Absolutely unbelievable. On Saturday, Mexican Slum Rats with supporting acts En Paz, Israel’s Arcade and Winona Forever played at Paper Tiger, bringing the most staggering show to the venue. The Paisano had the opportunity to speak with the bands before the show, getting a more in-depth insight into how they came to be and what should we expect from their music on stage.
The first band member that was interviewed was Matt Shulman, saxophone player for the Mexican Slum Rats. He was walking with a cane and a red Buccee’s shirt he got the day before, “[My ankle] got rolled in the pit,” he explained. He introduced his bandmates, drummer Raco Mendoza, wearing a blue bandana, bass player Sebastian Felix and guitar player Benjamin Schlesinger. The lead singer Kevin Villalba was nowhere to be seen but they explained that he was asleep before the show, as they were traveling every day on their tour bus and setting up to play gigs those same nights.
En Paz, the opening act, started the gig with vivid instrumentals, hyping up the audience that was starting to arrive at the venue. From afar it was inviting, multiple people asking, “Who are they? They’re so good!” while others were already enjoying the set from the inside, dancing to every song they performed.
Quick questions and answers were exchanged between sets. Chris Ramont, the saxophone player for the next band answered as quickly as he could, agreeing in his flame-graphic shirt that the best cities they have played at were San Antonio, Chicago, New York and Lincoln in Nebraska. He also mentioned that they all “love meeting people from different cities… but sleeping in the tour bus is my least favorite part about touring.”
Next up was Israel’s Arcade, named after the lead singer Israel Pinedo and a “reference to an arcade in Wayne’s World.” The band’s set was dynamic and full of energy, with the crowd enjoying every second of it. Shulman joined to play saxophone on a song, and the music coming out of Pinedo’s black Epiphone and his bandmate’s yellow Telecaster made people dance along. The drumming of Daniel Ramirez was powerful, leading the stage at times. From Coachella, California in a Spanish-speaking household, Pinedo’s influences to write include Cafe Tacvba and Caifanes. Ramont also mentioned The Strokes as a big influence that can be heard in Pinedo’s vocals. Pinedo spoke with The Paisano briefly before rushing to the stage once again to play a song with MSR. The passion for music was evident in his eyes, and the people were more than excited to watch the show unfold.
Coming from Vancouver, Canada, Winona Forever brought a fun, colorful and cartoony performance to the show. The drummer Alex’s style was reminiscent of Stewart Copeland’s drumming, the band agreed he did but while interviewed he claimed to not know who that was. The bass player Ruby had a Tina Weymouth-esque demeanor, quiet and reserved, but during the performance she played her sticker-filled bass like crazy, dancing synchronized with the guitar player and singers Rowan and Ben, confirming the Talking Heads reference in a fresh and playful way. The audience was singing along, jumping around, bobbing their heads to the tunes. It was a performance that lightened the mood of the audience; every song was a hit.
It was time for Granada Hills’ MSR to perform. Kevin Villalba, the Mexican lead singer who named the band and that was nowhere to be seen before the set, rose from mystery and came up on stage. His striking vocals astonished the room, everyone started jumping and screaming out of excitement. Red, blue and green lights were flashing in the venue. The bass player came up on stage with a Buccee’s onesie, being the band’s recent fascination and dubbed as the “Disneyland of gas stations” by Shulman. The drumming of Mendoza was a potent, intense ball of fire, and matched perfectly with Villalbas’s vocals and Shlesinger’s incredible guitar playing. Shulman’s saxophone set the tone of the songs, at times even controlling the crowd to make them jump around once again. Members from the supporting bands came up on stage and not only sang along with the band, but stage-dived multiple times. Suddenly, someone in a rat mascot costume ran up to the crowd, jumped around until he was helped up the stage and stage-dived as well. It was a sight to not be missed. The crowd went absolutely berserk. The bands gave their all and the crowd could not get enough of it, so hopefully they return to play once more.
