Ear Ringers are an Indie rock band from East Los Angeles, California established in 2017. The band consists of lead singer/rhythm guitarist Miguel Estrada, lead guitarist Jesus Mendoza, keyboardist Daftnet Mendoza, drummer David Bravo, and bassist Daniel Romo. A mutual interest in various styles of music led to their first musical collaboration with the end result being the release of their debut EP, “First of All'' in the fall of 2017. The band continued to make music and gig locally for years to come and eventually signed with LA based label My Grito Industries in September of 2021. Ear Ringers released their debut record “Heart Therapy '' on October 7th, 2022 produced by Jonathan Mireles at Audiomech Productions.
How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
The band met in highschool and we all went to a performing arts academy that was very small. Everyone knew each other and knew that we all played instruments that filled a role in a band setting. We befriended each other and realized that we all had similar musical tastes. When we got together to jam for the first time it seemed right and we never looked back. The name came to us during a rehearsal in my (Daniel) house. We used to crank our amps to 11 and play without ear plugs. One day I complained that my ears were ringing and the name came to be a couple days later.
Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
I was in no projects before Ear Ringers and Miguel was actually the first person I ever played with outside of home. The rest of the guys were in some rock bands before Ear Ringers and some played at their local church every week. My sister introduced me to all my early music inspirations. She wanted someone to play guitar with her so she encouraged me to pick up the bass so we could jam on some Green Day tunes.
First concert that you ever went to?
The first band I ever saw was Rush on their R40 tour. I went with Miguel and my sister and it was a surreal experience because they were one of our biggest inspirations during that time. Learning their songs really helped us advance on our own instruments quickly because their music was more difficult than the average rock song. I remember them being crazy loud and is to this day the loudest concert I've ever been to.
What's your writing process like?
Today, we really like to get into our lockout and jam some small ideas out into full length songs. Miguel usually comes in with a chord progression or a melody that still needs the rest of the band. We’re at a point where we can trust each other to figure our individual parts out and figure out ways to make it work with the initial idea. We each hear our own thing and if it fits then great but if not we can also be honest with each other about tweaking a certain part.
What other artists or songs inspire your music?
We’re definitely inspired by bands like Two Door Cinema Club, Wallows, and No Vacation. We like that indie rock/indie pop style these bands bring to the table and is music that people can dance to. Songs from these bands are very catchy, upbeat, and fun. We aim to have the same effect with our own music.
What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be it's own thing?
I think playing live is an opportunity to expand on some songs in ways you didn’t on the recorded version. You can add a bit more “flash” to each song because the live setting is much more exciting. Adding some cool intros or outro’s, playing some parts a little differently, and hitting a couple different notes are all ways to add to the live experience for the audience. It also keeps the songs interesting for us to play night after night.
Has the band toured?
We haven’t toured yet but we are in the planning process with one and look forward to getting on the road for the first time.
What's up next for the band?
Other than the tour we are planning, we are working on recording some new music. It has been coming along well and hopefully we can get these tunes out sometime in the near future.
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