Nematode is everything underground and independent music. Photos, live videos, recordings, radio, interviews, reviews, a once label, etc.
Run by just one person ((Ezra Gonzalez)) out of Los Angeles, California!
Nematode started out as a tape label in 2014 by Ezra Gonzalez and Meredith Guerrero* while in separate colleges in Northern California. The label initially began as an outlet for Meredith’s solo experimental/ambient music project under the name Sheriff Ramb. Meredith came up with the namesake in reference to a SpongeBob SquarePants episode. More tapes were put out for local acts over the next couple of years, including releases by Summer Peaks, Jay Som, Buddies, Crush, and Toner.
Most work after the Sheriff Ramb release was helmed by me – Ezra. Meredith and I didn’t collaborate on much due to work and school, and years later, I (Ezra) decided to use ‘Nematode’ as a namesake with Meredith’s permission for all of my creative work related to music in the years since.
I (Ezra) began attending concerts and local shows regularly around 2011, and didn’t begin taking live audio recordings or photos semi-regularly until 2015. It wasn’t until 2018/2019 that I began archiving and making more effort with capturing live music and booking events. 2021 was the year I started an Instagram blog and radio show on Lower Grand Radio. 2024 was my first break into the physical world with a photoshow and publishing of two photobooks covering Bay Area live shows between 2018-2023. You can read more about the book here.
The show goes on! With photos and recordings spanning thousands of live shows and recordings and an ever-undying love for independent and underground music far and wide.
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*Meredith Guerrero
is an amazingly talented and hardworking artist based in Los Angeles. She has work across many disciplines, including music, sound design, digital art, sculpture, illustration, poetry, analog/digital video, short films, and much more. Meredith is an audio technician by trade and dabbles in live performance and gallery work in public spaces when not creating amazing works of art. You can find her info below
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