LOCAL BAND SPOTLIGHT
Bury Mia talks with our favorite Denver area local bands to get the dirt on the music, upcoming events and all the questions you've always wanted to ask.
21 Taras
Band Members
Julian Fulco Perron - Vocals/Keyboards
Jimmy Williams - Bass Guitar
James Steinbach - Lead Guitar
Austin Salazar - Rhythm Guitar
Alec Lister - Drums
Q & A
Q: What bands currently inspire you? For those new to your band, how would you describe your sound?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: I’d probably describe it in a weird and overly-specific way, like “We sound like the Doors and Led Zeppelin got into a car crash with Elton John and Queen,” or something stupid like that.
Bury Mia: We would cry at the musicians lost in such a car crash, both dead and alive. Didn’t Freddy already go through enough?!
Q: For someone that’s never listened to your band before, what’s the best song to start with?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: “Gettin’ Hungry.” It’s a balance of old-school and new-school, it’s got good riffs and catchy melodies, and it showcases Julian’s piano playing, which is something that only showed up on the last album. Fun fact: he taught himself how to play from scratch, no lessons. Neat, right?
Bury Mia: We attest, this song rocks!
Q: What projects were each band member in before this one? How did this band get started?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: Actually, 21 Taras: is my first band! I joined the band in a pretty weird and circuitous way; when I was in high school, I had a nervous breakdown and shaved my head while listening to “Shame” by Smashing Pumpkins on repeat. (Don’t judge, Adore is a good album.) A few days after, James walked up to me and asked if I played any instruments. (Out of the clear blue, I might add. Never spoken to him before that day, at least not at length.) I told him I played guitar and a little bit of bass, he mentioned that his band needed a bass player, bada-bing, bada-boom, here I am.
Q: What’s the origin of your band name?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: If I have it right, the name comes from the numerous female forms of Buddha, called Tara. Each one has a different relationship to one’s self-enlightenment and -empowerment. Or something. You know what, Julian can explain it way better than I can.
Bury Mia: Mr. Julian’s pager number comes with all purchases of Bury Mia merch.
Q: Who writes your songs? Are there any repeated topics or themes in your songs?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: It’s usually a collaborative process within the whole band, but there have been a number of songs recently that Julian has brought to the table that are pretty much finished, just in need of a few additions or tweaks. “Time Traveler” is a good example of that; the song had been around for probably a year and a half before we recorded it for the Change album, but we felt like that album was a good time to release it.
Q: What do you do to prepare for a show? What has been your favorite show so far?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: For me, I just shower and put on my stage clothes. Maybe buy a sandwich. Not much to my pre-show ritual. Favorite show so far has got to be the show we played at the Gothic Theatre with Float Like a Buffalo; we had the vocalist who guested on “Gettin’ Hungry” come up and sing it with us, and we got the horn players from Float, who played on “Time Traveler,” to play that song with us too.
Q: What are you currently working on? Any new albums, videos, shows or anything else that you’d like to talk about?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: We’re currently writing our third album, which is probably gonna be even more different than Change was to Seize the Ocean, if what we’ve got so far is any indication. There’s also the possibility of something else coming down the pipeline before the album does that’s probably gonna be pretty unexpected, even from a completely objective standpoint.
Q: If your band was a Pokémon, which Pokémon would it be?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: Um. Squirtle? Maybe? Sorry, I don’t know jack squat about Pokémon. I just picked the name cause it sounded dirty.
Bury Mia: Huzzah!
Q: You’re band is a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: Probably a sorta-unique shade of purple that’s both vivid and a little dusty-grey. Or something.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: Naked mole rat. Interpret that as you will.
Q: What’s your drink of choice?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: Either Bailey’s or a vodka Red Bull. I enjoy both alcohol that tastes like dessert, and something that’s gonna get me so fucked up that I forget my home address.
Q: What is the one topping that you would never put on a pizza?
Jimmy of 21 Taras: Live squid. I mean, I like pineapple on pizza, so obviously I’m not the person to be asking here, but live squid seems like it’s at least near the bottom of the barrel, if not actually on the bottom.
Bury Mia: What about the barrel itself? The barrel should definitely not go on a pizza. Especially a squid barrel.
Thanks for reading! Check in soon for more local band spotlights!
If you enjoyed this please visit 21 Taras at the links below:
Soundcloud (music lives here)
Facebook
BandCamp (and here too)
