Before heading out on a full scale American tour this coming November to celebrate their 21 years of making music, El Gran Silencio will be embarking on a mini-tour starting at the Conga Room in Los Angeles on Thursday September 5th.
To learn more about this mini-tour and what has been going on with the band lately, we spoke with singer Tony Hernandez and here is a peak at what we talked about:
AA: After being together for 21 years, do you ever look back at your legacy and how you have influenced not only other bands, but a whole new musical movement?
TH: Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we were going to be successful as a band and even less that we would last this long; and now that we are older, we do think about how well things have turned out and we see that all the hard work has paid off and we feel very honored that we have the respect of older bands that grew up along with us and newer bands that have been influenced by our music.
AA: How has the band changed over the years?
TH: I think we now feel more responsibility with what we are doing and for example on our previous album, (Revolusound Contra Systema) we tried to be more conscientious with the lyrics, but for the new album we are going back to more of the way we used to create music when we first started and not focus so much on the concept, but with the same attitude we used to work with but with more attention to the technical details of the recording process.
AA: How do you think the changes in the record industry have affected a band like El Gran Silencio?
TH: We have been independent for last 8 years so we have more freedom and don’t have to answer to anyone but ourselves, but we have had to adjust to the new technologies and social media because it is very hard to survive in this business if a band doesn’t learn to adapt and embrace the new formats, like the fact that the music world is switching back to singles as it was back in the 50’s and early 60’s. Now we have to keep releasing new music, because today’s music listeners do not listen to albums anymore so you have to keep giving them something new before they lose interest and move on to the next band or fad.
AA: Do you feel any difference between the fans when you play in the U.S. over the fans in Mexico?
TH: Shows in the U.S. are usually more passionate, the fans really get into it, I think it may be because they don’t see us as often, or because they feel a connection to their roots and we can really feel that energy flow back and forth between us and the audience.
After playing the Conga Room on September 5th, El Gran Silencio will also play the El Dorado Night Club in Denver on September 6th and the Black Box in Tijuana, BC on September 7th. Dates and venues for the 21st anniversary U.S. tour have not been confirmed yet, but as soon as the information is available, we will have it for you here.
