Band: Dolores
From: San Jose, California
Their formation story:
(Leo Lopez, vocals): "You could say we were founded by guitarist Joey Ruiz and myself. We go way back and played together in one form or another. We went through some lineup changes before solidifying our roster in late 2020 with bassist Luis Chevere and drummer Jordan Albano.
"Joey and I do most of the song writing, while Luis and Jordan lock in their parts and crush it live. We went with the name Dolores because we liked how it reflected our Hispanic/Latin ancestry and that at least for us means 'the pains of life,' tu sabes, dolores."
Their sound in their own words:
"We are definitely fans of minimalist chunky riffs, laid back in the pocket drums, with a flavor only San Jose could cultivate, we like to call it 'Cholo Groove.' We take that as the core idea of the base, then add elements of bay area thrash, punk, and breakdowns in the vein of meat 'n' potatoes hardcore with some crossing over in the realm of beatdown.
"We have a singular vision for the band, but each member definitely pulls from their influences. Joey brings his trash and crossover riffage, Luis is heavily influenced by doom and stoner metal bands, Jordan tends to draw from his death metal and nu metal past projects, and I was big into street punk, Oi!, gutter punk, crust punk, anarcho punk, and on the backpackin lyricist hip=hop. For all of us too, skateboard/BMX culture is definitely what we pull from as far as vibe/lifestyle."
Latest release info:
"Our latest release that just dropped on Dec 29th/2023, it entitled This Side of the Dirt. It's a 4-song EP that we recorded at The Panda Studio (Heavy Heavy Low Low, The Story So Far, Sunami) with engineer Charles Toshio. This is our darkest album to date with many of the songs written during the covid lockdowns of 2021.
"The overarching theme of the body of work is death and the urgency of getting the most done that we can while we are still on 'this side of the dirt.' Songs such as 'FIREBOMB' deal with the devastation to the Black community with the utter destruction of Black Wall Street. 'Fentanyl Ghost' is a call of frustration at how Big Business, corporate greed, and government oversight led to the opioid crisis and the death of hundreds of thousands, including many of our good friends along the way."
Future plans:
"We want to get back to touring for sure. We have some runs already planned out with hopefully many more by end of year. We are most definitely interested in playing at a few of the festivals that have been going utterly gorilla shit!! We also have plans on releasing another two eps by the end of 2024. So all in all we want to keep on the grind and keep reaching out to as many that will have us!"
What other bands from the region should we check out?
"There are so many good bands popping in NorCal right now, no cap it's a damn renaissance. Ill start with some fellow Bay Area homies, Here at the End, Forced to Suffer, Caveman, Game of LIfe, Cruel Idols, Decades In, honestly too many to name.
"Let me throw in some Central Valley homies that are killing it right now, too: Disperser, Mired, Magnify, Scathe, Wise Guy, and Dying Down."
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Hit up the Dolores Linktree to find all of their social media pages.
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