These guys are pretty cool if you ask me. Did I mention that they are playing at the Neon Desert Music Festival this year? No? Well I suggest that you stop by and see these guys play while you are there. Volta is  a local band from El Paso! The band is made up of: Ivan Gonzalez (guitarist and singer), Charly de Haro (guitarist), Ricardo Barrios (Bass), and Ricardo Rivera (drums). Volta mainly plays rock but they are slowly moving toward  classic rock n roll in the next phase of their music material. "Sex, drugs, rock n' roll " themes. Woo-hoo! Check out what they had to say:

First of all, why is your band's name Volta? Many people wonder considering a famous band from El Paso also has Volta in the band's name. 

Ivan: "When we chose the band's name we went through a list of potential names and that was one of them. We all decided it was a good name for the band. We never thought of The Mars Volta when we chose the name. Our music is very different from theirs. Volta means "to come back" and at that time we were playing with old bands and that's how it came to be."

Do guys identify yourself from El Paso or Juarez?

Ivan: "We consider ourself to be from El Paso. Some of us our from Juarez, but we mostly see ourselves from here."

Also what genre do you guys categorize yourself under?

Ivan: "We started out as pop-rock/alternative, but now we are changing our sound and it's going to be a lot more rock n' roll. Something new to this scene."

Tell me about your original material thus far and  also on your future material.

Ivan: " We have an EP so far with five songs on it. We are currently deciding what songs we want to go record at Sonic Ranch in order to go record our new stuff."

Do you have a theme for this up-coming EP?

Ivan: "It might sound raunchy, but we really want that rock n'roll theme. Sex, nightlife, rock, women and all of the above. We see women everywhere we go, might as well write about our experiences."

What are your musical influences?

Ricardo: "We all have influences from everywhere. None of us have the same music taste. That's what makes it better."

You can look up the guys on:

www.voltatheband.com
Facebook.com/voltamx
Voltaoficialmx

The guys are really excited about Neon Desert! Go check them out! Thanks guys!

Who is Nico and the Silent Films? Again, a local band with influences ranging from surfer rock to jazz has been quickly gaining popularity around the city of El Paso. They are ready to kick off their summer tour on the 4th of July at Lowbrow Palace!! If you have a chance, I would go check them out! Very talented at such a young age! Last time I spoke with them, they had just won battle of the bands and they have been really busy ever since. The guys even opened for bands like Deer hunter and The Lemon Twigs! The band is composed of; Aj (guitar, singer), Fernando (guitar), Derek (drums), and Steven (bass). Here is what they had to say:

After battle of the bands, is there any projects in the near future? A CD maybe?
Derek: "Right now we are busy with different works and shows that we have not had the time for it, but definitely in the near future. We are waiting because of Neon Desert and the tour, but after that we will start recording. We are mainly playing what you guys hear at Lowbrow."

Talking about the stuff we hear at Lowbrow, I bought one of your CD's tell me about the three tracks on there. What are the names?
Aj: "Cruel Curse, Naturalized Vinegar, and Le Voyage de Lune."

Are the songs based  on reality or fiction? It's always interesting how loosely based on reality a song is or whether it is completely made up.
Aj: "It is a little bit of both for sure. It's more an interpretation of a situation." 

Has living on the border influenced your music in any way? 
Aj: "We were all brought up pretty Mexican. It has definitely influenced it. Some of our songs talk about the desert and the sun."
Fernando: "I listen to a lot of Spanish music and it's what I like and it might influence our music as well,"
Derek: "I think it influences us without even knowing it." 

What has been your favorite show to open for?
Aj: "Deerhunter. Everyone was vibing and we sounded good."

How does it differ to prepare for a Festival than it does for a smaller show?
Derek: "We treat it like any other show, so we don't get nervous. We are excited for the festival. For now we are playing the stuff you guys would hear at Lowbrow, but in the future it will come for sure."

Is there anybody your really excited to see at Neon?
Aj: "Ty Segall!.... Nelly. I've heard Frontera Bugalu is good."
Derek: "I'm down to check out Logic."

The guys want everyone to know that an EP is soon to come and they are always working on new material. The tour will be within Texas. The guys are excited to play at Austin and they welcome anybody to go and see them. 

Follow them on Twitter and Instagram under:  Nicosilentfilms 

P.S. cool fact about these guys is that they own fat pets. Be sure to be on the look out for tour dates coming soon!

Vox Nova is a band from El Paso. They are great guys. Very friendly and outgoing and it shows how much they love to play. They mostly do cover work for now, but they are planning to one day release original material. I will not lie, have gone up there to sing with them especially for covers of rock songs (picture below). Hire them for your next event!!! Here it goes:

What are the  group members names?
D: "Jazi Galindo, Daniel de la Mora, and Cesar Romero."

Why that band name? 

D: "Vox nova mens "new voice" and it just stuck with us. "

 Your specialty covers?

D: "Any songs from Timbiriche to Metallica and anything in between."

What type of music do you guys like to play? 
Cesar: indie
Danny: punk
Jazi: classic rock

The name of your original material thus far?
J: "Lost my soul, electronoid, second dimension of love, and party town are some of the names of our original songs."

Contact information:
 
On facebook "Vox Nova" and by phone or text 9154337914