Sundial interview with Jose Galvez - October 18, 2001
| Print interview with Jose Galvez | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Sundial |
| Published | October 18, 2001 |
| Interviewer | Natalie Warman |
| Interviewee | Jose Galvez |
| Title | CSUN student finds pop success |
| Format | |
| External link | Archived via CSN University Library (page one) Archived via CSN University Library (page two) |
| References | See where this article is referenced on Weezerpedia |
|
CSUN student finds pop success The band Ozma, which started with five high school students who thought it would be fun to be in a band, have come a long way. Ozma's music is called pop alternative by their fans, and is most commonly compared to the ultra-popular, Weezer. "I'd never taken any music lessons before I just always wanted to be in a band," said Jose Galvez, Ozma's bass player. "I just told the other band members I knew how to play, and then just started learning as we went." Galvez, a senior television production major at CSUN, started the band in high school with drummer Pat Edwards, guitar and vocals Ryen Slegr, bass and vocals Daniel Brummel and keyboardist Star Wick. When they originally released their first CD "Rock and Roll Part Three" in December 1999, they funded it entirely themselves and hoped to make back what it cost them. They made that and much more. The band sold 5,000 copies just through shows and their Web site. Their CD was rereleased in stores in September and has already sold over 1,300 copies. They owe much of their early success to word of mouth and Napster, said Galvez. Ozma started out the way most bands do from the ground up, by playing parties and small coffeehouses. "Wherever we could play, we played," said Galvez. He leaned over and mumbled under his breath, "Oh yeah, and we're playing two shows in Japan at the end of this month," in which they're headlining. Galvez and Slegr write most of the band's songs together. All they need is one strong melody, he said. "We start off small and the songs just build." When listening to their 11-track CD, you can tell this is a talented band that doesn't take their music too seriously. While all the songs are finely crafted, each of them lights a spark of their personalities. One of the songs "Natalie Portman," is about [...] band member's fascination [...] the actress, and asks, "If I'm a proper Jewish boy, will her family love me?" The song "In Search of 1988," talks about their d[...] of going back to 1987 - [...] place in heaven, and great [...] times such as Mario and Luigi [...] As long as he can remember, Galvez' favorite band has been Weezer. When he and another band member went to last year's Warped Tour and talked to Weezer vocalist Rivers Cuomo, he told them he loved their [...]. The rest is history, as Ozma spent last spring opening for Weezer on their U.S. tour. This was Ozma's first national tour and the experience has helped [...] the band's popularity. "We got a great fan response," Galvez said. "Our fan base grew from local to nationwide." The tour forced Galvez, as well as Slegr and Brummel, who attend UCLA, to take a semester off from school. The experience was incredi[...] once in a lifetime, he said, [...] the tour, "when we did [..] people knew who we [..]he said. Shortly after the tour in June, the group signed a record deal with Kung Fu Records. They are emjoying their success, but now that they are all back in school, they can't be as devoted as they want to, said Galvez. They all want to graduate before they fully devote their time to the band. "We think it's a great example to set for younger fans," he said. As of now, the band is mainly playing local venues whenever they have a free moment. After they graduate, they want to see how far they can take the band and hopefully record more CD's. "This is our job and our hobby," said Galvez. "It's always just been for fun and has just turned into a success." |