I
first became aware of Sinaloa a couple of years ago; it was through
a friends distro where I was first introduced to the band through
their split LP with the amazing Ampere. I knew then that I had to
interview them. I got in touch with the band in the summer of '09
about a possible interview. They were more than happy to do it and
over the following months we chipped away at the work below. I hope
you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
The Earth is on Fire from split LP with Ampere
1.Please introduce Sinaloa and give a brief history of the
band.
We are three friends, first, who became a band when we found ourselves
all in the same place, bored, with lots of energy to create something.
We started a band, really, as a way to spend a summer learning
to play new instruments, together, and we have kept it going for 8
years or so. There isn't so much free time, now, but I think
we still have lots of energy to put towards making something. When
we started, Pete and I had just graduated college, and Brendan had
a year to go. Now, we all have full time jobs, relationships,
etc. to fit in with playing music. Brendan works in systems
management for a financial company and plays guitar. Pete teaches
first through third graders and plays guitar. I coordinate disposal
of hazardous waste for an environmental services company and play
drums. We all sing, in some capacity, and we all write. We've
made 3 full length records, quite a few split records with people
we admire, traveled to a lot of places we never would have seen, and
met a ton of great people we never would otherwise have met. We're
still learning to play, still friends, and still enjoying the process
of making something out of thin air.
2. One of the things that comes up
when someone mentions Sinaloa is your dedication to the DIY ethic.
This presents itself in many ways including who you work with when
releasing records, which bands you tour with, and even where you play
--looking at your most recent tour I noticed a wide variety of DIY
spaces, cafes, record stores. Firstly, do you agree with this assessment
and if so what is it about the DIY ethic that appealed to you in the
first place and why do you continue to follow it?
Pete: It's hard to say if this is a fair assessment or not because DIY
seems to be ever changing and different based on opinion. Just like
punk, there are so many facets to DIY and how people act upon it or
define it. Growing up, I think what attracted me to the idea was how
empowering it was and still is. I may not have really idetified with
it at that time that that was the reason, but when looking back upon
it I can clearly see that. I saw kids-whether they were putting on
shows, in bands, writing zines or just being active-taking it upon
themselves to find that motivation and drive to create something from
very little. And it was something very tangible to me, something I
felt I could do. I started with putting on shows because I had no
formal music lessons (often doing shows with Brendan and Luke's former
band-ettil vrye), nor did I feel confident in taking that chance to
form a band. I was comfortable with that aspect of organizing. But,
even starting this band-Luke and I had never really played our instruments
but we made do and found our way over time. I think that still lives
within us in how we want to stay involved in all aspects of the band
and continuing to be a part of this community. Maybe it is part
control freak, but I think if we did not have our hands on all
of these aspects we'd feel pretty disconnected with what we are
trying to create. DIY certainly has changed a bit since
we were young and there are always things you see as wonderful aspects
and others you'd change, but I think that is always to be expected.
I guess we just continue to hold onto the values that are important
to us, while still stepping back and evaluating how we go about our
decisions. Punk and DIY are such loose terms and in ways becoming
watered down as they become more of catch phrases to the general public-but,
I think if it reaches people today and instills something positive
in them, then that purpose that we found still continues to exist
and is passed on.
Luke: Pete summed it up nicely. I'd just add that the reason
we still tend to feel that we should be responsible for most aspects
of the process, and to try to work with people who take a similar
approach, is that it has worked really well for us. There can
be a danger in being too rigid to an ideal, but i think we've grown
and evaluated things consistently as we've gone on - which sometimes
has led to leniency in some areas, and sometimes it's led to validation
of ideas that we had when we started.
3. Do you worry that this rigidity
(in respect to DIY for example) is a hinderance to the punk/DIY community?
What else do you consider to be major challenges facing the punk community
these days? Do you have any ideas as to how these problems can
be resolved?
Luke: Rigidity without purpose, and without reflection, can be a hinderance,
in my opinion. However, setting guidelines for yourself, your
band, or any other undertaking can be a good thing. It can help
ensure that you follow through on whatever it is you are trying to
accomplish, and can aid in making whatever statement (or lack of statement)
you may wish to convey. I think there have been times and environments
where rigidity has been necessary, or at least beneficial.
There are bands, show spaces, and artists who survived and
did great things because they wouldn't bend. Fugazi comes to
mind, and they have had the reputation for sticking to the 'rules'
they set out at the beginning. Many show spaces with strict
no-alcohol, no offensive language, etc rules last because they won't
budge - keeping disruptive elements out, when any misstep in some
communities can mean the death of an active space. But even
in these cases, I'm sure these rules were evaluated along the way
to make sure they still made sense for those involved. And the
rules were in place for solid, well thought out reasons. I think
rigidity can be a problem when you start closing doors out of habit,
or just because you set out with certain rules when you were 15 and
haven't thought about them since.
I worry about tradition, even when it can sometimes be what
keeps punk or diy going. The longer this idea (or conglomeration
of ideas/music/spaces) exists, the easier it is to simply follow what
has been done before. But the mid 90s weren't the same environment
as the reagan-era 80s, and things are different now, too. Different
cities have different opportunities, personalities, and roadblocks.
I think the balance between shared tradition and new ideas can
be tough, but i love it when people draw on the things that have worked
to come up with new ideas. It's not a new challenge, but I think
it's a persistent one for people involved in this sort of thing. We've
tried to be sure that the way we've gone about things has adapted,
if necessary.
I'm sure there have been times when we've missed out on good
things because we dismissed them based on old guidelines, and I'm
sure there been times that we've avoided shitty situations because
we stuck with what we thought was right for us. There probably
isn't a resolution to this 'problem', or a definitive response to
the challenge, but I think the best you can do is to be informed about
processes are going on with and around what you're involved in, and
to evaluate your previous determinations often enough to be true to
yourself.
4. You mentioned you've worked with
people who take a similar approach to making and putting out music
and it has worked out well for you. On this point I'd like to ask
you about your relationship with Ampere and how it developed into
not only playing shows and touring together but also into putting out a
split record.
Peter: Ampere, foremost as people and then as a band are people we
have tremendous respect for and have built a wonderful relationship
over the past years. I guess we met them all individually through
different circumstances, well before the band even started. We had
played with and helped do shows for both wolves and orchid when we
started, and did a split 7" with wolves early on. I guess the
relationship just continued to grow with Andy and Will. Meghan we
met through mutual friends when we were in college, and I think we
met Stephen through shows and playing with montcalm. It has continued
to grow organically in that way, in that it just made sense to tour
together, to do a record together because we played or attended each
other's shows somewhat regularly. I think we both truly respect what
each other are doing and I know, on a personal note, their music has
pushed me or made me look at structure in different ways. The record
just came to be and was a collaborative effort from both the layout
and the zine we put together. Our friendship is based beyond music
and so I think we wanted the record to feel like it was more than
just music in some ways. We feel pretty lucky to have crossed their
paths and to continue building that relationship. Our music isn't
very similar, but I do think there are values and deep roots in what
punk has meant to each of us and how we care to approach it. It may
not always be the same, but the support from the group of people has
always been there. I feel fortunate to have that small sense of community,
both in Massachusetts as well as exisiting in a tightly packed van
as we travelled across the U.S. and Europe together and I know it
will continue to grow.
5. You mentioned zines when talking
about your relationship with Ampere. I'm wondering what zines you
guys grew up with, and what your thoughts are on the the current state
of zine culture.
Peter: In high school there were a few kids writing zines, one called
give and take (by this guy named Mark Wood), which I really enjoyed.
There was another, but it's slipping my mind right now. Anyways, they
were both fun to read and my first exposure to the idea of writing
and putting something together like that, and then "publish"
it yourself in the way that you want. As I started going to shows
and buying records I started buying Heartattack and Punk Planet whenever
I saw them. It was really fun seeing this whole new community outside
of the tiny community we had going on, and see that there was so much
music and so many people who were doing similar things. It was really
eye opening to me. As I got older I started reading things that people
we knew were putting out. I really enjoyed a zine called scenery that
a guy named Mike Taylor put out. There is another zine called America?
by Travis Fristoe, and that is always great to read. I would highly
recommend both. As for zine culture now, I can't say I am that involved
in it, or that I regularly buy zines. I was sad to see both Punk Planet
and Heartattack go away, although people may argue that Punk Planet
was no longer a zine at that point. Either way, I thought PP had good
interviews and writing and were always honest with what they were
doing. I like the fact that people are still writing and still putting
out their own work and that not everything has gone the way of the
blog. I see people doing zines like Give Me Back, who continue to
work hard and put together a well organized zine. I can't imagine
it is easy, especially with the internet and the somewhat laziness
it instills and how accessible music and bands are, but I do think
what they are doing is great and will hopefully continue.
Luke: Was Banana Revolution the other one,
from high school? I think that was the first zine I came
across, with the realization that no one needs to get permission to
create something. It was a freeing moment - similar to
the realization that if you wanted to make music, you could just
go and do it. You don't need lessons. It doesn't
even have to be GOOD for it to mean something. I think
it can be a personal seismic shift, when you think there are
walls or barriers to doing something...and then they just vanish.
More than anything, that has been the most important thing that I've
gotten out of the punk/diy idea.
6. Could you tell me about the Chapel
and Basement cassette and how the idea of doing a stripped down acoustic
recording came about? What was the experience like? Did it change
the way you perhaps previously perceived your music??
Peter: Well, this idea came about a little before we left for tour.
We were in the process of writing new songs, but wanted to try something
a bit different. We knew we were going to be doing a two week tour
and wanted to have something new to bring with us. This seemed a bit
more realistic rather than trying to write a bunch of new songs and
feel really rushed to do so. We had been talking about doing a tape
for sometime-more with the idea of making something very much different
than what our typical song structure is. I can't say chapel and basement
is really that, and we still have intentions of someday making a tape
with more looping sounds, different instruments and arrangements.
I think this tape challenged us to relook at our songs and sometimes
try to structure them a little differently. Some of them sound just
stripped down, while others we actually slowed them down as well.
I think if we had more time we could have really taken the songs and
maybe really restructured them.
The overall experience was really great. We had access to a
church and recorded the drums there. The sound was pretty amazing
and we were able to record some interludes with organ, piano and drums
that will be on a new one sided 12" we have coming out in march.
The guitars and vocals were recorded in Brendan's basement. I'm not
sure if it changed how we perceived our music overall, but I do think
we are all interested in different approaches to music and different
sounds, and so I hope that we will continue to challenge ourselves
in our songwriting.
7. You've released a good number
of records in your time as a band; and most recently have a limited
pressing of Fathers and Sons. Could you talk about your continued
dedication to vinyl? What was the first record you ever owned and
would you consider yourselves record nerds?
Luke: I think, initially, we were a product of our environment when
it came to what format to use for releasing music. Environment
and a tradition that we were plugged into, before we started
playing in bands. The bands we grew up listening to put out
records - and it seemed special and different in the 1990s. Cassettes
were still dominant when I first started buying Public Enemy
and Def Leppard albums as a kid, and then CDs took over. You
didn't really think about buying a Nirvana record or a Metallica
record, at that point. Most people bought the CD.
Conversely, we probably would opt for vinyl for the punk
bands we were going to see. Vinyl was both unique and accessible,
while also seeming like a more tangible 'thing'. It seemed
like something that took more work and skill to make, and it was an
identifier for something that was beneath the dominant musical/cultural
surface. I never daydreamed about playing in a band and releasing
a CD. My first goal, which at the time was the ULTIMATE goal,
was to be able to put out a 7". And I think those
daydreams and goals are reflected in how we do things, as a band,
now. Striving for the tangible, and not for anything much bigger
than that.
I think the first record I bought was an Only Living Witness
7", which I bought at a show before I had a record player. At
least before I dug out my parents' old one, and set it up.
Speaking for myself, I wouldn't say I'm a vinyl nerd. I have
never really cared about the 'collectability' of different vinyl colors
or gimmicks. That stuff can be real cool, and I like when those
things are part of some artistic layout idea - rather than just
a variation to make something desirable or valuable. I prefer
to look at them as a conduit for hearing music, or looking
at someone's artwork/words, though. Not something to carefully
hide away in hopes it accrues value, beyond it's actual purpose.
8. What future plans do you have?
Luke: We are headed back to Europe, this March. We're
just about finished putting together a record (more like an EP...
but with some vinyl gimmicks. ha). We recorded it
ourselves, and it was a fun process. It was cool for me to see
how good brendan has gotten at recording/engineering a record
on his own. After that, we'll see what happens. Hopefully,
we just keep playing.
