An Interview with Native Sun

Words by Sarah Morrison

Photo (1) by Pooneh Ghana

Photo (2) by Rachel Cabitt

“What’s more American than a band of immigrants?” Native Sun are reclaiming what it means to be a rock’n’roll band. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, the four-piece have begun conquering the subculture music scene and it’s no surprise. Today, Native Sun release their new single “Juarez,” their first single release of the year. We had a moment to catch up with the band to discuss and learn about the origins of Native Sun, how heritage plays role within their music, the pressures of being a first generation citizen, and much more.

‘Indian Summer’ by The Doors and James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son. How do those two things tie into the band?

Danny: I first came up with the word combination “Native Sun” walking around the city on a very hazy summer afternoon a few years ago listening to that song. For some reason, I was compulsively listening to “Morrison Hotel” a lot around that time -- I’ve always had a fascination with how words can be manipulated to instill emotion or power, so it makes sense I was listening to this record and song. This was around the time when I first “truly” discovered James Baldwin’s writings and felt a sense of empowerment from it all. Both were imperative influences and thought the phrase’s vision felt like something sincere to aspire to capture sonically.

It’s funny because it can take on such diverse meanings; it can mean something to me and something entirely different to you, but maybe that’s the truth? To me, it signifies who we are and what we represent; unity in our differences because we’re all born from the same dirt. I found out about a year ago as well coincidentally that Baldwin and I share the same birthday on August 2nd.

How did the four of you collectively get together and decide to start writing music under Native Sun?

Danny: Around early 2017, Jake, Alexis, and I began demoing and rehearsing a few tracks that we felt confident in and could mold to be the starting point for a band. We immediately started putting the final touches on a couple of songs I had already begun recording that would later go on to form half of our first EP, 'Songs Born From Love and Hate.'

During that same time, I had been introduced to our bassist Mo through our friend Luis. Mo had just immigrated to the US from Monterrey, MX, to pursue music. Naturally, from the first note, things fell into place, we knew this was it. From there, we recorded the second half of the EP as the full band at Meserole Studios and released our first single 'Palindrome' and began receiving shows to play.

Things took a serious turn after our first couple of shows at the height of 2017's political turmoil in the US. Mo had to return to Mexico because of visa issues from new immigration reform passed by the Trump administration. We were able to work around it, figure out temporary fixes, and three months later Mo was able to find a resolution and return with no looking back this time. Now here we are one EP later and getting ready to stay true to our promises for 2020.

Alexis: Speaking for myself, I became a part of Native Sun because Danny had a vision for what Native Sun would be and trusted me to be a part of this project. I had never been in a band, but he and I have been best friends for years, and he wanted us all to dive into this thing together.

You call yourselves a ‘Rock and Roll’ band. Why start a rock band in an era where rock isn’t as prominent as it once was or has the ability to be?

Jake: I just saw a Rolling Stones shirt from '84 in a shop selling for $250. Is rock dead or a commodity?

Mauricio: Playing rock'n'roll is the only thing I know how to do properly, and the only thing I enjoy 100%. I'm not interested if it's good business or good for your career. I'm doing this because it's the only thing I wanna do.

Alexis: It's the most natural way for us to express ourselves. Playing gets out all the pent up energy and emotions we have. And sure, hip-hop, electronic, and pop music are' what sells' and is prominent these days. Still, I don't think anyone should ever approach anything by focusing on or trying to do 'what sells,' whether that's music or anything else. That's how you get a stale final product that lacks any serious depth. It's like making Fast and the Furious or Avengers movies.

Danny: Cause why not? I can't think of anything more dangerous or masochistic to do. I've always had a fascination with being against the odds. Maybe that's because of my childhood, growing up at a disadvantage. I'm a believer in the underdog; this inspires me to sink fully in with no alternative. I want to prove a genre classification doesn't mean anything, and passionate music with guitars can still exist in our modern landscape. Every great song with six strings hasn't been written yet.

Rock bands used to have a way of resonating with their fans and listeners. How do you approach creating something with that significance?

Jake: I think contemporary rock and roll bands still possess that resonance as it's a core function of the sound. Authenticity and volume, live instruments, and human beings that aren't afraid to just present who they are without tailoring it to a specific moment or trend will always yield that resonance.

Mauricio: I think it's all about the experience that a band gives you when you're at a live show. I try to give it my all within the moment. I try to be as loud and as perfect as I can be with my instrument while engaging my persona and ability to do what I do for the music and people.

Alexis: It probably sounds cheesy, but just by being ourselves. We all come from unique backgrounds, and whether that's reflected in the music or not, at least reflected in how we live our daily lives and carry ourselves. I think because rock music has been around for so long at this point, people feel like they've heard it all, so I feel like resonating with listeners a lot of the times can happen beyond the music as well.

Danny: All I believe in is in writing songs and letting their sincerity resonate. That's what I've always wanted to focus on and let the music do the talking. We look to bring authenticity back to music; we do this because it's essential for us to survive and psychologically cope. What you see is what you get.

What influences you as lyricists?

Danny: Samuel Beckett, Dylan, Lou, Baudelaire, Iggy, & L. Cohen

By writing songs about real people and real situations; about you, about me, about people we've never met. This is the way I envision connecting with people; by trying to understand what it means to go through this world daily, and a song is a lifeline to cast for others who might feel the same way.

Walk me through the subculture music scene within New York. What sorts of styles are trending? What venues are key for bands to play? Who are some other creatives that impact the scene? What areas do most decide to live in?

Jake: The real estate business in New York means the venues bands are playing at can change season to season. Right now, The Broadway, Alphaville, The Sultan Room, The Dance, and Our Wicked Lady are still alive. A lot of the music community is very close, bands like Max Pain & The Groovies, Gustaf, Priestess, Smock, Animal Show, SUO, and Coco Verde are some of my best friends and the best bands I've ever seen.

Mauricio: I'm not sure if there's a specific 'style' in the New York scene, but there's some rock'n'roll trying to survive. Venues, it's a sad topic, lots of them closing and people really not caring about it, is definitely making it harder for everyone. But I like The Sultan Room and Our Wicked Lady, good sound and good people.

Alexis: As Mo said, I can't really say any particular style is "trending" per se. A lot is going on all around us, and probably entire other music scenes we're not even aware of beyond our little bubble. I live in Bushwick right in the intersection of Sultan Room, Alphaville, OWL, which these guys already mentioned, so I'll swing over to those spots fairly often.

Danny: Yeah, as everyone mentioned, the landscape is continuously changing and pushed being further. The economic disparities make it an unfortunate reality and allow them to get away with it. This is something we need to be talking about loudly. In regards to the music scene, I get bored easily by a lot of the 'fake edginess' that exists; a lot of privilege persists, and it creates similar disparities as the ones brought on by gentrification. I think it's important to fight against all that nepotism; it's not very attractive. There's definitely still are diamonds in the rough, like our buds in The Nude Party (who live upstate) I'll always stand by their tunes and as gentlemen.

Danny - I read you’re a first generation citizen in the United States. What sort of pressure comes with following a path of music within your family?

Danny: I come from a place where no one in my family has ever tried to do anything remotely close to this or even understood what it means to want to make music. Sure I come from a musical family, but it was more of a pastime or part of the culture never a means of surviving and following your dream. It really kicks in that if I’m doing this, I’m committing and giving it all I got. Maybe that’s the way it’s gotta be. This goes for the rest of the band as well. Going for something so foreign to any environment we’ve been nurtured to follow.

Does heritage play a major role within the way your write and the things your write about?

Danny: It definitely has to both consciously and subconsciously. Most of the time, I try not to ponder too much on it, afraid it might ruin its magic. It’s always interesting going back to something you wrote and afterward realizing where it was coming from. Comical how you can be honest with yourself in front of a bunch of people, but not with yourself till much later. Our backgrounds attribute to the music in a unique aspect I feel as well. Us all being raised with such diverse types of music that includes different styles and languages, I think, definitely gives our music a singular sound that derives from this melting pot of sounds. Influences like Caetano Veloso can come across in a rock n roll song too, you know?

As a child, I was ashamed of my Native heritage and would get quite embarrassed due to the way the world painted my culture. Did you ever have any struggles embarrassing that side of your identity?  

Mauricio: Not really, never cared too much about it. Now I’m embracing my heritage and history harder than ever.

Alexis: Oh, dude, all the time! I went to Catholic school up until college, and I was one of the few Latino kids all throughout, despite living in the Bay Area of California, which is heavily Mexican and diverse in general. Obviously, it’s impossible to hide the fact that I’m Latino, just look at me, but I would pretend not to know Spanish, get teased about my heritage at school by kids who probably thought it was all only in good fun. Little stuff like that.

I remember a kid legit asking me if my parents were illegal when I was like, ten maybe? What kid is thinking about that kind of stuff at that age? At this point, I fully own and am incredibly proud of my heritage, but it was something I grappled with for sure. The current climate and attitude towards immigrants in this country only encourages me more to stand by my roots and show people they’ve got it all wrong whenever I get the chance.

Danny: Yeah, unfortunately, there was always an internal pressure exerted by society to assimilate. It took me getting older to realize it and just let it go. To appreciate where I come from, embrace it, and feel empowered by it.

How important is it for you to brand the band around politics, history, human rights, etc.?

Jake: It's not important for the band to brand themselves as anything. We just want to be ourselves, make the music we want to make, and communicate the ideas that we believe in.

Mauricio: I think Jake said it the best way possible.

Alexis: There's so much negative shit going on today that's affecting people we actually know and love. Not taking a stance or speaking out about it when you have the change, whether in our music or our personal lives, would actually be difficult for us. But I don't want there to be this perception that we are purposely trying to align ourselves with these issues because they're 'in vogue' or whatever. A lot of these things actually hit home for us.

Danny: I don't think it's a need to brand the band as anything. We're just honest about what our realities are because there are others out there that experience the same daily struggles. I think if you're making art, you're reflecting the times; if you're not discussing what's going on around, you're being disingenuous and blinding yourself.

‘Songs Born from Love and Hate’ and ‘Always the Same, Always Different’ - let’s dive into those titles. Do they speak for themselves?

Danny: What do they speak to you? What do they speak about us? L. Cohen & Mark E. Smith.

You had a quick turn around for releasing those two EPs. Were the songs for both written around the same time?

Danny: The songs naturally flow the progression of our lives. We released our first EP, and the next day began recording 'Always Different.' -- the next batch of songs we felt went together as a complete body and portrayed the headspace we were in at the moment.

‘Oedipus Race’ was materialized after playing for eight hours long in isolation. Can you tell me more about the story behind this art experiment? How and when did you decide to take part in something like this?

Mauricio: Our friends at Colony Studios had the idea, and it fits perfectly for us. 'Oedipus' was already being kind of jammed at practice but nothing really structured, after playing our set for four times straight it was time to play different stuff or else we weren't gonna make the 8 hours, haha.

Where were your minds taken during those eight hours? How did you feel when you walked out?

Jake: The main thing on my mind was that I only ever want to be playing music. When the eight hours were up, I wanted to keep going.

Mauricio: I was all over the place, with a weird feeling of not wanting the experiment to end.

Also, we got closer and tighter than ever; we became a family.

Alexis: I, of course, was wiped by the end of it, but I came out of it feeling closer to these guys and even the crew that stood by and captured the whole thing. Aside from the band, we had our friend and manager Forrest there, the entire team at Colony, and our friends Izel and Zach helping with additional cam work, too. They probably hated our music by the end of it, but I think that’s an unforgettable experience for everyone.

Danny: A lot of cigarettes and beers. Interesting what can happen when you push your body and mind just for the mere fact of seeing what explosion might take place.

You once stated after releasing two EPs that an LP would be on the horizon. Can we expect to see the band release one in 2020?

Mauricio: We’re definitely cooking and baking lots of stuff for next year.

Alexis: Give us some time, but stuff is definitely coming.

Danny: New music coming to start the new year, that’s all can say for now.

We got coming up two shows to end the year! On November 23, we play with NoBunny at BK Bazaar and on December 12 with The Nude Party at The Sultan Room, which is a fundraiser for our friend Bryan Janiczek who was recently injured.