All The Pretty Cars

The drummer counts off; you’re hooked, anxious and anticipating. Then it begins. The bass leads with the drums, and the two guitars follow seconds after. Finally, in comes the lead singer, the last instrument has arrived and the band is in sync.

They start with “Nobody Else’s Toy”, an original composition that echoes Alice in Chains, but they have something that is their own. You might not know what it is at first; soon you find it all at once, and the band takes you on the trip, through whatever caverns or paths that you walk, they lead the way. And right after the last drum crash has resonated through the room, they go into the next one and you’re off again. All of this is both what any musician or audience can hope for, total immersion into the music, and all of this coming from a band that has only been together officially for two months.

Hailing from Miami, Florida, All the Pretty Cars is composed of Gea Gamboa (Lead Vocals), Carlos Martinez (Lead Guitar and Vocals), Stephanie Freeman (Rhythm Guitar and Backing Vocals), Kevin Johnson (Bass) and Carlos Benitez (Percussion), to give a roundabout mixture of rock, electro, punk and ska. Each member has his or her own, unique essence to bring forward. It’s amazing how they all came to be.

It started with Gea Gamboa and Carlos Martinez. Gea Gamboa, already an award singer before she was 20 met up with national touring guitarist Carlos Martinez; soon they began writing songs and plotting ideas. While creating tracks, Gea told her friend Stephanie Freeman about their project, Stephanie jumped on board. Originally auditioning for bass, Stephanie joined the band as rhythm guitarist after Carlos had heard Stephanie play guitar. Later Gea talked with respected producer Paul Trust and he agreed to record and co-write with the group on their debut, and play drums. Still needing a permanent bassist, Carlos brought in bass player Kevin Johnson (of Spread the Dub) and he quickly became the newest addition to the group. Lastly, Carlos brought in another musician, world-touring drummer Carlos Benitez. All the Pretty Cars is now complete. And they don’t intend on stopping.

Day after day, each member works individually to bring something new or improved to the session, or as Martinez says, “Put the pieces of the skeleton together.” With Paul Trust, their loved sixth member of the band, working hard with the band in the studio to mix their debut, All the Pretty Cars has not let anything stop them from making both each song and each performance better than the last.