When 15-year-old Jack Rivera told his friends in Boyle Heights he was going to be the new drummer of the fledgling punk band the Stains, some people in the neighborhood warned him: “Be careful. Those guys like to party.”
The Stains blended Becerra’s blistering guitar riffs with Amezquita’s lyrics about living at the margins of society to create a sound that combined the urgency of punk with the precision of metal — years before newer subgenres like thrash or speed metal became prevalent.
What set the Stains apart from their peers, according to punk-rock historian Jimmy Alvarado, was Becerra’s astonishing talent. The self-taught musician could play his instrument in a wide range of styles. “Black Flag loved the Stains,” confirmed Dez Cadena, who played with Flag, first as a vocalist and then as guitar player, from 1981 to 1983.
However, Navarro left the band not long after recording the album, leaving the Stains without a singer. When he wasn’t on the road with Black Flag, Cadena would spend weekends at Becerra’s house. After Navarro left the band, Cadena entertained thoughts of joining the Stains but was talked out of it by Spot.
Throughout the ’80s, Becerra worked a series of odd jobs that included brief stints at a gas station, a tattoo parlor and even as a janitor at Breed Street Elementary in Boyle Heights. Becerra married Jenny Cohl in 1996 and they lived in Northern California and then Detroit to help care for Cohl’s mother before returning to L.A. The couple separated in 2008.