out. Featuring members from bands like TSOL (Ron Emory and Greg Kuehn), the Adolescents (Tony Reflex), the Linda Lindas (Eloise Wong), Sugarcult (Marko DeSantis), the Drowns (Aaron Rev Peters and Jake Margolis), The Go-Gos (Jane Wiedlin), and more round out the lineup.

The Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial assistance to musicians and industry workers at all levels who experience financial hardship in times of need. Some of these grants were given to musicians who were affected by the fire, but some are still feeling the repercussions from the fire. These funds assist with anything from medical expenses to basic necessities like food and rent.

Musician and “We Are LA” organizer Charlie Overbey was kind enough to speak with us about the “We Are LA” single and why it means so much to him at this pivotal time in the city’s history.

Dying Scene (Forrest Gaddis): How did the idea for “We Are LA” come about?

Charlie Overbey: I was watching the fires on TV in disbelief from our off-grid pad out in New Mexico. We moved out here during the pandemic, but I was born in Lynwood and spent all my life in LA, so it hit me pretty hard. Those moments always tended to inspire songs and some philanthropy since 2020.

Who wrote the songs and music?

I started writing the song pretty quickly while watching the news and jotted down some rough lyric ideas. Then I played the bare bones of it for my musician daughter, Katie, who was almost 19 at the time. She kind of jumped in and had some great ideas, so we basically co-wrote it.

Why did you choose to raise money for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund?

I had worked with Sweet Relief earlier in the year on another fire relief fundraiser with my company, Lone Hawk Hats, and my women’s line, Honeywood Vintage. Sweet Relief has an epic, long track record of doing good things for good people. From the moment I met Aric, I knew they were the ones I was going to raise money with to help those struggling from the fires.

Was there a specific moment that made the project necessary?

The minute we realized how gnarly the destruction was going to be, the rapid pace at which the fire was spreading, the call that Marko DeSantis had lost his home, Publicist Kim Grant had lost her home, and Chris Shiflett had lost his home. It went on and on, and I knew there could never be enough help for this. It was time to try to do at least something.

How did you decide who would be involved?

I started thinking about all the people from LA I admired from the punk scene, all the people I was lucky enough to have become friends with, and people I barely knew but knew would step up for the cause, very few refused to jump in.

Were there any unexpected collaborations or contributions that surprised you?

Nothing really surprises me anymore. I knew the caliber of talent we were dealing with. I think it was the folks who didn’t step up that surprised me.

With artists from different eras of punk involved, were there any challenges in bringing everyone together?

The older punks totally support the young punks, and the young punks all respect the OGs, so it was all respect and love on this project. 

Where do you feel “We Are LA” fits within Los Angeles’s history of activism?

I hope it fits into the belief that, as Angelenos, we can bring change in the darkest of times. We are resilient and rebellious, from the streets to the offices. Even the city officials are kind of punk in a way, if you can dig that.. 

Beyond fundraising, what kind of impact do you hope “We Are LA” will have?

I hope it will raise awareness, spread unity, and instill a belief that the rebellious, young and old, still can do what’s right, to see through the bullshit, and to step up and fight for what’s important in this day and age. There is a lot of fighting on the horizon with the regime trying to turn this country into a third-world country, so you have not seen or heard the last of us. WE ARE LA!

While the holidays may be behind us, charity and goodwill don’t have a season. Consider purchasing the digital track or 12-inch record or bidding on the auction items to help people who are still struggling with rebuilding their lives after everything was taken away from them.