Originally from Juarez, and recently relocated to El Paso, Fettish is a hard-rocking band that knows how to dance. After impressing Neon Desert crowds with a blistering Silent Disco set, the band has kept the momentum going with a string of club shows in El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, Juarez, Guadalajara and Mexico City. Keep your eyes and ears open, their live set is not one to be missed. They took some time out from their busy schedule to answer a few questions for our readers.
Tell us the brief history of your band.
Fettish is a rock-electro-pop band. We started the project in 2005 and it came to life with several musical influences that go from the classic to the weird. We chose the name Fettish because it comes from some kind of idolatry, and each member is kind of idolatrous to his own musical and art taste.
How would you describe your music?
Our music is a fusion of different kinds of sounds. We started working on what we feel is right for us and start developing from there. We are heavy, but not that heavy, we are pop, but not that pop. We like to have fun with the things we compose. We are kind of a heavier Blondie.
How would you describe your live show?
Although we have individual introverted personalities, Fettish’s show it’s quite the opposite, we have a show filled with energy and adrenaline and try to make our audience feel the same, we know we are doing it right when people feel the vibe and dance.
What are your musical and non-musical influences?
We have a wide range of artists that influence our work, for example we like old bands such as Gang of Four, Talking Heads or Nirvana. We like new stuff too like The Sounds, Morningwood or Santigold, and we like bands that don’t exist anymore like White Rose Movement or Neon Plastix. Our non musical influences come from various plastic artists which led us to use color, or the lack of it, as the band’s tastes evolve. For example, we started playing with only white musical instruments and have grown from that using different sets of color in the identity of the band throughout its life.
What was the inspiration behind your song “Robot on the Second Floor”?
“Robot On The Second Floor” is a song that expresses the shock of being in a place where you think you don’t fit in. Second Floor was a Bar (Segundo Piso) were we played some of our first shows. We use references in the lyrics about that time like “meet me in the wrong place, I’m just a robot you are taking my breath away” in which we are referring to the mix of awkwardness and awesomeness of a new place and live music that was also new to us.
What is your opinion on illegal music downloading and the current state of the music industry?
In regard to illegal music downloads, it’s a matter of perspective. We understand that big bands have issues with people downloading their music for free, while for smaller bands it is an opportunity to promote their work. The current state of the music industry is shifting from major labels to independent labels, bands and collectives. We think this tendency has increased due to new opportunities from the Internet and social media.
What are your biggest obstacles as a band?
One of the biggest obstacles is to find a balance between personal life and band goals. Sometimes is hard to coordinate both aspects of our lives.
What are your biggest pet peeves?
Our biggest pet peeve as a band is when we do not have proper sound equipment and other things that may affect our live performance, the sound of our music and what we are trying to project to the people at the show. We are not very virtuous musicians and if we can’t hear ourselves we start hesitating and every member starts playing their own song.
How was your experience performing at the 2014 Neon Desert?
It was really satisfying! Neon Desert is one of the best, biggest and well organized events in the area, it was really nice to expose our music to people who know nothing about our band. It was an awesome experience for each of us to play in the Silent Disco stage, and we would like to do it again.
What are your future plans?
First and most important, we want to release our first record Seven. We have worked so hard making it, paying attention to every small detail from composing, recording, mixing and mastering. We would like to tour in Texas and make a live session video, and of course, keep making new music.
Photo credit: Saul Torres ©2015