By: Karen Steinberg
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “2AM.”
A) I was really fucking with Luis Miguel at the time. Lyrically I always look to Joaquin Sabina because he’s the greatest of all time when it comes to lyrics in Spanish, if you ask me. Listen to “Y Nos Dieron las Diez” by him. As far as the story goes, I’ll let people’s imagination and google translate take care of that.
Q) Are your Miami roots what inspired this to be a Spanish-language track?
A) I mean, probably? It’s not something we consciously think of but Spanish music is inevitable when you grow up in Miami and I think it’s been ingrained in us for better or worse.
Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
A) Anyone’s guess is as good as mine. You never know what people are going to resonate with. Some people on the road have told us it reminds them of their parents’ music when they were growing up and as a fellow Latino I think I get what they mean. For the English speaker, maybe it’s just the sound of Spanish; it has a way of letting words flow into each other which lends itself well to songs, there’s even a word for it: “sinalefa” (still retaining that AP Spanish Lit information, gracias Profesora García <3).
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) It depends on the song, really. Some come all at once and others might be Frankenstein’ed from either a journal entry or a chord progression or even just a melody from a voicenote. If the lyrics don’t come out as easy then I like to stay up for forty-eight hours and mumble gibberish into a recorder until a nice phrase comes out and I’ll go to sleep and work around it the next day or week or year. That way it feels like the lyrics write themselves.
Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?
A) We typically self produce, but I guess we’d have to define what production is. The songs are usually pretty structured by the time they get to the studio and then studio magicians like Chad Copelin will dictate what the actual sound will be e.g. instrumentation, guitar tone, synth selection, etc., which is, in my opinion, half of the whole thing. You can have a good song but if it’s recorded like shit it’ll sound like shit.
Q) Your album Vice City Magic is out now. What are some themes that you explore on it?
A) VCM is an ode to friends and family. It has a bit of ourselves and the people we grew up with in the “Vice City” (Miami). We use the character Billy Bob to kind of embody all these people into one to paint a picture of the pros and cons of growing up here. Basically, just a few cautionary tales adorned with pop synths.
Q) I’m sure that the fans have been reaching out to you to talk about their personal favorite tracks. Which song(s) off the album hold a special place in your heart and what makes it standout to you?
A) “2am” for sure. I was not expecting that. My mom who’s an avid reader and my step dad who’s a decorated Cuban poet both helped a lot with the lyrics as I find Spanish intimidating to write in since all my favorite writers are Hispanic.
Q) What do you hope lingers with listeners that check out Vice City Magic as a whole – either as an emotion or message?
A) Nothing in particular. Maybe just the idea that Miami isn’t all sports cars and BBLs. There’s a beautiful and raunchy underbelly that’s often overlooked and if we can shine a light on it I think that’s great but if not we just hope people enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed writing it.
Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) It’s not so much the place but the people. It’s always crazy for us to see so many poor souls at these shows around the US and having them sing lyrics of a song that isn’t even out yet is a feeling I can’t even explain. Is this real?
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Everyone. “We are the world” type beat
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) Geese. I love those little freaks because they make me feel normal.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) There’s better bands out there so thanks for listening to us. <3
All Questions Answered By Marco Rivero Ochoa