Vicente Rodriguez
Staff Photographer
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length.
Paleshifter is a local alternative band based in the Inland Empire. The band members – lead vocalist and guitarist Justin Cardoze, bassist Oscar Chilapa and drummer Joshua Tirtasamudra – sat down to discuss their upcoming album, the recording process, preparation for shows and other things. You can find them at @paleshifter on all social media platforms and on streaming services.
What is the goal for the album?
Cardoze: The goal for the album is to have the same effect of the end of a good film that you enjoy, that it resonates with you. You think about it and you rewatch scenes in your head and you love the way it translates. So musically I want to do that. Recreate that feeling of a new experience. I love riffs, I love incorporating interesting production into the song. The goal is for it to have a timeless feel to it and you constantly put it in rotation.
How is the recording process?
Cardoze: The progress has been pretty stable. We record two to three songs. The first session was three songs but we try to expedite the recording. We do two songs per session. I record it all myself with all the equipment. Like that, do-it-yourself approach. It’s cumbersome a little bit but it’s always awesome to hear the results of our performances.
What is the album name?
Cardoze: “Always a Pleasure,” is the album name. The meaning of that is a double meaning. You know it was always a pleasure, you could say that sarcastically. Like you get into traffic, oh it’s always a pleasure or you like sushi it’s always a pleasure to get sushi. So it’s ambiguous.
How many songs are on the record?
Cardoze: It’s going to be ten songs because a lot of my favorite albums are ten songs, and that’s a very consistent amount of songs. So you got five songs side A, five songs side B. We have about 60% of that right now.
Tirtasamudra: It makes it cohesive too. It’s not too long, it’s not too short. It’s right in the middle.
Cardoze: The songs aren’t two minute songs either. They’re about four minutes, so it’s gonna make the record feel longer.
How do you guys settle differences?
Cardoze: We had a little bit of that today. We find a common ground. Always open to new ways of composition. You can’t be close minded.
Chilapa: We always try it out. We always run through some ideas and if we all agree, ‘Oh this might not work,’ or, ‘This might work.’ We usually just come to this understanding. It’s always trial and error.
Cardoze: It’s a very healthy way of how we handle differences. It’s not like we’re going at each other’s throats. We’re all very nice and respectful of each other. It’s cool because what I’ve learned about being in this band is that if there’s a specific demo that we have for the song, it’s best to not get married to the idea of it and allow change and allow room for growth. So that way you’re not very close minded to a specific way. Allow room for change and embrace it as well too.
How do you guys prepare for a show?
Cardoze: It’s a normal day for me up until we get to the venue. When it’s time to leave, there’s a sense of anxiety where it’s not performance anxiety, it’s more of an itch. I just want to get up on stage and start playing. Preparation is to go over the lyrics, make sure I got that straight because there are times where I could forget lyrics. That can happen but no one really notices but it sits with me. I try to go over the parts in my head and listen to the songs or the demos that we have if we are debuting a new song.
Tirtasamudra: To be quite honest, there has been a few shows where we actually didn’t even rehearse for it. We just showed up and did it. The thing is we are so well rehearsed and well prepped as a band, even, individually as well too, where going up when we actually do it, it just feels like we didn’t need to rehearse.
Cardoze: We’ve done the last three shows with no rehearsals and we just nailed it, man.Those have been somewhat of our best shows ironically. The biggest response.
Cardoze: At the recent show at the dba we didn’t even rehearse, we just played it. And it still sounded good.
Chilapa: Usually for me how I ease my nerves before a show, I like to go to my local pho shop and get a nice grilled pork sandwich before. Only eat a little bit, can’t eat a lot or else I’ll be sleeping on stage. It helps me calm down.
How does creating a song start?
Cardoze: Creating a song usually starts with the riff. I’ll just be jamming on a guitar and if I have to really think about writing a riff it doesn’t come through.I let inspiration happen naturally. This new song that we just wrote, the riff came in the spur of the moment. I was joking about, OK I’m going to write this song about my girlfriend and I just started and I wrote the riff literally just looking at her. I played it randomly and I was like, ‘Oh wait this might work.’ It’s just spontaneous, honestly. Then I have to record it and sleep on it. I listen to it the next day and if I still like it then I’ll move forward with it. If not then it leaves my faculties. It’s no longer in my memories.
Tirtasamudra: What’s cool about all of us is that we have similar but different music tastes as well. It’s 50/50 but it really meshes well. When it comes to drumming I did grow up on punk and hardcore but at the same time I grew up with very contemporary Christian worship background. There’s certain elements I mesh together. If I play a pattern at my church sometimes I’ll even implement that onto the records and it allows it to be expanded on when it comes to the creating process.
Cardoze: We incorporate a lot of outlandish influences. We just pull from random things. In the spur of the moment when jamming on the song that we’re trying to write it and I’m like, ‘Oh wait, this reminds me of this song.’ Then we go based on that inspiration.
Chilapa: I just take inspiration from other records and apply it to like our own unique taste. With “Another Escape,” that bassline that I wrote was inspired by this song from Mudvayne called “Death Blooms,” where the bass player does this crazy gnarly bassline with the vocalist. Where I’m like, ‘I could emulate some sort of bassline similar.’
Do you have a release date for the album?
Cardoze: I used to create release dates and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. It adds a bit of stress and it might not be productive to the album. Sometimes it’s counterproductive because then I start to overthink it. Like, do I think I’m going to get this done by the date. It’s good to set deadlines because it forces you to actually get work done. But back to release date, I mean early spring but who knows?
What’s your overall goal with the band?
Cardoze: To go as far as we can while remaining true to who we are. I don’t necessarily want to make it so it’s ultra-mainstream but it’s just more you’re known within the local scene or within the scene out there. Even within the social media where, like, what’s the latest, newest alternative band out there, or latest local grunge band? I don’t expect some kind of sustainment financially with it. It would be cool but you got to be realistic. But it’s to go as far as we can with the music and expand it. Keep pushing out the greatest records we can.
Chilapa: And hopefully start touring with other bands too.
Cardoze: I think that’s a great thing that we get to meet bands that we’ve grown up with and admire and even local bands.
Tirtasamudra: Pretty much the same for me but on a personal level for me if this thing gets big enough it would be cool to retire my parents. I’ve always thought of that.
Cardoze: We want to experience everything we can before we go. Play the biggest shows that we can and play these awesome venues. If we throw our own legendary shows at unique spots. Like a Denny’s or a Goodwill. We want awesome fans and we want awesome music and we’ll get there. We’re gonna show you.
Vicente Rodriguez can be reached at vicente.rodriguez@laverne.edu.
Vicente Rodriguez is a senior photography major with a marketing minor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. He has previously served as photography editor of the Campus Times and a staff photographer for La Verne Magazine.
