art | music | people
art
This section won't be that long because you can't say much about any art, let alone the art at the deck. You just have to see it for yourself. Anyway, for a while, there wasn't much creativity in the deck. We built stuff for support and function not really for style purposes. But once we had that taken care of, we just started adding our own flavor to everything. Thus, each one of us has given to the deck some of our artistic ideas, from the landscape design to what hue of red the bridge should be.
We wanted a red bridge to stand out and this required choosing a rather bright red. Once we were finished painting, we saw that pretty much everything looked good on it (any color table, couch or pillow), so we decided that we should start putting miscellaneous items around the bridge, and in the tree above it. We went to Out of the Closet and various other thrift stores to find whatever we thought would work, and when we were done, we had realized that were adding a lot of our own touch, and it was becoming somewhat of an art piece. Toasters, irons, VCRs, army toys, suitcases, tables and misc. art were among the many things that helped make the whole bridge area come up. The view was already something -facing the pond and waterfall- so the fact that you looked up and saw all of these random items gave the same impact as any piece of art.
To be honest, when we first started the bar, we had no idea how it would turn out. We had a few ideas and were hoping to maybe combine 
them or something along those lines. There was an idea for bamboo covering the front, and maybe glass bottles on the back. If you look at the bar you will see that none of these ideas made it to the final stage. We ended up spray painting each box a different color. We also splattered paint in the front and when lit up with christmas lights, the effect is rather sweet. There is no real influence other than whatever we naturally feel like doing; I think this is the most important feeling in any art.
I'm sure I could explain art around the deck in various other parts, but again I think its open to interpretation, and definitely now we see more things with a sense of style. This is proved very simply in the fact that everything seems to work together, and that, anywhere is itself art.
music
When you come to the deck and are involved in the many conversations, the one that is perhaps the most diverse will be about music. From Win's blues and John Mayer collection to N8s white folk and rock music to Eric's house music to Castillo's jazz, to Jonel's 80s soul, we dig it all!
For The Deck parties, DJ Castles usually plays a good mix of 90s r&b, jazz, classic rock, hip hop, reggae, folk, any anything else. If it's good, The Deck will play it. Before, the random crowds would request tracks that were not so good or very pop: Lil Wayne, Timbaland (his newer stuff, his older stuff is legit), Fergie, Akon, MIA, Too Short (his newer stuff) etc. To a surprise, however, DJ Castles actually does have some of these tracks, but he would never put them into his set at The Deck.
DJ CASTLES: “Of course I have them, you gotta hear something to know you don't like it and aren't into it. You can't just blindly say it's shit, without listening to it. I can say it because I've gotten the albums, and they aren't that good. Furthermore, I don't get how people can come into our place, for free, remember... and request that bullshit. They should get the vibe from when they first walk into The Deck that this is something special. Something different. I think it's better now, but it's still frustrating, people still request radio shit...this isn't the place for that kind of stuff... you know? It's so much better and plus... if these same people just opened up their ears a bit, they would actually truly enjoy what we play; it's pretty good and in fact probably influenced a bunch of shit they like.”
Castles says that it's usually the younger crowds that request the pop music. This is another reason why security began checkingIDs. There were many people who did not understand and respect the rules, and would cause a bad time for others. And most of the time, it was an age thing. It's interesting then, that music becomes an accurate filter and representation for what The Deck has become. If you are open to it, no matter what kind of person you are, you will find something played that you like. Obviously if you are younger and only know new stuff, you might be out of luck... but maybe not. Most of the time Castles like throwing it back to the mid-90s when you were younger and used to record the songs from the radio onto a tape. Or perhaps if you are a bit older and listened to Bel Bev at at your high school prom in '92. Maybe you are even older and grooved to these tracks in the mid to late 80s!
The beauty of these older tracks is that nobody has heard them in a few years. When they hear Keith Sweat "Nobody" or Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Baby, Baby," they go nuts. There aren't many spots that can play music that is this good. If they are, they probably aren't in a Highland Park backyard. The Deck, again, is a special place with special music, but in reality, the creators say they are doing nothing more than sharing it with everybody else.
WIN: “The best thing is just having people listen to our tracks.They know of Bel Biv or maybe New Edition, but maybe they don't know Surface or Shai or another group from that era. We gotta share that! Just like we share our place, we want to share all the good tracks with everybody. ”
What are some of your favorite tracks?
DJ CASTLES: “It changes, but there is a centerpoint, and that's around early and mid 90s stuff: TLC, Boyz II Men, LV, Montell Jordan, Notorious BIG, 2pac, Skee-Lo, Nas, Fugees, old Common, stuff like that. Ahead of that, there is some new stuff that is OK like Talib, Dilated Peoples, Outkast, Sharon Jones, Quantic. Good party shit. Behind that, there is the heart of the set now, which splits in two, stuff like Al B. Sure!, Shanice, Paula Abdoul, and then the earlier stuff like Evelyn Champagne King, Dayton, Patrice Rushen, Chaka Khan, Prince, MJ and a lot more I can't even think of right now. There are classic party hits I like such as "Badfish(or anything by Sublime)," 80s more pop stuff like "Don't You Want Me Baby," and "Let's Dance." Give me a break, let me update this later. I'll probably end up naming all of my tracks.”
What do you actually listen to, Castles?
DJ CASTLES: “Everything, but rock especially: I'm a huge Pantera fan, Metallica, Thin Lizzy, Guns n Roses, Diamond Head, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden. Funk: Primus, RHCP, Victor Wooten, Jazz: Mingus, Cannonball, Coltrane, Miles, Clifford Brown, Duke, Django, jazz is definitely diverse as can be. I also like Depeche Mode, Oasis, Annie, Loveninjas, Blonde Redhead, Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine, NOFX, Sergio Mendes, drum n bass like LTJ Bukem and Makoto. Some of my favorite mixes are anything in the the mushroom jazz series and fila brasilia. Basically all types of random stuff that I don't play...except jiggy shit.”
Another thing the deck guys have shared is the DJ role. They have tried out a few different DJs as experiments, but the result was undesired.
DJ CASTLES: “It wasn't our music. The DJs were solid and they would certainly have their own crowds, but it's not what we're about and not what we want to represent. Maybe sometime in the future we will find some DJs who play stuff that at least can represent what we are about... it doesn't necessarily have to be the same music, but the same vibe has to be there. And that's hard to find because the place has a lot to do with it. I have a strong relationship with the place, so the music I play will, most of the time, be right on.”
For an even better idea of the music check out the events and register for the next party!
people
The Deck is located almost in the center of Highland Park, Eagle Rock and South Pasadena. It's interesting that the people, however, come from everywhere around Los Angeles, the United States and even the world! When people come down to the deck, they aren't sure what to expect because it's in a fairly sketchy neighborhood. Nobody is prepared for what they find when they go inside; one of the most comfortable and enriching place they have ever visited. The goal in terms of the social realm of The Deck is to attract and create a community of people working and supporting each other with fresh ideas for the future through ideals and wisdom of the past.
Years ago, The Deck was originally built for friends to just come and enjoy the outdoors. Today, friends still dig it, but instead of a tiny 8x8 deck, there are many decks, and levels with different styles of art and decor, as well as many places for intimate and casual conversation. Yet even after all the makeovers, the hype and the insane parties, The Deck still holds many of the same Epicurean principles, in regards to friends.
While the events attract the usual close friends, with every new festivity, there is always a reaching out to a crowd which does not yet know about The Deck. Specifically, crowds that are open to new ideas and ways, but also respectful and perhaps influenced by things in the past which are not as prevalent in today's younger adults. Some examples of these things are hobbies like gardening & landscaping, listening/playing jazz music and carpentry. These are the things which helped shape The Deck (physically and ideologically) and they are not different from anything else in the world, except for the fact that they are presented by young adults to young adults, thus making them seem more appealing.
The Deck, then caters to audiences that recognize and enjoy the efforts in a place where landscape design and the like are brought to a Highland Park backyard! Audiences that also appreciate and enjoy music of the past and will somehow take some of those traditions and elements into the future.
Christian Castillo: “Last time at the 4th (The Super Fat 4th Of July Party), a couple came by… It was seriously 2:30am, I had already begun to pick up trash, and I noticed them sitting under the bridge, just kinda watching everything.&rdquo
Win Kongmuang: “I went up to them and they said they heard the music from across the hill -maybe like half a mile away- while they were at another party. They enjoyed it (the music) so much they came and checked it out.”
CC: “Apparently they came earlier, but they must have just been chillin til the end. Turns out we know some people who worked with them at the Eagle Rock Cultural Center. Tiny world. But then, you know, there’s the whole thing about attracting the right people. Sometimes it just happens.”
WK: “When you have good elements, good people will just come. Hopefully that's how it will continue in the future.”
One of the key elements to the success of the parties is that afterwards, there are always a few new people who then support the ideas and endeavors of The Deck. However, it's not a very high number, as the Deck guys explain.
CC: “If you are into the same stuff as everybody else, its very easy to find like-minded people. You go out on a Friday night and you see people who are doing what you're doing. These people also like the same music as you and are into the same things as you. There is a certain lifestyle that becomes the goal of many folks -going out and just not giving a shit...But if you're building a 12 foot extension deck on a hillside on a Friday night, and you get somebody that's down with that, and understands that...”
WK: “That's when you know they're legit. It would be cool to start a trend where like instead of people goin out and getting fucked up every night, once in a while they tried building.”
CC: “It's fun, seriously. But it's so rare to find people who are down. For every 500, there are like 2 or 3, you know?”
WK: “And we don't really follow many building rules, it's not like you have to do anything a certain way... it's your way. It's actually a very independent thing. Don't people want to be independent?”
Certainly the ideas of the deck are independent from everything else. Families and friends of the Deck guys enjoy the place, as should everybody who has an interest in it.
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