My grandmother likes it.
Goats talks about the first year of chickpeas, of the cover that scared someone in Facebook and what to expect from their August 8 show at the Indie Rocks Forum!
Goats It’s a band from Querétaro and it makes noise. Not accidentally: their first album, Chickpeasmixes punk and noise with a sense of humor that ranges from deliberate discomfort to outright laughter. The cover, designed by Diegoit is a face compressed to the absurdity that in some comment of Facebook It scared someone. The members themselves laughed a lot about that. The album has been circulating for a year now, and in that time the band toured states, forged friendships, and found that their music reaches places and people they didn’t always expect, including grandmothers.
On August 8 they perform at the Indie Rocks Forum! as part of the celebration of the tenth anniversary of The Beaston a night that also includes Touché Amoré touching Stage Four in its entirety. It’s his first show in the Forum. And according to Diego, there is going to be a shithole. We spoke to the band before the show.
Indie Rocks!: This month his first album turns one year old, Chickpeas. How did it age? Has the road surprised you?
Goats: Well yes, the net yes. Releasing an album is always a bit uncertain. There are ways to prepare it and make the band more eager to listen to it, but I don’t feel like it was something that just arrived, but rather it’s about charting the path. Several doors opened. Last year we went to several states: we visited Guanajuato, Celaya, León, Guadalajara. Many new friends took us. And the process of releasing an album, printing it, selling it, having people have it physically and want it physically, is always very cool.
It was an album that was received warmly among the band. The most important thing, the most beautiful thing, was seeing it in person and being able to present it to more people who want to listen to it, even if they had not heard it before. And I think that’s something very cool, really.
GO!: In this last year they also shared the stage with big names on the scene. What did you like most about it?
C: I feel that the exciting thing about generating the job circuit and being able to go play is always meeting the band. In each state we have been able to get there in different ways: thanks to friends that we already had and who in person, playing, become even more friends. Last year we were able to play in León and Guadalajara with Strange Enemywhich is a bandit.
In general, the most important thing for us has always been to coexist. It’s really cool to see that we are all related to this, to rock, to music. Suddenly sending a message to someone, knowing that they are there, that they are coming here, being able to make a space for them here in Querétaro. Mexico is a huge little country and transfers are difficult. But being able to reach people, first online and then in person, has blown my mind. It’s a very beautiful thing that music can do.
GO!: I just wanted to ask you about the title of the album. Where does it come from Chickpeas?
C: We wanted an adjective that could be given to people who believe themselves to be very unorthodox, very otherworldly. And suddenly the chickpea stalls in carts came out, of which there used to be many here. I remember that in the group, when we were working on the names, the song “Breaking in” was going to be called “Chickpeas”. And it was that, ah well, it’s cool, we miss the name. Then he came out “Breaking in” for the single and then it was Chickpeas for the album.
Like before we wanted to burn our necks more, to do more to the artist. But when it came out everything went pretty quickly and we felt good about it. It’s not that funny, but there it is: Garbanceros, for the chickpeas here in Querétaro. Those who screw it with 20 pesos and that’s it.
GO!: I also wanted to talk about the cover. How was it born?
C: Here Diego raffled off the cover, all the visual work was his responsibility.
I was mainly guided by how the music sounds. I feel that Chickpeas it sounds aggressive, but also somehow liminal. The inspiration was these oversaturated things that make you feel trapped, like there’s no air to breathe. And besides, I think it’s funny. Seeing a disfigured face is funny, and as far as possible the music on the album also sounds funny. I liked that quite a bit.
I once read a comment on Facebook where someone said they were scared of the cover and that’s why they listened to it. It made me laugh a lot. When Diego sent the proposals for compressed faces, as well as those filters, we were laughing a lot: “no, now try it with this carnal, let’s see, with this photo.” There are about ten photos that Diego took that way and we are left with two. In the physical version there is another side on the back cover, just as compressed, just as close. Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable how close it is because it is so tight. I was surprised that there is a band that is genuinely disturbed by that.
GO!: Precisely that leads me to the next question. The genres they play, punk and noise, seek to make people uncomfortable in a natural way. Why do you think there are people who cannot tolerate discomfort and others who seek it?
C: I don’t know, I feel like it’s everyone’s personality. The more you grow, the more you know yourself and can define what you like and what you don’t. There is a very comfortable band. For example, there are periods in which I am very comfortable musically: I like it a lot. Phil CollinsI really like him soundtrack of Tarzanthat of Happy Feet. They are things in which I feel good and I enjoy them a lot.
And there are also times when I have tried things on myself, and in that way I arrived at the noise. That’s why I had a great tie with Diego and the band, because it blew my mind. When I show music to my family, there are people who like it and people who don’t mind so much noise. For example, I was researching the composer of Silent Hillwhich he recorded with knives and metals colliding. They are very ugly sounds. I like it a lot, but at night, with the light off and headphones on, I wouldn’t put it on because it scares me.
I feel like right now, where everything is so fast, it also allows you to try different things quickly. How long does it take you to play three songs from three different albums and keep trying until you find something you like? That also works in our favor. And music is for everyone. I have been surprised not only by how many people, but by whom it has reached them. My grandmother likes it, for example. And I find that very funny.
I am a counterpart in that sense: I often look for music to cause me discomfort, a certain anxiety, because these are things that one does not normally experience and in music I feel that it is cool. It depends on each person’s tastes. And it’s also very funny how you can find a kind of comfort in discomfort.
GO!: Now the last one: they are going to play on the anniversary of The Beast in it Indie Rocks Forum! What can we expect?
C: We are very excited. It’s our first show in the Indie Rocks Forum! and I think that like any band, it’s always good to play there. Diego and I share space in another band called Venimiga and I’ve also been able to play there before. It sounds cool, the band goes, they like it.
Mexico City has always been an important point of convergence for us. When the bands go, people do make the most of the fact that you are there. They have made us feel several times that we are doing great: the band comes, it fills up, they get closer, they get along, they exchange information, they buy the album. There are a ton of things happening all the time.
Finally, what you can expect from the show is obvious: there is going to be a shithole. We are going to live together, we like to live together with the band. I hope they have a great time. Drop him.
GO!: Thank you all very much for your time. A pleasure.
