San Antonio indie rockers INOHA are poised to release their second full length album after teasing new music with a handful of high-energy singles. The band has cultivated a devoted fanbase with their genuine relatability and stellar live shows- and more of those are on the way with their upcoming fall tour. Atlas spoke with the group- singer Keanu Bicol, drummer Ricky Juarez, bassist Christian Young and guitarist Gavin Gonzalez- via email about how this record came together, their creative process as a band, future goals and making sure to have plenty of gummy candies on the road.
Atlas: How did INOHA come to be? What brought you all together, and how did you decide on your sound as a band?
Keanu: Ricky and I were in a previous band together, and I came up to him one day and said, “Hey, I have an idea. It’s going to be completely unserious. It’s going to be a side project. Nothing is going to happen from this.”
We played a couple of open mics together and made a song or two. That’s when we met Chris, our bass player. He literally slid into our DMs and said, “Hey, do you guys need a bass player? ” And we were like, “Yeah, we could use a bass player.”
Then we met Gavin. At the time, he was playing drums for five bands, but he mentioned to me that he wanted to play guitar in a band because guitar was actually his first instrument. We said, “Why don’t you come jam with us?” And that’s pretty much how we came to be.
Atlas: Tell us the story behind this upcoming album. What was your creative process like? Do you tend to focus on lyrics first before writing the music, or does the melody inspire the story?
Christian: The creative process for this album was a little different. We all decided to go off with our own ideas individually and flesh them out a little more before everyone got to pick each other’s ideas apart and take their favorite things. We all listened to and heard each other a little more than we had with our usual process.
Most of the time, it started with melodies and vague ideas, and then we wrote to those. Keanu might have a riff, Gavin might have a riff, or Ricky might have an idea on piano. We’d take those ideas, flesh them out, and write about what we were feeling or what was happening around us at the time.
After we put everything together, we realized that our favorite songs were all talking about one consistent theme: pressure. That became the main theme of the album. There wasn’t really a moment where we sat down and said, “This is what the album is going to be about.” It was more like, “Hey, we just ended up writing a bunch of songs about this thing, and they all fit together really well. Let’s do it.”
Atlas: What inspires your storytelling outside of other artists or other music? What other aspects of life are you pulling from when writing songs?
Gavin: I’m not lyrically inclined, so the avenue of expression I’m most confident in is my instrument. When I’m writing songs or writing my parts, I have to hear another song within our song. I’ll think, “This sounds like this song by this artist,” and I’ll listen to what they’re doing and find a way to emulate that in ours. Somehow, with the way my guitar tones and playing style come through, it naturally ends up sounding unique to us.
Some songs are really easy to write for, while others are really hard. For example, we have a song on the album called “Between Us”. Keanu had a riff for that, and I changed a few notes, changed the way it was played, and changed the guitar sound to make it really lush and almost ambient. Originally, it was almost poppy, and I think those changes helped set the tone for the song in a way people might not expect.
With some of the other songs, I completely scrapped ideas that had already been recorded and said, “We’re going to write something completely different.” But everything comes back to the emotion that’s already in the song. The rest of the guys give me the bones and the structure, and I’m the icing on top complementing it all. Whatever a particular song is portraying to me emotionally somehow gets translated into my guitar sound. I can’t really explain it. It’s just part of being a musician and the way I express myself.
Ricky: As the drummer, I’m obviously not singing the words, so my main contribution to the storytelling is through composing the drums. Something I’ve noticed about myself in life is that I’m good at translating and negotiating between people. If two people I love are having an argument and I’m part of that conversation, I can almost act as a referee. I can amplify what needs to be amplified, call attention to what needs attention, and also know when to stay out of the way.
I bring that same instinct into my drum compositions. I accent what needs to be accented, stay out of what I need to stay out of, and participate where it feels appropriate. That’s how I find my pocket within the song.
Atlas: Your latest singles have done incredible numbers. How are you feeling about that success and the excitement going into the album release? What’s the best comment or reaction you’ve gotten from fans about the new music so far?
Christian: I think the biggest reaction so far has come from “Everything Is Nothing.” We’ve had a lot of people already saying, “This is the best song on the album.”
We’ve also gotten a lot of comments about “Downpour” and “Checking Out,” with people noticing that this is a different direction and a different sound for us. Some people are immediately super into it, while others are still curious and trying to figure out what it means for the sound of the full album. Overall, I think people are excited about the new things that are coming.
Gavin: For me, it’s bittersweet. On one hand, I’m optimistic because our first album was successful and we had some very successful songs, so naturally that gives us a larger platform going into this record.
On the other hand, there’s always that feeling of, “We had a really successful first album. How are we going to top it?” There’s pressure for this album to succeed. Yes, we write for ourselves and write what we want to write, but at the same time, we can’t neglect the fans. It’s a mutual relationship. We want to make music for ourselves, but we also want other people to enjoy it.
There’s a lot of anticipation and, for me personally, some anxiety around wanting to see it succeed because we’re all extremely proud of this album- arguably even more so than the first one. A lot of hard work and a lot of hours went into it. Success is in the eye of the beholder, but for me, I’d love to see bigger streaming numbers than the first album, bigger tour shows and continued growth.
Atlas: Is there a particular track on this album that you find yourselves gravitating toward more than others or one that is particularly special? What are you hoping fans take away from this album?
Gavin: I think we can all say the song we’re most excited about is “Between Us.” It’s just a solid song with a great sound. It’s one of the longer songs we’ve written, but in a good way. I’m super excited for that song to come out, and I think we all see a lot of potential in it.
As far as what we hope fans take away from the album, I think it’s about growing with us. A lot of our fan base is pretty young- anywhere from middle school through their mid-20s or early 30s. When we wrote our first album, we were in our late teens and early 20s ourselves.
We want our audience to grow and mature with us, especially when it comes to our sound. We wrote very youthful music on our first album. I’m not saying this album isn’t youthful, but we’re definitely tackling some more adult topics, including depression, anxiety and relationships. If our audience can still resonate with the topics and themes we’re tackling and feel like we’re something they can identify with, that’s what I hope they take away from it.
Atlas: Your tour is coming up as well. What are you most looking forward to about being back on the road? Any songs you’re especially excited to perform? And what’s on your rider that’s an absolute must?
Christian: I’m most excited to play some new cities and, obviously, to play the new songs live. I’m really excited to see how the fans react to them.
When we were on the Good Kid tour, Good Kid had released their album only a week or two before, and everyone already knew the words. I really want that to happen with our album — to have people singing the new songs and knowing the new lyrics.
Gavin: The song I’m most excited to perform is “Burden”. I think it’s a great song and a really cool blend of every sound we’ve ever tackled. It’s very expressive in parts, and I think our fans are really going to like it. I think it’s one of the best songs we’ve ever written, so I’m really proud of that one.
As far as our rider goes, I have three answers: Life Savers Gummies- specifically the Wild Berries ones- protein shakes and fiber supplements. Those are the three big ones. That is basically our rider. The gummies are especially important to Keanu. He cannot go a day without them, to the point where tour managers from other bands will bring them to him when we’re touring together.
Ricky: I’m also really excited just to see all of our fans again in all of the different cities.
The song I’m most excited to play is “Bend”. It’s one of our more upbeat songs and has a lot of energy. I’m excited to see how fans respond to it and how we acclimate it to the live space. There are elements in that song that we can expand on to make it even more impactful during the live show.
And Gavin nailed the rider. Those are definitely the essentials.
Atlas: The record and tour are obviously at the forefront right now, but what else is in the future for INOHA? What goals are you reaching toward after this year?
Keanu: We really want to play more festivals. I think that’s our next big goal- playing places like Lollapalooza and Riot Fest. We got our first taste of that at ACL and it was pretty awesome. We want that feeling again: being at the festival, hanging out, getting some good food and then going out and playing a great show alongside artists like Sabrina Carpenter or The Strokes. Festivals are definitely a big goal for us.
Atlas: Is there anything else you want people to know about you or your music? Is there anything you wish you got to talk about more that people may not ask?
Gavin: One thing I wish people asked us more is where we’re from and what our favorite thing is about our city.
We’re from San Antonio, Texas, born and raised. My personal favorite thing about San Antonio is that it’s such a cultural melting pot- and because of that, the food is amazing. You can go somewhere like New York and get any type of food you want too, but for some reason, in Texas it just tastes better to me. Maybe it’s because it’s home.
Stream This Might Be Useful, out September 4th!
Photo credit: Jacob Glombowski
