Kyle “KEP” Powell, will be bringing his racist side-show to the Rancho Cucamonga area at the end of May. The show is standard fare for Powell—a line up of Neo Nazi bands. But one factor in particular makes this show stand out—it’s billed as all ages.
Powell, 52 from Moreno Valley, is a former USAF airman and current far right musician who has made a meager name for himself in the National socialist black metal scene. He is lead singer for the band “Engorge” and a small-time promoter. He also appears to have a current security guard license.
Over the past year Powell and his band have been at the center of a growing Nazi music scene in southern California but hes not the only one.
Mark Dilley, 32 who appears to split his time between his parents homes in Diamond Bar and Rancho Cucamonga, is the drummer for band Kushfrost. LCRW previously reported on Kushfrost and shows they were involved with. Mark Dilley also runs a mobile recording studio, Patriarchy Sound. Both Mark and younger brother Kyle, who Mark claims got him into black metal, work or recently worked for Chaffey Joint Union High School District (CJHSD)—Mark as a custodian and Kyle as an instructional aid. They may have been laid off or furloughed after COVID.
As of writing CJHSD has not responded to LCRW’s request for comment.
Dilley is a member of most bands on the roster for Patriarchy Sound(PS), Dilley’s “record label.” This includes his solo project “Patriarch” with endearing songs like “Nuclear Gender Warfare.”
Jonathan J Gonzalez, 26, of Jurupa Valley is the guitar player for Kushfrost. He also refers to himself as an “AK operator” and brags about his weapons on social media. He seems to spend at least some time “training” others, including apparent children, in the use of firearms.
Kushfrost along with a friend referred to as “Josh” and who goes by “bundle_of_twigs” (either a reference to the ‘fasces‘ that fascism derives its name from or the original meaning of a homophobic slur) on Instagram have a yearly “bugout” trip where they go into the Nevada desert, specifically to the New Tempiute Mine. From photos on social media it appears they bring their guns and use the trip to role-play as survivalists.
Mason Anthony Sepeda, 34, lives in Santa Ana, CA and is the lead singer for the band Altrite. Altrite is an outlier in the NSBM scene because of their claim of being “Catholic” in a scene built around satanist aesthetics. Their profile on Bandmix, a networking website for bands looking for members, has their contact name listed as “altrite88.” 88 is Neo-Nazi code for “Heil Hitler.”
Musician Performance Studios (MPS), the original venue hosting this event, never responded to LCRW’s request for comment, but LCRW spoke to someone who contacted MPS about the show.
Sara Hernandez found the flyer for the Nazi show in her high school-aged son’s possession. She emailed LCRW because of our and Idavox’s previous coverage of Powell’s antics.
“I got really freaked out that my son was going to a satanic nazi metal show. The bands had albums and songs about violent rape and killing protesters,” Hernandez told LCRW.
She said a local parents’ Facebook group said she should contact the venue because they might be unaware of who Powell and the other Nazis are. MPS’s owner told her that he’d called Powell and Powell said he’d take the Nazi bands off the bill. Hernandez cited Idavox’s previous reporting—that Powell had said he’d take the Nazi bands off the bill before in New Jersey, but he let them play anyways. Hernandez told LCRW that MPS would ban all bands on the bill and Powell from using the space and cancel the show.
“The other moms in the Facebook group were ready to call the Press Enterprise and spread the word to local businesses if we had to, and I’m really happy that wasn’t necessary. The venue is not at fault, they were lied to about what kind of show it was,” Hernandez said.
Powell and Dilley have apparently both worked with MPS in the past, the venue acting as a practice space for various groups that the two have been involved in.
“I know I probably sound like an overbearing parent, I’m not trying to be, I used to listen to black sabbath and iron maiden and stuff when I was younger. I don’t have a problem with metal at all, it’s normal for teenagers to like that kind of stuff. I just really don’t think it’s ok to host nazi shows and promote them as all-ages to teenagers,” Hernandez told LCRW.
“I don’t want my kid hanging out with people like that and I don’t think it should be welcome here,” Hernandez added.
“I think we as parents have a responsibility to pay attention to what our kids are getting into and protect them from hateful ideologies. People like this Kyle Powell guy are targeting teenagers who don’t know any better and it’s our job to make sure they know this stuff is wrong,” she concluded.
The replacement venue listed on the flyer is owned by Mark E Underwood of South Pasadena, CA. The venue seems to function as a facility to house and train guard dogs. Underwood holds several security licenses and owns a security company in South Pasadena simply called “Private Security.” Underwood and his company came under scrutiny in 2006 when a tip to the Pasadena humane society saved the life of a dog that Underwood’s staff were neglecting.
Posts on social media from bands involved with the show list the venue as “Backstreets Bar and Grill” which is a non-existent business, but they do list the address linked to the building owned by Underwood. According to the flyer and the posts made by bands it will not only be an all ages show but also a bring your own beer event, meaning that alcohol consumption will be unsupervised and unregulated.