Band Interview Of The Day – exPorter

If could introduce yourselves for us, who are you?

Destin Cavazos: Hello Almost Anything Music. We are exPorter which is sort of like almost music so thanks for having us! I’m Destin and I play bass and sing some of our songs.

Alec Cavazos: I’m Alec, I play guitar and sing the other songs. Our drummer Henry (Kish) is in Europe somewhere right now.

How did you all meet?

Destin: Well Alec and I are brothers so I’ve known him his whole life.

Alec: Yeah but I don’t remember the early years cause Destin is 5 years older. So he’s know me my whole life, I’ve “known” him since I was maybe 5?

And Henry and I used to play baseball together as kids so even though we didn’t form the band that long ago we’ve all know each other for a pretty long time.

How long have you been playing?

Destin: Alec and I started playing when we were kids. We used to rock out on Rock Band on the Wii and one day our dad came in and said if you can play pretend instruments you can play real ones. So that’s the real origin story of how we even became a band, thanks Nintendo!

I think Henry also started playing around with drums probably around the same time. Even though this wouldn’t all come together until 2017-ish, we all started out as kids learning music.

What three words would you use to describe the music you play?

Destin: I’d call us electric, engaging, and evocative. We put the “E” in exPorter.

Alec: Sexy, energetic, pop-punk

What are your musical influences?

Alec: Blink-182 and early Green Day, really all of the 90’s pop-punk vibe are the core of our sound I think. I know for me Blink, and Tom DeLonge especially, influence my stuff. Lately stuff like Modern Baseball or Joyce Manor have been pretty influential on me, especially for how I’m writing lyrics.

Destin: It’s actually a pretty hard question because I think there are so many things that influence our band. And for bands we really have so many. Henry I know is a huge Who fan and when you listen to a track you might not think we’re the Who but if you listen to some of his drum parts you will pick it up.

And I agree with Alec that the 90’s po-punk is for sure in our sound but then you add bands from the 80’s like the Smiths or Crowded House or any of the bands that our parents were fans of because that was the music that was always on in our house. Every one probably knows “Don’t Dream it’s Over” but I probably listened to all of Neil Finn’s entire catalogue cause our dad is a huge fan. Not a bad influence either cause I think Neil Finn is one of the best songwriters ever.

From my side I know I bring something from the emo bands I grew up listening to like Fall Out Boy or Panic. Death Cab for Cutie is probably my favorite band. And then there’s the Riot Girl era and female-led rock bands that also shaped a lot of our sound; bands like Garbage, No Doubt, Blondie etc – newer artists like Charly Bliss, Snail Mail, Cherry Glazerr, etc.

I think maybe it all works though and hopefully gives our band some depth. Don’t pigeonhole our sound, we play everything 😊

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen during a show?

Destin: Define weird? One time their was this homeless guy just wearing shorts that was dancing in front of the stage. But it was actually really cool cause he was having such a good time.

Alec: We did the Santa Barbara Fair right after the pandemic and it was packed. During one of our songs this crazy guy just sprinted in from of the stage. Like he wasn’t just passing through, that guy was flying. I remember saying “run Forest!” which was pretty funny. But that fair had like 10,000 people there so we can now say we played to a crowd on 10,000 and that one sprinty dude.

Being away from the stages in the last few years, where was the first place you visited when the restrictions were lifted?

Destin: This one’s easy – we went straight into the studio to record some songs. During COVID Alec and I were both staying at our parents’ house. It was like we were kids again but it was great because we were able to jam and write new stuff. We had these two that we were really happy about, “Lassie” and “Elizabeth” and we thought it would be cool to put them out as this double single. As soon as it was safe, we went in and got those songs recorded.

When we put them out they started getting played on the radio and there was a pretty cool reception to them so we thought, we have these other songs too that we’ve been working on so we should just make a whole album.

What’s the one record you own but wouldn’t ever admit to owning?

Alec: I know for Destin and Henry, they’re pretty open about music and really love all kinds of bands. I am pretty much the same way. I was asked once what someone would be surprised to find on my playlist and it was the new Taylor Swift album(s) Folklore and Evermore. I guess it doesn’t count cause I admit it all the time but they are so good and I feel that on the surface, someone who just met me wouldn’t expect that from someone who mainly listens to pop punk music. I’ve been getting more into folk type music over the past year, so to see the pop icon put out two banger folk albums in one year was cool.

What have you been listening in the last few weeks?

Destin: Paramore’s new album. The new Bully song with Soccer Mommy.

Alec: The New Heart Attack Man and Trophy Eyes…Also the Little Green House album by Anxious.

Are there any releases you have planned in the near future?

Alec: Yes. Our song “Lusitania” has been getting some airplay so we’re pushing and promoting that song right now. But we’re also trying to figure out what the next featured single should be. We have a pretty good idea but everyone should go check out our album “NoBreaksNoBreaksNoBreaks” and let us know what it should be.

Destin: Everyone who guesses the winning song gets a free sticker if you come out to one of our shows!

Check out the track, ‘Lusitania’ below.