The hometown heroes are back to tell us what they’re all about!
We’ve reviewed RepresA’s United Slaves EP. Check out the review here.
RepresA is a hard rock/nu-metal band that started in 2011 from New Castle, CA. They took a hiatus and returned in 2017 stronger than ever. The band currently consists of Tony Mena on guitar/vocals/percussion, Steve Samora on guitar/vocals, Chris Magda on bass, and Noah Bingaman on drums/vocals. They released their 2018 EP, the United Slaves and signed to No Pants Records.
First off, what’s the story behind the name?
That’s a long one, but I’ll do my best to shorten things ups. The project itself began in the summer of 2008/2009. Most of the members’ musical influences were bands that questioned social norms and the institutions that influence our lives (bands like SOAD, Tool, Rage, NoFX, and Lamb of God). So, we wanted a name that signified the world’s broken institutions as well as finding something that described our local culture or history. One of RepresA’s original members, Daren Guisande/Drummer, suggested we name ourselves after Folsom Prison, which was made famous by Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Folsom prison is technically its own town. That town’s name is Represa. In addition, Represa means dam in Latin, which makes sense considering Folsom Prison was built a few miles away from Folsom dam. Because of its double meaning, RepresA seemed to be the perfect fit for a couple of reasons. First, we often sing about breaking free from the physical and mental imprisonment created from social constructs (e.g. gender, race, religion, class, prison, etc.). Secondly, we feel many of the social institutions, constructs, norms, and expectations create a mental, and repressive cultural block, complex, or dam if you will – that is holding back our true human nature, purpose, and potential by placing us in a calculated system of inequalities. Sorry, I know that’s probably a lot to take in, but one of our ultimate goals has always been to create thought-provoking music.
How would you describe the band’s sound?
I would describe RepresA as Nu-Metal, Thrash Metal, Hard Rock, and Experimental. I consider us Nu-Metal because our music has defining characteristics of Nu-Metal, such as profound lyrics, funk, or slap bass techniques curtesy of Chris Magda/Bass, down tune guitars, minimal guitar solos, and some hip hop, or dance, oriented beats. The thrash aspect of RepresA comes from the fast nature and feel of our music. Our songs mean so much to us that we end up playing with a shit ton of emotion. With so much emotion that sometimes we’re more focused on the feeling than precision, which can give us a very thrashy sound, especially live. Also, Noah (our drummer) has a scream that could rip open the gates of hell and can change the tone of our song from rock to metal real quick, which I appreciate because it gives a song more vocal variety and tonal color. I also consider us hard rock for a few reasons. For instance, we only use electric guitars – so far, we have some aggressive and distorted vocals, and we incorporate some hard rock techniques on guitar and drums by incorporated blues scales and movements. Lastly, I strongly consider us experimental because we often insert exotic melodies, rhythms, and vocal techniques that come from places outside of Western civilization. I have always been drawn to other cultures, especially their interpretation of music and writing styles. So, it is natural for me to write riffs that seem unconventional to the western ear – and I’m okay with that. If someone hears something new in our music that they have never heard before, then we have done our jobs.
Which bands had the biggest influence on the band’s sound?
That’s a hard one. Everyone in the band is so unique in their influences and musical backgrounds that I don’t think we have a universal influence. However, I will say that System of a Down and Tool were our biggest influences when we first started, but as members changed so have our influences. Most of us in the band are disgusted by the social, political, and economic world we were born into and want people to wake up to the truth of global inequalities, question norms that feel wrong, and empower and enlighten ourselves in the process. Therefore, many of the 90s and early 2000s bands that spoke out against the established social systems have influenced RepresA more than any others (e.g. SOAD, Rage, Tool, etc.)
What’s the last song you listened to?
Wow! I listen to a lot of stuff. Let me check my YouTube history. It looks like I was chilling out to a song called, “First Kontact,” by one of my favorite contemporary guitar players, Rabea Massad aka Rabea Afro. He plays in countless bands but is most commonly known for playing guitar in the two UK based bands, Toska and Dorje. If you haven’t heard of him, check out this video below. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
I’m going to date myself, but I’m a 90s kid, so I’m kind of old school and get introduced to a lot of new music through friends in other local bands. YouTube is a big one for me as well, especially because I just started my own channel, Tony MenA Music. As a guitar player, it’s nice to have video and audio so you can learn by listening and watching. So, YouTube works pretty well for me. I hate the ads like anyone else, but a lot of the creators I follow don’t monetize their videos, which means no brainwashing advertisements! Pandora and Spotify are cool, but again, too many ads in their free services.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
I was fortunate to come from a family of guitar players. My uncle worked for Dean Markley when I was a kid and hooked me up with my first acoustic when I was 12. I also watched my brother and his friends jam out on acoustics for years and thought it was the coolest thing. Once I got a guitar in my little hot hands, I knew I found something that truly spoke to me, and things have never been the same since. Unlike some musicians, I absolutely love playing and listening to the guitar. I’m not in this industry to become famous or to build up my own ego. No, I play guitar because it’s therapeutic and fulfilling in a way that most things simply are not. Without a doubt, the guitar has become an extension of myself much like an appendage, and I consider myself a musician before anything else.
I’ve been writing music since I was given my first guitar, and much like playing, it’s just part of who I am and one of the things I love to do the most in the realm of music. As an artist at heart, it can be hard to find self-worth and purpose in a society that gives you respect and awards us based on monetary successes; however, amongst all the lies of the million-dollar happiness, I find playing, and writing brings me more joy than any amount of money ever could. Furthermore, I am motivated to continuing writing because it gives me purpose in my life.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
It takes a lot of LSD and Weed. JK. I have a degree in Music with a focus on composition, so I start with one idea or phrase, build that into a motif/theme, and then start juxtaposing said theme against chords and rhythmic progressions/successions. Sometimes my writing process isn’t so systematic, and a theme will write itself into a song with little work on my end (e.g. Mechaniquins); however, when I’m hitting a creative wall, I often first come up with the general structure, then chords, then lead, then lyrics. Once I’m finished, I record said track, listen to it for a couple days, reflect, change and omit, and then I add all the embellishments – like adding frosting to an already baked cake. I then send it to my dudes in RepresA for quality control. If they like said track, then we go ahead and start adding member’s parts while changing anything along the way that seems out of place or unnecessary. I may create the skeleton of the RepresA songs, but the other members (Noah, Chris, and Steve) help me add everything else that actually brings it to life. And though I may enjoy RepresA songs when I first write them, they become so unique, full, and undeniably better once the other members write their parts – which makes me really value their creative input and contribution to our songs.
If you could write one more song, what would it be about?
About two months ago, our good friend and manager of the RepresA crew, Ron Gillihan, passed away. He meant a lot to us and the RepresA fam. So much, that my next song is going to be a tribute to Ron. I know I’m already working on it, but if I could only write one more song, it would be about the loved ones we’ve lost over the years. I think everyone has lost someone close to them, whether it be a person or even a pet – most of us have experienced that pain and void in our lives and needed someone to help us through those dark and emotional times. So really, I want to write a song in tribute to those who have passed but also to reassure people that it’s okay, and death doesn’t have to be this negative phenomenon in our lives. As soon as we accept our inevitable fate, we can truly start living. Sorry if I got dark on you, but I feel it’s my duty as someone with a voice to help people through tough situations
Since reforming in 2017, what challenges have you faced? How has the music industry changed since you’ve last hit the scene? How about how tickets are sold? How about how music is sold?
Getting people interested again was the hardest part. Before the Hiatus, we were making a pretty big name for ourselves in Sacramento. We were playing the bigger venues, opening for national acts, getting a little airplay on our local rock station, 98 Rock, and really starting to define our sound. Keeping bands together is one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with, and eventually, we imploded due to a couple of members’ personal issues overshadowing band obligations and intergroup cohesion. Meeting Noah, aka Nomad, is what really brought RepresA back to life. He got Chris and me off of our apathetic asses and started creating a buzz about the band again. As things progressed, we had a new-born appreciation for the band, the music, and our future as a group. Soon after, Nomad secured a record deal with No Pants Records from Portland, and we’ve been signed ever since 2018.
The Sacramento Rock/Metal scene has changed, but for the better. Bands seem to be more supportive and welcoming than the early 2000s. I truly believe Sacramento has a plethora of up and coming artist that are all amazing in their own unique ways. The talent isn’t the issue with the music scene; the issues are the same that it has been for any up and coming local act. It comes down to the money. Venues operate under the pay to play system, so bands that sell large portions of tickets, or have the money to buy them themselves, are the groups playing the better venues, getting better face to face exposure, and opening for national acts. It’s a grind, but nothing easy ever is, and at the end of the day, sharing the stage with our friends, national professional musicians, and reaching hundreds, sometimes thousands, is an indescribable feeling that is well worth the hard work and uphill battle artist face.
RepresA sells most of its music through online streaming platforms such as Bandcamp, Itunes, and Google Music; however, Itunes and Google Music give the artist a tiny portion of music sales, so I’m not really a fan of either Apple or Google. They rip you off every step of the way. We made it free to download the United Slaves EP through our facebook page:
Click three dots in the bottom right corner by RepresA logo and click download file to get United Slaves free!
Your album is called United Slaves, would you like to tell your fans what that means and what made you name your EP that?
As a sociologist, I have studied the inequalities of race, gender, and class. These inequalities are caused by the social constructs created by humans: economic and political systems, religious institutions, race, and gender casts. Because we are born into a culture that defines us based on said socially constructed expectations, our true selves are often suppressed, repressed, and enslaved to create a socially sculpted loyal consumer that accepts the current state of things no matter how backward the culture may seem. As consumers, we feel we have control, but this control is an illusion because we have only been given someone else’s choices, not ours (i.e. Burger King or McDonald’s, Starbucks or Peet’s Coffee, Fender or Gibson, etc.). Therefore, there is an illusion of freedom in many cultures that unites citizens in their servitude to said systems. In this sense, we are all united in slavery to the systems that seek to keep us docile while exploiting us. I also want people who think our culture is wrong to know they are not alone, and a lot of us don’t agree with the current social, political, and environmental state of the world. In a nutshell, United Slaves represents the way most of the world’s human population, creatures, and environment are exploited and enslaved in some way, shape, or form for a small percent of humans’ financial gain. Being aware of this servitude is the first step towards empowering yourself. Moreover, the album is a critique of capitalism and western culture. In our music, we often bring up an issue but then present a solution at the end. So, while RepresA content may seem negative, it offers positive outcomes for said issues. That being said, I see our lyrics, especially on the United Slaves EP, to have a self-help application for individuals and society as a whole.
“AtaraxiA” is your most popular song on Spotify, you want to tell us what the song’s lyrics mean?
“AtaraxiA” is one of my top three favorite RepresA songs. The word Ataraxia is an ancient Greek word that means free from all discomfort in life. I’m sure we have all felt this during moments of complete serenity, where we feel untouchable to external stressors and negative energy. We deliberately placed “AtaraxiA” first on the CD because it describes a feeling that has all been destroyed by our current fast-paced, struggling to survive, wages have stagnated while the cost of living goes up, and hate crimes and social injustices are on the rise. Our levels of Ataraxia have all but been diminished. There are still moments in our lives where we experience this feeling. I know playing music with the right group of people, like my dudes in RepresA, makes me feel a sense of Ataraxia.
RepresA added a new guitarist recently, what changes in the band dynamics has this brought? Did adding a new guitarist add to the songwriting process?
Yes, early this year, we added our newest member, Steve Samora, on guitar, which has helped the band and me immensely. When I was the only guitar player, live shows seemed like a marathon. I was addressing the crowd, singing, playing guitar, and jumping around like an epileptic monkey. With Steve in the band, I’m not split so many ways, and I can focus more on being the frontman rather than shredding on guitar. In addition, Steve writes the music his own band, Samora, where I’ve been filling in on guitar until the winter of 2019/2020. Having another experienced writer and guitar player has really helped give RepresA a larger and richer sound and has also helped streamline our writing process due to Steve’s background in producing music. With two strong writers in the band, I feel we can take RepresA to the next level and can’t wait to share some of our new music with everyone in early 2020.
“United Slaves” is the title track on your EP. What is that song about what does the song’s lyrics mean? Does it have anything to do with your song, “Ratocracy?”
As I mentioned before, the term United Slaves symbolizes our culturally shared servitude in a socially constructed system of inequalities. The song itself is interesting because I’m not just observing exploitation through the lens of modern-day western humans, but also through the perspective of indigenous peoples as well as animals and ecosystems. When I sing, “amongst annexation we hide,” I’m singing from the perspective of indigenous people as well as the land. When an empire takes over land, they annex the area for their empire. Therefore, the song is addressing environmental servitude as well as the informal mental slavery of humankind by neocolonialism.
“Ratocracy” exposes the economic and political side of human servitude. I think this song is very relatable because it addresses the economic hurdles most of us face while a few sit up in their ivory towers hoarding the world’s money and resources. Politicians have become synonymous with big business. Big businesses are the ones exploiting the world’s resources, and people, to keep billionaire stockholders happy, while the rest of us fight over the left-over scraps and pennies. I love animals; I was born in the year of the rat, and love rodents. However, in western literature rats are seen as filthy animals that steal and survive situations that would kill off other species. I had already compared religious leaders to Hyenas in the Song, “Ascension of the HyenA,” and I wanted to find a comparable animal to symbolize corrupt politicians too, so naturally, I chose rats. Parasites would have worked well, but they’ve been used time and time again to describe those who take advantage of others, and I wanted to use something unique and somewhat new.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
It’s kind of funny, but the main way we reach people is through Facebook. I know it’s the older crowd’s social media platform, but everyone in RepresA is between their mid 20s to mid-30s, so we ourselves are within the demographic of a large portion of Facebook users. We also have a YouTube channel, and Instagram, but the majority of our online traffic, updates, and promotions are done through Facebook, where we have around 7,000 followers. The majority of our record sales are done through Bandcamp.
Connect with RepresA via their Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or Bandcamp. Do note that they are more active on their Facebook account.
What’s next for the band?
RepresA took a break from the live shows/touring this summer, so some of our members could focus on other personal obligations. In the meantime, I’ve been writing all sorts material – new RepresA music included that we plan on releasing early 2020, and hopefully touring the West Coast from LA to Seattle in the Summer/Fall 2020. Now that RepresA has three strong singers in the band (Steve, Nomad, and I), we are going to split the vocal reasonabilitys up a little more equally. The added voices, coupled with a second guitar player, have really opened the door of creative possibilities for the next chapter of RepresA.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
Yeah actually, when is Black it Out going to have me guest star at a show or on a track? LMAO, I just wanted to mess with you a bit, but really, I would love to collaborate with you guys. Also, I just want to say I love what you guys are doing at CtrlPlusSpace.com. You’re really helping local musicians get exposure and support at a time where labels, promoters, and journalist don’t want to stick their necks out for the everyday artist, so a huge thank you not just from me, but everyone in and involved with RepresA, as well as our family and friends. You can’t see it Shaun, but I’m giving you a giant virtual huge.
Response from Black It Out: We would love to work with you! It’s a good idea to do collaborations. It would give exposure to both bands to both their fan bases. This could be something we should seriously consider in 2020.
Response from Shaun and CTRLPlusSpace.com: You’re welcome! We think that since mainstream media isn’t willing to give the smaller bands a chance, someone has to. So, we’ll do it. Music is for everyone, not just for the lucky or wealthy. Here’s a huge virtual hug back to you, Tony ❤.
