Randy Garcia has been making music for over ten years. In many different incarnations, his artistic expressions have gotten play on VH1/MTV and has traveled the country more times than even he can count. A multi-instrumentalist who spent the better part of a decade writing, producing, playing and vocalizing everything in his catalogue all while running NoPhi Records (his private label). His latest offering is The Nerd Parade, a five-piece outfit has just signed with Athens-based Headphone Treats Records to release A Delicate Bashing (QRO review). Randy explains to QRO the benefits of friends, why it’s all about home-based production, and how A Delicate Bashing got it’s beginning…
QRO: What is The Nerd Parade?
RG: The Nerd Parade is anything and everything that I’ve ever wanted to explore musically. It represents my long-standing desire to blur the lines and push the boundaries, while maintaining a level-headed pop sensibility. As a bonus, it’s an excuse to work with my best friends and see the country in the process.
QRO: Explain the process of finding musicians and putting a band together.
RG: The live representation of The Nerd Parade is built primarily on friendship. Secondary to that is good musicianship. Both elements are indispensable when assembling a band. Nobody likes to play with a bunch of jerks, and likewise nobody likes to play with unskilled musicians. So to answer your question, the process only has two steps:
1.) Can we go have a beer and see eye to eye socially?
2.) Can you count to 4?
QRO: How important is chemistry in a band?
RG:
Chemistry is what makes it possible to cover your ass when you drop a beat, as well as laugh off a crummy gig, or just keep listeners happy with the music. Ultimately a band should sound like they are all one big, goofy instrument, knocking about on a stage.
QRO: How many labels are you on?
RG: The Nerd Parade is currently signed to Headphone Treats, a great indie label out of Georgia. We have a very open-ended deal that affords us the freedom to release with other labels, bands, and generally blaze our own trail musically. Individually, the band all works with other labels in addition to running some smaller boutique labels of our own (NoPhi & PhiTunes).
QRO: Tell me about this upcoming release.
RG: The album is fourteen songs about growing up, the teenage condition, and social disconnection as seen from the eyes of a hopeless optimist. It was almost entirely self-produced and recorded in bedrooms, hotel rooms, and living rooms across America. It sounds pretty eclectic because of that.
QRO: How long did it take you to record?
RG: Jeez…the first demos were cut in 2003. At the time the project was called “am” and it was myself and a female singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. We collaborated when we could and progress was quite slow, as I was focusing mainly on my solo electronic music at the time. At some point in 2006, my partner decided to mysteriously remove herself from the project and requested that I not use any of her contributions on the finished album, nor mention her in relation. I was pretty devastated, but I obliged. I thought about shelving the project for good, but as I was deleting files, some friends — many of who are contributors to the album — stepped up and convinced me to keep it going. Six months later, the album was finished.
QRO: What are the pros/cons of working at home versus a studio?
RG: It’s much cheaper to work at home. You can make your own rules and schedules. You can work naked. You can be your own boss. Conversely, professional studios have lots of shiny buttons and switches that make the music sound slightly better.
QRO: When are you going out on the road?
RG: Our tour begins in Atlanta on April 20th, which coincides with the official release date of our debut album. We will wind our way up the east coast and back through the middle of May before coming home for a break. We will then look towards the west and international shows.
QRO: What can we expect from a live show?
RG: The live show is surprisingly close to the recording, only we stretch our legs out on a few songs. Expect Smok and Rich to step it up and be a wicked tight rhythm section. Expect John to do some on-the-spot remixing. Expect Abby and I to make googly eyes at each other while she beats a cowbell and I play an out-of-control guitar solo. In other words, we are shooting for good, clean fun with a little flair and some old-school “chops.” We are music nerds, after all.
QRO: Worst road experience?
RG: I could fill a whole article about this, so here are just my top five as one-liners:
5.) Having the flu for a week on my first tour.
4.) Getting a speeding ticket before I left the state on my second tour.
3.) Driving 9 hours to play for 3 people, multiple times.
2.) The West Coast leg of my 2005 solo tour…an absolute disaster.
1.) A 19 hour drive from Chicago, IL to Gainesville, FL in one sitting.
QRO: What do you do when you aren’t working?
RG: I really enjoy cycling, exercise and nature. Lately, Abby and I have been eating healthy and engaging in more activities away from the studio. As a result, we’ve each lost 30 lbs. That’s served as motivation for a sort of “clean living” revival which occupies our free time.
QRO: Favorite instrument?
RG: All of them.
QRO: If someone were to describe you as a musician what instrument would they use?
RG: That depends on when and where you see me — I get around a little. If you see me with The Nerd Parade, I’m the guy singing with a guitar in hand. If you see me solo, I’m the guy behind the pile of electronic gadgets. If you see me otherwise, I may be playing just about anything…except sax or flute. I can’t play those well at all.
QRO: What does the title of your newest album, A Delicate Bashing, mean?
RG: I guess it means “Life.” Life can be a delicate bashing, wearing you down one round at a time. I suppose the title can also describe any subset of life — like love, money, school, SEX. My intention with the title was not so much to have this oxymoron of gentle and bashing, but to adequately describe the rather odd situation I found myself in when developing the music for this album.
QRO: What are you afraid of?
RG: Lizards and Frogs. I don’t know why, but they creep me out.
QRO: Describe the music business in four words.
RG: I can do it in two: Bull Shit
QRO: What are you going to be doing in the next 6 months?
RG: Things pop up here and there, but I can be certain that The Nerd Parade will tour. I will record a huge catalog of older, unreleased music with Rich Wilson. I will also release another R. Garcia album, and I will likely take a nice vacation after all that. The best way to keep up on what The Nerd Parade does is through our website, and through our related sites and (of course) there’s always Myspace.
QRO: Finally, What is under your bed?
RG:
