Jonathan Nuñez (far left) and Torche (photo: Janette Valentine)
Interview by Julie Kolakowski
Jonathan Nuñez, Miami native and bassist of stoner-rock/pop-metal band Torche, recently gave us his point of view on the music scene he grew up living and loving. These days, Miami may be known for Pitbull and the electronic Ultra Music Festival, but Nuñez tells us about the small and family-like Miami punk-rock music scene that’s still alive and well.
Do you remember the first show you ever went to? Where was it?
Yeah… the first show I ever went to was The Vandals, a punk band. The Vandals and Lunachicks, in downtown Miami.
As a touring band, Torche gets to see a lot of different places and music scenes. How would you compare Miami’s music scene to other scenes you’ve visited?
Miami’s just a very unique place because there’s just a lot going on, as far as music goes. For instance, Torche and a bunch of other local bands that I’m friends with that I get to record [Nuñez runs a recording studio] and go see play… it’s not like New York or Chicago or Austin. I would say Miami reminds me of Los Angeles; there’s a unique energy compared to other scenes. I would say Miami is very comparable to LA in certain aspects, but it’s just big city with tons of stuff going on.
What sets it apart from other scenes?
I would say there’s a stronger sense of community. I can’t say for sure, because I’m only from here. The scene here is smaller than many other places, but it’s also stronger and people are closer knit together and they really do play hard and have heart, and just have a certain energy down here, I don’t know like… hyperactive Hispanics or something like that; I’m not sure. [Laughs]
What’s your favorite venue to play in Miami, and is it the same as your favorite venue to go and watch a show?
Yes, that pretty much sums it up, I love playing where I like to go see bands, and that would be at Churchill’s in Little Haiti. It’s an anything-goes venue. Recently, people were getting nervous because it was sold to new owners, but I think the owners got a quick taste of how not to change something that had pretty much been running itself. The sound system is good, the stage isn’t too big or set back from the crowd; it allows bands to do their thing. It’s a place where it feels like home, and it’s a place where I never ever feel out of place or awkward, in a city where a lot of stuff pops up and goes away, and there’s generally not a lot of live music venues. House shows, to me, are always a blast, and Churchill’s is as close as you can get to a house-show atmosphere. It’s great because as long as the place is open, anyone can go in and book it. There’s always something going on. Always. When in doubt, that’s the place to go.
What about Tobacco Road? Did you ever spent much time there?
Yeah I’ve seen some friend’s bands there, and a lot of my brother’s friends played there and went there. I’ve had some good times there. They sold the building, so they closed it down. I don’t know if they’re relocating it across the street or somewhere nearby, but that was a 100-year-old bar, or something like that; it had the oldest liquor license in Miami. The atmosphere was very cool… this old, grimy aesthetic, almost like being inside a pirate ship or something like that; the captain’s quarters or something. It’s not Churchill’s, but it’s different in its own way.
It had been around for so long, I feel it was such a cultural piece of Miami.
A landmark, yeah. It sucks, but I guess it was a victim of condos and high-rises; tearing down the old. It’s a shame they tear down so many old, historic buildings that hold the history of the city, just to put up something new and modern. I like how certain countries and cities will preserve their history and you can see all their architecture, and they preserve the landmarks.
Where did you write your upcoming album, Restarter?
We wrote it here, in my house! I have a recording studio in Pinecrest.
Did writing the album in Miami affect the writing process? Was any of it influenced by where you were?
Yeah, I was actually thinking about that recently. We’ve written songs here in Miami, we’ve written songs in Gainesville, and I feel that where your head’s at every day when you wake up, and what you’ve been thinking about and listening to, it’ll all reflect in your musical creativity and output… Like, if you heard, I don’t know, Slayer’s “Raining Blood” on the way to practice you might write something fast and heavy, and that might match up with the weather outside or something you heard or saw that’s now influencing you, or making you think of something. Inspiration is all around you and it comes in many different forms, not just a song you listen to; even the food you eat can make you feel a certain way, and because you feel like that it will translate into the next riff. And if you need a second to just take a break, you can go outside and it’s generally nice here, so that can’t be a bad thing, as far as the sun recharging you. You know, hug a tree and eat a mango, make a smoothie, and enjoy some rays, man. If you take a break and it’s nice outside, you want to go back in and do something good, but if the weather was shitty or something was bringing you down, it would automatically reflect how you feel and what you do when you go back in the room. Being around the Miami palm trees, the mango trees, the avocado trees, and enjoying the fruit of life will definitely inspire you. If not, man, then I don’t know what’ll inspire you.
Torche’s Restarter will be out in February on Relapse Records.
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