One local band is able to seamlessly combine elements of indie rock, pop punk, metal and Japanese rock—often within the confines of one song.
That band is Tourists, a four-piece based in Palm Desert. Nick Galvan (vocalist/guitarist), Zach Rivizzigno (lead guitar/backing vocals), Billy Gargan (bass) and Xavier Ocegueda (drums) all play a part in the band’s genre-encompassing sound. Highlights include the anthemic pop-punk and metalcore combo of “Pace Yourself” and the scorching indie-turned-anime-intro-sequence “Rent Free.”
The band released their debut album, Magic, on Aug. 30. During a recent interview, the group discussed the album’s name.
“When it came down to writing the songs, it’s what we were feeling in the room at the time,” Galvan said. “I always felt kind of shut down in my old musical projects and situations I’ve been with, so to be with these guys, and everything’s like, ‘That sounds good; that sounds good; we should build off that,’ it was very inspiring, and it just felt like magic.”
The band has come a long way since learning covers in a small bedroom.
“We started in a little small apartment in Palm Desert, and we were working together at Islands and coming over after work and shit,’” Galvan said. “Billy’s like, ‘I know a guitar player; I know somebody that might fuck with this,’ so we just started cooking together in a little bedroom setting.”
Added Gargan: “After a year of us figuring out what the sound was and how the writing process was, we really needed a drummer.” Rivizzigno recommended Ocegueda, and the band was set.
It took more than three years between writing their first song and releasing Magic. The members said they spent that time growing as musicians, establishing a positive reputation and developing a musical bond.
“It’s taken a long time for us to develop our sound.” Gargan said. “… This was the first band I’ve ever been a part of. I was learning how to play bass and learning how to gain chemistry with these guys as well. We were all kind of learning each other and how we play instruments with each other. It’s been a long process to where we’re at now, but it’s worth it.”
The unique mix of genres within their music has been pleasing to local audiences, but the sound caused trouble in the production phase.
“It’s a little bit harder than if you were to be just one genre,” Rivizzigno said. “Mixing has archetypes, where an indie-rock song has clean guitars only. It’s pretty easy to figure out a mix for that, but with some of our songs, we have little bits of metal riffs, and then little bits of clean riffs, and you have a lot of movement going on. Billy’s doing a lot of crazy bass lines; Xavier’s got a very maximalist approach to drums, and then you have me and Nick’s guitars, which is the most opposing yet interlocking dynamic. Nick has the more chordal rhythmic approach, while I do both leaks and rhythms, and I almost have a completely different guitar tone from Nick, too. It’s very busy music, so it is harder to mix that in a way that can appease every little aspect of it.”
The band had high praise for Paul Francis, of Get Right Recording in Joshua Tree, for nailing their eclectic sound.
Each song can have its own different sonic flavor,” Rivizzigno said. “‘Starting Over’ has distorted, heavy rhythm guitars, while ‘Senseless’ has more spacey, droning parts, but also pop-punk parts. Each song has to be mixed differently, so it’s a little bit tough to do that, but we make it work. Paul from Get Right Recording does a really good job being accommodating with that.”
“Only three of the album’s 10 songs have been previously released, meaning seven new genre-bending songs are being added to Tourists’ repertoire.”
Added Ocegueda: “I worked with Paul prior with another project … and approaching that was a bit of a learning curve. I remember taking mental notes, that when I do another project, I know exactly how to go about it. This time, I knew things I would like to try. … This was the first time I was able to bring real creativity to natural drums, as opposed to just whatever drum track was on the computer. It’s kind of nice, and having a raw sound is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Only three of the album’s 10 songs have been previously released, meaning seven new genre-bending songs are being added to Tourists’ repertoire. Songs like the groove-pop earworm “Trouble in Paradise,” the explicitly funky interlude à la Adult Swim bumper “Clarity” and the punk-metal-pop hybrid “Rendezvous” show the diversity of the band’s musical palette; the album is a well-polished product after years of writing.
“The songs have been a slow burn,” Rivizzigno said. “… If you go back to the very first couple of Tourists shows, I’m playing some of the songs completely different from how they sound now, because it was a slow process of writing them over time, which is not what I used to do. I usually just write stuff on the computer myself, but this was writing as I play them live and learning what’s easier for me, what the audience likes, and what I like. It was a very long writing process, and I think the songs are at their peak form right now.”
The band noticed a lot of growth during their live shows.
“Playing live together has really helped us out a lot,” Gargan said. “We’ve had good shows, and we’ve had shows where we’re like, ‘Oh, we could have worked on this; I could have played bass better.’ This band has really come together as one unit, and like Zach said, it’s been a process. My parts have changed over time; Xavier’s parts have changed over time; Nick has changed things over time.”
Releasing a debut album, especially after years of pouring love and effort into the creation, can lead to a number of emotions. For Tourists, a big one is excitement.
“I’m so excited to play good music with genuine people, and I’m excited for people to hear this,” Ocegueda said. “Honestly, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I’m excited to see it happen.”
Another big emotion is hope—that this album will both serve as a representation of a diverse scene, and inspiration for other musicians and creatives.
“I think the scene here is good, because it’s been really about community, and that’s what I care about more than fame or anything like that,” Rivizzigno said. “I like the fact that these shows, and playing music for people, offer a space for people to get along and enjoy the music. I hope people will be reminded of that when they listen to this album. All the different styles that we merge together, I hope, will be a testament to the eclecticism of the valley, and all the different genres people like.”
Learn more at www.instagram.com/touristsmusic.
