One of the valley’s newest bands is being welcomed with open arms by desert creatives.
Indie-rock group Domestic Stars features Jeff Aquino (guitar and vocals), Lauren Brennan (guitar and vocals), Riley Baker (bass and vocals) and Alex Renteria (drums). They mix light-hearted and fun group dynamics with emotional lyrics—crafting a unique musical mix, which they intend to put on full display on their debut EP, coming soon.
During a recent phone interview with Aquino, Baker, and Brennan, they explained how Domestic Stars was formed thanks to Gré Records and Coffee.
“We all pretty much met here,” Aquino said. “…. Lauren had been frequenting open mics, and how it happened was really strange, because it was just Alex and I for a minute.”
Added Brennan: “You texted me and you were like, ‘Hey, I just started the band; do you want to come in and see if you like the vibe? We need a bassist. I came in one day and I got this $50 bass, and I started playing bass for the band.”
Baker explained that Brennan moved to guitar when he returned to the area from Northern California. “Bass is actually my main instrument, so I was very happy to step in since I used to work with Jeff, and Lauren and I have known each other for years.”
Domestic Stars has experienced a lot of love since the band started performing, they said.
“It’s been such a cool experience, being able to perform in a lot of different settings in the valley,” Brennan said. “We had backyard shows … and then a great gig at Bart Lounge. It seems to me that there’s a great group of people, and no matter where we go in the valley, they’re very welcoming and just very supportive of new artists. After almost every gig, people are coming up to us like, ‘You guys are great! Where can we find you?’”
Aquino gave some shoutouts to members of the local music scene who helped the band.
“Danza De Luna from Bart Lounge, he worked with us, and he’s doing really cool things at Bart Lounge, like helping out local acts,” Aquino said. “… We did our last gig in Sky Valley, and we had people from Town Troubles there. Grease Trap was there, Lazuli Bones—and everyone was helping. Even Madi (Ebersole, frontwoman of Lazuli Bones), she was helping us out during our set, fixing the lights and stuff.”
They said they were surprised to see how crazy some of the crowds can get.
“I have a jazz and orchestra background when it comes to bass, so getting to be in an environment where people are actually dancing and stuff is wild, and it’s so fun.”
Domestic Stars Bassist Riley Baker
“I have a jazz and orchestra background when it comes to bass, so getting to be in an environment where people are actually dancing and stuff is wild, and it’s so fun,” Baker said. “I’m having the time of my life actually seeing people enthusiastic and moshing. It’s very fulfilling to see people actively enjoying the music instead of just sitting there staring at you in an auditorium playing some classical shit.”
The band recently performed at Bart Lounge for a special Scott Pilgrim theme night. Domestic Stars performed songs from the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and invited people to cosplay as characters from the movie. Aquino said the band has been influenced by the film.
“There’s so much stuff in there that is teeming with pop culture that it’s hard not to be influenced by something in Scott Pilgrim,” he said. “… Another cool thing about that is it did so well that it was able to, a billion years later, bring a whole bunch of people from the valley together and really have a moment with each other.”
Baker said the event featured some impressive cosplay.
“We had this one person dress up as Envy Adams (played in the film by Brie Larson), and during the second or third set of the night, when we played ‘Black Sheep,’ she was standing up there with a fake microphone lip-syncing. We pulled her up to the front, and everyone made a circle around this random person. It was totally like acting in a shadow cast.”
While the band can be goofy, their original music often explores darker, more serious themes.
“Jeff wrote this great song called ‘Drown’ about Hurricane Hilary,” Brennan said. “We were supposed to practice right as it was rolling in, and I was going through it, as I always am. I sent a text in the group chat, and I was like, ‘Let the flood take me; let the flood wash me away. I am so done.’ Jeff was like, ‘This is a great idea for song.’ He wrote ‘Drown,’ and it’s this really cool, oddly beautiful song.”
Aquino explained: “I went to practice, and I drove through the hurricane, and the thing is, I really felt like I could have died. I told myself, ‘If I get home, I’m just going to do this song.’”
Another song, “Inverted World,” is about regrets and missing out on things, while another, “i am (dead),” is about hands reaching out from the ground. Aquino went so far as to describe the band’s subject material as “all bummer shit.”
Baker explained: “I think lots of us in the band gravitate toward really grotesque imagery, and we all are a little bit unstable. We all are kind of poetic, in a sense, so I think we just turn that into whatever we can. We pull inspiration for our sound from the’80s gothic stuff, and I’m really into gothic literature, 1800s type stuff, so I think we kind of all just draw from that for our vibe s.”
Domestic Stars plans to release their debut EP any day now, although they said that could change, because they want to make sure they put out a quality first recording, with the help of a sound engineer/producer.
“We want to make it the best we can,” Brennan said. “We want to put out real good quality, and if we’re not happy with the way that it shows up, we’re going to try our best to be as good as we can.”
For more information, visit www.instagram.com/domesticstars.