The Palm Springs, California trio Selexa released their debut album Antidepressant today and I was lucky enough to catch up with guitarist Oscar Escobar and drummer Isabella De Queiroz recently to hear about the recording process and what’s going on with the band.
Tell me about your new album that is coming out?
Oscar – We recorded it really quick, like less than a week. We really wanted a natural, energetic sound, kind of reminscent of what was coming out of Seattle in the 90s. So we came in contact with Jack Endino, who recorded all the early Soundgarden and Nirvana records, and agreed to work with us. It was really cool working with him.
He mastered it, and also, our producer was young, he’s 17, so doesn’t really know what he’s doing. So Jack was just so open to questions, we’d ask him anything and he’d let us know what would work and what wouldn’t.
That’s amazing. The first single you released from the album, Tidal IX, sounds great. Tons of energy, and it’s raw, but it doesn’t sound like you recorded it hastily – it definitely has that Endino 90’s sound. That’s great that you got to work with him.
Oscar – Yeah that was really exciting. We don’t have much money, so we had to pick up jobs just to record it. Since it was our first time recording, it took a lot of trial and error. The recording went quick but the mixing took forever.
Did you mix it yourself?
Oscar – We went to this guy, Frank, he’s a local mixing engineer. Our producer was originally going to mix it but he does everything digital, and Frank has all this analog gear from the 70s. So he was able to dial in a really good sound for us. We are really happy with the result.
What’s the music scene like around Palm Springs? I’ve only been there on vacation.
Issabella – Small. It’s pretty small. Coachella Valley, there’s a good amount of rap artists. And DJs. There’s a small amount of actual bands. Before COVID, there was a good amount of bands playing in the valley, in house shows and parties. But now there’s not really anything. Out in the high desert there’s big parties with DJs and rappers. But not much has happened since COVID.
How long had you been a band before COVID?
Oscar – I started playing with our bass player Holden in July 2019. We’d been playing for awhile together and Isabella joined us in May 2020. So we haven’t even really been able to play a show with the three of us yet. We are actually playing a show tonight, but its a live stream.
Our local record shop (Record Alley) is closing up. They’ve been open since the 70s. It broke all our hearts because this is where we bought all our t-shirts and records. And they had bands play. For us we can’t play most of the bars around here because they just want Lynyrd Skynyrd cover bands, like old man rock, and we just don’t fit. So it really hurt that our local shop that supported us is closing. So this is a final show at the shop.
What kind of COVID restrictions are in place where you live?
Isabella – It is different by county in California. A lot of stuff is shut down. It is hit or miss. There are some places in San Diego that are still open, like restaurants with outdoor dining. Some places don’t even require a mask. But the number of cases in California is really bad. And it is just dependent on the people who don’t care. There’s a lot of people who just don’t care.
Are you able to be productive as a band with the restrictions?
Oscar – We’ve been pretty damn productive. Our bass player, Holden, he’s not in California right now, he’s away at college. Isabella and I recently moved in together so if we’re not practicing, we’re hanging out. And if not that, we’re working. We don’t really interact with other people that much.
What’s next for Selexa?
Isabella – Since the beginning of this we all just wanted to play live. So if all goes well with all the vaccinations and that hopefully we can do a little mini tour, like San Diego, Southern California. And we’re messing around with new songs, we might try recording our own stuff this time.
Oscar – We started posting stuff on Tik Tok, and after a few videos we started getting a pretty cool following. There’s like 12,000 followers which is really big for us. It’s kind of like a godsend because since we can’t play shows, it feels like we have an audience right there on our phones.
What do you post on Tik Tok?
Oscar – We just mess around. Either videos of us jamming, talking about our music, checking in our recording process. And now we have a laptop and mics and stuff so we are going to try to do more. It’s cool to see bands that get a following on YouTube or wherever just by posting videos. Seems like that is the safest way to go pushing ourselves forward right now.
Where to find Selexa online:
Instagram @selexatheband
Tik Tok @selexatheband
Facebook @selexatheband
For fans of: Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Melvins
