A Chat with Lizards From Venus (08.09.22)
Hailing from Costa Rica, Lizards From Venus is seen and listened to as an aggressive blend of punk rock and garage. We speak with frontman Luis about their album Did You Forget To Take The Meds, musical influences and much more!
OSR: Would you mind introducing yourselves?
Luis: Hi, I’m Luis, guitarist and singer of the band LFV from Costa Rica. We are a four-member band: Alonso (lead guitar and chorus), Mario (drums) and Julio (bass).
OSR: What’s the story behind your band name Lizards from Venus?
Luis: The name of the band comes from a real encounter with a UFO at a party while we were playing with other bands. The UFO flew over us and Alonso and I knew that the name of our new band would have something to do with aliens.
OSR: Would you describe the kind of music you create?
Luis: We like to believe that we do garage rock with nuances of punk and grunge.
OSR: How did you all meet?
Luis: Alonso and I are brothers-in-law and play with different bands, but we knew that someday we were going to play in the same band. Then after several lineup changes, we met Julio and Mario, who are also from the Costa Rican rock scene, with whom we had a lot of chemistry and finished consolidating the definitive lineup.
OSR: What does the creative process look like for you all? For instance, in your single ‘Attack’?
Luis: Our creative process is very varied. I compose many of the band songs as a demo and then we develop them as a band during the rehearsals, but Alonso and the rest of the guys make some songs too. In the case of ‘Attack’, the song was my way of understanding the terrorist attacks that took place in France during a death metal concert. We don’t have that kind of thing in Costa Rica so the news hit me and hence the song.
OSR: This EP, Did You Forget To Take The Meds, is an absolute delight to listen to. I’m a big fan of releases that end in redemption, especially if the despair feels real as it does in your EP. What inspired this theme?
Luis: Oh thank you so much. 2020 and 2021 were fucked up years for me with a lot of things going on and a lot of death in the family. Fear for my own health led me to suffer from anxiety attacks and fear of people, so I had to start taking pills for my mood swings. Here came the title Did You Forget To Take The Meds ’cause there were better days than others and my mood changed and I depended a lot on the fucking pills, but everything has been improving and music has always been a great ally.
OSR: Do you write music more for yourselves or do you write music more for your audiences?
Luis: We definitely make music for ourselves without a doubt, the rest is profit. We have the advantage that we don’t depend on this for a living, so we can be as weird as we want with our sound.
OSR: Are there particular artists that initially inspired you to start Lizards from Venus? Do the same artist continue to inspire you or have you added to the mix?
Luis: Nirvana, Mudhoney and early Seattle bands were my first inspiration. A lot of Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr too. Then in the 2000s a lot of Bright Eyes and The Strokes helped a lot for me, but I am sure that the rest of the guys have many other influences that also mark the sound of our band.
OSR: Is there an artist you’d like to tour with as either headliner or support?
Luis: With anyone, we are open to sharing our music with any kind of band and public as long as they share our ideas of mutual respect, love and peace. For us we are all equal, there is no race, colour, religion or sexual preference. Let’s celebrate being alive while we can and fully enjoy the experience of playing live.
OSR: What are your thoughts on touring through Mexico? What are you most looking forward to and most nervous about?
Luis: Touring Mexico is awesome. We love Mexico and we want to play as many places as we can. We hope Europe soon too.
OSR: What is your favourite and least favourite part about being a musician?
Luis: My favourite part is maybe playing live. The least could be to promote us, sometimes it is very difficult to achieve it being a self-managed band.
OSR: After the tour and upcoming EP out late this year, what’s next for you?
Luis: We are now making another record. For a band like us making music is the key to survival.
Many thanks to Luis for speaking with us. For more from Lizards From Venus check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
