April: You’re originally from Mexico. When did you move to the US, and why?
Luis: It’s a long story, but the bottom line was I really had nothing to gain and much to lose by staying. I had a degree in physics, and that gave me an opportunity to get out by pursuing a PhD. Originally, I wanted to go to the UK, but their quasi-fascist laws concerning animals meant I couldn’t bring my cats with me without subjecting them to a lengthy, costly, and ultimately pointless four month quarantine in a cage so I opted for the USA instead. Not exactly the best planning or reasoning, perhaps, but I wasn’t really very focused on science or much else beside getting my life back under control at the time, and that’s how I wound up in Maryland, which has become my home away from home, since 1995.

April: How do you think growing up in Mexico influenced you musically?
Luis: Mexico certainly shaped a lot of what I had to say musically, and gave it that mixture of sadness and joy. It’s hard to explain, but living in Mexico City means you are constantly immersed in a surreal juxtaposition of the best and the worst mankind has to offer. Sometimes your brain bends from these stresses, and you begin writing songs like Lamprey Man or Insects. I also think the abundant use of acoustic guitars is something we got from our Mexican roots, because they are cheap and do not need expensive amplifiers and electronic effects to make them sound good, so even if you are broke (like we were back then), chances are you could still afford a decent acoustic you could carry around, ready to play wherever you went.

April: How would you compare the progressive music scene between Mexico and the US?
Luis: That is very hard to say, because I’ve spent the last 10 years living in the US. When I was living in Mexico there was no such thing as a prog scene at all, and in fact we used to think we were the only band playing that style of music, back when everyone wanted to sound like CAFÉ TACUBA, CAIFANES or LA MALDITA VECINDAD. I know there is a new interest over there for prog, spearheaded by Carlos Carsi who keeps bringing great prog bands to play, like BANCO or PFM, but I don’t think there is a scene per se in spite of his considerable (and commendable) efforts. There are some great new bands down there, especially CABEZAS DE CERA, who bring fresh ideas and great musicianship to the table, but overall, the prog scene down there is as underground as it is over here.

April: Has the band lineup undergone any changes? If so, why?
Luis: The original band that played in Mexico City had Alejandro Martini on drums, Francisco Sanchez on Keyboards and Miguel Capistran on acoustic guitar, in addition to Andres, Ricardo and myself. When we broke up and decided to move, they decided to stay in MexicoThe current Core of the band has remained constant for the last 6 years, and it consists of

April: How have you changed since the band started, both musically and personally?
Luis: Well it has been 12 years since we first formed, and obviously a lot has changed, besides my waistline. I guess it all has to do with being willing to listen. I would say I am now a better bass player than I was back then because I learned how to really listen to other people’s playing, especially drummers, and consequently I am more interested in absorbing other people’s music and learning to play in various styles. Personally, I think I am much less prone to socially objectionable behavior. The frustration is still there, along with many unresolved issues, but age has helped me deal with them. For the most part…

April: I’m struck by the fact the nearly all of the information I read on the band is free of comparisons to other bands (except the inevitable comparisons to Kurgan’s Bane). This is pretty unusual. How would you classify your sound – or don’t you?
Luis: I don’t know. I mean, to many progheads we’re too heavy and not keyboard-happy enough. To folks outside of the progrock underground we are a bit of an enigma, because they usually like us in spite of the fact that anything “prog” or “art-rock” is too pretentious and should be hated and ridiculed. What can I say? To me we are just a hard rock band that sometimes likes to play more than 4 chords per song and often likes to sing about the paths less traveled. Call us prog, or whatever, but the most important thing is for us is to make songs that rock.

April: Given the various styles and influences that show up in your music, what inspired you to become a musician? Who influenced you early in your career, musically or personally?
Luis: Most people, if they are honest, will often say it was about longing for money and fame and all the things that come with that. That was certainly a big part of what motivated me as a kid, because growing up I always felt like I was a rat in a maze and all I wanted was a way out. Then when I was 12 years old I heard “See Me, Feel Me” by the Who, and everything changed... I realized music could give me the ability to escape from that maze. After that, I guess it all started with me somehow trying to be equal parts the Who, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull, and about wanting to write something that could be as meaningful to others as their music had been to me.

April: Who influences you now?
Luis: On bass I tend to listen to drummers more than to actual bass players for ideas and inspiration these days. I just love good, interesting grooves, you know? On the song-writing side, I am currently very much on a Beatles phase. The way George Martin was able to take some of those incredible hooks and melodies and make them timeless with clever arrangements is definitely something that has captured my imagination, and worth y of study.

April: What’s currently in your CD player?
Luis: Right now I have “EYESTRINGS, “Burdened hands”, I have the new Parmenter solo disc “Astray”, Kevin Gilbert “The Shaming Of The True”, and the MIGHT COULD EP, because I have to learn their songs to play them at Orion on the 22nd.

April: What usually inspires you to write or create? Written word, other music, people, something else?
Luis: Sometimes it’s watching the news. Sometimes it’s books, and sometimes follows from conversations I’ve had with all sorts of people I’ve met. But mostly, it’s just sadness and frustration at the bittersweet aftertaste of everyday I spend in this world.

April: Does your songwriting style follow a typical pattern, or is it totally unpredictable?
Luis: I never have the slightest pre-conceived idea. I’ll be sitting at home, driving the car, daydreaming doing the laundry, whatever the case may be, and a tune will suddenly enter my head. There is no pattern or method to the writing. It suddenly comes, and if you have a guitar nearby and you try to capture it. If you’re really lucky, it turns out to be something good.

April: Can you comment on some of the themes in your lyrics?
Luis: I see a lot of darker, and frequently political, themes. Everything I write is a result of my sense of frustration and alienation. I use the music as a form of catharsis. It’s the only way I can vent my rage constructively, and politics are present because part of my emotional and mental state has to do with the fact that, like it or not, to quote Bob Dylan: “We live in a political world”. I do not intend to act as a spokesman for anyone, nor am I trying to push any agenda. Songs like “Bone Machines” and “Amnesia Junkies” clearly use political subjects, but they are also much more general, and I believe that the underlying themes can resonate with anyone out there who is also feeling alienated and frustrated, and asphyxiated by impotent rage.

April: How did the Rites of Spring Festival gig come about?
Luis: George Roldan and I met at NEARfest 2000. He had one of his infamous hotel room parties going, and we somehow got into a beer-drinking contest. He valiantly failed to beat me, but we became friends anyway and emailed infrequently afterwards. The following year at NEARfest he suddenly asks me “Hey, If I put together a website, would you write reviews? We want a musician’s perspective rather than a typical reviewer”. As a disclaimer, I should add that I share Hemmingway’s view that critics are basically weasels who watch a battle unfold from safe distance, and wait for the fight to be over to shoot the survivors. I also thought he was probably just drunk and talking for nothing, so naturally I said yes. The ROSfest gig was offered to us in pretty much the same spirit, under similarly inebriated conditions, two years before it was actually organized and took place. If the success of prog4you is any indication, I expect ROSfest to eventually become a major event for progheads.

April: Tell us about your latest CD, ‘Spiritual Vertigo’. What would you like us to know that isn’t in the liner notes?
Luis: That was a very difficult album to make for me personally, because it is brutally and painfully honest. A lot of that material came at a very weird time for me, and I am surprised that we were able to finish it at all. Some critics think it’s great, others think it’s a piece of crap. I’d say if you have an hour to spare, give it a listen with a good pair of headphones. Make your own decisions and fuck the biases of the so-called “expert” critics!

April: How is this CD different from Snapshots Of Limbo?
Luis: Snapshots was about a sense of confusion and misplaced identity. It was about the violence of truth and escapism. Spiritual Vertigo is more about hitting rock bottom and finally starting the long climb out of the dark. It’s more of an uncertain smile, in a way. Obviously it is all told from my perspective and uses parts of my own life to tell the story, but the underlying unity of the album is that the songs try to illustrate the various rationales and moral loopholes we are all guilty of using on a daily basis to ease the pain and the loneliness and somehow fill the vacuum created by this consumerist society we live in.

April: I know you all have day jobs aside from the band. Since Luis and Ricardo both have science-related PhDs, are you guys science geeks or science nerds?
Luis: Well, I guess that depends on how you define nerd. Maybe me and Ricardo are both nerds, with an affinity for alcohol, depression and other excesses?

April: Did the tribute to Brian Hirsch ever see the light of day?
Luis: No, and it’s too bad because he was a guy who was really trying to help the genre, and many of the bands under his label simply walked away. Some disappeared, as they most often do, but I tried for years to get something going and it was all to no avail.

April: If music wasn’t option, and the sky was the limit, what would you CHOOSE to be doing?
Luis: Definitely I’d buy my dream house in the city of Oaxaca. I’d spend half my time living there with my cats, teaching at the University, writing, and catching up on my reading, and the other half traveling around the world.

April: What’s a tabla?
Luis: Based on what we saw at the studio when we were recording Erich Zann, I’d say it’s a remarkable Indian percussion instrument, with both high and low pitch capabilities, and which requires incredible skill and dexterity to operate with any degree of competence.

April: Finally – where do you see Sonus Umbra in 5 years?
Luis: Well, If I dare be optimistic for just a few moments, I’d say that if we were to be extremely lucky and somehow find the stamina to hang in there, in 5 years time we’d likely have 2 or maybe 3 more studio albums under our belts, a few real tours behind us, and we may actually be making a living out of this madness. How’s that for the king of pessimists?

The Prog Palace would like to thank Luis Nasser for taking the time out to answer our questions. To learn more about Sonus Umbra check out their website at http://sonusumbra.com Also check out their lastest CD Spiritual Vertigo now playing by request.

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