Alex Garcia from pop-punk stars Mayday Parade reveals his love of British rock…
The first song I remember noticing… Dazed And Confused - Led Zeppelin
“My mother is a huge Beatles fan, so I grew up listening to them. Oasis is a huge band that I gravitated towards independently. Led Zeppelin was another big one, finding them and going down that rabbit hole. Dazed And Confused made me scared, and I remember specifically thinking how amazing it was to feel like that from music. It was so new and crazy.”
The first song I learned to play… Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
“Jimmy Page was definitely my go-to for trying to learn those riffs and his style of playing; just how free he is. I was super-inspired by that. Noel Gallagher for Oasis as well, there are so many Oasis songs I love so much.”
A song I’m still trying to learn… Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
“I remember first trying to learn the riff from Crazy Train. I spent one night working on it and struggling, asking myself, ‘Why can I not get this? Why is this so hard?’ And then the next day I went to play it again and I could. It was a cool experience to practice something and nail it! But that was just the first riff , I’m still working on the solo.”
The song I would play to someone who had never heard our music… Oh Well, Oh Well - Mayday Parade
“One of the newer songs called Hard To Be Religious is probably my favourite song that we’ve ever done but the song Oh Well, Oh Well is a good introduction to Mayday Parade. It kind of sums up the band, it has a lot of the elements that can be found in our music.”
The song I would like to be remembered for… Hollow - Mayday Parade
“I think the stuff on [MP’s 2015 fifth album] Black Lines is pretty cool. I’m pretty proud of that for how different it was for me to play on that. The band was trying out new things and I was happy with myself for trying to counter the instincts I have and experiment more. I think the song Hollow was so different for the band as a whole but also different for what I did on it.”
The song I play when I’m trying out gear… All Of Me - Belle Baker
“Usually, when I pick up a guitar I tend to do the same kind of things, I have my go-tos... I’m actually pretty bad at learning new songs. Lately, I’ve been learning a jazz standard called All Of Me, which I’ve been using as a template to learn jazz chords. So whenever I pick up a guitar I tend to play that song.”
A new song that came together quickly… It’s Hard to Be Religious When Certain People Are Never Incinerated By Bolts Of Lightning - Mayday Parade
“That’s always the case, there are always songs that seem to come super-quick. Hard To Be Religious..., Derek [Sanders, vocals] came in with the song and everyone loved it so that one was easy. Piece Of Your Heart was easy for the most part but then there were certain elements of structuring the song and analysing the drum beats that made it less easy to flush out. That’s par for the course. I get really worried when we start over-analysing songs, that’s when things get muddy, The best things I’ve experienced in music is when it comes naturally and easily. ‘Easy’ translates as ‘good’ to me. When you get caught in the words you over-think things and that’s the worse thing that can happen.”
A song I’m currently enjoying… Real Thing - Turnstile
“Turnstile are so good. I feel like they have so much energy and it feels so fresh. I don’t know what it is but their new album Time & Space is one I’ve really gotten into.”
A guitar solo I admire… Sitting On Top Of The World - Cream
“The solo that I always go back to that changed my life is the studio recording of Cream’s Sitting On Top Of The World. Whenever I feel uninspired I go back to that and feel something about how you make the six-string sing.”
Mayday Parade’s new album Sunnyland is out now on Rise.
