All ages venue frequently forgotten

Monstros Pizza: the hot spot for Chico counter culture

By Mike Murphy

Monstros Pizza is an often forgotten place in Chico to see live music. Its small capacity size, its odd hours of operation and its limited parking makes Monstros a Chico staple. Located at 628 W. Sacramento Ave., Monstros is actually one of the few places to see an all ages show in town.

The pizza joint books mainly punk and hardcore bands, sometimes booking metal bands every now and then, said Rachel Loveless an event coordinator for the Chico Area Pyrate Punx.

The Pyrate Punx are a group of people that head the responsibilities for putting on most of the shows at Monstros and admittedly, they tend to book bands that have similar genres and styles to their liking.

"We book mainly punk and hardcore bands and it's usually friends in the community or bands that we've played with while on tour because most of us are in bands," Lovesless said.

Bands who want to play at Monstros must submit its CD with a lyrics sheet as the Pyrate Punx will not promote bands with racist, sexist or homophobic lyrics. Many of the members of Pyrate Punx have been coordinating shows for years but have only recently banded together within the last year and half to promote more shows at Monstros Pizza, Loveless said.

"Some bands come in and say, 'what the hell is this?' but they end up having a good time." -- Rachel Loveless

"We've known the owner, Greg, for quite some time. He asked me and my partner Brent if we wanted to put on more shows there."

The venue has an interesting atmosphere unlike most places to catch a show in Chico. Upon entering the pizza parlor, patrons will notice the floor is covered with sawdust and the restaurant is actually quite small.

"Some bands come in and say, 'what the hell is this?' but they end up having a good time," Loveless said.

Though the shows are all ages, the 21 and over crowd can purchase beer if they're thirsty. The most popular item on the list is the $1.25 Pabst Blue Ribbon bottles. Also, there's of course, pizza. In fact, Monstros offers the biggest sized Pizza in Chico with the option of buying a monstrous 30-inch pie, almost twice the size of most extra large pizzas at other establishments.

But be warned, the ladies and gents should try to wait if wanting to use the restroom. There's only one unisex bathroom and most of the time by the end of the night, the toilet paper and paper towels are often extinct after a filled-to-capacity show. The supposed show capacity is only 48 people but Loveless admits it has exceeded the capacity limit at some of it's shows and are trying to see if they can get the limit increased.

Whether it's the greasy pizza, cheap beer, the smell of a hamster cage or the ruckus crowd, everything about Monstros screams punk-rock. If you haven't seen a show at Monstros it's a spectacle in itself. Some may want to bring a set of ear plugs and if you forget, they can be purchased for $1 before each show at the front counter.