I recently had the opportunity to sit down and interview two members of an up and coming local band named Subversa in order to properly introduce our readers to a more intimate side of its’ members. Subversa is a Houston-based Rock Band that has entertained supporters for over three years and has recently released a first professionally recorded album, Between Kings, which features seven songs.
Subversa consists of Dave Ooi on the vocals, Josh Guinn and John Martinez on guitars, Rooster on bass and Keith Calhoun on the drums. Josh convinced Dave to try out for the band, having played with Dave in a tribute band, and recalls that, “…taking him (Dave) out of that element and putting him into our element was two separate things from singing somebody else’s words and music and doing everything like they do and then putting your own creative element into something original. It was that puzzle piece fitting where it should be.”
While many people may be familiar with the band, few actually know who they were prior to becoming Subversa. Before singer and front man Dave Ooi picked up his first guitar, he could be seen on the football field of his small Houston private school. He jokes that, “…I did play varsity football and got clobbered by guys three times my size. I was a lineman, a 130 lb lineman going up against 220 lb big guys… eventually I broke my ankle.” Josh attended Elsik High School in Alief and only played sports throughout elementary and middle school, revealing that his reason for not playing sports in high school was, “I didn’t quite hit my growth spurt yet so instead of being clobbered by guys twice my size I decided to pick up a guitar… I bought a guitar for my 15th birthday, my 1st year of high school and fell in love with it. It was all over after that.”
I had to ask what the numerous female fans really want to know – are any of them single? Sadly, only one of the members is (ahem) available. Josh, Dave and Keith all have girlfriends, and John Martinez is engaged to his high school sweetheart. Rooster seems to be the only bachelor in this band. Luckily for the ladies, Rooster is no shy guy and according to Josh, “He’s almost kind of like our band mascot… he’s a very social butterfly and we love him for that.” This is sure to be helpful information for all the ladies at their next show on Sunday June 8th at 6pm at the Rocbar downtown.
When asked how they felt about Houstonians’ grasp on local talent they both agreed that there could be an improvement. Umm, Houston we have a problem! They consider the majority of Houstonians to be drawn towards national acts in the music industry. Dave goes on to say that, “… [Subversa is] trying to get that local scene going again where people want to see local music.” The fact is that it can be extremely difficult for local, unsigned musicians to receive any type of airplay on local radio stations in Houston, with the exception to 94.5 Texas Buzz Shows which air live from Scout Bar in Clearlake every Sunday night from 10-midnight. There is indeed a desperate need for Houston to increase our local artistic support and prove to other cities such as Austin that we have plenty of culture to offer.
Of course we had to ask one of the most obvious questions with the elections fast approaching. Subversa declares not to be a political band and its members are not interested in pushing any particular party. They do, however, want to express the importance of people making educated choices and not just voting for the candidate their parents are voting for. With the election coverage on the television, newspapers and the Internet, they say there is no real excuse for people not to know which candidate they prefer or relate to the most.
As you can see, the members of Subversa are down-to-earth, normal guys that look on music as an art, not an enterprise. The passion that this band possesses is nothing short of astonishing. Josh states that if music didn’t work out he would like to be a graphic designer. He designed the artwork on Subversa’s Between Kings album and was thrilled that the band was pleased with his work. Dave, on the other hand, would still love to be involved with music, saying that he would more than likely pursue a career as an artist developer. He says he would love to travel and discover new talent, helping artists cope with the transition between being a local act and getting exposed nationwide. The biggest goal for this band at the moment is, “… not to sound cliché, but to make our Darkside of the Moon” according to Dave. And that is exactly the reason they will temporarily go on low profile. They intend to emerge with new material and new songs for their audiences. I, personally, can’t wait for their return and the chances it will bring to witness firsthand their growth as a band in performance. You can hear them live at the Meridian (Blue Room) October 17th, playing at 8pm and at Gary's Spot in Tomball, TX. October 25th playing at 8pm.
