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I
recently had the chance to talk with Octavio and his band mates, Ryan Nobel the bassist,
Aaron Eisenberg the guitarist-keyboardist and Joey Bustos the drummer, about their origins, their influences and their favorite songs of the
moment.
We met in the parking lot of a small venue in
Felton, CA, huddled behind a large white van before they started their set. The
sketchy setting didn’t stop the boys from joking around and enjoying themselves
as they relaxed before they went on stage.
Are
you all from San Francisco?
Octavio:
We are all from the bay area, but we are all originally from different parts of
Northern California.
You
are all children of the Golden State; that’s a good way to be. How did you get
together?
Octavio:
We moved to the Bay Area through our own will to play music. Joey and Ryan met
in previous bands, and Aaron was playing in another band and I was playing in
another band. We came to the Bay Area to play music and through bands dying and
forming and dying and forming we all met each other.
Ryan:
There is a little bit of an interesting story about when the band first got
started. Octavio was playing guitar and
singing at a party in San Francisco. Joey was there and he liked what he heard,
so he audaciously walked up to Octavio and said “Hey! I’m your drummer, we are
going to start a band”.
Octavio:
It is true. What he said was “Do you have a drummer? Well I am your drummer” I was
all “What?!”, and he was all “I’m your drummer lets do this”. Joey got it all
together, he knew Ryan from their old band Link 80 which Ryan sang in; Ryan hadn’t played base before in a band setting, but
he came in and sat and jammed with us and that worked out. Then we met Aaron at
a show as well.
Aaron:
Joey also came up to me equally as confident; basically saying “ You are going
to be in our band”.
Octavio:
Joey is definitely the catalyst, we were all floating around and he pulled us
together.
Aaron:
Joey is a talent scout.
How
did you get involved John?
John: HAHAHA.
Well I don’t play in the band I just do the lights.
Aaron:
But he is very much involved now, he is part of the team- our family is
growing.
Ryan:
John is one of a growing number of people who we met and became fast friends
with. The band now features about six other people who aren’t playing
instruments but are players. John he plays the lights and he helps our shows
look better.
Octavio:
And his lights sound great.
John:
They sound fucking awesome dude, I have had 25 hit singles, just on the lights.
Who
were your influences?
Octavio:
Well that is sort of a hard question to ask since we didn’t start out with the
idea that we want to emulate this or that artist.
Ryan: I
think the one thing we really wanted to be was a rock and roll band. With more rhythm,
vocals, and melody. I think what we are doing now isn’t specific to any artists
that we are trying to emulate. Since, we all come from different backgrounds
what we are making together is it’s own thing.
So it is hard to say what the influence of the band is per say, we all
kind of have our own lineage of music that we are into and that we have come
from.
Aaron: We
each have something in mind that we each strive for in terms of quality.
Octavio:
But we love melody, we love well-written songs.
Joey: We
love things that groove and make you dance.
So
there aren’t any big names that you aspire too?
Octavio:
Well that’s complicated. We could say some but that answer will change in three
months and that answer is different from what we might have said four months
ago. We hear stuff all the time that is influencing us.
Ryan:
You might say that initially we were more influenced by classic rock and soul.
Rock and Roll bands that tended towards more R&B and soul sounds, like Otis
Redding and the Rolling Stones.
Octavio:
The Faces
Ryan:
But we have kind of evolved and our tastes have evolved so we have been trying
other things. Now I would say it is a concoction of eight different styles.
What inspired these songs and your album “Get Right”.
Ryan:
Mainly our own experiences, and generally those that Octavio has had since he
writes all the lyrics, so it’s a lot about what he has been through.
Octavio:
Its pretty tied lyrically to one person in the band. But, if an experience is
happening to one of us, it filters its way through us all since we spend a lot
of time together – that definitely plays a role. Sonically there were songs that
we had been playing around with for a while and then there were some songs that
we wrote just for the album. We wanted
the album to be energetic but also how do you say…
Ryan:
Meaningful or emotionally thoughtful.
Aaron: Something
that was a whole piece, that was fast and slow. That was a complete album, not
just like ten songs and that is it; something with hills and valleys – a
journey.
John: It
is an album that will kick your ass though.
I
have talked with a lot of artists and they say it is so hard to pick a favorite
song, its like they are all your children. But do you have one that is your
favorite to play?
Octavio:
I like ‘City Lights’ a lot.
Ryan: I
would agree.
Octavio:
I wouldn’t say that I like that one more because the others are worse, but it
is one I always enjoy playing live. I like ‘City Lights’ and I like
‘Tilt-A-Whirl’ a lot. We all have different songs we enjoy playing because we
all do different things on them.
Aaron:
Listening wise, even though we don’t play it live to much, I really like ‘Roll
Away’ on the record. That was kind of a special moment for us.
Joey: I
agree.
Aaron:
That was the first time we recorded a song like that, all live in one room with
microphones and everything.
Octavio:
We did it in two takes.
Two
takes! That is really amazing.
Ryan: It
is an interesting song because it is very different to all the other ones.
“Roll Away” is not a song that we play live because it’s not that energetic; it’s
more of a pensive song that you can sit down and think about. The emotional
part of the song and the way Octavio sings it is very tangible; you can hear
that there is a real experience there. You are hearing what we played; we just
sat down in a room and played. That is a special song and its different from
what we play live.
Aaron:
That one was just for the journey.
Can you each name a song that you would recommend?
Octavio:
I song I am into recently is “That’s the way I feel about you” by Bobby Womack who
just passed away.
Joey: One
I really love hearing right now is “Elephant” by Tame Impala, that’s one you
put on and jam too—it’s a great song.
Ryan:
There is a song I love by the band Unknown Mortal Orchestra from New Zealand
called “So good at being in trouble”. The song is just a beautiful soul song, I
think it is just a classic song, by a pretty unknown band and I would recommend
people go check them out.
Aaron:
Ryan played a Bill Withers song for me the other day that I hadn’t heard
before, and it took me a little while to find it to on Spotify, it’s called “Kissing
my Love”.
Ryan:
That is a really great song that starts with this great drum break. He has one
of the best drummers, James Gadson, and it just starts with some really groovy
drums.
John:
The Rival Suns too who you guys were just on tour with they were killer.
Octavio:
Yeah. They are a good band too from down in Long Beach, CA. They have a song
called “Electric Man” which is a straight up blues-rock song with killer vocals
– that is an awesome song.
Aaron:
Awesome dudes too.
Do
you have any advice to up and coming artists?
Octavio:
We are in that group still. The only thing I can say is don’t stop.
Joey:
Definitely don’t stop. I have been doing this for 20 years myself, and I am in
a band for the first time that feels really good and potentially successful and
is always a good time. It took a long time and four bands to figure that out. I
could have given up years ago but I didn’t , and because I stuck with things
they are finally working out.
Octavio:
I don’t think you are going to find anyone in a band that is “successful” who
is going to say that it came easy.
Ryan:
You are always going to have to put a lot of commitment and work into whatever
you do, hopefully that will give way to improved quality. If it is just a hobby
or an image thing and your trying to do it to be cool, I think that shows. If
you put the work in then you will get the return and have something of good
quality.
Aaron:
And have fun! That’s the most important thing.
