Some people said the scene was the most punk thing to happen at the two-day festival. Others said the members instantly became legends for their antics.<\/p>\n
This year, the trio won\u2019t have to worry about being rolled by the cops as they received an official invite to play this year\u2019s Warped Tour in Long Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool, man,\u201d frontman Omar Sandlin told the Watchdog. \u201cI mean, I grew up fucking going to Warped Tour. Some of my favorite bands that literally got me into rock and roll are playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The morning they were released from the Long Beach jail, the band had a message from Amanda Phelan, a talent buyer for Insomniac Events and Warped Tour, asking them to play all six dates the following year, according to Sandlin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just getting out of fucking jail. We had all our stuff in plastic bags, the garage doors opening, the first crack of sunlight coming in,\u201d Sandlin recalled. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to find somewhere to sit down and lace our shoes up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bassist Elijah Napuri took his phone out of the bag and powered it on. The band\u2019s Instagram page was flooded with comments and messages. He quickly saw Phelan\u2019s DM.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like a movie,\u201d Sandlin said. \u201cWe were jumping up and down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The band responded but did not hear back, Sandlin said. Ultimately, with some outside help, the band worked out a deal to play the Long Beach date.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcf8<\/p>\n
Brandon Richardson is an editor, photographer and reporter for the Watchdog. If this work is important to you, please thank him.<\/p>\n
This is the second time crashing a festival has benefitted the band, according to Sandlin. In 2024, the group popped up outside of the Aftershock festival in Sacramento. Last October, months after their Warped Tour arrest, the band played the festival, saying it was \u201cthe greatest day of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
But while being arrested for rocking and rolling illegally last year garnered them some attention and opportunities, it has not curried much favor within the industry, which is hard to break into, Sandlin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember being in jail [and thinking] this is either gonna change our fucking lives overnight or make our phones vibrate for a couple days and then we\u2019re gonna go right back to our fucking shitty lives,\u201d Sandlin said, adding that the latter, by and large, has become their reality.<\/p>\n
While Aftershock and Warped Tour are the highlights of the band\u2019s career, Sandlin noted that nothing else has come of their arrest \u2014 no tour offers, no record deals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still on a fucking island,\u201d Sandlin said. \u201cWe do this crazy crap and pretty much force our way in, force our seat at a table that we otherwise wouldn\u2019t be sitting at. It feels like we always do it with a gun to their head.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_2477.webp.webp\")
Who Cares plays to a large crowd at the intersection of Pine Avenue and Bay Street in Downtown Long Beach Sunday, July 27, 2025. Screenshot.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fun, though,\u201d Sandlin added. \u201cCrashing festivals is fucking fun. It feels like you\u2019re robbing a bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even their ability to chase that high has been taken away, Sandlin said. Lawyers wanted to slap them with multiple misdemeanors, Sandlin said, adding that prosecutors said the members are a \u201cthreat to the community,\u201d that the two older members \u201cendangered\u201d the drummer at the time, who was only 15 years old, and that they \u201cneed to be taught a lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, the judge ruled for judicial diversion, which allows them to avoid criminal conviction if they complete certain conditions, one of which is to not perform any more illegal shows. The members also have to do 10 hours of community service each.<\/p>\n
On top of that, the band\u2019s van, which was borrowed from a friend and was filled with all their equipment, was impounded when they were arrested. It cost them around $4,000 to get everything back, according to Sandlin, who said the band had to raise the funds on GoFundMe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to be honest about it, it\u2019s no fucking \u2018woe is me shit,\u2019\u201d Sandlin said. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome we\u2019re playing [Warped Tour] with bands that we grew up listening to on the fucking school bus. It\u2019s just like a rollercoaster.\u201d<\/p>\n