Q: Criaturas? A: CRIATURAS.

Punk rock of the d-beat crusty variety can (and often will) get very boring. Criaturas are a whole different story: crazy flanged guitars, screeching female vocals with paranoid and bleak lyrics in broken spanish straight outta Austin. Like a head-first collision between Ultimo Resorte and a Cormac McCarthy-meets-Hunter S. Thompson re-write of "Class of 1984". They've just put out a demo and it's one of my favorites for 2010. I would like to add that I've been doing fanzine interviews for the better part of the last 13 years and this one has the best closing statement I've ever had the pleasure of getting.


Criaturas: how and why?

Eddie- Me and Mike started Criaturas in the summer of 2009. I really wanted to play bass in a band, so I started writing songs. We would only practice around 2 times a month since I was so busy with Deskonocidos and Vaaska. We also just wanted to make this a recording project, but then Matt(Deskonocidos/Vaaska) moved to Los Angeles. With this, I got a lot of free time and we started to take the band more serious.

Dru- They had about 4 songs before they asked Vampis and I think it was more of a dare than an actual invitation for me. We tried a couple of other drummer's before we finally succeeded in talking Cp into drumming.

We brainstormed for months, then a couple of days before the flier for our first show had to be made it just came to Vampis... Q: "Criaturas?" A: "Criaturas."

Eddie- We had around 20 names for the band, but nothing fit till Vampiro said, Criaturas.

The demo has a very interesting sound, you could probably pick at it from different angles, but I like the fact that it's not a one dimensional rip-off band and has hints of very different influences in it..what were the particular bands/records, if any, you were looking up to while writing? Pegamoides meets Discharge?

Eddie- I write the basic song structures then everyone gives me their input and adds their own ideas. I never listen to anything when I'm writing songs. I try to go into it fresh and with a clear head. Don't get me wrong...Discharge and Motorhead are always on my mind.

Mike- I pretty much listen to Neil Young, Death in June, Big Black, later period Wipers records, and this band from Hungary called Nagy Fero and the Bikini and all sorts of other random stuff. I wasn’t really looking up to any one band or trying to sound like another. I think by default these groups approaches to music have seeped into my brain. Victor and I are both guitar dorks and have a lot of equipment gathered through the years to tinker with.

Vampis-I feel that on my part i tried to pull things out of the air... and just kind of let it ride, but i did look to the cure and bauhaus for guitar sounds. Hence all the effects on the guitar which is something i'd been messing with for a while in deskonocidos prior to this recording. However, I was listening to alot of Neil Young and alot of MF DOOM at the time also. Not exactly sure how that might have influenced the record. I do love alaska y los pegamoides though.

Dru- I've listened to Alaska y los Pegamoides almost daily for years so I think it's funny and flattering that you say Pegamoides meets Discharge. I can't really say I looked to any band before coming into this, I was listening to the Supremes and Sisters of Mercy alot around that time.

CP- UNCURBED/ULTIMO RESORTE

The past few years we've seen a lot of latinos in the US forming bands that are heavily influenced by classic spanish/basque punk bands, I guess Criaturas sort of falls into that..how did you discover Eskorbuto, Ultimo Resorte and such? do you think there's some sort of common thread/theme running through all those bands (Peligro Social, Deskonocidos, Rayos X, Ultratumbados)?

Eddie- I got a later era Eskorbuto tape when I was in the 10th grade, but I though it was just mediocre. I didn't really get into Spanish punk till like 5 years ago. I love Spanish punk, but don't really listen to it as much as people may think. I personally don't think that Criaturas has anything really related with Spanish punk, other than it's sung in Spanish.

Mike- I came into Spanish punk first through some comps like I think Welcome to 1984 when I was younger and then later after Eddie and I became friends. I still don’t have a full grasp of it besides the obvious ones like Paralisis Permanente, Eskorbuto or RIP.

Vampis- Yes and no.. I'm sure every band would admit to having heavy classic spanish punk influence. Though I think each band does what they can to put a new fresh touch to that simple format. I think that's why there's such an array of different types of latino punk bands. Not to mention even wider musical tastes that influence subtly and sometimes not so subtly.

Dru- A friend gave us a burnt copy of the Eskorbuto Eskizofrenia album about 6 years ago and my love for spanish punk grew from there.

I think the common thread is that we're all proud to be latino/chicano/hispanic. Who knows how long this will last or if it will have any effect on the scene but it's great seeing all these bands pop up all across America.

CP- Spanish punk has always been popular aqui en Tejass!

Austin has a rich and amazing punk history, going all the way back to the 13th Floor Elevators, Red Krayola and such...where do you think Criaturas fits into all this? fave TX band/record ever?

Eddie- The Latino punk scene in Austin is growing and more people and bands are popping out. I don't know where we fit in in all of this, but were just a punk band. Playing music for the same reason everyone else does, boredom and self expression. Will anyone care what we did in 20 years, who knows? Yet, it doesn't change what were doing today.

Mike- I see us as just another band continuing to dance on top of the corpse of Rock like everyone else. Or in a more positive light I see us as adding to the rich history of Texas punk. Both seem pretty realistic in my eyes. Roky Erickson and the Aliens, Vomit Pigs or Bobby Soxx/Teenage Queers/ Stick Men with Rayguns are tied in battle for favorite Texas group. Based on story alone The Skuds win hands down though.

CP- D-beat Psychedelic punk rock weirdos, we like it all! TX best? Big Boys/Dicks/Really Red/Offenders/Roky/Deadhorse/Spazm 151 for me!!

Two of you are the head honchos of TODO DESTRUIDO, please, tell us about the label's current and future endeavors. What was the DIAS DE DESTRUCCION FEST exactly? will it happen again?

Eddie- We started the label because we had a lot of free time at the moment. I'm now playing in 4 bands and I think the label will be slowing down a lot. After 2011 we just plan to do 1-2 records a year and mostly of our own bands, friends bands, and people we have already worked with. We got a Deskonocidos Lp, Ilegal 7", and Los Monjo Lp in the works now. After that, who knows?

The fest was mainly friends bands and a few other Latino punk bands from the USA and Mexico. We will not be having it this year, because I will be on tour. Don't get me wrong, if someone wants to help organize it when I'm gone...I'm all for it.


Dru- Does anyone want to help me? haha

Not really many more questions here, so if there's anything you think you should say and I haven't thought of asking..go!

Vampis- I think Criaturas sounds like a tie-dyed discharge shirt.