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can hear me out there if you can let me know
ASAP today on this episode that you new podcast
we have the privilege to I their music before
a new radio I've seen a lot of stuff that they
release on Facebook on Instagram and also on
YouTube this band is a very in particular band
like their style it brings back a lot of memories
when I used to play it's I can't say any more
than that ladies and gentlemen today in the pocket
as we have and the hero What's going on guys?
What's up, Mark? What's going on? We got Troy.
Yes, sir. And Nick. And Nick. Troy and Nick.
That should be easier, remember? What's going
on, guys? How you been? Nothing much, man. Been
great. It's my day off today. I can say, I know
we have plans to set the show around 730 by 8,
man. Plans get mixed up. You got stuff you got
to do. I know we're supposed to have more members
here. Unfortunately, couldn't make because work
was affiliated. So that's all good. It's all
good. They're going to miss out on all the good
stuff. We're happy to be here, man. little baffled
a little bit having you guys here because I hear
you so much on on Spotify on YouTube and then
see you guys on Facebook all these videos that
you're releasing left and right and then Upcoming
events that are coming up that I was like Wow
You guys are opening up for a great band back
back with a little bit your younger when they
came out but But none of that's a great band
to open up for but we'll get time a little bit
So let's get talk to you guys a little bit where
you grew up And how we got into the whole how
the band formed up man. Let's start with that
Troy. You want to start us off? Yeah, man Wow,
so 2009 I was in high school And Lafayette high
school that's when me and a couple of buddies
just started jamming one thing turned to the
next and we formed and the hero prevails and
We've had some member changes throughout the
years, you know, we do we had our first album
2010 our second album 2012 uh our ep that we
recorded in seattle 2015 wow wow and um fast
forward all the way to now uh 2023 is when nick
when you joined right i believe so yes that's
right nick joined the band 2023 uh uh we we needed
a guitarist so we it just the stars aligned nick
is also my cousin in case yeah i'm not gonna
lie to you man having a primo in the band It's
a little bit more comfortable, man. A little
bit more comfortable when it comes to that. For
sure. Yeah. He's such a genius, man, having him
in the van. It's awesome. Our selling point was,
hey man, you want to join our band? We're going
to go open for Hoobastank. That was the first
show I played with them. When, where, and how?
2023, yeah, for sure. It was like, I'm there,
let's do it. It was at the island at the convention
center. But yeah, I remember that was the first
show. That was the pitch. And I had about...
Was it like nine songs to learn in like two three
weeks and we made it work Yeah, how many how
many how many songs how many songs yet to get
down and jot down ready to go for that performance,
bro? It was eight or nine in about two or three
weeks, but that's that seems to be the theme
here because recently, you know, we've been doing
a lot of covers to and adding that into our set
so I mean it's Adding songs new songs to learn
you're learning three four songs at a time, but
I feel like that's a good part about music and
learning about music, too, is about these bands.
We're even covering one alien ant farm song,
so just knowing that and then opening for them,
it... Expand so much for us. I got a first comment
already came in said mr. Freddy Honda remade
is here saying what's up guys much love from
Freddy Honda and popular loner It was funny cuz
I when I was getting I was getting inked up you
were watching and I was like we thought I thought
it was the other Troy but yeah dude so this band
how many years you rolling already already as
far as this i believe this year is 16 years 16
and the hero prevail since 2009 yeah man wow
wow man that's for sure so as far as like music
itself what i mean if you can round off how many
songs you have Mean as far as a bad in original
music original man, we've got a we got a bunch
for sure. I mean we out right now Two albums
and EP and a good handful of singles But then
like on the back end like stuff that's unreleased,
you know, we do have I mean I want to say close
to 15 maybe 20 songs Almost all the way complete
um and some songs that are already are already
mixed and mastered but we just got to get things
ready for it like a music video and such right
now now when it comes to writing music i mean
i love to ask this to a lot of musicians when
it comes to writing music i'm not sure who who's
the writer for the for the lyrics itself i'm
not sure it's a band thing or it's just you yourself
that writes it majority of the lyrics are from
me for sure um but i'm always open to you know
and if anyone has an idea you know I'm always
down to be collaborative, that's for sure. So
when you're writing these songs... Are they past
experiences from the journey of life that you
had or something that you read? Some of them,
absolutely. Yeah. The one that comes to mind
right away is a song called Ghost Town. It's
a song about following your passion and not letting
anything distract you from following your passion.
I thought it was about Donna Texas, bro. That's
what I thought. I've had a few people ask me
if it was about Donna Texas. So I was like, watch
out, bro. He wrote a song about Donna, bro. You
see, not only state champion, but we got a song
from them, bro. But now I got more people tuning
in right now. I'm seeing that's ICE. Avis, spell
that correct. Can you just read that up there?
Nah, you can't see it. Here you go. Yes. Say,
let's go. Troy the goat. And Nick too. Nick too.
What up? So I know lyric writing. Lyric writing
is tough. I mean, when you're trying to symbolize
all these words together into not only you have
your story, but to actually put it in writing
form. You know, that's. that do you come up with
a skeleton for the music first or does your cousin
step in with you and say you know what let's
Let's work on this thing and see what fits. How
does that work out? So for the past handful of
years, our newer songs have been coming about
through our guitarist, Eric. He has been demoing
out songs, and he'll send them to us. And that's
when I can get creative writing, writing melodies.
So really, it starts with Eric. He has basically
the whole skeleton down as far as the structure.
Right. Right. Right. Right. And and I, man, I
love it like that because it feels it's like
candy, like, oh, an instrumental right now. Yeah,
it gets fun. Yeah, I hear you. But dude, I'm
just grateful we have Eric. And of course, Nick
just joined. So at this moment Nick really hasn't
We haven't really written much with him like
embellishments is it but I mean, yeah big shoutouts
to Eric that dudes I love talking to Eric. I
love working with Eric. He's I think we get along
really well, too Little brother of the group
Come on, Nick, give me room here, all right?
Oh, you're still paying dues. You're still paying
dues. Kind of sorted in some ways. It's fair.
They treat me well. They treat me well. So, I
mean, as all in all, now learning all these songs,
Nick, when you came into the band, I know...
There's a lot of lead way, I'm not sure who plays
the leads, who plays rhythm or what so have you.
When it comes to a point where, say like, hey
Nick, do the lead on this one. Do you do your
style? Or do you stick to what's already recorded
for, that's on the track? So Eric does a lot
of the leads, I do a lot of the rhythms now.
When I joined the band, I think, you can correct
me if I'm wrong Troy, I think I was the first
one to join in on a seven string. When I joined
in and do seven strings, I like to drop some
of the parts right so there's parts on There's
heavy dirty soul that we do where I do seven
string like really low Notes that haven't been
there before not right record, right? So that's
definitely me adding my flair to it and a little
bit of the rhythms to nice I really enjoy that
I Really went off as a bass player and other
bands. So joining and here prevails on guitar.
I'm really Honing my rhythm Right position in
this right right right and adding kind of that
lower seventh string. That's really where I feel
comfortable I love seven string. I love six,
but I feel at home on a seven string So that's
what I like to bring into this band Saturday
Street is a competitive little little little
pain the ass I've tried picking that up and it's
just it's not my cup of tea, man Exactly exactly.
I got Brandon over saying it's water He says
I'm shooting the music video downtown tomorrow.
All right, all right, man. All right, good to
know Music wise now Now when you see Nick in
the group you a new guitar player and what -so
-have -you he's playing these all these older
songs that you're in before and he's not only
Changing the style the way he plays it. Do you
see it flourish even in a different way when
he? comes in with a different rhythm, a riff
or a lead or something. Oh, wow, that fits, you
know, for sure. I mean, what's the outcome of
that? Not just you, but the whole band when they
hear that for the first time. Because I know
when you come up with something, you're playing
with something, even if you're playing a cover
and you're jamming out to it and you just change
a note where it just, you know, people are like,
what the hell was that? Where'd that come from?
That's not on the on the track. But it fits.
I mean having Nick in the band Nick Nick is very
precise with with with the parts and of course
He'll add his own flair the guys and I the rest
of the guys, you know Speaking for them. I'm
sure I know that they're very excited to be playing
with Nick Yeah, like I said, he's a friggin genius.
He's a genius In the group for sure and there've
been times where it's like The rest of us, like
in this little niche thing, the rest of us had
no clue about, but Nick over here would like
know 20 facts about it and like go and fix up
this little thing. And it's just, it's crazy.
We all have our strengths and Nick being our
latest member, I mean, he's a whole Arnold Schwarzenegger
right bicep. So did you study music as far as,
or was it something that was just natural that
came to you to pick up the seven string guitar?
So I started playing back in sixth grade. I did
jazz band growing up. I did marching band, did
bass for that too. Instead of marching, I would
do marching, but every chance I got to do bass
and guitar and when they would incorporate into
that, I would do that jazz. So that's what I
grew up. playing I did grow up listening to a
lot of rock and metal though and I was in bands
on the side too so it was a mixture of guitar
and bass growing up equally I basically started
bass a year later than guitar and I did bass
for a long time and then when I joined the band
that's when I really started getting back into
guitar and kind of combining everything together
especially as a rhythm player right and they're
saying you're a swiss army knife that's what
they're saying right now I appreciate that compliment.
I very much try to be, yeah. I've played with
a few different groups on bass, drums and guitar,
so I really try to, you know, kind of bring it
together. When the drummer talks to me about
drum stuff, I like to be able to understand it.
When Eric talks to me about guitar stuff, I like
to understand it. When Zach talks to me about
bass stuff, I like to understand it and kind
of give my input. If they're willing to listen,
of course, I don't like to give unsolicited advice.
Right, right, right. Me and Nick learn a lot
off each other, that's for sure. It's fun. It's
a fun dynamic, being able to... Interact with
everybody in their own way and that their particular
instrument. Yeah, I hear you man I mean, like
I said before played in a rock band before it
was a mixture of friends my cousin and another
friend and an acquaintance it's it's it's a Sure
to say if I'm if I can boldly say like a big
bowl of menudo, man Yeah, everybody's throwing
their stuff in there and it's getting mixed about
time. It was not menudo. It's jambalaya and it's
not menudo It's it's caldo and it changes every
form. I mean every has like your background.
What what's your background? What's the style
you'd like to play? Pretty honestly what I grew
up like just in love with was progressive metal.
So instrumental progressive metal so a lot of
rhythmic parts on bass guitar and drums all together
okay so that's what i just grew up loving and
trying to play and try to be like and go into
those shows whether it was in houston austin's
right and yourself try me oh gosh uh biggest
like stuff i was listening to yeah you know that
you still bring to the table um like early 2000s
rock was like probably my biggest foundation
who bestank incubus uh 311 deftones you see and
you can see you the the uh the yin and yang there
you know for sure you know but can would you
able to sum up everybody else's uh genres like
as far what they like yeah i mean jeff is into
a lot of punk rock uh green day and blink 182
right right refund glory eric is into a lot of
metal as well uh probably not the kind of metal
that nick was right Eric right now is listening
to a lot of Bill Murray. That's an incredible
band, a band we want to tour with, absolutely.
Right, right, right. But you know what, Zack,
Zack grew up, before he joined in the Hero Prevails,
he was playing in conjunto bands. You see that?
That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, yeah. He
was doing that and he was playing on the weekends
as a teenager, like playing like two in the morning,
you know? Yeah. It's crazy that our backgrounds
are, like you said, a whole thing. Yeah, that's
the beautiful part of it. When you have a band,
when you have a band that you get some groups,
I mean myself, I was a big blues player and a
rock blues player and my cousin, heavy metal.
Fast metal thrash metal the basis was more of
a laid -back blues slow rock heavy metal Old
-school and drummer was real technical. He liked
techno, but he was real good on drums And the
same was more into like the pesh mode, you know
you too is and you we mix that together I mean
you get a sound is that's what I'm telling you
when I hear you guys music is like Jesus I go
this is I mean we were Like I said, we were for
our time, but we missed the clock where you guys
fell in right on the money because it sounds
amazing It's amazing. I wish we had we were still
around to jam out with you Because it's it's
the music is the foundation the music is just
it's awesome and I was listening to before the
show starts and I was I've been listening through
all week at work, you know all stop and it's
just the It's hard to explain the combination,
the caliber of the music is just, it's unique.
It's like there's so much coming at you at different
directions where you're like, oh, this sounds,
wait, wait, look at this. Oh no, wait, listen
to this. The grass from it's coming at you super
fast. You know what I mean? And that's the beautiful
part of it, you know? So, but when you go up,
take me to one of your gigs, man. Take me one
of your gigs, you know. You're about to go on
stage. You're about to hit the stage. What is
the routine? What is the pack you guys get? Because
everybody does a pack before they go on the stage
and do something. Not as y 'all do something
individually. The last time we were on tour,
we did individual stuff. I think Eric will probably
start going to the tracks because we do the backing
tracks and all that. So Eric will probably start.
Going sitting there. I'll get on our zone. Yeah.
Yeah, and if we have time to Set up beforehand
like a load in earlier in the day All our stuff
is already set up then it'll be a warm -up on
guitar. Just start noodling on it mindless noodling
getting the fingers warm I do my vocal warm -ups.
Shout out Melissa Cross. She's a heavy metal
vocal teacher. There you go, there you go. Shout
out Dave from We Came as Romans. He gave me her
warm -ups and then he got me into those warm
-ups. So I do that before every show. I do with
some tongue stretches, just so I don't cramp
up out to the side. 10 seconds to one side. Right,
right, right. Some water for sure. Oh, anytime
we have a show day, I try to avoid dairy just
so it doesn't clog up my throat there. Right,
right. But as far as us getting in a huddle and
stuff, we kind of do that right before we start.
We kind of all go to the bass drum. We'll fist
bump, yeah. Right. Yeah, that's good. Now, you're
going on stage, the first song to hit. I mean,
what's the first song you start off with? I mean,
is this already planned or is it just, you already
know this is what traditional, we start off with
this one. Oh man, it's varied throughout the
years. For a long time we used to always open
up with a song of ours called Hold On to the
Bleeds. We used to always open with that. But
gosh, I don't know what's been our opener recently.
Yeah, it's been changing It's definitely the
common one, but it's been changing. Yeah Now
it's not okay since Troy's been in the band for
quite some time I'm pretty sure you have stories
Troy through the road or through anything when
I get into that though, but as far as as far
as Venues, I mean, give me one of the best venues
you've been at, where it's just something that
it's just, that's the one to top. What are you
thinking? Lava? No. That's the one to top. So
we played at a lava cantina in, not Dallas, the
colony, Texas. Oh, sure. The colony. growing
city baby the venue was so dope we got there
so this was last year at 2024 we played there
with alien ant farm the green room was so lit
they had like they gave us food it was awesome
Signed canvases from different bands. So I saw
the plain white tees in there some rappers I
can't remember off the top of my head, but they
were like, you know signed by the bands that
have been there so that was super sick and then
we had like an assistant and it's weird because
like I Work a full -time job. So it's like I
clock in on Tuesday But right now like we have
an assistant we text her. Hey bring us a pizza
Yeah, it was dope. It was dope. I demand a green
M &M's in my bowl. She probably wouldn't have
brought it. Like, it was crazy. It was dope.
It was like, I clocked in on Tuesday, but today,
I'm demanding those green M &M's. So you guys,
so you have your personal assistant doing all
that for you. That's awesome, man. It kind of
takes a lean off of a lot of stuff, a lot of
pressure and extra stuff you need to take care
of. For sure. You know, I mean, being, so that
would be one of your Your top once we see, you
know, that's the one to be venue for sure. The
stage was cool. It was outdoors to take our gear
down. So like you'd load up and it would like
nice go down. Yeah. Look at you. Yeah. The vocalist.
Yeah. I don't remember that part of the show.
My equipment about about you. Yeah. Alright,
so that would be that would be the priority one
though the number one of the notch. Oh, man That
one's cool. Well, he hadn't he hasn't played
yet, but right right that But Clayton's man,
we've played we've been lucky enough to play
Clayton's twice That very special place that
venue is awesome. Yeah, especially during spring
break. Yeah, it gets It gets crazy. We played
with Three Days Grace there in 2022. Wow. And
we played with The Offspring there in 2019. Oh
my gosh. These are bands in my area, man. Wow.
It was crazy. I can forward a story from Eric
that he said, just briefly, I remember he said
when he played Clayton's with y 'all. that the
green room is under the stage so he was like
shaking nervous because he could feel like the
music and the band on top before them yeah right
right and then the crowd i remember him telling
me like he was so nervous for that shakiness
because you're under the stage right right right
and you hear everything the crowd the band on
top you jump in the subs up there right so i
would love to play that with them but that sounds
like a crazy experience to have all that going
on while you're trying to like warm up you know
I see the resemblance. So we've gone to the one
at the top of the notch. You know what my second
question is going to be? I don't. Which is the
one that you said, never again will I ever in
my entire life. I mean, because in any band.
in the history, it doesn't matter if you're -
Like when Dave Messayne said he'd never played
McAllen. Exactly, exactly, one of those. Any
band, it doesn't matter if you're a well -known
band, even if you're just a garage band. I have
one, but I'm happy to say it. One gig where you're
like, oh God, I'm glad this crap is over. I know
one that big bands have come down and have -
not had a good time and we haven't either, but
I can't say it on camera. I'll tell you off the
camera, but I can't say it on camera. It's discrete
guys, if you want to see Chewing New After Dark,
you got to do that. Because they're still like
booming and I don't want to do that to them,
but it's not a good experience every time. Troy's
like, let me go back into my black documents.
I'm trying to remember a show that like, I'm
just like... never again i don't know i can whisper
it to you you'll agree you'll agree don't whisper
because these mics will pick up every day if
you pass guys it will catch you nigga If there's
ever been a time where I've played somewhere
and said, man, never again. And I hate to take
it dark, but it's literally performing at a funeral.
Like, I played one. Wow! I played one like six,
seven years ago, maybe. Wow. And like, you know,
I did it. It was like a family friend type thing.
Right. And after that, I was just like, I'm never
doing this again. Like, I just couldn't. I don't
know. Right. No, no. I understand. It's just
one of those things that from here on out, like...
I'm not, I'm not. Unless it's like very close
family or something, but man. Right. Well, may
I ask what song selection it was? Oh, gosh. Was
it one of yours or was it a cover? No, it was
like a Christian song to cover, yeah. Oh, okay.
Okay, okay. And it's just like, you know, obviously
like, you know, hey, respects to, you know, whatever's
happening, the situation and all that, but I
just can't play. I can't play. Yeah, play the
funeral somewhere. That's just, I don't know.
It goes all the, this one's. request from the
request from I played by I think I played I can
only imagine or something and it was nice I sang
my heart out and people were crying and I was
just like the next song is south of heaven no
Jesus Christ well yeah I mean I would I could
clearly understand that would be one of the most
experience you know ridiculous experience to
actually do something like that yeah now when
it comes to the band itself the whole band itself
give us the corks man who has who who's who's
the one that's you know that you're like okay
we know he's gonna do here we know the person
that you expect that from that person you expect
that from that person these little quirks they're
called little quirks little ticks you know that
you're like okay it's gonna happen eventually
just like my cousin every time we play he has
to pop a string it always happens it always happens
for some reason it always happens but that means
it was gonna be a good performance We don't want
to flame each other, man. Nick, you just came
into the bed and you don't want to flame anything
right now. Can I roast myself? I don't know.
Either the other day I practiced, I broke a microphone.
What? I didn't break a microphone. My foot just
got caught on the freaking cable and boom, it
fell. Like, God bless it. But it's not like I
break things all the time. He likes, he wants
to blur something out. I can see our strengths,
man. Yeah. Give me the strength, bro. Give me
the strength. I'm adaptable and I can lead pretty
well. Nick is our genius master builder. He has
this energy that he can, he just builds knowledge
and oozes knowledge. Zach, for one instance,
I can tell you when we were about to play, when
we were about to go on opening for three days
grace, We almost didn't play the so it was three
days grace headlining and it was drowning pool
and then it was us right we were opening but
drowning pools uh soundboard or whatever they
had to save the settings on it or whatever okay
and it wouldn't save for some reason we were
like what and people were starting to go crazy
even the promoter i heard the promoter like Shout
out to Tony. He was like yo, I had this band
like I got it approved with y 'all's management
Like they have to go on like and I was there
in the background Oh my god, what is happening?
Zack went and he got with the the house sound
guy of Clayton's And there was a whole soundboard
on the side that nobody was using near the stage
So we went and Zack was running wires going crazy
and we hooked everything up and we got our performance
off, and I was like, dude, Zach, you saved our
ass. And we started five minutes late. We had
to cut a song, but we still got it done, man.
And it almost didn't happen. That's nuts. That's
nuts. Oh, sorry. It would have sucked. It would
have been embarrassing. It would have been so
bad. But shout out to Zach, dude, because he's
done stage equipment working for behind the scenes
of like, like the paw patrol play and like when
it comes to the theaters here in McAllen, Zach
will go and he'll work in the mornings with,
and I've worked actually once with him, but he's
super knowledgeable in that. Jeff is like the
glue. Jeff is like the good vibes that we need.
If anyone's in a bad mood, Jeff shows up and
everything just becomes man relaxed. Eric. Eric
is our creative. He's also a leader, man. And
the way he takes initiative at building our set
lists for our shows, the way he takes initiative
of writing these songs. And designing a lot of
the flyers and merch. He designs stuff, exactly.
He does our merch designs. Any time I hit him
up... for a flyer he's down and it's just man
seeing everyone bring their strengths to the
table and that's awesome create a thp is awesome
it's better to get the strings to get the focus
for it i tell you that much my my guess as well
but uh guys we'll be right back we have a uh
got a shout out to the sponsors right now so
lay back relax a little bit and we will be right
back give me one sec here we go Guys, I know
we're going to say something around Trump. Sorry.
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cannot miss a beat. You cannot Go wrong with
Tony. I noticed construction is the way to go.
Also big shout out to Javier Cavazos at his horse
stables over in Mission, Texas I know just recently
last weekend. They had the summer camp thing.
So if you missed it You missed it. But I mean,
I'm pretty sure it was a great experience for
a lot of little kids that went out there to go
check that out. So happy that worked out for
them. Also, a big shout out to. pandora's box
tattoos mr freddy honda himself yeah freddy i
still got that tattoo right that you did for
me it was awesome bro uh great tattoo artist
great prizes this is the guy that you want to
record if you want to get inked up for the first
time try was just telling me right now he showed
me a tattoo he'll show it to you right now camera
when we come back on uh one of the first tattoos
that he got himself done by freddy honda himself
uh Give him a call. He's located in Ambrick.
Great guy. Also big shout out to Central Plumbing
and Electric here in Westico, Texas. Also in
Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen and in Pharr.
These guys are homegrown mom and pop shop. Great
competitors as far as pricing for appliances,
electrical work and plumbing. Head out to any
of these locations guys. Great customer service
and they're always willing to help you out as
best as they can. Big shout out to Central Plumbing
and also I got something interesting that came
again, got dropped off today here at the studio.
I got two of them left and I think Troy and Nick.
Yes. Nick probably take them home and I don't
know if they're, they might get in trouble for
taking them, but I got extreme. Big shout out
to Extreme Magazine, the RGB edition. They came
and dropped this up today in our front door.
They got a bunch of, well, it's a man's magazine,
guys. Radar is just what it is. It's one of those
Swim Studio things. You might want to check that
out. They are a free edition. You can pick one
up at Texas Tope here at South. Texas Boulevard,
you can't, you guys, they got trucks. And Fray's
looking at the trucks. Why am I saying Fray?
Fray's talking about me. Troy's looking at the
trucks right now. So this one's going out to
Troy. There you go, man. You can have that one.
Troy, take that home with you and put that next
to your Aunt Hathaway stuff over there. But anyways,
ladies and gentlemen, we are coming back with...
And the hero prevails on the podcast guys. I
know we're about to say something Troy They I
know we have a lot of stuff to talk about because
I know you got some big events for sure I know
you had mentioned before that you already opened
up for this band once and now you got the privilege
to do it Again, yeah, man. So tell us take us
a little bit on this reenactment or replay You
guys open up for this band now. Take us there.
What's going on man? So yeah, so we will be doing
three more dates with alien ant farm. We'll be
going out to New Mexico and Arizona. That's right
um august 18th uh yeah mesa and then tucson and
then mesa tucson and mesa yeah wow so it's gonna
be like kind of like a little mini tour or what
yeah we're joining them for three dates um it
was awesome and so yeah so last year we did four
texas dates with alien ant farm and how that
came about they started rolling out their new
album last year mantras they came out with their
first single so cold and i was like whoa they're
back and so So I messaged their guitarist Terry
right away and was like, hey man, I sing for
this band, yada, yada, yada. It'd be a dream
to be open for y 'all one day. We're from Texas,
so if any Texas dates may be available, we'd
be grateful for an opportunity. And I love sending
cold messages like that, trying to get opportunities.
Dude, to my surprise, he messaged back and was
like, hey, man, y 'all sound great. At this point,
they didn't have any Texas dates lined up. And
he was like, but talk to me sooner. Or someone
like, keep me in mind. Or what did he say? Keep
in touch. He said, keep in touch. Eventually,
they released a bunch of dates last year. And
there was four Texas dates there in the middle.
So right away, I messaged him and was like, hey,
is there any way we could get on? He was like,
you know what? Yeah, man, let's get you all on
as direct support and our agent will email you
in the morning. We'll work things out. Oh my
gosh. So like, man, it was, it was drinking true.
Let me tell you, Mark, the first CD I ever owned
as a kid was an alien ant farm CD anthology.
Shout out to my brother, Cody, getting it for
me for Christmas. And, uh, you got gutter moon
up there saying, uh, who will prevailing their
hero. It's too early. It's too early. I got Nui
also there saying, what up, Troy? What up? What
up? And so yeah, dude, we went and we did those
four shows. We basically made friends with A
-Late Ant Farm. That's awesome, bro. They became
really cool with us. Yeah, man. That's awesome.
It was really wild. And then out of nowhere this
year, I was on my treadmill. a handful of weeks
ago and the drummer Mike texted me and was like
hey man we got some dates lined up seeing if
maybe y 'all can join one or a few and I was
like dude let's do it and so sure enough we we
got it worked out for us to go out of state and
this will be our first time in New Mexico this
will be our first time in Arizona Yes, you know
about big shot to DC when saw the same waving
little hand like hi. I'm here, too But that's
awesome, bro. I mean like like you said they
have been a fan of the band and owning your first
CD of that band I mean, that's that's not it's
a crazy. I mean circle type thing Yeah, especially
the opportunity to do play with a band that's
been there already. That's you know, that's has
written the wave at some point, for you guys.
You can see the years of experience in their
body language that was just second nature to
them just being on the road, yeah. Yeah, we're
gonna go do what we gotta go do. Yeah, and that's
crazy. And for guys like yourself that are going
out for the first time, you're like, oh dude.
They're like, no, he's like going to Disney night.
Oh yeah, everybody, everybody, everybody. It
is a lot of work, and I know the first time we
did that. tour I realized it's really just them
and they have one of the guy that helps them
out but like but yeah it's really just them like
there's no they don't bring a sound guy there's
no crew for them it's the band and I know our
last date in Austin and come and take it live
we unloaded each other's stuff like at the end
like there's like I said there's no crew so it's
alienant form us we don't have a crew either
Shout out Niko who helped us do merch and some
photography. Call that assistant, I need you
to unload the crew, don't I? So that was super
inspiring to see too, even someone, you know,
at their caliber, you know, they're still...
They were unloading their own stuff. They're
doing it themselves. They're putting that all...
Setting up their backdrop. Yeah, that's awesome,
man. That's awesome. And it was nice to help
them out and then... them you know it's like
starting all over again you've already rolled
the wave is all right guys we wrote the wave
we know what we need to do you know let's let's
go back to basics basically you know yeah that's
pretty cool but like i said it's inspiring to
see and it it gives us more time to interact
with them and you know build that connection
and i know they went on a podcast too and someone
asked like how was touring with us and uh they
said that we were quiet at first but they that
we respected their space and that they really
appreciated that right right that made All of
us so happy. They had a good impression of us.
That's awesome. That week that we were on tour
with them. They were so kind and helpful and
like just dope dudes, man. California dudes,
man. Being a big fan of it, like you said, first
CD you own and you've seen it for, because it's
not the first time you've toured with them, but
the first time you do to meeting them for the
first time. Did you go? I know you had to be...
I met Alien Ampharm in 2013 when they came down
to the Far Event Center with Hoobastank and Fuel.
And I met them after their set, and I remember
vividly telling the drummer, Mike, that one day
my band's gonna open for you guys. And yeah,
man, it happened a little over a decade later.
You know you stick with it and rise crazy things
happen man, right and as far as like Open up
for them. Maybe how can you? Contain yourself.
I mean then be you be in the same stages with
them first of all You know being open and being
the opening act for them itself and what so have
you? Don't you get a little giddy a little bit?
I mean knowing that loud you work This is a band
that I look up to, man, and we're opening up
for these guys. The nerves, for sure, man. One
of my favorite things, watching them play afterwards,
being on the side stage and just like, ah, and
seeing their fans go crazy to their music. It's
all for fun and just for the love of music and
live shows. It's just great, man. That's awesome.
It made me feel like a kid, absolutely. Every
time they went on and I was there and hearing
all those songs from 2001 and 2003, they're incredible.
It's a dream, man. It's like a dream come true,
for sure. Now, here's another question I have
for you, Troy, because I like to ask these questions
also, knowing that you're a musician, knowing
that Nick's already in the band and everything.
If the cars weren't dealt... the way they are
now, Troy, don't give me that face. What are
you gonna ask me? If the cards weren't dealt
to do what you're doing now, being a singer in
the band and actually really progressed where
I've seen a very few bands from the RGB progress
so far, what would you find yourself doing other
than singing in the band? What would be secondary?
If, like, there was no ATHP, but I was still
a musician? Well, let's accept the musician.
There's so many things. Okay. Oh, gosh, man.
I don't know. I remember at one point as a little
kid, I was like, I'm going to be in the NBA.
And then I realized, like, I'm Mexican. I had
a cousin of mine tell me one once when I was
a kid and I was like going around like yeah I'm
being the NBA like he had to sit me down and
be like you know that that's really hard Really?
Why are you keeping my dream bro? But somebody
had to do it. Somebody. Gosh, I don't know. I
mean, I was into basketball and sports in high
school and stuff. So if music was just not a
thing at all, I probably would be a basketball
coach right now. I don't know. There you go.
What about you, Nick? I mean, I know you just
came into the band itself, but... Being through
the years being a guitar playing and doing your
thing. What if guitar was not in the picture?
What would you be doing yourself right now? I'd
probably be like a lawyer happy with kids and
living the perfect life. No, I love it though,
I love it. Like I said, I have a full -time job.
I help design, implement virtual reality for
college. So I've always had a thing for technology
and figuring out how it works. So I've been doing
something with that. Creator of AI, I bet you
probably wrote that. I got Louis asking the questions
is opening Watching alien on farm. Oh, sorry,
and they were closed open for the offspring and
SPI killer memory. I go well man. That's what's
up, man You've had I'm grateful we can share
that with y 'all your your fan base that I've
seen I mean I've seen you guys play in small
venues here in the RGB, what y 'all post and
everything. You got a good following. Right on,
man. People show up. That's for sure. Yeah. I
mean, you see that and you're like, wow. I mean,
like I said, there's very few bands that I've
seen here that have that following. You guys
are playing at the Flying Walrus, just to say,
people are showing up. People are going to go
check you out. So on and so forth. You're playing
at the island. They're going to go check you
out. As far as the fans outside from the RGB
you come up like what I like to call the RGB
956 bubble when you finally venture out and you're
out in open territory where You know open waters
and there's a lot of sharks out there But you're
in open waters and you end up performing somewhere
Corpus Christi San Antonio Austin Houston Dallas
Do you feel? That the fan base is a little bit
stronger outside the Rio Grande Valley or do
you feel it kind of similar? All the traction
and stuff that we get that's for sure I would
say most of our supporters are probably from
the Valley. But we do have, you know, we do have
some fans out of state and of course in northern
Texas. We have a lot of people, a lot of good
fans, awesome friends in San Antonio area, Dallas
too. You know, one of our biggest fans is from
Washington. We just became homies. He was big
into our first couple albums and we've just been
friends ever since. There's a lot of connections
like that. Where it's like throughout the years
people have really supported us. Fans from Iowa,
fans from Florida, just different different places.
Have you ever had your music spin anywhere other
than down here? Like, you know, maybe at a college
station or maybe in a different city or different
state. For sure. Even in a different country.
In a different country, yeah. When we did our
Spotify wrapped, I don't know, last year, two
years ago, I think it had like 40 years. I don't
know, 30 or 40 different, it had a bunch of different
countries on there that had tuned into our music
throughout the year. And that was pretty mind
blowing for sure. Yeah, that's crazy. And I got
Louis saying once, hey, come through the Midwest,
dog. Yes, he's been wanting us to shout out Louis.
Louis Blunt, what up? And it's crazy because
I mean I asked that a lot because one one for
one We had a right daughters in the podcast a
bucking crazy. Yeah, I've known Roy for so we
graduated together great artist man, and I Asked
him and go ever since high school man. You were
you were determined to Be that musician since
94 and he's been pushing and pushing and pushing
and now that he's he's doing recordings in I
think he was telling me in Memphis in Tennessee
up there and he had I think one of the I think
he had told me one of the guitar players or keyboard
players play with Garth Brooks and he's on the
album and I'm like dude you're You're there.
Yeah, what's going on? And then when he told
me the story on how it was all rearranged and
what the turmoil was and how they got roadblocked
here roadblocked there when they're finally on
the road To get where they want to get. Yeah,
these are certain bands that I see down here
that I have these You know, they're there. They're
at the doorstep. Why hasn't that door open then?
Open the damn door. Let these guys go through
they got to move on right because rgb has been
a place where there's so much talent with so
much rock industry, the country industry, hip
-hop artists, so on, so forth, they have not
been tapped yet. It's funny because, I mean,
I have, I'm not gonna let him word out names,
but I have had people tell me that, oh, well,
so -and -so suing this artist, which is like
a Grammy Award artist, because they took a beat.
from you know they're like nitpicking down here
oh we'll use that anyways they'll never notice
and you know it's like It's like like who said
this after who's telling me that it's like a
barrel of barrel of crabs You're trying to get
out of the barrel, but they just keep pulling
you back. Yeah, you know and it's like I told
Roy I go bro. You're right there You're on the
edge You're looking at the bottom of the barrel
and you're looking at the other next thing ahead
of you You guys are right there, too, right?
I mean, you know and I said has there been any
talk of signing or anything like that with any?
studio yet Not really, but I can... I mean, consider
the fact that you guys can do your own studio
thing and you kids can progress with your own
stuff. Right on, yeah. A lot of the stuff we
can do in -house. Yeah, and I've noticed a lot
of bands right now that are on that cusp and
have made it to the other side are independent.
You know, a label can definitely get you up.
Right. But if you have the know -how and the
connections you can definitely do it independent
and save a ton of money, right? Exactly. Yeah,
exactly So I mean consider the fact like I said
signing wise. I mean What I like to call you
guys brothers and sisters, okay robot. That's
another another band that just Actually got a
fallback. They got signed for I don't know what
label was and they're doing their thing now Yeah,
so I was like wow One actually got their foot
inside the door already that goes let's go Yeah,
you know, but you know, they're a great band
shout out to these guys. I love their music also
Great great band. I mean, I love the music but
when I like I said Dry dry found studios. There
you go Modern era bands rarely sight anymore.
That's true. That's very true. It's very it's
very rare but nevertheless, I mean You see bands
that are out there doing great and they get there
for a reason, you know But it's always the fine
print that you got to read at the very bottom
So say the the devil's contract the demons contract
is what they say I've read and that I've heard
Being a musician the way up for so many years
already. You have your own studio. Well, it's
called a dry found studios Oh, yeah, okay. We
just practice there now, but there's no studio
sessions going on there anymore You guys were
to open up your own studio and do your own studio
yourself record music and shoot it out. I mean
Say like you say like you do get signed, you
know, and you end up having your own studio On
the side that you do your stay home stuff, you
know to do your skeletons and eventually take
it to the bigger stage, right? There's bands
That look for that. I know there's so many bands
there. They're like man We're trying our best
to get out, you know, but when they see you guys
that are doing it They not coat tail ride, but
they want to say hey man. Can you help us out?
Can you? Record our stuff. Can you is there like
an opportunity for these young younger bands
to reach out to you guys for sure? you know what
I Recorded a band at my house years ago good
handful years ago Bagwell, I don't know if you've
heard of Bagwell great dudes shout out to Rob
Kings and his brother CJ We at HP we were definitely,
you know still we were like, you know, we're
still doing our thing and Yeah, an opportunity
kind of came about like that and it was the first
time I had ever recorded a band at my studio,
right? But even though I wasn't like super knowledgeable
like, you know at me, you know with recording
and everything I was able to let them pick my
brain as far as right getting shows and reaching
out to people and just you know how I go about
to make connections and things like that and
um and now they're you know they're still doing
their thing by well and I've seen them grow as
well and so yeah I feel like um I feel grateful
I was able to kind of help them, give back to
them. We didn't help them really with their start.
It was like their first EP, anything they'd ever
done. So shout out back. Yeah, man. Just like
yourself, you're starting off with them and so
on. You're going to continue with them. At one
point, maybe years down the line, you know, say,
OK, man, you know what? We're finally closing
the book. We're gonna close the book and you
know, maybe something new might turn up. Maybe
there's something different along the horizon.
It's stuff like that that you say, you know what?
Let me give back, you know? And I don't wanna
toot my own horn, you know? The same thing for
me. Doing the whole nightly gigs from... 10 o
'clock to 1 o 'clock in the morning or from 9
o 'clock to 12 o 'clock you know going in going
out loving your stuff setting up for another
another gig and all that you're constantly doing
it you know wear and tear every day well fortunately
you guys are up there already that i see in my
point back in our day it was like the hustle
you had to go sell the cd you had to go give
the flyer you had to talk to somebody that knew
somebody that wasn't the radio you had and there's
so much social media now that you can push your
stuff out there so easily now Everybody can see
it. You know, you pass gas, so you might hit
a million hits. You know, something like that.
But at one point I said, you know what, I'm hanging
it out. I'm done. You know, and you're like,
I'm done. But at the same time, this gets created
and say, you know what, I'm gonna give back.
I wanna give back to the young ones that... need
the help to get heard, they need the exposure
to talk about who they are, where they're from
and how they came up with the band. You know,
the sound, how the sound was created. What was
the lyrics about? What were you feeling when
you wrote this lyric? You know, kind of like
a intimate interview with the listener so they
can say, OK, now I know what this band is all
about. You know, so I wanted to give back like
that. And I'm doing it now. So bringing you guys
here and other other bands to come in, you know.
It's a wonderful thing. To meet people like you
guys is like, shit, man, these guys are doing
it. These guys are doing it. They're living the
dream, bro. You got a great setup here, too.
I tried. I tried. I tried. You see that, and
you're like, damn, man, I want to be a part of
that. I want to help. We try to help as much
as possible. This is when I do the ooh radio.
I put your song. guys song on like that and that
and because of that you got these other unsung
heroes like mingle's music that had this record
the vinyl shop man big shout out to mingle man
i mean these are these are old rockers these
guys older rocker than me bro and he he introduced
me to you guys he introduced me to room cross
he introduced me to to a lot of bands that are
out here man like dude i've been out of the scene
for a long time Well, I got it. I got to jump
back in there and listen to this music and when
you dive into it You hear all these great bands
down here and go what's going on? Yeah, why aren't
these guys being picked up? There's got to be
one. It's either gonna be you guys It's either
gonna be okay, or it's gonna be Roy throws with
buck crazy. It's gonna say all right. There's
a foundation We have a studio. Let's sign you
guys up. Let's go. Let's go. You know, it's it's
the dream Yeah, it's the dream the goal to get
there, you know what I mean? And you guys are
living it, man. I think you guys are living it
already. You're just right there. You're a heartbeat
away. So tell us a little about this gig, a little
side tour that we're having with Indiana Ampharm.
Where are these dates located? Go ahead. It'll
be Albuquerque, New Mexico. That'll be on the
18th. And then we'll do Tucson on Tuesday. It'll
be the 19th. And then Mesa, which is right outside
of Phoenix on Wednesday. That'll be the August
20th. So that's one month from now. OK. Get your
tickets at alienatpharm .com. We'll be there.
Wow. And talk to us. I mean, we'll have shows
here in the Valley, too, leading up. Yeah. We
can talk about those shows. Yeah. We'll probably
fill us in. Fill us in, Troy. Come on. July 25,
we are doing a Limp Bizkit cover show along with
Down With System. They're doing a system of a
down cover set. Oh sweet. We're doing this at
the Kraken Lounge July 25th in Brownsville, Texas.
Release the Kraken! That'll be on Friday of the
25th. And then the day after the 26th, we're
gonna be at the Rockin' Q in Harlingen, Texas.
Awesome. Doing an Olympusket tribute as well.
Okay. That set's gonna be an even longer set
than the night before. We're doing more than
the Olympusket too. And we're doing Deftone,
10 and a half farm. We're throwing in a couple,
yeah, we're throwing in some couple other covers
in there to keep it spicy. And then let's see,
August 1st, we're gonna return to the Flying
Walrus in McCown. We're playing with just mentioned
it with the Bakri. We're playing with the ghosts
of us and Gosh, there's other bands. There's
other bands on the bill great bands It's gonna
be it's gonna be metal. It's gonna be awesome.
August 1st Friday or Saturday That's A Friday.
That's A Friday. Yes. A Friday. I'm going to
have to keep that, write that down. Guys, if
you guys want any information on all that good
stuff they have, feel free to go ahead and jump
on this. This right here, guys, this will take
you, this QR code that I'm showing you right
now on the screen will take you straight to Spotify.
Go in there, follow them, listen to their music.
If you are feeling down and out and you need
something just to perk you up. This is the stuff
you want to listen to. A .T .H .P. Let's go!
Need some A .T .H .P. and you're just going to
inject that into your body for a little while.
You'll feel better after the morning. But I've
been listening to you guys, like I said, all
week. Finally got, finally got a treat meal,
ladies and gentlemen. I'm on the treat meal!
I'm there! Congrats. I haven't turned it on,
but I'm on the treat meal! But uh, you know,
I've been doing that and I've been listening
to your stuff man, and it motivates you to go
You know, you're like go go though. The old man
can't go That far as far as a run or a jog like
it used to so need to timid down the guys They're
running the machines and say hey, you can't take
my book. You have to shut it down on me So I
said, yeah slow down, you know, but uh, yeah,
it's great workout music. It's great when you're
feeling down Turn it up, man, and turn it up
loud. Sweet. Wake up the neighbors, man. If you
think it's too loud, you too damn old. That's
just the way I say it. But guys, first things
first, I want to say thank you so much for coming
out to the podcast with us. Absolutely. To have
you on for the first time on here. Just the two
of you. Where's the rest of the band? Where's
the rest of the band? I was looking for an unplugged
show tonight. Next time. Round two. We'll bring
our acoustics. We'll do that. but uh uh i want
to say thank you so much for keeping the rock
scene alive not yourself but all the other bands
that are out there pushing as hard as you can
that's all the talent all around the rgv man
from the 1980s from the late 80s 39s from liquid
sky holy smoke uh There's a there's a lot of
bands that even if you if you're from my era,
you're like, holy shit You remember liquid sky.
You remember fucking holy smoke. Yeah, I remember
all the three dogs three dogs night also Three
moon dogs. That's another big one also Not three
dogs night that's way back in the 60s but uh
you guys Are a treat to listen to you guys rock
and roll every single time. Okay, I got hold
on I got ash here saying very cool guys Happy
to have learned about yeah. Yes, of course and
then uh People are saying it's gonna happen.
It's gonna happen. Uh, I got here also DC goes
on convinced my first boy Well, there you go.
There you go, man. The heroes bringing babies,
man. Damn. Good CEO of the Poptroia. Thank you
so much for tuning in, guys. Thank you. Thanks
for having us. You guys are doing a great job.
Continue doing what you guys are doing. Don't
stop. Keep pushing that threshold, man. Keep
rocking the door, because there's more people
behind you trying to break that barrier down
so we can all finally get through there and finally
get... Notice and put on the spot of the map
not only that LA has the hardcore and the great
bands But the RGB has some hardcore hardcore
bands also, man We got to be in that mix also.
Like I said a big pot of menudo broke. That's
what it's got to be But once again, thank you
so much guys for coming out. Thank you last words
Troy that you like to leave us with any Live
long and prosper We've talked about it before
Eventually if it's gonna happen this year, maybe
early next year, but we have a song that's gonna
feature the one and only tech 9 So that's gonna
be coming up soon Yeah, there you go Nick Be
interested learn more don't be ignorant. There
you go. There we go The world of your fingertips
Yeah, guys, thank you have everything right here.
Yeah. Oh my god, this is like a mini computer
in your hand, man But guys, I appreciate you
guys coming out, having a little fun with me
here, getting to know you, letting the fans see
what you guys are all about. And not only that,
learn a little bit more. insight uh on where
you guys are coming from what your music's about
and all that good stuff and how the music is
made so just continue what you're doing man and
like i said all steam ahead bro yes sir be the
tip of the spear man that's what you want that's
the number one thing be the tip of the spear
is what i'm always told but thank you so much
man appreciate you guys thank you thank you ladies
and gentlemen that is the podcast for tonight
great one great podcast thank you so much to
everybody watching big shout out like i said
once again to all our sponsors uh triple j plumbing
owner construction javier cabazos with his uh
uh horse stables out there mr texas pandora's
box tattoo with uh uh mr uh Freddy Honda, Freddy
Honda man. Thank you so much. Also big shout
out to Extreme magazine the RGB edition. Thank
you so much. And last but not least, Central
Public Electric in Westico, Texas. Thank you
so much for giving us your commercial to broadcast
on that. Hopefully people want to go buy a new
washer, dryer, refrigerator. They need new wiring.
plumbing for their home. I mean, everything's
right there. You got Triple J and Nona to help
you out. That's the place to go buy the good
stuff and then give these guys a call to set
it up all for you. Ladies and gentlemen, that
was episode 253. Holy moly. I don't know how
we got that far. And next month will be seven
years doing the podcast. It's been a wild ride.
I know Chu said that as soon as December's over,
it's Yeah, I'm throwing them out I'm running
this song bitch to the wheels roll off, but uh
guys Thank you so much for watching tune in next
week. I got some wrestlers coming in next week
I know everybody's been asking where the wrestlers
where the rest I got wrestlers coming in next
week three guys that have been causing trouble
in combat cult You might want to tune in next
week. I know August I'm bringing you wrestling
the whole month guys. That's going to be it.
And yes, yes, El Cacahuate will be here. So be
prepared to see that little shrimp running around
the podcast also. Anyways, guys, thank you so
much for tuning in. We will see you next week
on Thursday, 730 p .m. sharp. Don't forget to
follow, subscribe. And oh, by the way, thank
you for all the lights on the Delacruz cartoons,
man, the Muppet cartoons. They will continue
being pumped out on the tuning podcast. Stay
tuned for some more great content. And like always.
guys. Latest Gators. Peace out.