Girl at the Rock Shows

Photo courtesy of Freeway Art

I recently talked about missing New York in a previous post. Ever since then, I’ve been eyeing weekends on the calendar when I can maybe get away to go visit old haunts from family vacations of years gone by. It’s been hard to find enough open dates to make it worth it, but that’s when Freeway Art reached out and sent me their new song “Pyre or Creation Story.” I was hooked and instantly knew that my trip to upstate New York would have to coincide with a show from this group. I don’t know when that will ever happen, but after getting to ask Mike and Rocio some questions about everything and anything, I know that I need to make it a priority because, truthfully, I think I’m in love.

What’s the best combination of pizza toppings?
Mike (drums) – green olives (jalapeño and garlic stuffed if you can find them), green peppers, onions, vegan cheese
Rocio – pineapple and jalapeno pshhhh

Everyone says that every crowd is their favorite but, what city has the best audience and why is it Minneapolis?
Rocio – we need to play Minneapolis! We will make sure to swing by when we promote our full-length release later this year

What’s your go-to purchase at a gas station (outside of gas) when on a road trip?
Mike – Salsa Verde Doritos, very hard to find
Rocio – if they have Mexican tamarind candy, I’m grabbing it

How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Rocio – We have a song called La Bamba Dos and it sounds nothing like Ritchie Valens’ song so I think she would just be really confused if I tried.

What’s the best example of “Freeway Art” that you have seen while driving around on tour and where was it?
Rocio – Ever since we started seriously recording and trying to put ourselves out there in earnest, I’m clocking murals everywhere. The other day, I noticed a set of angel wings on some random wall in a tire shop parking lot while I was getting an oil change. I’ve been going there for years, and never noticed. Beyond that, Freeway Art is kind of a defamiliarized way of describing music because, having been born and raised in California, driving around was the primary and best way I would consume music. You spend so much time in your car when you live there, plus you can crank it up and sing at the top of your lungs. I couldn’t really do that in my Santa Monica apartment. Mike – The mural near the parking lot of the Bundy Museum in Binghamton, NY

Favorite lyrics of all time? Rocio – “I am a witch, and I only take cash.” By Cillie Barnes in “Freddy.”

Why did you name your bus “Dexter”?
Mike – We were rewatching the original Dexter series and were convinced that the bus was trying to kill us.

Have you ever been able to finish a Rubik’s Cube?
Mike – No but I have peeled the stickers off to make it look like I did.
Rocio – I also did that and I got into a lot of trouble haha

What’s the worst concert you’ve ever been to and why?
Rocio – When I was 17, I went to see my favorite band play The Troubadour but by the time they got onstage the lead singer was too trashed to properly play the songs, and I was essentially a straight-edge teenager at the time so I was beyond disappointed. Even though at the time I never imagined I’d play music, I remember thinking, man I’ll never be drunk onstage. At least I got to meet Benecio del Toro who was dining at Dan Tana’s a few doors down and was taking a smoke break, but he ended up signing the back of his cigarette pack, which, again, was not my jam. A disappointing night overall. But to this day, I don’t drink before shows.

What’s your favorite method of listening to music? Mike – Vinyl because it’s so inconvenient
Rocio – The Freeway Art way! Favorite playlist cranked up high, singing it loudly, on a road trip. I’m always on some road trip.

If you were to rob a bank, what would be the song playing in the getaway car as you escape? Rocio – Mike and I met and bonded over our love of ETID, so definitely anything from Hot Damn!

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
Rocio – I’ve been to a million shows, but Onelinedrawing at the Chain Reaction changed my brain chemistry. He plays really honest, authentic shows, and it felt like such an inclusive, intimate performance. I had no idea that shows could be like that, and is actually one of the reasons I started my live music series “Confessions @ ….?” to provide an opportunity for musicians to tap into that energy. I’ve always been really earnest, and I think the world could use a little less apathy and more appeals to connect with each other. The world is falling apart, and I have no desire to pretend like I don’t care what happens to others, to animals, to the planet. I want to meet other musicians who feel the same way.

What’s one thing I should know before listening to “Pyre, or, Creation Story’?
Rocio – During recording, I felt like the song needed something extra so I tried adding synths, then I tried adding a lead melodic guitar. We did two versions that way–one with my lead guitar and one with Mike on lead guitar. Then we compared the two versions. I fell in love with one of Mike’s guitar riffs, but I felt it still needed more, so I composed all of the strings around that riff via a midi controller. It was a lot of layering. Then we asked the brilliant Megan Gould to record all the strings for us. She did an amazing job.

Where were you when you wrote this song?
Rocio – When Mike would go on business trips that I couldn’t join, I would set challenges to myself to see if I could write a whole song by the time he was on his flight home so he would have something to listen to and we could have something new to jam when he got back.

This is so dreamlike and light but there’s such a hard edge to some of the word choice. How hard was it to find this balance or did it come naturally for you?
Rocio – Thank you! Yes, I think the whole album is going to be tough-girl lyrics set to dreamy or jangly guitars under soft vocals. I feel like that’s officially our sound.

I know this is far from a metal track but say a metal band covered this, what metal band would you hope it is?
Rocio – I would love to hear what Escuela Grind would do with it.

What comes next for Freeway Art?
Rocio – Our debut album comes out later this year. It’s titled Cute Aggression. My little Chihuahua, who is named Cajita and inspires a lot of cute aggression, is going to be on the album cover. I’m so excited.

Anything else you want to share with everyone?
Rocio – We are hosting an all-woman music festival this year in upstate NY in October and we need help spreading the word! Any woman-fronted woman band is encouraged to apply (application here), especially if you’re a new band. If you want to catch us live, you can check out our upcoming events on our website under Shows! Follow us on Bandcamp, too, so that we can slowly ease away from Spotify and Instagram, both entities I hate and loath to use.

Much like the music of Freeway Art, I feel like some of the answers I got for even the most simple and random questions read like poetry. This is clearly an act that puts thought and intention into everything that they do, and I love how that translates into something so stunningly beautiful and powerful in their music. I really hope they meant it when they said that they may be coming up to the Twin Cities later this year when they drop their album. When that happens, you best believe you’ll be able to find me in the front row of that show having a slightly religious experience.

P.S. I know that the band is trying to ease away from Spotify but I have also talked to a lot of people who say that it is still the way they consume music, so I have a Spotify link below. That’s not at all to spite Freeway Art or anything like that.

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