Interview — Remnants of Man

Skratch Magazine

Besides being home one of the most notorious music festivals around, Coachella Valley is also home to melodic death metal band Remnants of Man. Joe Lynn (vocals) Rudy Mendez (guitars), Ruben Torres (guitars), Dominic Gallardo (drums) and David G (bass) Coachella Valley, CA have been making music together for three years. Check out what they had to say to Skratch Magazine.

Skratch: How did you become interested in music?

Joe: I’ve always wanted to be a metal singer and when my best friends formed a band I got the chance to do it.
Rudy: Music runs in my family. I picked up a guitar because I wanted to play in my Uncle’s band around my hometown.
Ruben: Music has been in my life since I can remember. Growing up with two older brothers definitely opened the door for aggressive music such as metal, industrial etc. Dominic: Same as Rudy, it runs in my family and actually the first instrument I wanted to play was guitar but my brother took that, so I got drums.
David: I think the major attraction came from hearing those songs that I could swear were written strictly for me and no one else.

Skratch: What is your song writing process like?

Joe: Lyrically it’s all started by an emotional response to an event in my life, if something happens worth mentioning I write about it.
Ruben: It starts with a melody then a guitar in my hand helps bring it to life. One riff at a time.
David: It’s all about travelling from point A to point B by way of Z squared.
Dominic: What I do is get the feeling for the rhythm, get input on what they were thinking of when they wrote it then put my own twist to it. It’s pretty simple when you make it yours is what I think.
Rudy: I start with a simple riff, figure out a structure, add melodies, harmonies then it slowly progresses into a song.

Skratch: What artists or musicians inspire you?

Ruben: For guitar I’m a big fan of the Amott Brothers (Arch enemy), and definitely the creativity of Bjorn and Jesper from In Flames. Throw a little John 5 and Hide in the mix too.
Joe: I have always been a fan of Jonathan Davis from Korn and Dez Fafara of Coal Chamber and DevilDriver, It’s the rhythm they brought to metal/Rock vocals that inspired me. David: I’ve always been a big Tool and Pumpkins fan. It doesn’t get any better than listening to Maynard or Billy lose themselves in a song.
Dominic: I actually grew up listening to Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and 311’s Chad Sexton, kind of weird combo but I work the two styles together to get my own feel. Some new influences would be Trivium’s Travis Smith and Devildriver’s Jon Boecklin. Both intense drummers who have taught me a lot from their CD’s.
Rudy: Definitely the Amott bros of Arch Enemy, Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu of Trivium, John 5 of Rob Zombie and Hideto Matsumoto of X-Japan.

Skratch: Where do you take musical inspiration from? Your environment? People? Explain.

Ruben: Everything.
Joe: The people in my life inspire me to write and the guys in the band help me bring it into a musical aspect.
David: For some reason it’s always been the negative or rough times, go figure.
Dominic: You know a combo of a lot of things. When I first picked it up it was because of anger and it was/is just a way to get it all out, then turned into a job as time went by.. sooo… it’s pretty much a mixture that turns into my inspiration and art!!
Rudy: My music writing comes from whatever I feel at the moment. However any events in the day make or break my day. I write music I would want to hear.

Skratch: What is your musical background?

Ruben: Primarily metal and thrash. I’m a fan of all genres usually. But with a guitar in hand, it’s always been metal. Joe: Just screaming in garage bands really…HA!
David: Started slow and soft and progressed to hard as f*ck…..where will it end??!
Dominic: I came from like a jazz/thrash background of playing, just playing over time to actually develop skills and my own style.
Rudy: I started out learning more blues and practiced every Metallica song I could ever learn. After a few years of that I decided to go to school in Pasadena at the Los Angeles Music Academy where I started to pick up on Jazz more, eventually getting back into Metal!!!

Skratch: Tell us about how you got started as a band.

Ruben: Left work one day. Went to Dominic’s house. Started a band.
Joe: I always wanted to be a part of the bands in our town, but never really took the time. When these guys got together there was no waiting around, it was either get on board or f#c$ off!
David: When my brother picked up drums and ran with it faster than humanly possible, I knew we’d take over the world one day. It just happens to be today.
Dominic: Well about three years ago I moved back to the Coachella Valley from Cottage Grove Oregon, asked Ruben if he wanted to jam while I was here, so he said yes and there we got the ball rolling.. We just clicked and started writing our first song “ILLUSIVE!!”
Rudy: Ruben invited me to jam out with him & Dom. They had a few songs already I added some leads & melodies, they liked it so I stayed.

Skratch: What is the most rewarding part of playing in a band?

Ruben: Playing live. Writing new songs. What’s not rewarding?
Joe: The feeling of accomplishment, the hangovers, people singing our lyrics at shows, it’s all good.
David: Definitely playing live, there’s no better rush. Dominic: The shows, when everyone yells before and after the songs and also the encore, so intense. HAHA oh and can’t forget about the girls, the alcohol and the free merch HAHA!
Rudy: The experience alone is rewarding. The people at the shows and the travel to some of the places.

Skratch: What challenges have you faced as musicians?

Ruben: Financing. Because I’m poor.
Joe: Money, money, and more money! We want to do more than we have, but it gets tough without funds. We aren’t throwing in the towel though.
David: I’ll have to agree it’s the money, thank god we love to play so damn much.
Dominic: Of course the money is a big thing but, we’ll get through anything that stands in our way! WE’RE HERE TO DESTROY THE WORLD BABY!!!
Rudy: Knowing when a song has been rewritten enough times.

Skratch: What would you say is your best song to date? Why?

Ruben: All of them. But if I had to choose, Deadfall. It’s nice.
Joe: I think Valley of Cries is our best song, it’s debatable. (David) Into the Obscure, without a doubt. Find a better explosion, I dare you. (Dominic) They all will take your soul!! HaHA.. Really I think their all great Tracks, it’s just up to you to pick ONE if you can. Just try. (Rudy) I like them all.

Skratch: Do you remember the first album you ever bought? What was it?

Ruben: The Prodigy: Fat of the land. Haha.
Joe: Life is Peachy from Korn.
David: Nevermind from Nirvana.
Dominic: Actually I remember my first two HaHa, Metallica “Ride the Lightning” and the “Batman Forever” soundtrack.
Rudy: Coolio, hahaha!!!

Skratch: Where do you see your band in five years?

Ruben: On our 10th tour of Uranus. Ha no really just still together playing.
Joe: Hopefully extending outward…past the Southern California area.
David: Finishing up our first tour.
Dominic: Playing all over the world with everyone who we now look up to, doing dates every night, playing the biggest venues and killing the small ones too! I can’t wait… It’s here baby!!
Rudy: Touring and Recording.

Skratch: Would you say your goals as a band are long term, or short term? What do you ultimately hope to achieve? Explain.

Ruben: Definitely long term. I hope to just keep playing as long as possible. In the genre that I love so much. Metal. It’s the only thing I like to play.
Joe: LONG TERM! I hope to at least tour North America, the World!
David: Definitely long term, there’s definitely a future here. Dominic: We’re here to stay as long as possible!! I’m not going to care if I’m seventy and still playing, I mean take OZZY and THE ROLLING STONES, they’re all still kicking ass for the most part and we plan to do the same. Rudy: Long term for sure!!!

Skratch: How has your band evolved since when you first formed?
Ruben: It’s obviously not a two-piece anymore. Musically we are very in tuned with each other and the material.
Joe: We have become in tuned with one another, understanding what we can do individually to piece a song together has become less of a process.
David: The talent in this band is beyond amazing, and the harder we push each other the better we get every day as musicians.
Dominic: It’s great to actually see how much we’ve done in the past years we’ve come a long way from a couple ideas to, a whole bands input and thoughts on what our next moves are. I live for this band. It’s a great, great feeling to have.
Rudy: The writing process is definitely quicker. Our ideas get better every day.

Skratch: How often do you practice? What is your rehearsal time like?

Ruben: Usually a once or twice a week. Only a couple hours as to not irritate each other haha. I’m sure all our answers here will be different. Haha.
Joe: We practice weekly whenever possible. Sometimes it is strictly a rehearsal, others it is a creative experience, and others it is a party!
David: Usually about twice a week, it’s a serious process…..between cocktails.
Dominic: For the most part I practice every day, if it’s not with Rudy, it’s with Ruben and not with him it’s just my brother David, but for the things I have to do I have to keep up my stamina and practice even just for an hour or two a day.. it’s fun, I love to do it and it’s my job!
Rudy: On my own, every day. With the band, at least 2 times a week. We normally rehearse in the later afternoon till the evening.

Skratch: What shows/album releases/plans do you currently have set up? Tell us about them.

Ruben: Plans? Finish up our first EP. And maybe a release party?
Joe: We are working as quickly as possible to finish the first album and get some merchandise going. As far as shows go you can check our MySpace at Myspace/RemnantsofMan760.
David: Working as fast as money permits on our first album.
Dominic: We have a lot of things coming up but, our first concern is finishing up our first album with Mikey Doling, then to take this world down with REMNANTS OF MAN! Rudy: Like Ruben said, finish our EP, then Album & so on.

Skratch: Where have your performed? Tell us about the experience.

Ruben: Anaheim, Hollywood, and local sports pubs, bars etc. in the Coachella Valley, since we live here. We got some more shows coming up in the L.A. area. Our shows are always intense, we give it our all and the crowds really seem to love that shit. Whether they know who we are or not, it’s always good.
Joe: We have played everything from house parties to bars to small venues, it is awesome to watch our fan base grow and I think we are all ready to move on to a small tour. David: Here in the Coachella Valley and various LA spots. But you never forget your first 9/11/09.
Dominic: HAHA that was his first show, not ours. No but we’ve played Mecca, Thermal, Coachella, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and all over the Coachella Valley, L.A., Anaheim and the Inland Empire too, soon to go play in Fresno and further up the West Coast and also the Country.. No wait the WORLD!!
Rudy: A lot of the places around the Coachella Valley, Orange County, Los Angeles & Fresno.

Skratch: What sets your stage show a part from all the other bands making the rounds at venues?

Ruben: Our sound is really unique. Personally I feel the type of genre we are considered (Melodic Thrash Metal or whatever) is a hard sound to encompass, but I feel our background in both music and life has given our members an original view on music writing.
Joe:As a band we vibe well together, no one is battling for attention on stage, and it has become a way for us to hang out together and have fun. With five people it gets hard to have the same time off so when we have a show we party. David: It’s a hard-hitting experience….ever been punched in the FACE???
Dominic: The way we vibe off of one another is just awesome. I love the shows seeing the people get into it is just a great thing, I don’t know, you would just have to come out and experience it for yourself.. It’s beautiful HAHA.
Rudy: When we hit the stage you’ll definitely know we’re on. We’re loud, precise & play to the crowd as a whole rather than only the front row.

Skratch: Anything else you think we should know about the band?

Ruben: Keep us in sight.
Joe: We have the drive and desire to get somewhere in this business so here we come!
David: Be afraid, be very afraid.
Dominic: WE FUCK SHIT UP!! Come see us tear it up. Rudy: We definitely have the drive, desire and ambition to take on this business. We will not disappoint!!!!

For more on the Remnants of Man go to www.myspace/RemnantsofMan760.

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