Photo courtesy of Signalman
The dream for every local band is to get signed to a record label and tour. It takes years of hard work to grow a fan base large enough to sustain a tour. In addition, the money and time spent on recording to attract a fan response that will convince a label to sign that band is difficult.
Although San Antonio is filled with many talented bands, it becomes frustrating when the majority of these musicians never see success despite years of hard work and dedication. It comes as a breath of fresh air to every musician when a band as hard working as Signalman finally gets a break.
Over the past four years, Signalman has made a tremendous impact in the San Antonio music scene with their post hardcore sound. Recently, the band has signed to California based, D.I.Y. label, La Escalera Records and is set to tour the U.S. this summer. The Paisano had the pleasure of talking to Danny Chaves (Bass) and Matt Watkins (Vocals) about the band’s recent success.
Q: How did Signalman come across a California based record label such as La Escalera?
A: [Matt] Last summer we did a two-week west coast tour. When we played in San Diego we met the guys from Western Settings – members from that band are the ones who run the label. They saw us play that day and liked us a lot. That following fall they came through [to Texas] looking for a last minute San Antonio show and we set them up with something. Afterwards, Will Castro from Western Settings said it seemed we do a lot for our scene and he really liked our sound so he wanted to release something with us. Once they got back from tour, he contacted us and it kind of went from there.
Q: How did the tour come together?
A: [Matt] La Escalera helped us get a couple of LA dates, but the rest was all through us emailing a bunch of people. Just putting ourselves out there.
Q: Is this Signalman’s first time touring the U.S.?
A: [Danny] The full U.S.? Yes. We’ve done the west coast before and that turned out really well for it being almost last minute! We got to meet some really cool people and make some really good contacts.
Q: What show is Signalman most excited about?
A: [Danny] There are a few!
[Matt] A lot of them this time around are house shows. We all here in San Antonio know that house shows are where it’s at! I’m also really excited to play in LA.
[Danny] We’re actually playing two [expletive] shows in LA!
[Matt] One of which is across from Disney Land. We’re going to watch the fireworks at night, which should be pretty cool. I’m excited to play in Denver too.
[Danny] There are a lot of reasons why I’m excited about going to Denver!
Q: What’s your favorite part about being on the road?
A: [Danny] Being with everyone.
[Matt] The experiences, of course. The last tour, we went for two weeks and didn’t have a van. Everything fell through last minute. We were looking at not going. I knew we couldn’t cancel it, so Aaron, our guitar player, said we’d just take his Isuzu Rodeo and we’ll just get a trailer. There were six of us so it was packed. Plus, it was standard so only Aaron knew how to drive it, so he had to drive all the way to Seattle and back. During that time, we had our little down and outs, but if we could make it in an Isuzu Rodeo, we can definitely make it in a van. We met a lot of amazing people at those shows.
Q: Any plans for new music before or after the tour?
A: [Danny] We have the new album coming out and should have it in our hands in about nine days now. It’s going to come out on iTunes and Bandcamp and all those sites. This coming week is going to be the official release from the record label, but as soon as we get back, we have a 7” worth of material and a cover song that’s going to blow your [expletive] mind and make you cry.
Q: What does Signalman expect to come out of this tour?
A: [Matt] I don’t really have many expectations other than to have fun. Hopefully we get a great response, but honestly I never really worry about that anymore. Not to sound conceited! I feel like when you’re playing your music and you’re enjoying it, other people are going to enjoy it and enjoy watching you. If you can appreciate this and you can have fun with me, then great! Lets have fun.
Signalman’s upcoming tour will span from June 12 to July 11. Plans for a tour kick off show here in San Antonio have been set or June 6 at Nesta. Be sure to follow Signalman on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest news from the band and be sure to go out to their kick off show.
