Fayuca
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Fayuca

Phoenix, Arizona, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2009 | INDIE

Phoenix, Arizona, United States | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2009
Band Rock Reggae

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Music

Press


"Show Review by Lissa Webb"

Once every few months, the awesome folks over at Fervor Records hold a get-together for people in the industry. These gatherings always bring great things, but this Friday took the cake. They brought their little fiesta to Last Exit Live in Phoenix and brought their ska-punk-reggae band, Fayuca, to the stage. Fayuca has a new album, Barrio Sideshow, set to release May 7th. Guests had the chance to listen to the album in its entirety while tasting Four Peaks Brewery’s canned creations. (Confession time…in chatting with the Four Peaks rep, we hadn’t figured out Fayuca’s album was playing overhead and we were guessing who played the song we were all enjoying immensely. Sublime won out, but we used the Shazam App to give us the answer. And the album popped up, artwork and all, showing Fayuca: Barrio Sideshow. Fervor has their act together!)



Upon completion of the album, Beef Vegan, from the KWSS TMI Show, interviewed the band. And for those of you unaware of the hilarity Beef brings out in everyone, let’s just say we’re lucky we didn’t get too much information out of these guys. Gabo (lead vocals, guitar) did laugh when talking about band sponsors, “So, yeah, I guess we get our liquor and electrolytes for free.” I’m hoping the station got the interview recorded. If they did, I’ll connect the link here. In a nutshell, here is what we learned: Barrio Sideshow is a work of perfection; the first video from that album looks amazing and will blow us all away; Raf (drums) has the heart of a luchador; ten years together has made them that much tighter as a group; some songs just sound better sung in Spanish; the album artwork comes from one of Raf’s favorite artists, El Moises; and vitaminwater keeps ‘em hydrated. Oh, and Silver Surfer Vaporizers may soon be in Beef’s possession.

After a ten minute set change where tables and mics were removed from the stage; Gabo, Raf, and Sam (bass) jumped out on stage to a crowd ready to hear them jam. And. They. Did. I have always loved hearing Fayuca play live, and have caught them on numerous occasions throughout the valley. But there is something different about the confidence they hold on stage now. The tight set, the finesse of the quick-as-lightening bass work and guitar riffs, and Raf’s ever expressive drum technique are all something to behold. It’s almost as if they know they’ve caught lightening in a bottle and have thrown it on stage for all to see and hear. Just freaking fantastic!

And that album? Well, let’s just say that The Pier was absolutely spot on to say it should be one of the most anticipated of the year. The team at Fervor Records has done it again by helping an artist achieve sheer perfection on wax. On May 3rd, you, too, can catch them live at Martini Ranch as they celebrate their Barrio Sideshow release. So mark your calendars and be there to hear the album played live! - Alternative Press


"Show Review by Lissa Webb"

Once every few months, the awesome folks over at Fervor Records hold a get-together for people in the industry. These gatherings always bring great things, but this Friday took the cake. They brought their little fiesta to Last Exit Live in Phoenix and brought their ska-punk-reggae band, Fayuca, to the stage. Fayuca has a new album, Barrio Sideshow, set to release May 7th. Guests had the chance to listen to the album in its entirety while tasting Four Peaks Brewery’s canned creations. (Confession time…in chatting with the Four Peaks rep, we hadn’t figured out Fayuca’s album was playing overhead and we were guessing who played the song we were all enjoying immensely. Sublime won out, but we used the Shazam App to give us the answer. And the album popped up, artwork and all, showing Fayuca: Barrio Sideshow. Fervor has their act together!)



Upon completion of the album, Beef Vegan, from the KWSS TMI Show, interviewed the band. And for those of you unaware of the hilarity Beef brings out in everyone, let’s just say we’re lucky we didn’t get too much information out of these guys. Gabo (lead vocals, guitar) did laugh when talking about band sponsors, “So, yeah, I guess we get our liquor and electrolytes for free.” I’m hoping the station got the interview recorded. If they did, I’ll connect the link here. In a nutshell, here is what we learned: Barrio Sideshow is a work of perfection; the first video from that album looks amazing and will blow us all away; Raf (drums) has the heart of a luchador; ten years together has made them that much tighter as a group; some songs just sound better sung in Spanish; the album artwork comes from one of Raf’s favorite artists, El Moises; and vitaminwater keeps ‘em hydrated. Oh, and Silver Surfer Vaporizers may soon be in Beef’s possession.

After a ten minute set change where tables and mics were removed from the stage; Gabo, Raf, and Sam (bass) jumped out on stage to a crowd ready to hear them jam. And. They. Did. I have always loved hearing Fayuca play live, and have caught them on numerous occasions throughout the valley. But there is something different about the confidence they hold on stage now. The tight set, the finesse of the quick-as-lightening bass work and guitar riffs, and Raf’s ever expressive drum technique are all something to behold. It’s almost as if they know they’ve caught lightening in a bottle and have thrown it on stage for all to see and hear. Just freaking fantastic!

And that album? Well, let’s just say that The Pier was absolutely spot on to say it should be one of the most anticipated of the year. The team at Fervor Records has done it again by helping an artist achieve sheer perfection on wax. On May 3rd, you, too, can catch them live at Martini Ranch as they celebrate their Barrio Sideshow release. So mark your calendars and be there to hear the album played live! - Alternative Press


"Album Review by Mitch Hillman"

Fayuca has become a legendary local band during the last decade—between the amazing music they make, which intricately weaves the sounds of their Latin heritage into an obvious love of punk rock, reggae and ska and the way they present that music live, which is completely unhinged. I had seen them several times set the rabid crowds afire at many a venue with full on electric performances that made my mind reel—but when I saw them performing a few songs at an intimate Fervor Records party with the same intense ferocity, I was absolutely blown away. Here is a band that seems to feel their music through ever curved nerve of their being, who after all this time have found their identity and sound or allowed those things to find them. This may well be a tale of mutual discovery on both parts. I remember how disappointed I was in 2010 when I realized I had missed the boat on their release the previous year—here, after all, was a band whose musical interests (much aligned with my own), had been crossed with such deep seated local flavor, but had somehow escaped me. When the fine folks at Fervor Records let me know that their fourth release would be coming out in late Spring, and even let me hear the lead track to the album, I knew exactly what I wanted to feature in this issue.

I think what I love best about Fayuca is their passion—you can literally hear it in their recordings and it goes without saying you can see it in their performances. This is a band designed for warm weather festivals, I have no other way to describe it. This may be tied to the first few times I saw them live, but these guys simply look and sound their best on an outdoor stage blasting their sound into the blue sky and sunshine, with hundreds or thousands dancing themselves into oblivion. The combination of Gabriel Solorzano’s vocals and guitar, with the amazing organic drumming of Rafael Ruiz and Jared Dieckhoff’s bass holding it all together is both an unwieldy sound and an amazing sight to behold. It always stuns me when a power trio can literally blow the world away—now, granted they are often joined by horns and guest cameos, but this tight knit threesome is where all this sound is found. It would not be surprising if this album is their ticket to further tours with big names and placement deals across the globe. They recently finished a month long tour with Authority Zero and have supported or toured with Fishbone, Groupo Fantasma, Tomorrow’s Bad Seed’s, HR of Bad Brains, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, 311, Nas and The Dirty Heads. And with sponsors like Jagermeister, Fender, Monster Energy Drink and Red Stripe Lager, this band is pretty much set to roll right into the heart of a nation.

Barrio Sideshow is Fayuca at their absolute best—literally a showcase in which the band display every dimension of their presence, passion and pure vision. It also happens to be one of the best constructed albums I’ve heard in a long time—which is not terribly surprising since the band teamed up this time around with platinum producer Ralph Patlan (Jamie Foxx, Megadeth). It’s not simply the sound and production that lend itself to the brilliance, but the actual sequencing of the album plays a huge role here and it propels the listener through the many varied moods of Fayuca without losing any momentum, the spare slow songs serve as relief to the furious pace of others, while the languages of this bilingual band are fairly traded. Wise practice from a band who has had time to divine such wisdom through experience and here, they leave innocence behind to enter a state of grace.

“Por Que Seguir” is a stunning opener and the very song I heard so many months ago—driving guitar, brilliant brass bursting throughout and entirely Spanish lyrics. I don’t speak more than a few phrases of Spanish, but I don’t have to in order to enjoy the absolute brilliance of this song. The reason it should be the mindblowing opener for this fantastic album is that in perfect time for a rock or pop single (a proven three and a half minutes) it shows off the entire landscape that you will experience over the next half hour of your life in ten percent of the time. This does not mean you have any excuse to skip the next nine tracks, but rather it serves as an invitation and the translation, roughly “Why Continue” or “Why Go On” is self evident—like a great book you have to check out the following chapter, to see what the hell will happen next.

The follow up of “Tricky Sneaky Sleeves” will land hard and fast with any fans of Sublime or 311—this has an amazing island rhythm , that while the lyrics are somewhat indicting of the character in question throughout the song, the submission that the protagonist continually goes through is a fascinating psychological exploration. I’m not sure how often ones inner conflict with detrimental attraction is presented with such a fun and exuberant backdrop, but this is part of Fayuca’s modus operandi. “Marialena” aside from being - Sounds Around Town


"Album Review by Mitch Hillman"

Fayuca has become a legendary local band during the last decade—between the amazing music they make, which intricately weaves the sounds of their Latin heritage into an obvious love of punk rock, reggae and ska and the way they present that music live, which is completely unhinged. I had seen them several times set the rabid crowds afire at many a venue with full on electric performances that made my mind reel—but when I saw them performing a few songs at an intimate Fervor Records party with the same intense ferocity, I was absolutely blown away. Here is a band that seems to feel their music through ever curved nerve of their being, who after all this time have found their identity and sound or allowed those things to find them. This may well be a tale of mutual discovery on both parts. I remember how disappointed I was in 2010 when I realized I had missed the boat on their release the previous year—here, after all, was a band whose musical interests (much aligned with my own), had been crossed with such deep seated local flavor, but had somehow escaped me. When the fine folks at Fervor Records let me know that their fourth release would be coming out in late Spring, and even let me hear the lead track to the album, I knew exactly what I wanted to feature in this issue.

I think what I love best about Fayuca is their passion—you can literally hear it in their recordings and it goes without saying you can see it in their performances. This is a band designed for warm weather festivals, I have no other way to describe it. This may be tied to the first few times I saw them live, but these guys simply look and sound their best on an outdoor stage blasting their sound into the blue sky and sunshine, with hundreds or thousands dancing themselves into oblivion. The combination of Gabriel Solorzano’s vocals and guitar, with the amazing organic drumming of Rafael Ruiz and Jared Dieckhoff’s bass holding it all together is both an unwieldy sound and an amazing sight to behold. It always stuns me when a power trio can literally blow the world away—now, granted they are often joined by horns and guest cameos, but this tight knit threesome is where all this sound is found. It would not be surprising if this album is their ticket to further tours with big names and placement deals across the globe. They recently finished a month long tour with Authority Zero and have supported or toured with Fishbone, Groupo Fantasma, Tomorrow’s Bad Seed’s, HR of Bad Brains, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, 311, Nas and The Dirty Heads. And with sponsors like Jagermeister, Fender, Monster Energy Drink and Red Stripe Lager, this band is pretty much set to roll right into the heart of a nation.

Barrio Sideshow is Fayuca at their absolute best—literally a showcase in which the band display every dimension of their presence, passion and pure vision. It also happens to be one of the best constructed albums I’ve heard in a long time—which is not terribly surprising since the band teamed up this time around with platinum producer Ralph Patlan (Jamie Foxx, Megadeth). It’s not simply the sound and production that lend itself to the brilliance, but the actual sequencing of the album plays a huge role here and it propels the listener through the many varied moods of Fayuca without losing any momentum, the spare slow songs serve as relief to the furious pace of others, while the languages of this bilingual band are fairly traded. Wise practice from a band who has had time to divine such wisdom through experience and here, they leave innocence behind to enter a state of grace.

“Por Que Seguir” is a stunning opener and the very song I heard so many months ago—driving guitar, brilliant brass bursting throughout and entirely Spanish lyrics. I don’t speak more than a few phrases of Spanish, but I don’t have to in order to enjoy the absolute brilliance of this song. The reason it should be the mindblowing opener for this fantastic album is that in perfect time for a rock or pop single (a proven three and a half minutes) it shows off the entire landscape that you will experience over the next half hour of your life in ten percent of the time. This does not mean you have any excuse to skip the next nine tracks, but rather it serves as an invitation and the translation, roughly “Why Continue” or “Why Go On” is self evident—like a great book you have to check out the following chapter, to see what the hell will happen next.

The follow up of “Tricky Sneaky Sleeves” will land hard and fast with any fans of Sublime or 311—this has an amazing island rhythm , that while the lyrics are somewhat indicting of the character in question throughout the song, the submission that the protagonist continually goes through is a fascinating psychological exploration. I’m not sure how often ones inner conflict with detrimental attraction is presented with such a fun and exuberant backdrop, but this is part of Fayuca’s modus operandi. “Marialena” aside from being - Sounds Around Town


Discography

Barrio Sideshow - 2013 (Fervor- Records)

The Assassination - 2009 (La Jirafa Ent)

Black Market - 2005 (Lock and Key Records)

Walk West - 2004 (Lock And Key Records)

Photos

Bio

Known for their fierce live performances and relentless touring, Phoenix trio Fayuca blends their Latin roots and mother tongue with the ethos of reggae and the passion of progressive punk. The end result is an intimate explosion of heady, sultry, stoner rock with a Spanish twist.