Echo the Natives
- Websites
- http://www.echothenatives.com
- Follow me on Instagram
- Listen to my music here
- Awards and Nominations
- SAMMIES 2020 Nominee★ Electronica/Experimental ★
- Share
Q & A
All-time favorite song?
02.06.20
We would have to go by genre, that’s too many to list.
As a child growing up, music surrounds us. What type of music did you hear the most back then? How does it differ from what you listen to now?
02.06.20
It started with Huey Lewis and the News when I was in fourth grade, then it was all about Guns and Roses the ’80s, Alice In Chains and metal in the ’90s, now it’s everything from Tokimonsta and hip-hop based music to indie rock and current metal.
Describe your show visually and musically.
02.06.20
Electronic feel good music with a psychedelic liquid light show, and neon floating everywhere.
Do you have regular gigs around town?
02.06.20
Yes, I do a monthly electronic music show called Indie Musicians Society presents: Electric Nights at Shine Cafe. I have also played at Pour Choice in Auburn and Luna’s Cafe. I also host Indie Musicians Society Sidewalk Sessions at The Trade Coffee.
Favorite colors?
02.06.20
Nothing better than black (it’s so final).
Favorite guitar player?
02.06.20
Hands down Steve Vai!
Favorite SAMMIES story?
02.06.20
When I got to hang out with Heather Evans who was up for a 2019 SAMMIE award in the Creative field for the Sacramento Songwriter Circle. I was a co-host at the time.
How do you describe your interviews to people?
02.06.20
Inclusive. I like to include everyone that I work with in music. I would not be doing music if it wasn’t for my team. It’s easier to prop them up than myself because they make what I produce happen.
How do you describe your music to people?
02.06.20
Experimental, EDM, trap, R&B, soul, funk, rock, just so much.
Is there a central theme to your band's music?
02.06.20
Mixing the old with the new. Echoing our Native people from the past and putting it in a new contemporary format.
Name a recent personal food trend.
02.06.20
Cooking at home! You know one day when you try something new and you find out you’re really good at it? Well, cooking at home has become my food trend, namely chicken enchiladas! HAHA!
Tell us about how the band formed.
02.06.20
I am a native Californian but, I lived in Columbia, South Carolina for a time. I had just bought my first drum machine and started experimenting fusing African and Latin beats. I felt that producing music in coffee shops would gain me some exposure to a passing musician by chance. Through talking with friends and coworkers, I finally met a percussionist to collaborate with—that was January 2015. We were playing modern music with drums that have been outlawed since the Civil War period. It was a defining moment for me and my band mate at the time. Since then, I have worked with many musicians and singers in Echo The Natives.
Tell us about your best gig in Sac.
02.06.20
I had the privilege of playing Alma West Festival at Gibson Ranch Park. It was a huge crowd and definitely a huge surge of adrenaline! Also a dream come true gig was Concerts in the Park for Heather Evans Band.
Tell us about yourself.
02.06.20
I love producing different types of genres, and even more so when I get to play live. I have a huge appreciation for acoustic folk/Americana-based music. I was in a folk duo for almost two years. I’ve been playing guitar for 30 years now, and producing for about 10 of those years. I am also starting an organization to help musicians understand their rights called Indie Musicians Society. This started from getting music of mine stolen and not being able to protect my songs via copyright etc. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else, education on split sheets, royalties, copyright laws, and marketing is essential.
What are your musical goals?
02.06.20
Produce music in my recording studio, meet more musicians, play live, share music and have fun!
What artist or band are you a little embarrassed to love, and why?
02.06.20
Anything ’80s glam metal! It was cheesy, raunchy, but it was fun! Haha!
What drives you to keep playing even though the music industry can be so harsh?
02.06.20
Because it’s about the music, if you love what you do then you keep doing it. I like talking about, playing, producing music, so the music industry harshness is not really an issue for me. It’s all subjective.
What message do you hope to give with your music?
02.06.20
That you can do what you want and ultimately there is only one rule, make your music speak to your audience.
What was the first song you learned to play?
02.06.20
“Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” by Poison
What's a big media inspiration that would most surprise your fans?
02.06.20
Gary Vaynerchuk.
What's a big musical inspiration that would most surprise your fans?
02.06.20
Tokimonsta, given all the metal I listen to!
What's next for the band?
02.06.20
Continue growing the Electric Nights show, recording music and book more gigs!
What's next for you?
02.06.20
Continue producing music for artists and build Indie Musicians Society to be a useful resource for independent musicians to protect their intellectual property.
What's something most of your friends don't know about you?
02.06.20
I am fiercely competitive at Mario Kart and mini golf! Bring it!
What's the best part of this experience?
02.06.20
Being woken up at 6 a.m. via text to say I’ve been nominated for a SAMMIE. It blows my mind to think that people took initiative to say I deserve to be recognized for anything, it really is a humbling experience. I am grateful.
What's the story behind the name?
02.06.20
I wanted to bring forth the old lessons from native people where ever they come from in music form and bring it to a modern format. I want to “echo” our natives, so in doing that we use traditional instruments with modern technology in pop formats. Hence “Echo The Natives.”
What's your favorite jam from the '90s?
02.06.20
Alice In Chains by “Would?”
What's your favorite local artist/group?
02.06.20
It’s a six-ay tie The New Crowns, Heather Evans, Hanna Jane Kile, Jessica Malone, Band of Coyotes, Bethany Crouch. Sorry I bent the rules on that one.
What’s your favorite song to perform live right now?
02.06.20
“Anti Social.” It’s a sing along song, it is not released yet but getting ready to soon here.
When did you play your first gig in Sac?
02.06.20
It was technically Roseville, at The Fig Tree Coffee and Music Lounge.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
02.06.20
Playing bigger shows and producing more artists is the hope.
Who are your biggest influences?
02.06.20
Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, Slipknot, Damien Rice, The Civil Wars, Tokimonsta, Michael Jackson, Al Dimeola and Steve Vai.
Who first inspired you to play music?
02.06.20
My Father, he had a classical guitar laying around so I picked it up at 14.
Words to live by?
02.06.20
Communicate with proper context, it will save your acquaintances, business partners, friends, family and significant others relationships! Music is not for the musician, it’s for the listener. It is the soundtrack to their lives, it doesn’t belong to us. We are not owed anything.
You're given a magic wand. What do you do with it?
02.06.20
Reset the Earth so we can start over again with our loved ones.
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