By Keith Walsh
There’s a refreshing blast of summer rock and roll coming your way from Austin, Texas. A group of talented friends who’ve known each other for decades got together to create a split EP that features stellar performances and expert production by Kevin Gutierrez of Assembly Line Studios.

The three bands involved are Proper, Hippie Life, and Icons Of Industry. There’s great songwriting, lots of killer guitar sounds and hippie vibes. Complete credits can be found on the YouTube video link below.

Marcelino Garcia Of Proper
The band Proper offers the opening track, “Bitter Moon,” with vocals by Marcelino Garcia. I asked him what it meant to create music with players that he’s known for decades. He writes: “Working with musicians that grew up in Laredo was a nostalgic experience. Much of what has flourished about my abilities has a direct link to that town and its surrounding area. As border town kids, Richard (Barron), Robert (Montoya) and I come from a mixture of many different regional music genres: we were saturated in rhythms and melodies: ranchero, Banda, country, classic rock radio, mariachi, Mexican clubs and anything that didn’t come off the radio would have been experienced through our respective family’s record collections and MTV.”

Garcia continues: “Also, growing up on the border of Texas and Mexico, there was a lot of pirate radio. If you looked to the Mexico side you could see dozens of makeshift antennas. So the 3 of us combed our way through this ‘playlist’ of sorts and were able to develop an appreciation for music that turned into a lifelong love of making our own material and performing. That is why it was exciting to make this EP. It’s like a greatest hits of all those great sonic influences we grew up on. It’s also cool to see how we have individually carved out our own styles and are now contributing to the musical landscape of the next generation of musicians.”

Richard Barron Of Hippie Life
I asked Richard Barron of Hippie Life, who delivers the reggae styled tune “I’ve Got A Bruise In The Shape Of A Heart,” what the project means to him. “The project means that kick ass guitar rock records can still be made,” he writes. “Thin Lizzy, Pearl Jam, and Ratt didn’t care about how long or how many solos. This record is a love letter to the music of Tom Petty, The Eagles, and The Police. Working with childhood friends means what can you get away with and push “the rules” and boundaries. The only thing that matters is fun.”

Roberto Montoya Of Icons Of Industry
Roberto Montoya is the project manager for Summer Night Radio, and he contributes keyboards and guitar to “Bitter Moon” and guitar to “I’ve Got A Bruise In The Shape Of A Heart.” The final track, “The Wheels Will Turn” is Montoya’s band’s moment on the EP. Icons Of Industry is a Christian-oriented band. Like the other two tracks, it features amazing production and guitar work, with references to the the great guitar tunes that once dominated the airwaves.

In describing the project and what it means to unite musically with friends, Montoya writes: “I grew up with Richard in Laredo, TX and I’ve been a fan of his music for years. We used to play cover songs at parties and for friends when we were younger and then we started writing our own music. Marcelino also lived in Laredo but I didn’t actually meet him until a couple of years ago when we released our single, ‘New Wine.’ His brother Carlos is the bassist in the video and he reached out to me after he heard the song. It resonated with him and we started talking about music and had an instant connection.

Montoya continues: “I introduced Marcelino to Richard and it wasn’t too long after that that we started taking about doing a project together. It was truly a collaborative project and it was challenging and rewarding to go through the give and take of the entire process. We even worked on the cover art for the EP together and each of us brought something to the table.”

I asked him what the initial spark was to bring this project together? Montoya writes: “I’ve been collaborating with musicians worldwide with Icons of Industry for years so it was a natural step to put together a project with Marcelino and Richard. We all grew up in Laredo and know many of the same people from that scene.”
“We were all releasing music so I wanted to work on a split-single EP where each of us would bring a song that showcased our style but then we’d also contribute to each others’ songs to really unify the EP. Richard is in Laredo, Marcelino is in New Jersey, and I’m in Austin so we decided to record the songs in Austin since 2 of us are in Texas and Marcelino travels to Austin to visit family anyway. I found Assembly Line Studios and there was an opening that worked for everyone so we booked it and everyone came in to record.”

Proper on Facebook
Hippie Life On Facebook
Icons Of Industry On Facebook
Assembly Line Studios

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