Powerhouse southwest doom outfit Las Cruces has been a force to reckon with in the genre for over twenty years. Albums like Ringmaster and the band's most recent release, Dusk, provide ample evidence of the band's talent and power. The guiding hand behind this outstanding band's creative direction has been rhythm guitarist and songwriter George Trevino and rarely will you encounter a musician as self-effacing and forthright.
Doommantia:
I'd like to start with a little recent history. The band signed with Ripple Music this year and I am wondering what your plans are going forward from here?
George Trevino:
Well, finishing our next album is first. We are two tracks short of what we need for a full length album and then, after that, promote the heck out of it once we've got the product.
DM:
Can you take the unfamiliar through who's currently in the lineup?
GT:
Yeah, sure. There's myself, George Trevino, on guitar, Mando Tovar on lead guitar, Jimmy Bell on bass, and then our drummer/singer Paul Deleon.
DM:
A lot of musicians have different onstage demeanors. I was wondering what 60-90 minutes onstage is like for you with these guys?
GT:
That's a great question. I don't know if I could really tell you because I'm not paying too much attention to the other guys. I'm just trying to make sure I don't mess up on the notes and getting into the song. But, you know, as far as musically, I hear everything that's going on onstage. It's great. I don't think I'd want to share a stage with another group of guys.
DM:
Many musicians I've talked to have said they play and write songs because they really don't have a choice. Would you say that applies to you as well?
GT:
No, actually. While music is a huge, huge factor in my life, it's not my end-all, be-all. I don't see myself not doing music, but if I couldn't do it anymore, if I had to stop for any reason, I'd be alright. I know some people who couldn't be, but I'd be alright.
DM:
You've been a professional working musician for a long time now. Everyone's doom and gloom, rightly so, that the record industry is dying business, but from your vantage point, is there anything easier or better about the business than when you first started?
GT:
The marketing is easier with all the social media sites online and resources that bands or musicians have access to nowadays as opposed to when I started Las Cruces twenty years ago it was barely email, it was in its infancy, and there was tape-trading also. Burning your cd was almost non-existent, you had to go to someone to make copies of your demo. I think the technology is awesome and helping musicians. Of course, it killed the industry, as far as labels. I'm a big fan of independent labels, you know. Majors are no longer a factor in getting a band started like back in my day when it was, let's get this out to Metal Blade, or let's get this out to Roadrunner Record, one of those big major underground labels. Not anymore though. Now it's let's see how many hits I can get off Reverbnation, where I stand in the charts this week, what part of the country is listening in, all these different areas. As I mentioned before, the technology has really stepped it up a bit, as far as the industry, it's non-existent in my case, other than if you were in the mainstream and an "artist", not a musician per se, but an artist. That's the only time you hear about a major label doing anything, you know?
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DM:
I know a lot of people, including myself, who believe Ringmaster is a classic and still listen to it today. I was wondering what some of your memories are from writing and recording that album?
GT:
Thanks for the kind words, man. Ringmaster is definitely my favorite, at this point. The best memories I have aren't so much from writing it as recording it. A lot of those songs were written before I even created the band, they were just songs that I had never really played in bands I was in until forming Las Cruces. Some of them ended up on the first one so then, we thought, let's get them on the second one. I think being in the studio was the most memorable time because we were in there for a whole week from morning until almost late at night. The funny thing is we recorded in kind of a secluded area in Dallas where we didn't really want to move the van around, so we had to walk wherever we wanted to eat, like a restaurant, but there were no restaurants' around there because it was a neighborhood. All we had was a bakery next door so, for a whole week, all we ate was bread. [laughs] All we had was bread and Coke because we didn't want to drive because it was so secluded and we didn't want to take time away from the studio, so one day we'd get sweet bread, the next day something different. After the recording, I didn't want to see bread for a year! [laughs]
DM:
The band's last full length album, Dusk, came out in 2010. How's that stand up for you now?
GT:
It took a long time to get our third album out. A lot of changes from the previous album, in terms of new members and budget. We were on a really tight budget. It's a great album, but I think where it lacked is having a producer with us. With Ringmaster, of course, we had John Perez of Solitude Aeturnus helping us out. This time around, it was just us, we didn't have a producer and just self-produced it. I think that's where it lacked, but other than that, it's a great album, in my opinion.
DM:
How do you think your approach to guitar playing has evolved over the years?
GT:
When I first started, I wanted to go all digital with the pedal boards and effects, but I learned, basically the hard way, it's best to go au natural. I've learned to find my tone, stick with it, and modify it if I have to and not rely on a lot of tools. If I have to use anything, it's a wah, other than the tuner, of course. I still have the pedal boards, which I don't even use for live performance. You know, I was never a studied musician. I didn't go to school, I never took a guitar lesson, I just picked up the guitar when I was eleven and started learning by ear. I've been growing and learning about theory and all the other areas of study for the guitar that I really never had a clue existed. I try to incorporate that into some of the songs, different scales, different tunings, things like that.
DM:
Who's the guy that when you hear him playing guitar, you think, wow, if I could play like him, I'd be in heaven?
GT:
I'd have to say Tony Iommi is my biggest influence, as far as guitar playing, but I'd also have to say Eddie Van Halen. It's kind of a cliché for guitar players to say, but it's not for his style as much as his expertise. I've heard some of his solo tracks from the first Van Halen album, you know where they separate the tracks, and I found out that it was just one take stuff. One take. The guy's a genius.
DM:
Can you say that your life as a professional musician has shaped who you are as a man?
GT:
Absolutely. One, I've learned so much about the business being in the business, things you'll never, ever learn from a book or a class. I took classes for sound engineering, but there's some things you just learn doing them, especially in the live portion of the business where you perform. On the business end, you've got to deal with a lot of folks because, believe me, there are a lot of great promoters, but there's some really bad ones and you've got to learn to take the punches, so to speak, because they're going to happen. It's made me take those lessons and put them into life. I've dealt with some tragedies in my life, some losses, and it's helped me learn how to get through because I've been able to deal with certain emotions. Some people tend to lose their cool at times, but I've found that zen, you know, you're okay and things sometimes happen. As far as professionally, I've been doing this band for twenty years, this year is its anniversary. I want to be able to continue with the band, of course, but I also want to do more behind the scenes stuff now. I'm getting into writing songs for movies, tv shows, commercials, things like that, not jingles, but background music. Especially horror movies, of course. And I'm slowly getting into that business, making contacts here and there with filmmakers and such. I've taken all these lessons I've learned and I'm putting them towards a sort of different path musically. I did say that if I didn't have music, I'd be okay, but that doesn't mean I don't want music to be part of my life. It's very important. So I'd just like to be able to continue in any aspect, whether it be writing it, performing it, helping produce it, or finding people to help do shows here in Texas, stuff like that.
DM:
My last question is a bit more light-hearted. When you've got some downtime, what music are you listening to these days?
GT:
I got really big into Windhand, I don't know why. A friend of mine turned me onto them and I just can't get enough of them. I've been listening to their stuff and it's really, really cool, you know? Some of our label mates, like Mothership, I've been getting into their stuff too. There's some Texas bands that I've gotten to see live. They had a fest a month ago in Houston, so I went to check out some bands from Houston, Austin, and so forth. There were quite a few. I can't remember their names off the top of my head. They were very, very cool and I look forward to seeing them again soon.
DM:
Thanks again, George for taking the time to talk with me today.
GT:
It's my pleasure, man. Thank you.
Interview By
J. HillenburgLas Cruces @ Facebook
