Today's guests are Cave Of Swimmers. Two dudes from Venezuela now playing their blend of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal/Stoner Rock in Miami.
Their brilliant S/T
début album is one weird ride into the unknown. This is what I had
to say about the album.
“Now how the
fuck do I describe this brilliant band and their insane crazy fucked
up S/T début album. As these guys are very hard to describe. 70s
Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Doom Metal and Stoner Metal combine for one
crazy ride.
Cave Of Swimmers
are brilliant and they have a truly wonderful sounding album you all
need to check out now”
I had to find out more
from these insane rockers. As their album is very strange indeed. So
lets get started with Cave Of Swimmers.
Q1 – Hi guys. How are
you today. Thanks for doing this. Really appreciate it.
Guillermo: thank you
for having us, Steve. I’m doing well!
Arturo: Doing real well
amigo; thank you for having us.
Q2 – For people not
in the know, can you give a brief history on how the band came about
and where it is today.
G: well, the first time
we jammed was probably in 9th grade. Mostly stuff from
Metallica, Megadeth, Sepultura… bands that had that 80’s thrash
sound, which was what we were into, at the time. Our first gig
together was in 99; we played Metallica covers with other two buddies
at some high school. We’ve both been involved with different
musical projects since then, but we decided to get our own thing
going maybe a year and a half ago, or so.
A:We started out
playing music together at 15. He was the first person I called when
first got my drumset. We played a lot together, mostly as a duo
playing a bunch of Metallica and Megadeth. Then we had a Rage Against
The Machine cover band during senior year in high school and early
college. Then I moved to the US and
wait…
We had both moved to
the US basically to have a brighter future in music. And we had been
here for a few years together and even though we were playing in
different bands, doing all sorts of crazy random gigs, we weren’t
really playing together for real, writing songs or not even jamming.
Guillermo really took the initiative of cutting the crap and getting
to work.
He got the moog pedal synth and things got spooky. We got
together and played some old stuff with used to jam when we were
kids, all kinds of stuff; even The Beatles. Very spontaneously we
started coming up with our own material. We played our first gig at
Churchill’s about 3 months after our initial
get-together-for-real-this-time; we had such an amazing response…
We knew we had something special that needed to be developed and
ultimately shared with people. That’s where we are right now.
Working on being tighter as a musical unit and spreading the “good
news”. We have a weeklong tour coming up this arch, and plans for a
longer one in the summer.
Q3 – Your originally
both from Venezuela and now based in Miami. How did you end up in
Miami. And have you known each for long.
A: We met in the 4th grade. I moved to Miami in 2004. My whole family moved to pursue better horizons here. I had been majoring in music for a couple of years in Caracas, and then applied to University of Miami and got the chance to finish my studies there.
G: Music was basically
all I knew, and I was curious to see what was going on with it up
here. Arturo was already here in the States, so I crashed at his
place for a few weeks, and then went on my own to venture. I’m very
grateful for all the cool experiences that I’ve had, and all the
wonderful people that I’ve met. It’s been a huge learning
experience for me.
Q4 – How is Miami
treating you guys so far. Do you miss home country or is Miami now
considered your home.
G: Not only Miami but
South Florida in general has been good to us; we’ve had enough gigs
to get by, and I’m grateful for being here. I do consider it my
home. Venezuela is where I grew up, so I guess it’s natural to miss
certain places, people… but everybody has been supportive, which is
great.
A: Love Miami. It’s a
truly unique place very different from any other American city. There
are great bands here and fantastic musicians. I feel very lucky to be
in a place with such diversity and great music happening. I do miss Venezuela
for obvious reasons—I lived there until I was 20—but
moving to Miami was a rational decision; and after almost 10 years, I
feel I can totally call this place home.
Q5 – Now congrats on
your new album Are you guys pleased the album is finally out of there
for everyone to hear.
A: Yeah, feels great.
G: Thanks! Yes,
definitely!
Q6 – How would you
describe your sound as you guys include a lot of different noises,
sounds and ideas. Even I have a hard time describing it.
G: Best way I can
describe our way of playing is… I guess we roll like an egg… it
may not roll as smooth as a ball would- the edges are not
consistently round- but it rolls. In terms of musical style, I much
rather leave that to the listener to classify; we’re not really
trying to come across as anything, we just play what we feel like
playing.
A: It’s
hard to describe your own sound. It’s easy for me describe someone
else’s; compare it, label it, put it in a box; but when it comes to
describing what we do I draw a blank and can’t put my finger on it.
We’re trying to sound as natural as we can, as spontaneous as
possible. After all, we’re only making sounds with a guitar, a moog
synth, voice and percussion.
Q7 – Was it a hard
album to record for. And would you change anything about it.
A: Wouldn’t
change a thing. I came together pretty easy. We had the songs down
cold. We tracked everything in about 12 hours.
G: It was hard to
record in the sense that we came into the studio with an idea of how
we were going to go about it, and it was everything but what we
thought it’d be. We recorded the basic tracks live in probably less
than 2 hours, but it took us 5 or 6 to realize that that was the way
to do it… and those 5 or 6 hours were a pain, especially for Dana-
the guy who recorded us- God bless him. But after the basic tracks
were done, it was smooth sailing; I did the main vocals and solos in
maybe a couple more hours, and then Arturo did some backing vocals…
and that was that.
Q8 – Have you been
pleased with the responses so far you have had for the album.
G: Yes. Like I said, we
play from the heart; I’m very humbled for being here- I’m not
even supposed to be here, if you take a look at my background and
where I grew up- so the simple fact that I’m talking about our
music with someone other than Arturo, whether it’s good or bad, it
doesn’t matter, I feel blessed for the opportunity to make music
that I enjoy, and if there’s people who relate to it… it’s a
very humbling feeling, for sure.
A: Yes.
It’s very positive and humbling experience.
Q9 – What is the song
writing process in the band. Is it a group collective or is it down
to one individual.
A: It’s
about a 100% and 100% from each. We get together in this small room
and start playing. When something feels good, we keep it, and figure
out where to go from there. That’s about it.
G: it’s certainly a
collective thing. Any of us can come up to the practice room at any
given day with an idea- a riff, a beat, whatever- and then we build
upon it.
Q10 – What is the
whole concept of the album. Or do you want people to find this out
for themselves.
G: It’s not so much a
concept album, but rather a collection of thoughts, feelings... Our
next album will certainly have a concept, and I’m very excited
about that one as well.
A: Yes,
open to interpretation. I wouldn’t call it a conceptual album by
design. These are the first 4 songs we wrote together.
Q11 – Now where did
the name Cave of Swimmers came from. And what is the meaning behind
it.
A: We
were called The Tunnel before C.O.S. We needed a more unique name,
and we already had song with that tittle, so it made sense. “Cave
of Swimmers” evokes a more interesting image than “The Tunnel”.
G: It’s a womb. I
don’t know where it came from, but we all certainly came from it
(hehe), seriously though, it stemmed from the song of the same name.
Q12 – Which bands and
artists influenced you as musicians. As I detected a lot of
influences when listening to it. Melvins, Sabbath, Pentagram and even
Thin Lizzy. Though that could just be me detecting that one. HA HA.
G: hehe. Well, I like
those bands that you mentioned, and also Hendrix, Cream, Santana,
SRV, AC/DC, Metallica, Van Halen… also newer stuff, but those
bands/artists certainly made me want to pick up the instrument.
A: There
you go! You heard similarities with those great bands. Though,
personally I’ve been influenced a bit more by The Beatles, RATM,
Nirvana, Metallica, Bob Marley, Hector Lavoe, Issac Hayes, Kendrick
Lamar, Little Dragon, Juan Luis Guerra, Kurt Vile, Snoop Dogg, Philip
Glass, Miles Davis and a bunch of other jazz groups and world music.
Q13 – What made you
want to become a musician. Any particular group, album or life
changing event.
A: I
didn’t see myself doing anything else, especially after high
school. I attempted to study electric engineering for a few months,
lol. Bad idea.
G: I honestly don’t
know. I love dancing, I think it’s the most basic reaction anybody
can have to music, and I liked dancing to Michael Jackson’s
Moonwalker movie when I was a kid. My family would laugh their asses
off, but I didn’t give a shit, I was diggin’ it so much! Haha.
Q14 – How big of a
help has BandCamp and the Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal community been in
getting your music across to fans.
G: it’s been very
important, for sure. That’s how I hear all my favourite bands’
stuff; 9 times out of 10 they have a Bandcamp page. I keep spelling
it “Bandcamo”. The “p” is too close to the “o”.
A: Love
bandcamp. I really like their simple and clear format; it makes
things easy.
Q15 – Do you perform
many gigs in your Miami or do you have to travel further away to
perform live regularly.
A: We
play in Miami about once every couple of months. But we’re going
out of town more and more now.
G: We’ve been
fortunate enough to be actively gigging locally, but we’re looking
forward to venturing out this year.
Q16 – Are you all
full time musicians or do you all have full time jobs
G: I was a full time
musician for many years, but a few years ago I discovered I like to
edit videos. I now divide my time between music and video editing.
A: Yes,
pretty much full time musician. I teach drum set and play around town
other styles of music.
Q17 – In 5 words or
less – describe the live Cave of Swimmers experience.
A: “Dude,
what the fuck?"
G: honest music and
honest performing.
Q18 – If you could
give advice to someone wanting to start a band. What advice would you
give them.
G: Do it, have fun,
write music, get gigs. Don’t get too much equipment; less stuff to
carry/set up.
A: Do
it. Practice hard and be honest.
Q19 – Finally, Do you
have anything to say to your fans.
A: They’re
the best. It’s really humbling to be around them. I’m very
thankful.
G: We appreciate you
all, be blessed, and thanks so much for your support!
Well guys, thanks for
doing this. I really appreciate it. Best of luck with your album.
G: thanks for the
interview, Steve, we certainly appreciate it!!!
