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Totimoshi’s latest Ladron, is a masterful display
of riffs and relentless hooks. Alerted by the masterful
¿Mysterioso?
expectations were cloud
high, but once again Antonio Aguilar and wife Meg Castellanos
(along with new drummer Luke Herbst)
have managed to drop an addictive heavy record that’s in fact an
improvement over ¿Mysterioso? Antonio even brought up
Deaf Sparrow’s fave author John Fante so he scores extra point
for that. Read on….
 :
For those who
haven’t heard Totimoshi, please give us a description of your
sound.
I’d say we’re
heavy and mean, lean and a bit obscene! We’re sort of a
Melvins
breeding with Mastodon, riding a Spanish mare thru the kingdom
of Robert Johnson.
:
The band hails
from Oakland, CA. Are you guys all originally from that area?
No, Luke
(drums) is from Missouri, Meg (bass) is from Cape Cod,
Massachusetts, and I’m from a little town in Southern California
called Tehachapi. We all moved here.
:
How did the band form? And what did you and Meg have in common
that made you unite not only as a band but as a couple?
Well, the band formed in 1997. Before that I’d spent the
better part of a year looking for people to play with and no one
thought what I was doing was worth a shit, except for Meg, my
wife. So I asked her to join, and taught her how to play bass.
We’re very similar people, she likes most of the same art,
music, and books I like, we love experiencing life together, and
we seem to have the same ethic as far as we live to make art.
I’d guess that’s the most important commonality is it’s our life
style. Me and her have kept Totimoshi together since. We’ve
gone thru 6 drummers, gone thru probably as many vans, and we’re
still at it, experiencing art together.
:
Totimoshi is
quite the odd moniker. I think is an excellent name, I like the
fact that it does not reveal anything about the band. It’s hard
to imagine what a band with a name like that would sound like. I
heard the story about your grandma coining the term; can you
please share the story with us?
It was actually my mother who coined the phrase. She likes
to make up stories and made one up about my grandmother using
Totimoshi as her word for describing her attempt at speaking
English – which she spoke close to none of. I wrote it down
when she said it. All of my uncles have let me know that it was
a little fib, but I love my Mom for that very reason. She’s a
great story teller, and every great story teller embellishes the
truth when appropriate. We threw it around a while before we
decided on it. I think I really like the name one, because it
is mysterious like the power of music itself and two because it
came from my mother, just like me.
:
Next year is
going to be your 10th year anniversary and Ladron
is your fourth album. Looking back; how do you see those early
years? Do you feel Totimoshi is more accepted and perhaps better
understood? 
Wow, ten years, doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, but
yeah you’re right. I think that the early years were
development time for us. We were like two blind people learning
with every experience. I think our real education began when we
started to tour though. I’d recommend it for every band out
there, hit the road and you’ll either fly or eat shit, or both
at the same time. Ladron is really our third official
release, as our first was really more a demo, although a full
length demo. I like to think of what H.L Mencken told John
Fante when he asked him for advice about what to do with his
first novel, he told him to throw it away, and try to get his
second published. I really don’t know if we’re more accepted,
we have a few more people coming out to shows but not a lot. I’m
also not so sure we’re all that well understood. I don’t think
any band is ever fully understood, as every perception of music
is relative to the person perceiving it. As fare as things
changing – wow have they. Our first demo release was on
cassette. Imagine that!! Kids these days don’t even know what
the fuck those funny little things are. Or how or what to even
do with them. Kids now are so lucky, I hope they understand how
lucky. The internet has put so much music and art and
information at their fingertips. Climate wise, there is a huge
difference, in that I think our wonderful government here in the
US of A – the land of freedom have sold most of our radio
stations to basically three or four corporations. They’ve
allowed our biggest musical medium to be swallowed by shit
eating corpo business pricks with no vision or aesthetic. It’s
great in a way though, because it’s allowing the internet and
satellite to take over as the medium. All things for now they
can’t regulate.
:
Being Chicano and having been heavily influenced by your
father, how was your upbringing?
I was brought
up poor and happy. My father was the hardest working person
I’ve ever known, and that’s the plain and simple truth.
:
Did he instill in you a love for art (music) or was that
developed on your own?
I’d say I
developed my love of art and music on my own. He was incredibly
busy working 12 to 16 hours a day to feed his kids.
:
Was your father’s influence more from the moral & ethics side?
Yes, both. He was incredibly ethical, loving and
compassionate. He gave a shit about humanity, he gave a shit
about every person that was in his life and I never seen him
refuse a person who asked for something. Even if it was the
last dime he had in his pocket. I’d say if it weren’t for him –
I’d be sitting in a prison somewhere. There are so many things
I could say about him, but I’ll just leave it at this. The
entire record Monoli is about him. He died when I was
writing that record and most of it is a remembrance of him. I
miss him dearly and I mean every single day. I don’t really
think that will ever change.
:
How was your love for heavy music born? First genres/bands to
cause and impression and inspire you to pick up a guitar and a
mike?
I’d say I was inspired by every genre of rock. I was
into 50’s music when I was a child, then I got into The Beatles, then
Sabbath, Hendrix, Zep, and later on blues, jazz, metal.
Funny – using the word heavy. In my book John Coltrane’s Meditations
is heavier than most every goddamn metal album ever made. I use
distortion because of Hendrix, and I’d say if Totimoshi is a
heavy band it’s because I had to pick in the fields as a kid
more than because of any band I listened to.
:
In the past you have worked with Alex Newport and Page Hamilton
produced Ladron; how was the experience of recording with
both and how do they differ as producers?
Alex didn’t really produce us. He could have and he asked me
if we wanted him too, and I opted for him just engineering
¿Mysterioso?
I think if he would have it
would have made it a better record, as I think he’s a fabulous
producer. Working with Page was the one of the biggest joys of
my life. How many people get to work with someone they held in
the highest of esteem? It was awesome and I can’t wait to do it
again.
:
Are you really happy with the new record?
Definitely.
:
Soundwise and songwise?
Definitely.
:
How does the end result differ from what you guys had in mind
before going into the recording phase?
Page changed a couple things here and
there, made a few of the songs more concise. I think it turned
out fantastic.
:
¿Mysterioso?
had
this grunge vibe that would surface occasionally. However with
Ladron, all traces of that have been erased. Would you
agree? And what do you see as the main difference between that
record and the new one?
Well, don’t forget Monoli came
out between those two, which I believe bridges the gap.
¿Mysterioso?
was a sort of an introduction to us. I see that record as a punk rock
record. Angry, and I also didn’t feel quite as comfortable with
my singing voice then, so I screamed way more to make up for
it. Monoli is way more of a mature record, lyrically and
sonically. And Ladron is even more so. I think, the
idea that I put out, that we’re feeling our way by experience
still holds true. Every time we tour, every band we play with,
every experience we have helps feed us and change us. The next
record which I’m already writing will be even more different.
:
Do you look back at your work and see it as a picture of what
the band was like at the time or do you listen to it and wish
you had done things differently?
I don’t listen to them. I can’t.
I get pissed listening for mistakes. I try really hard not
to look back, you can’t undo history anyways, just reinterpret.
:
After a Spinal Tap-esque 6 drummers, Luke Herbst has been in the
band for over a year. What do you think was the problem with the
previous drummers? And do you see Luke sticking around for a
while?
I think Luke will stick it out as long as he and I and Meg
get along. Or as long as he doesn’t burn out. He’s a great
drummer, and I enjoy playing with him. As far as the 6 drummer
thing is concerned, the reality of that is me and Meg are very
very close, and we tour, and we hardly make money. It’s hard
for people to commit to touring and not making money for long
periods of time. It’s also a very complicated thing to get
into, as every member had certain situations appropriately
latched to them, as in drugs, divorce, booze, everything, and
I’d rather not go into details about any of our former members
out of respect to their privacy and lives.
:
Going back to the anniversary issue. What do you want from
Totimoshi now? Are you pretty happy with where the band is now?
Have your expectations shifted over the years?
Well, we’d like to be able to pay our rent by making music.
That’s our goal. If that happens I’ll be a very happy man. I
think also that we’re at a very high level now of ability.
Songwise, lyrically, everything. We’ve honed our skills and
done it by playing with great bands. We want to continue making
great music for the people who appreciate us.
:
Please recommend us a few bands that we should be listening to.
The Mass, Laudanum, Mausolea, Green Milk From Planet Orange, Mastodon,
Stinking Lizaveta, Suplecs, The Bronx, 400
Blows, The Mall.
:
What’s next for Totimoshi? Touring plans, promotions, etc.
I think we’re doing a January tour with Helmet and there are
some tentative touring plans soon after. We’ll be out
there, that’s for sure, hopefully Mastodon will invite us out again, as
they are the most amazing band on the planet right now.
Check out
our review of
Ladron |
