Interview with The Almas

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• C - I have always loved music, and loved to sing - in the shower… but I never thought I would be a part of the music industry aside from promoting shows and local bands in my area. I was an actress on a local television show out of Kenosha, WI that would bring on local artists to discuss their music and upcoming shows - that is actually how Frank and I met (est. 2014). In the Spring of 2017, I decided to transition from “actress” to “musician,” and six months later, Frank’s new project “The Almas” was looking for a singer. If events played out differently, I would have finished college and continued my acting career, maybe branching out into modeling.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• C - If I’m not playing music, I’m most likely responding to emails, creating social media posts/other content, planning out future tour dates with our team, networking with other artists/promoters - and answering interview questions. Lol

How long has your band been around?

• C - The Almas formed in April 2016, with myself joining in October 2017.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

• C - The band is based out of the very small town of New Munster, WI. I can’t say that our location had much influence over our style, however much credit does go to either our parents’ tastes in music, or Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• C - Frank is the founder and sole original member of the band. Before the band’s formation in 2016, Frank was struggling with an alcohol addiction, along with quitting his previous project. He was trying to re-find his “soul” hence the band name. The Spanish word for “Soul” translates to “Almas”.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• C - One of the most memorable shows for me would be back in 2018 when we played Rock 2 Stop 22 for the first time. Rock 2 Stop 22 is an annual event to bring awareness about the suicide rate of our returning home veterans. We are heavily invested in this event every year since, and are strong advocates of mental health and suicide prevention.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• C - Well, a favorite venue is hard to say as we have played at a lot of great ones. If I can pick one I would love to be revived, I’d say our original “home bar” called Hijynx out of Fort Atkinson, WI. There are so many venues still on my bucket list, but one venue local to Wisconsin I really want to play is at The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, WI.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• C - Falling In Reverse, Motionless In White, Eva Under Fire, Kaleido, and The Almas would be a show of EPIC proportions.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• C - Dream big and never be afraid to do what you love, and never let others try to stop you. You are the only one who can hold yourself back. Also, if you are going to sing, WARM UP YOUR VOICE!! It makes the world of difference, and for too many years I would just waltz up on stage and wonder why I wasn’t always singing consistently…never again.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• C - He’s not worth it, but you’ll have some great “Taylor Swift” songs to come of it.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• C - “Reflection” is most definitely the most meaningful song to me. I wanted the lyrics to convey every bit of heartache and hopelessness that a person suffering with depression feels when deciding to ultimately take their own life. It’s a heavy, yet beautiful song. Before we perform “Reflection” live, I always take a moment to remind every person in the room that they matter, they are needed, and most importantly - they are loved. “This life is way too short, there is no need to make it any shorter.”

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• C - I can easily speak for the whole band that “Burn Out” is our favorite song to play live - it is currently unreleased, however it is available through a special donation through our website for anyone who wants to hear all five of our brand new, unreleased tracks!

  Hilariously to us, the song that we hear people request the most is probably “Poison” - it is the final track to our very first album, ‘Back To Bad’ and we have probably only ever played it 4 times - acoustically.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• C - One thing to note is that the band always writes as a collective. Someone usually has a guitar riff or a cool chord progression and we jam it. Usually, by the end of practice, we will have a skeleton of a song. From that point, members are always throwing new ideas at the song and we slowly mold it into a completed piece of art. Never does a single member come into practice having a whole song written. We are true believers of “the moment” and we believe that each member in that room brings an energy that can only be felt when we are all together. Emotion and circumstance are usually the basis to write songs. Most of our songs are written in the moment to try to capture raw feeling.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• C - Lately I have been writing a lot about mental health. The entirety of our new, unreleased EP is all about struggling with addictive behavior, depression and anxiety, or the juxtaposition of following your dreams in a society that pushes against you.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• C - Yes. Absolutely we have disagreements…we live in a van together, so it can get stuffy at times. We like to get together every once in a while and have what we like to call “IHOP conversations” - which is basically free range to let go of every little thing that we are frustrated about. It isn’t always pretty, but it is always productive. We just don’t have these meetings at IHOP anymore…

  You don’t always get along with your family, and well, this band is a family for sure; we make sure to remember to keep an open line of both respect and communication.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• C - We have so much in store for this year. We can assure you of consistent touring, single releases, and many new and exciting things! Some of the big events coming up (that we can mention now) are Monster Hall Music Festival on Friday, June 9th in Unity, WI with Flaw and Scotty Austin (formerly of Saving Abel), the freshly announced Rock Fest in Cadott, WI on Friday, July 14th where we will be performing along with some of our favorites like Slipknot, Falling In Reverse, Ice Nine Kills, and Asking Alexandria, to name a few. We will also be performing at the Sturgis Bike Rally this August 2nd and 6th with Scotty Austin (formerly of Saving Abel) in South Dakota!