www.facebook.com/screamsonsunday
From: Madrid, Spain
Sounds like: Alternative Rock
Answered by:
P: Patty
R: Raúl
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Screams On Sunday” and is there any meaning behind it?
R: We started out as any other band, covering songs from bands we loved. Shortly after, we started writing our first song. The idea (“That's Not my Soul”) was brought by Patty. We try to be more careful and ambitious with every new song we write. We always look for the best sound and each of us contributes to it,as, even though we are all rockers, this is a really broad genre and we all have different influences. Our sound, if we have already achieved it, is born from a part of each of us.
P: Regarding the band name Screams On Sunday, that's a funny story to tell. We had been thinking over some names during the week. We had several names to choose from, but we didn't feel very comfortable with any of them. Anyway, we all live far away from each other, so we generally talk things over the WhatsApp. That day I was talking over the phone with Alber while chatting with the guys on the WhatsApp. The thing is, I have two little sisters and sometimes they're really annoying. That day, which was a Sunday, they were screaming and yelling at each other, and I said to Alber: ”Hey, why don't we name our band Screams On Sunday?”. It was meant to be a joke, but we all liked it, so it stayed that way.
2. How was the recent music video shoot for "Call Reality A Lie"? Who directed it?
P: It was a mess hahahaha. It was our first time doing this, and there's really a lot to do to shoot a good or at least decent video. However, we were all really excited to be doing that and Pepe managed to do something really good with the little material means we had. Wanna hear a funny story? I gotta tell you, Raúl was scared as shit. Though he looks like a really brave guy, when we entered the abandoned house where we were going to record the video, he started looking really nervous and saying: “we should stay near the cars, in case someone steals them!”. He didn't even dare to enter the place until some time later hahahaha. When we started shooting the video, some homeless punk guys and girls(that were more or less in their twenties) came over and stayed watching how we recorded our video. We all started talking at each other, even Raúl. I guess they got tired of “Call Reality A Lie” after listening to it for more than three hours in a row.
R: Pepe directed it. He's our drummer/ director/ producer/ editor haha. He's the one who chose the setting and the places where each of us was going to be, the shots, the sequence and almost everything else. The story played by the actress came from Patty.
3. How is the new music coming along? Any release date?
R: We are currently working on new songs. We seek originality, our own sound and good compositions, which is not easy. We work hard for it in each rehearsal and in our homes to achieve it. We have 6 songs written, four of them being the ones already recorded. One of the new songs, “The Puppets Game”, will soon be released with the “Call Reality A Lie EP”, in which we will include five songs. Stay tuned!
4. What can people expect from your live show?
R: A good show. If something can describe us when playing concerts that's the show. Dances, moves, interacting with the crowd, good music. The people that come to our shows always have a great time and I assure you they won't be disappointed. Besides, we always try to bring a little surprise with us…
P: I agree with Raúl. People can expect a really good show combined with good live music! That's because we really enjoy playing and being onstage. And I guess that the bonds we have with each other get to the crowd somehow, though we have only been together for one year. I'm sure that these bonds will grow and make us better musicians, performers and friends, though I know this last one sounds cheesy hahaha.
5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
P: Only three? Raúl is gonna say Muse.
R: Each of us has a favorite band, so choosing only three bands would be complicated. We could weep if we could play with bands such as A Day To Remember, Fall Out Boy or Muse.
P: I told you, hahaha. I know Pepe would say All Time Low, for sure. I can't decide on three only. I'd definitely love to tour with ADTR and ATL, but I would also add Tonight Alive, I love how powerful they all are onstage. And I would add My Chemical Romance, though I'm aware of how impossible this is. Panic! At The Disco would also be an amazing choice.
6. Any crazy show stories?
R: I think each show is crazy. In my opinion, our last concert in the Moondance venue in Madrid was incredible. Dani and I made use of our new wireless guitar systems, and we decided to join the crowd more than once! There's nothing better than joining a pit in your own show!
P: Yes, that show was amazing! I loved the moment when we played a cover of “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters. Everyone was singing the song and the pit was really crazy. We all made use of our wireless system to join them and make them sing with us the song! It was really funny hahaha. I was scared, as Dani and Raúl were inside, really INSIDE the pit with the guitars, and it crossed my mind they could get their guitars broken hahaha Fortunately, that didn't happen.
7. What’s your take on the current state of rock?
R: Rock is not what it was anymore. But this is really obvious, We can't expect bands like Queen, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, etc to be born again. The truth is, eveything's already been made. Whatever you do, there will always be someone that says the song sounds similar to other song. That's why we have to search for, even though it's really difficult, originality, something that really could offer something new to the genre. And here is where the problem lies. Most people just try to get famous and make some money. So, this is why commercial rock is born, music made for everyone to listen. In the past, rockers looked for their own sound, but now that idea is rejected as it is a very difficult task. In my opinion, this is just a decay of the genre, and I hope the originality of sound to come back one day.
P: I'm not the pessimist kind to say rock is dead. I don't think rock is dead. Maybe there aren't big bands anymore like Nirvana, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and so on. But we aren't being fair with our own generation. Those bands were the parents of rock, and we are the children. I must say, there are really talented bands and musicians, even more talented than before. The problem, as Raúl says, is a lack of originality. And in my opinion, this is a consequence of our current society: we want it all, and we want it now. There is a lack of meaning, a lack of depth. But that also applies to other fields of life. Music, most of the time, was a mean for change. Soul, gospel, rock...We can talk about a lot of artists and we will see most of them made a change. The “Imagine” by John Lennon, Sixto Rodriguez's music that people sang as anthems against the Apartheid in South Africa, and many, many more. As a friend of mine once said to me, and I think he's absolutely right: ” anyone can write a love song. The difficult part comes when you have to talk about the important things.”
8. What’s the current music scene like there in Spain both locally and country wide?
R: The current music scene in Spain is really bad. Record labels only look for bands that benefit them at a very low cost. Music venues don't support the bands, they only want to take all the possible money, giving the bands a minimum quantity. There are a lot of contests so that people get to know amateur bands. When you dive into these contests, you realize they are no different from what labels and venues look for: a benefit for the coordinators and little benefit for the musicians. What is clear for us, is that the original products, nationally and locally, are not supported. They just want commercial stuff. We have to shut our mouths more than once and play in places with abusive conditions.
P: Let's be honest, there aren't a lot of people that listen to rock in Spain, because labels don't want to sell it, it's inconvenient to them, they just want to sell pop, and pop that stays in Spain and never goes out. Can you believe that the first national rock radio station in Spain came out like two or three years ago, more or less? It's a shame, because there is a lot of rock talent in Spain and labels are losing them because they don't know how to manage the situation. In order to get rock music in Spain to stand out, a deep change in the overall system and culture would be needed.
9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
P: I'm not gonna be a hypocrite. I download music. Most of the people do. And I'm not against it. I mean, culture is meant to be shared. The problem comes when you download everything and don't buy an album or go to a live concert. Then you are being a parasite. Free downloading could be a good way of sharing and spreading culture if all people were conscious of the need of supporting the artists they like by buying the albums or paying to see live shows. It's a question of education and awareness.
10. What’s next for Screams On Sunday?
R: Our next aims are finishing several songs and recording a CD, continue playing concerts, taking over Spain, and if we could, more places around the world. We would like to sign to a record label so that we could move forward.
11. Any shoutouts?
R: We want to achieve our dream: to live from music. We are gonna fight for it, and we are not gonna stop doing what we like doing: enjoying ourselves and making others enjoy our music. Long live rock!
P: Yeah! We're gonna take over the world, so beware!
