How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
standards is my (Marcos) college project, it was a play on the term “jazz standard” which is a basic jazz song that most jazz musicians would know. I guess it was a very pathetic joke. It’s also a Tortoise album, which is a good album.
Previous musical projects? How’d you first get into music?
I started playing piano at the age of 5 and it’s been all downhill from there. I play in a math rock band now.
First concert that you ever went to?
Slipknot. Again, all downhill after that.
What’s your writing process like?
I try to think of the hardest thing I can play and then I make it harder. Then Moises (drums) plays 2x speed over that and the result is pleasing to a minority of people.
What other artists or songs inspire your music?
We love instrumental guitar acts as well as the new hyperpop and glitchcore scene. Also just fans of musicianship, jazz and session musicians who work hard to hone their craft. It’s a very beautiful thing.
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?
We like to be energetic. Most instrumental guitar bands just stand in place the entire set but we try to bring as much energy to the stage as possible.
Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? worst shows?
We’ve toured a few times. Like maybe 20 times. Clearly not very successfully otherwise you would have heard about it. We opened up for Plini in November and that was amazing. He is very cool. Opening up for him in New York was amazing. The worst show we played was at a boomer hippy festival in the desert many years ago. They didn’t like our vibe. But now we’ll be opening up for Elephant Gym this upcoming March and we’re very excited. Hopefully they like our vibe more than the hippies.
What’s up next for the band?
Our new record Fruit Galaxy comes out March 22nd Hopefully much more touring (that will be notable) and staying away from the hippy festivals.
