Dios Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 15th 2010 7:00PM by Kevin Chen
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Blending the sounds of Mexico with the influence from the city of Hawthorne, CA, dios (always spelled lowercase) lights up the studio and stage with authenticity and passion without compromise or regret. Spinner speaks with John Paul (JP) about their music and sources of influence ahead of their stint at SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.

As a band we grew up with a lot of Los Angeles culture, and our parents are all first or second generation Mexican. On top of that, there's the general experience of being a bored adolescent on the outskirts of a big city when you don't have much to do besides watch TV, get into trouble and play music in your garage. Our sound is influenced by both those things. We take pieces from whatever we like and cobble it together into a workable musical vehicle.

What are your musical influences?

We take a lot of inspiration from the canon of stuff you gotta like when you're in a band -- Beatles, Beach Boys, we really like '60s soundtracks, Neil Young, Black Flag. In terms of contemporary bands, we really like Blonde Redheads, Grandaddy and MGMT.

How'd you come up with the band name?

Well, we used to be God. We were just a bunch of kids joking around about a stupid name for a band. But we liked the sound of dios better just because it was Spanish. We weren't particularly calculating about it, but that does reflect on our heritage. We became dios in 2000 or 2001 and we've been running with that name ever since.

How many times have you played SXSW?

This is our fourth SXSW. Our first one was I think 2003 and we got a major label record deal out of it. We hooked up with all these people -- the major label Imprint, the guys from Grandaddy -- it was just a really magical time. I've had other really strange and wonderful experiences at SXSW. I think it's one of my favorite things to do in this band, because you see everybody you've ever toured with, every manager you've ever known, and they're all in one place, all drinking and eating. It's a good party.

What's your most memorable tour experience?

Our first major US tour was with Grandaddy. They took us out with them and it was really special. We got to play these 1,000-plus capacity places, which are huge. Those places are huge for a band like us. And that was really special because it was a time where there was a lot of promise. We had put out our first record, we were getting a lot of press -- it just felt so good to go from Joel's dad's living room in a bad neighborhood to playing in front of 1,000 people.

And what was your craziest experience while on tour?

Well, obviously when you travel in a van, it's occasionally gonna break down in the middle of nowhere and you're gonna have to deal with the locals to get it fixed. We had one tour where our transmission blew out in the middle of Wyoming, in this town called Rawlings, this little hunting town. We were stuck there four or five days. It was a real weird time to be four ethnic-looking dudes in the middle of the whitest places in America. That was a real fascinating experience, getting to see the rural America combined with the corrosive effects of meth amphetamines.

Whats in your festival survival kit?

Some advice: Don't disappear. Don't lose your cell phone. That's not a good thing to be sorting out at the end of the day. Don't get too high. Don't get too drunk. Choose life.

Who was your first celeb crush?

I don't remember the first, but I do think Anne Hathaway is very beautiful. She has big eyes in a good way. I think she's awesome.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Well, I don't believe in guilty pleasures. I think there's value in everything. I love Top 40 radio. The production is great, the songwriting is good. It's overwhelmingly popular music because it is good.

If you were to create a meal inspired by your music what would you be eating?

Really good taco stand tacos. Made for people who actually speak Spanish. They would be hearty, earthy and high in protein.

Kevin Chen is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.