When Bang Data takes the stage, its mash-up of reggae, hip-hop, rock, samba, ska and cumbia creates a type of musical boom. Particularly, it’s the San Francisco band’s heavy guitar riffs and lyrical momentum that create the type energy that demands to be noticed.
In this Q&A with Deuce Eclipse (lead vocals) and Caipo (drums/producer), the Latin Alternative hip-hop musicians talk about how their fathers heavily influence their music and the energy that flows from one member to the other.
What is your first recollection of music?
Deuce: My father would tell me bedtime stories in rhyme; without a doubt it was he that lit that fire inside me for music. He was my first inspiration for music because he’s also a singer and guitarist. He’s the one that taught me how to rap.
Was the band’s cover of “Mi Viejo” intended for your father’s?
Caipo: That was the first song we ever recorded. We both grew up with that song but had no idea that each of us liked it. Even though we each come from different musical influences, it was sort of our common ground. Playing music that we grew up listening to, like “Mi Viejo”, is our way of paying tribute to the hard working fathers who do whatever it takes to take care of their kids.
You don’t hear much of that lately…
Deuce: For me, coming from a hip-hop background, it was important to tell the people in the hip-hop community that there are good fathers—and that song does that. Unfortunately in hip-hop, most songs about fathers are about growing up without one so I wanted to show that there are fathers that are there for their children, like my dad.
Was it difficult to get Bang Data on its feet?
Caipo: It’s been a journey. Deuce and I met through mutual friends back in 2008. I was invited to work as a producer on a new musical project that he was a part of. We connected from there and kept working and writing together, and from it came our first EP Maldito Carnaval. We met up with the rest of the band along the way.
Bang Data is known for its explosive shows. How do you capture that on a record?
Deuce: I think it has to do with the production work of Caipo, who—being a drummer, is used to keeping up the energy on stage and is able to transfer that into the recordings.
Caipo: Also, it’s a collaborative effort. When I’m on stage I always look to Deuce to see if he’s feeling my beats. I can tell by just looking at him whether he’s feeling it. I feed off the energy he creates when delivering his rhymes and when it comes time to go into the studio, I think it’s the same type of energy flow. He looks at me to see what I’m doing and feeds off that. If neither of us or the other members are into the beats, either on stage or in the studio, we change it to make it better.
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Bang Data’s full length album, “La Sopa”, is available on iTunes. You can catch the band live on October 27th at the Autry Museum as part of its ¡Vivan Los Muertos! Day of the Dead celebration.
