Editors Note: The interview was conducted shortly after the release of “Plain To See.” At the time of the recording, Grecia Chavez was still in college but has since graduated.
Lancaster based band Onira, fronted by UCI ’24 graduate Grecia Chavez, released their debut album “Plain to See” on June 6. Characterized by wobbling guitars in stereo, double-tracked vocals and a sense of frolic, the album was lauded by janglepophub as “a superb debut album from an act… with a maturity that is well beyond their musical years.”
Guitarist Alex Wenceslao, bassist Brandon Garcia and drummer Alberto Mata fill out the band, with the three also having had to balance going to college and working on top of doing music. All four Zoom-ed in to discuss the album and the personalities behind it.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How did you guys start making music together, and who are some of the favorite bands or artists that you have in common?
GC: Well, it first started out with me, Alberto and Brandon. We met through a club in high school. From there, we kinda just wanted to practice and either cover songs or make our own music. Me and Alberto listen to a lot of twee music, like a lot of DIY kind of indie music from the 80s, mostly from the UK. I’m not gonna speak for Alberto, but [I was] inspired by those bands because they made music feel accessible.
AM: If you want to get into more specific bands that we were influenced by, I’d say, particularly with me, it’d be Sonic Youth, Siouxsie and the Banshees and a bunch of, like, other earlier shoegaze artists such as Lush, Ride, Chapterhouse, and any, really, early alternative from the ‘80s and ‘90s essentially.
AW: I’d say that I was inspired by Subsonic Eye and Sobs, like the Singapore music scene, and Dinosaur Jr.
Q: Were there any songs, books, movies or other sorts of media that were influential to the production of this album?
GC: I, personally, really like to write poetry…there are no pieces that come to mind. I think it’s fun playing with the musicality of words and wordplay and stuff like that. I was really trying to incorporate that into the album. It might be subtle and everything, but I think having lyrics that stand out, even if they don’t really mean everything, is always cool. It’s something that I look for in what I listen to.
AM: I feel like, in my case, there isn’t really a specific piece of media or music that stands out as influencing this album. I would say that it’s a combination of everything that I listen to. That’s why some songs we try to have a bit of range and a bit of dynamics, with some parts that sound a lot heavier and some parts that sound a lot lighter.
AW: I think I agree with Alberto, yeah.
GC: I was gonna say, also, that a lot of the imagery we chose for the album is sort of nature-y themed — like a lot of the song titles, like “Meadow.” We kind of gravitated towards something like that, that sort of aesthetics.
Q: Were there any narratives or misconceptions about you guys that you want to address?
GC: Um, I can’t really think of any as of now… Some people, specifically in the scene we’re from, in like Lancaster, like Antelope Valley, kind of tell us we came out of nowhere all of a sudden, ‘cause we have those connections with people, kind of through Alex mostly… I guess people have claimed we came out of nowhere and got popular in the scene unwarranted[ly], but we’re just, kind of, making music for ourselves and stuff. It’s not like a big image thing, you know?
AW: It’s hard for us to be as active as we want because everyone goes to school and works. We don’t want to come across as [though] we’re ‘cool-guying’ the scene or something, it’s just we just don’t have the time to, like, play shows that much right now.
AM: We’re not really, like, going for a mysterious, enigmatic aura. We’re kind of just stuck like that for a second.
Q: What are your plans post-graduation? Do you guys plan on becoming more active?
GC: Personally, I do want to get more involved and stuff — obviously, I really want to play more shows. I think it’s kind of a jumble with finding a job too, just to feel like a responsible person. But, ideally, it’d be cool to, like, have more time for writing music and stuff like that and be balancing it kind of the way that I want to.
AM: I feel like, in my case, I would definitely like to. Because, as school gets a lot more intense, especially with my major, I do come to realize that I do miss playing music and I do miss playing music as often as I want to. That’s something I definitely would 100 percent like to focus on after I finish because, like I’ve said, I’ve been itching to do so: I’ve been itching to do music as much as possible and go do more shows and so on and so forth.
GC: I was going to say, one gripe I had with our song-writing process last summer for this album, “Plain to See,” was that there were a lot of areas of growth I kind of wish we touched on more — our live sound and stuff like that. I don’t know … I think it’d be cool if we polish those sorts of things after I’m done with college.
BG: Yeah, once we’re all done with school, if there’s a need for us to play out and play live more, like people still want us, I’m still down. But either way, once I have more time, I just want to get back to jamming with my friends more, just hanging out and playing music.
AM: Yeah, haha, I agree.
Q: Those were most of my more extended questions. I’m going to do a rapid-fire question round [now] if that’s cool?
AM: Yeah, let’s do it.
Q: Do you have a favorite piece of gear? And if so, what is it?
AW: I like my Wonderwall. It’s an overdrive, distortion and Big Muff put together, and I use it for everything.
AM: I guess this kind of goes more with Grecia’s set-up because she uses my amp and stuff like that, but, definitely, my favorite piece of equipment would have to be my [Roland] JC-120, which is the main rhythm amp that we use. I never knew an amp could sound that clean.
GC: Yeah, and it kind of just replicates a lot of the music we listen to: we listen to a lot of jangly music. I don’t know gear like that, but I like the chorus we have paired with the JC-120 — what is it, Alberto?
AM: It’s a Walrus Audio Julia.
GC: I think that’s like the final like…I think we’re good!
BG: My favorite piece of gear isn’t even ‘my’ gear. It’s the Blues Driver pedal that Grecia uses for her guitar. It’s, like, a very clean-sounding gritty kind of pedal? I don’t know, I don’t think I have the best words to describe it, but it really does remind me of some of my favorite bands, like Numbergirl and how they try to get a really strong, aggressive tone.
Q: Do you guys have any favorite tunings?
GC: I use the open E tuning a lot cause of Johnny Marr. He uses it and a lot of Smiths songs have it. It’s fun.
AW: I like standard and, uh, DADF#BE.
AM: I know I’m a drummer, but I also play guitar, and I guess I just like DADGAD.
BG: I think I’ve only ever used, like, standard on the bass.
AW: The best tuning.
AM: The only one you need!
Q: The next question is Ride, My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive?
GC: Ride.
AW: I think I would say Ride too.
AM: Yeah, I would say Ride as well.
AW: Slowdive is good though too.
AM: They’re all good.
BG: All good.
AW: They’re all good, but Slowdive’s a second for me probably.
GC: I think I’m actively trying to sound the most like Ride when I like sing and stuff, so that’s why I chose Ride.
Q: The next one is favorite post-punk band?
AM: I would say for me personally, Sad Lovers & Giants.
AW: Mine is maybe, like, a newer band, but Unschooling. I really like them.
BG: Oh, they’re pretty good.
AW: Yeah, they’re from France. I hope they come out to the U.S.
GC: I think my favorite one is probably Wire. I think they sound really primitive — they’re really early post-punk, probably late ‘70s, ‘79 kind of. I think it’s just a really cool, primal post-punk sound.
Q: The next one is what’s a band that you feel doesn’t get enough play?
AM: Hmm…that’s a good one.
AW: I would say the homies in Collars.
GC: Yeah.
AW: They’re a really good band, and their drummer is actually the one that recorded us — shoutout to the homie Joey. I think his band is super underrated, for sure.
GC: I really like a band called the Chills. They’re part of, like, an indie scene from New Zealand, from the 80s — I think it’s considered ‘kiwi rock’ or something like that. I think they have a really sophisticated sound — I guess they’re kind of post-punk-ish.
AM: For me — they’re a lot more of, like, a newer type of shoegaze band, that we’ve seen recently, but I definitely think that they deserve a lot of recognition — they’re called Mo Dotti. They kind of have that older shoegaze sound which I very [much] like.
AW: Super good, super good band. Brandon, you got anything?
BG: Uhhh, nah. I’d probably just say Collars as well.
AW: Heck yeah.
Q: The next questions I am going to ask are less what you guys play related, more personal or silly questions. The first one is do you have a favorite movie and if so, what?
GC: Let me think for a second.
BG: I never have an answer for that question.
AW: I know dude, it’s so hard.
AM: I like the movie “Cat in the Hat.”
BG: I really did enjoy “The Iron Claw.” That was a really good movie.
GC: Oh, I watched that like two nights ago. It was good.
AW: Sad movie… Dude, I don’t even know, straight up. I don’t wanna say a random movie, because I want it to be a good one that I really like.
AM: No, yeah, I’m trying to think of a serious answer right now, haha.
BG: The first “Cars” movie goes hard.
GC: I was gonna say, there’s a movie I really like that’s called “Mommie Dearest” that’s really campy and, like, dramatic — it’s just an entertaining movie. It’s about an actress named Faye Dunaway who abused her kid. But she’s like a f**king crazy b***h, like, it’s so fun to watch: she’s just yelling at people and stuff.
AW: Oh, I like “Green Room,” I like that movie. It’s an A24 film. It’s about, like, a band on tour and stuff… I don’t wanna spoil it, but it’s a good movie.
AM: I’m still blanking, haha.
Q: The next question was, similarly, do you have a favorite book and if so, what?
GC: I like the book “Don Quixote” a lot — Brandon was in the Spanish class where we read it. We didn’t finish all of it, but I think it’s, like, a really fun story. It’s kind of like silly, goofy.
BG: That one’s pretty good. I think, for me, my favorite book would be an old children’s book called “Okay for Now.” I guess I don’t really read too much nowadays, so it’s still, like, my favorite book. I’m sure it’d be something else if I kept reading, but “Okay for Now” is probably my best.
AM: I really like “The Stranger” by Albert Camus. That’s the first one that comes to mind, I’d say.
AW: Imma be real, I don’t remember the last time I read a book — I’m just being real bro, I don’t know, haha.
AM: I don’t really read either.
GC: Yeah.
AW: Maybe high school, I don’t know.
Q: The next question is kind of a cheesy one, but what’s your favorite thing to do in your hometown?
GC: Drink! Nah, I’m just kidding. There’s not really, like, a lot to do ‘cause we live in the desert area and everything’s really sprawled — there’s just kind of, like, grocery stores and stuff like that. But, um, hanging out with people’s always fun; That’s always the thing I look forward to the most.
AM: I guess that’s, like, a pretty good question to ask us in particular, because I feel like this band is kind of what we do for fun out here.
AW: Yeah.
AM: Because there really isn’t much to do out here to begin with. So, that’s kind of, like, one of the big, driving factors of this band, kind of just, like, ‘oh, let’s all get together,’ because over here it’s literally just, like Grecia was saying, desert plots and a few grocery stores, like a Target. We usually just play for fun and just to hang out and stuff like that.
AW: Yeah, hanging out, I would say hanging out. Just link up with the homies.
Q: The next one is maybe a bit more difficult of a question so you can give me a top two or three instead, but do you have a favorite album and if so, what?
AW: Mm. I really like Balkans’ self-titled. That’s, like, a huge inspiration for me to make music. I feel like every song off that album is super good. I don’t know any other ones…I’m just gonna name bands that I like: Women, their albums are all good. Honestly, Hum, every album from Hum. Those are my top three.
GC: A really pivotal album for me is “Behaviour” by Pet Shop Boys. It’s, like, completely not our genre — it’s like dance, electronic-ish music — but I think it’s really cool.
AM: Let me see. I really like the album “Comforts of Madness” by Pale Saints. Another one of my favorite albums is “Four Calendar Cafe” by Cocteau Twins — basically all of their discography if imma be real. “Just for a Day” by Slowdive is also one of my favorite albums.
BG: I think, um, and it’s for sure in my top three, it’s called “Tokyo Sniper” by Ryusenkei. It’s another album that’s completely different from our sound, but I feel like it really has helped me figure out what I want when I play bass and what I want out of my style.
Q: Fav tourist attraction in California?
BG: The beach is always good.
GC: Griffith Observatory is so lit, no pun intended.
AW: For me, it would be the national parks, like Yosemite, Sequoia. San Francisco’s cool.
AM: I feel like Hollywood and stuff like that could be cool, but it definitely depends on the area that you go to — definitely not the more tourist-trapy areas. ‘Cause there’s so much, I guess you could say, culture and stuff like that in Hollywood so there are a lot of cool spots there, but you have to be in the right areas.
Q: Is there any advice you guys would give to students, or youths in general, also looking to get into creating and performing music? And, do you have anything you’d like to plug?
AW: I would say be a part of the community that you want to support you, ‘cause I think that’s truly what makes music fun and everything. And, shoutout to the other bands I’m in — Bed, Witchin Alleys — and homie bands Blueberry, Collars.
AM: I guess, to kind of go off of what Alex was saying, one of the big things is to, like, talk to the people in your community, make friends with other bands and just a lot of that social aspect because, like he said, that’s literally what’s gonna be holding you up. If you don’t have these genuine connections with people — and they have to be genuine too, you can’t just, like, be clout chasing or anything, you have to be friends with them because you have similar interests and stuff like that … Another big thing is to practice, a lot. That’s always the key.
GC: Specifically from a student perspective, it never hurts to just put yourself out there. Even if you’ve had a long week or you’re stressed out or something, just going to a show or something is always fun, you know what I mean? It’s always going to be, like, cool — playing a show too. It’s not anything you’re ever gonna regret, you know what I mean? It’d usually end up being the highlight of my week if I had a long week of school or something.
AW: Brandon?
BG: Everything you guys said was very well said.
June Min is an Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor. He can be reached at junehm@uci.edu.
Edited by Annabelle Aguirre
The audio version of this story has been produced and edited for clarity by June Min.
