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Band To Watch | The Blands



I'm really excited to share The Blands as our Band To Watch. The Blands are based out of San Antonio, Texas, and are easily one of the bands that I currently listen to the most.


Remember being in high school and wanting to start a cool band? Well that's The Blands, except this band is actually good. The Blands consist of Nathan (Bass/vocals), Aldo (guitar), Trent (guitar), and Bella (drums). The young band has only done 2 shows at the time of this interview and has already become one of my favorite bands.

 

Rapid Fire Questions


1. What have you been listening to lately?

Aldo: Oh Sees, David Bowie, a little Kiss.

Nathan: King Gizzard. They’re my favorite band. Oh sees, Hideous Sun Demon, R.M.F.C, Powerplant, ORB. Almost all the good stuff is happening overseas.

Bella: Ty Segall, THEE MVPS, ORB, RUT, Black Beach, Fall Children, and The Mystery Lights.

Trent: Cap’n Jazz, Thundercat, Hella, Camping in Alaska, and Sorority Noise.

2. I’m getting old. Tf is a VSCO girl? Explain that to me. 

Aldo: A girl who cares about the planet and doesn't do anything to help it. 

Nathan: The modern day basic bitch. She likes scrunchies, hydroflasks and needs you to share this post so we can make the oceans garbage free.

Bella: I don’t know….. :)

3. What band do you think you beat up in a fight?

Trent: American Football doesn’t stand a chance.

Nathan: AC/DC... They're all like 2ft tall.

Aldo: Modern Baseball.

4. Can you do a Daniel Johnston cover?

Trent: I think we could pull off “Hard Time,” however with less of Daniel’s grandeur.

Nathan: His music really isn’t for me. I see the appeal though. I just feel bad for the guy. He didn’t have a very easy life.

Aldo: Sure.

5. Any San Antonio bands that we should check out? 

Nathan: If you like fuzzy stoner bass shit, I’d check out The Wizard.

Bella: The Blands, RATS, Catcall, Elnuh, and FEA

Trent: Ramparts and Cliffside of the Pinkeyed Sky are both are really great.

6. I’m pretty sure my ex-girlfriend is creeping on this site. Idk how she found it. Can you convince her to buy merch?

Nathan: We don't have merch lol. 

7. Which US president would like your music the most? 

Trent: Donald J. Trump is a known fan.

Nathan: Teddy. He's the coolest president. 

Aldo: Andrew Jackson.

8. I ask this question to everyone that I interview, but nobody ever takes it seriously. Can you write a song about Ray Romano? 

Nathan: Hate to break it to you, but Everybody Loves Raymond ended when I was 3. It's before my time.

Aldo and Trent: Nope.

9. What is the worst advice that you can give me? 

Nathan: Stick a rusty nail in your urethra. 

Aldo: Just do. Don't think.

Trent: Relive a traumatic childhood experience.

Bella: If it sounds like a dumb idea you should probably do it

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Born Loser Magazine: To start things off, can you introduce yourselves?




Nathan: I'm Nathan. I play bass and “sing” for The Blands.

Aldo: I'm Aldo. I play guitar.

Trent: I’m Trent. I play guitar too.

Bella: I’m Bella and I play drums.


BL: When and how did the band come together? 

Nathan: Me and Trent met in church in middle school. We both played in the youth band. I met Aldo through a friend named Chad freshman year. I met Bella at our first gig, but had known about her for 2 years.

BL: You guys seem pretty young. Are you still in school?

Nathan: Yes. I'm 17, Aldo is 18, and Trent and Bella are 16. We are all currently enrolled in the Texas Public School System.


BL: How long have you been playing? 

Nathan: I've been playing bass for 5 years. 

Aldo: Same. I've been playing guitar for 5 years.

Trent: I’ve been playing guitar for 8 years.

Bella: I’ve been playing guitar, bass, and drums for about 6 years


BL: What music did you grow up on?

Nathan: I'm still growing up, but I guess I'll go with my "formative years" even though they're still kinda happening. I'd say Milo Goes to College, In Utero, The Revenge of the Pukes, and a lot of Pink Floyd. This is like 2015-2017. 

Aldo: Just a lota old stuff. CCR, Hendrix, Styx, Alice in Chains, a lot of oldies like gloria and louie louie.

Trent: Generic Classic Rock, much like everybody else. I can’t stand any of it anymore though.

Bella: I grew up to a lot of garage rock, new wave, & classic rock. In elementary I was really obsessed with the White Stripes and still am. Now I’ve been really getting back into old punk and psych rock music.


BL: How is the San Antonio music scene? Is it pretty supportive, or is everyone just kinda doing their own thing?

Nathan: Boring. It’s all emo and hardcore. You got a lot of cumbia bands and cover bands. That’s what adults do. Everything else is just double kick and growling. 

Bella: There’s some good bands here and there but it is slowly dying haha. Everyone supports each other however they can honestly.


BL: Who would you consider your musical influences?

Nathan: Oh Sees. Probably Nirvana in some way considering how important it was as a freshman. 

Aldo: Same. I'll add onto that with The Clash.

Trent: Nick Reinhart, Alex Lifeson, Spencer Seim. 



BL: I think my favorite song is probably ACDC. How did that song come about?

Nathan: It's just a bunch of mumbo jumbo that kinda rhymes and sounds like it could have a deeper meaning, but it really doesn't. The lyrics were written in 5 minutes before I took my chemistry EOC Exam. 

Trent: The main riff was the first non-diatonic, almost random idea that came to me when I thought, “I need to write something ASAP.”

Nathan: Yea. I put him on the spot and said "play something.” He did and we said “OK that works.”


BL: Do you have a specific approach to making songs, or do you just kind of go with the flow? Nathan: The music is first. We record all the ideas and then I listen to them when I'm pissed off or moody. I write the lyrics based off those feelings and the music itself. It's mostly insecurities, girl stuff, or both.


BL: What is the cover art for demos on soundcloud? It looks like a close up shot of pizza, but I’m not entirely sure. It makes me very uncomfortable?

Nathan: Thanks for asking. It's a close up of eggs mixed with Whataburger spicy ketchup. It looks absolutely disgusting, but it tastes great. 


BL: Do you have a favorite show experience? 

Nathan: Once again only 2 gigs, but on our first gig our friend Anthony chugged a jug of chocolate milk before we even pulled out of the gas station parking lot. He's lactose intolerant. 

Aldo: The first gig. I stepped on my cable and had to plug it back in while playing.


BL: Is there anything you like to do before every show, like a “pre-show ritual” or something like that? 



Nathan: Drink a lot of water. It's important to stay hydrated.

Aldo: Talking to the band.


Do you still get nervous before you play?

Nathan: Not really. I'm confident in everybody's musical abilities. 

Aldo: A little. I'm not afraid of messing up,  but performing in front of people can be nerve racking. 


What has been the most challenging part of being in a band so far?

Nathan: New songs. It's scary. I always think they're gonna hate them. 

Aldo: Nothing really. I like them.


BL: Ideally, what would The Blands be known for?

Nathan: It's kinda early to tell. I'd like to be known as anti-drug. I think people should find an escape through something else. I understand why people do drugs, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.

Aldo: Not taken too seriously. Just fun to listen to.


BL: What are you currently working on?

Nathan: We'll be recording in Mid-October and have it released by December. All the material is ready, but we have some ironing out to do.

Aldo: Getting to Austin.


BL: What can we expect to see from The Blands in the future?

Nathan: Either world domination or mild popularity in our region of the United States.

Aldo: More shows.


To wrap up, is there anything that you want our readers to know?

Nathan: We’ll be recording in about two weeks for a release that will be coming out right before christmas. Keep an eye out!


 

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