My name is John Halperin. I organized and managed Chain Reaction from 2000 to 2006. It all started by accident when I was running a one-man record label. I went to the club to see the band Melee perform and the previous talent buyer for the club had just left that day. I told owner Tim Hill that I would do it (since I only had three shows booked at the coffee shop). We slept together, and the next day I was hired.
I joined Ron Martinez (from Final Conflict). He booked punk and hardcore shows. I ordered indie, ska, emo, screamo and pop punk. We made a great team. The best working wife in the world.
Story time. My friend Ikey Owens (RIP) called me and told me that he and the guys from At the Drive In were going to start a new band. I had already booked Defacto (their dub project) and we agreed to invite them to the show and just announce it as “Defacto”. About 200 people attended the first performance of the group, which soon became known as Mars Volta.
This was not unusual. The Chain Reaction scene has seen many artists emerge and move on to bigger things: Death Cab for Cutie, Avenged Sevenfold, Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Pierce the Veil, My Morning Jacket. The list goes on and on.
John Halperin, who booked Chain Reaction from 2000 to 2006, stands in front of the club during its heyday.
(From John Halperin)
I used to make a deal with kids. Buy a ticket to X's concert and if you don't like the band, I'll give you your money back. I've never had to do this. I knew my audience and they trusted me to curate the room. … It was made by children, for children, only I was 30 at the time. I had to think like a teenager. My friend Brian once called me “Peter Pan.”
Midway through my reign, social media became commonplace. There was Friendster and a little later MySpace. YouTube said just a few years later. But in those first few years that I spent in this place, it was talked about by word of mouth. These were paper leaflets that were distributed in cafes and music stores. It was a leaflet in the window of the hall. These were Mean Street Magazine and Skratch Magazine.
I teased the press when they wanted to review the show. If you don't come with a pen and paper, you won't get in (sorry Kelly).
Most of the music industry went to the Los Angeles show, but the smart industry came to us. After their performances, countless artists were signed. The band's meeting with the label could often be seen in the parking lot of their tour van.
When I was there, there was a dry room. No booze or weed. We made only one exception to the weed rule. A band artist suffering from Crohn's disease who was traveling with a nurse. I'm not saying bands didn't drink backstage, on stage, in their vans (we rarely had buses), but what we didn't see didn't happen.
Touche Amore performing at Chain Reaction in 2010.
(Joe Calixto)
We were often referred to as the “CBGB of the West” and for many bands, both local and touring, that's what we were. We were ground zero. Of course, there were other venues, but for some reason we were the ones who performed. The Showcase Theater in Corona was on the verge of its decline. Koo's Cafe in Santa Ana has closed. Back Alley in Fullerton was not active. Galaxy Theater [in Santa Ana] was still a Galaxy. There was no House of Blues in Anaheim. Bands would travel thousands of miles to play one show at Chain Reaction. We were there where local bands started first of the four on the bill and would be headlining us a year later. We were their starting point. We were where the children came out. True fans, many of whom started bands themselves.
Luckily, there are other small venues today promoting a scene for people of all ages: Program Skate in Fullerton, the locker room at the Garden AMP. [in Garden Grove]Toxic toast in Long Beach Haven Pomona, but it's not the same. It was a moment in time. A time that will be forgotten in a few decades, but today my social media is flooded with memories of a room that was a second home for thousands of children.
Zero regrets. These were the best and worst times of my life. Working all day at a concert and then going to the concert venue almost every day of the week was tough. Relationships and friendships were difficult because I couldn't go out at night. I couldn't have a pet. I was constantly tired. But I wouldn't trade those six years for peace.
Rest in peace, Chain Reaction.
