Interview with ETSETERA

NO-FI "MAGAZINE"
interview with

Conducted March 1998 via Mail

I first "met" Samuel Torres when he sent me his first letter to NO-FI "MAGAZINE" from his home in Puerto Rico a few issues back. He was nice and bought a tape and I suggested he send me some of his own stuff for review here in our pages. And what cool strange stuff it is. It's weird, original and only really comparable to the South Bay noise band QUIN95. I thought it would be neat to get into the brain behind the music and also to give our readers a chance to check out music from off the continent.

THE INTERVIEW

C = Chris Beyond (Once found a cat)
S = Samuel Torres (Founder of ETSETERA)

C: When did you first start playing music and why?
S: When I was a kid, I started taking lessons of acoustic guitar, because I was told that I won't be able to play electric guitar without knowing acoustic first. I got bored and quit. I also changed my skateboard for an old electric guitar. Then I realized that I was able to do what I want without following any rules or chords, just my own feelings through my fingers. Bored again, I started playing everything that could make a sound. But it wasn't until 1993 that I decided to bring to life ETSETERA. I wanted to hear just what I want, and to perpetuate what I liked from others. I was tired of the same stuff, so I make my own sound. I was not going to sit down and wait for someone to please me, or repeat something that I needed so much.
C: Who or what are your major influences?
S: All that affects my senses, but basically energy with no place to go. It is not to express myself so that I can feel better. It is an aggression in order to kill the reasons why and make others feel better. And for the musical influences, I will mention some famous bands so that you can get the idea. They are: THE CRAMPS, PRONG, THE SMITHS, MINISTRY, SOCIAL DISTORTION, CHRISTIAN DEATH, BUTTHOLE SURFERS, SURF PUNKS, and many more. What goes out is my answer, problem, or solution to all that stuff that surrounds me. That includes the problems of my friends and my own depression.
C: Who are some of your favorite local bands (to your area)?
S: ACTITUD SUBVERSIVA, LA MURGA, SHAM PAIN, LOPODRIDO, NALGADA DE ORO...
C: El Nino: Overhyped...or just right?
S: I haven't noticed, but the world is changing a lot and so shall we.
C: How did you get ahold of NO-FI "MAGAZINE"?
S: A friend brought me a copy from his skate trip to California. Then I said, "How little." I like those sexy clowns. Then I ordered a tape of THE DEAD MILKMEN¼s "Now We Are Ten." And now I'm getting interviewed by you. By the way, I didn't go to California because I had a broken knee and no money, After seven months, I'm back on my board again.
(He obviously got ahold of issue #13: "The Clowns Issue".)
C: What's life like in Puerto Rico?
S: Bored. No place to go. Just the entertainment that the state/system offers. A lot of police bastards. But if you like to party, get drunk, and do nothing, then you won't get bored, because you will be out of your mind. Everyone wants to kill you and put you down. They want you to be like them. No freedom. We are supposed to be a pretty little island, but we look like a big factory that will conquer the world in the year 2000. So everybody is in a hurry, working, buying, consuming, dying and, let me not forget, voting. Shit, I just want to love/live. Puerto Rico is comfortable. People are friendly. I don't like beaches, but there are good ones. And for skateboarding; it's great.
C: What's the punk rock scene like?
S: For me there is no punk rock scene, but we have all the ingredients: bad government, shows, zines, fights, drugs, influence, ideas, anarchy, posers, sex, capitalism, rip-offs, squatters, and all kinds of people and music. Hypocrites!
C: What's your favorite TV show?
S: TV show? I don¼t remember. I don't see a lot of the TV. Maybe El Chavo Del Ocho and The Simpsons.
C: Movie?
S: I have seen a lot of good movies. I have some favorite ones, but I can't remember right now. The Secret Garden? Tesis? My latest ones are The Devil's Advocate, Titanic, and maybe American Werewolf In Paris...also In London, City Of Lost Children, etc, etc...What's your favorite book?
C: I NEVER LEARNED TO READ!!!! But if I had to pick a favorite, right now, it would be "A Youth In Babylon" by B-Movie king David F. Friedman about his life. It's a little long winded at times and some times I think he made up dialogue, but it's good as long as you don't expect to learn anything about how to start your own film career. Another book I haven't read for quite a while but love a lot is called (I think) 'Nightmare Of Ecstacy" or something like that. It's about the life of Ed Wood as told by the people who knew him. It's very depressing towards the end. Anyway...How do you record all that stuff?
S: All of my stuff is heritage, borrowed, stolen, and instruments that people gave me before dying or quitting their lessons. I use a borrowed walkman and a normal fucked up stereo double tape deck with a tiny hole that says MIC. That's why the sound is not excellent. I have to record it many times; at least one time for every two sounds. It degradates a lot. I'm amazed! I wonder what I could do with the equipment and computers that other bands have and don't use quite right for me. But they are just making money...not music.
C: If you hate one thing, it's...
S: Love, my mind, and not being able to skate. Oh! You said ONE thing. In that case it is HATE! I'm lying. It is regret and hesitation...they act like one and turn into frustration.
C: How old are you?
S: My body is 22 years old, but my soul died a long time ago, or at least I don't know where it is right now. She likes to take rides out of my body without permission.
C: Give us a short bio of yourself.
S: Well, I study art and I'm planning to "work" as a garbageman. I have formed many unknown bands like ANTIUTOPIA, LOS REOS DE MUERTE Y EL PERRO SQUATTER, and ADLIB, but we just achieve a lot of fun and some "live" recordings. We didn't have a specific place to practice nor good instruments. At the same time I was working on my project of me alone playing all the instruments (doing all the stuff). Anyway, my tapes have been used in art shows like "DUENEDE", "SANGRE", and slide shows and other stuff. I also heard that some crazy ballerinas use it to dance. Some songs are in spanish and others in english, but you might not notice. Right now I have 4 90 minute D.I.Y. tapes and a split with SHIT AGAINST THE PLAGUE from Spain. If anyone needs distribution or just needs a friend they can write me at SAMUEL TORRES; CALLE 25 Z-1 #1, CIUDAD UNIVERSITARIA, TRUJILLO ALTO, PR 00976.
C: Have you ever held a monkey?
S: The reason why you ask this question is more important than I haven¼t held a monkey. Does it have to be with the A.L.F. direct action or it just a good nightmare.
C: Geeeze, you ask a simple monkey question and all the sudden I have Freud all over me! Well, what would you like to do in the future?
S: I would like to live my present and have a place to be free, because now there is no place and we are slaves. I would like to love without being hated, but definitely find a future and die.
C: Why should people listen to your music?
S: They shouldn't, but if they are looking for our gods to put things straight, then they have to listen to my voice and find that there's nothing to search for. Everything is here.
C: What's up next?
S: Chaos and anarchy, but I'm also working on my zine, trying not to work for this society, and distributing some stuff. And for ETSETERA, it just died, but it will be transformed into GUERRA ETERNA (ETERNAL WAR). The same will with new energy, more motives, innovation and destruction of the limits of traditional rock and experimental music (and also instruments). I want to create something that's never heard or felt again. It will be out soon. I really want to play a live show, but I only have two hands and for that reason I have never done it. I'm hoping to appear in the NO-FI "MAGAZINE" music comp. I will also keep skating until I die.
C: Any words of wisdom for our NO-FI readers?
S: Now I will postpone my suicide `till I read this interview in NO-FI. So, all of you, write me and make my "life" longer. As I said, I do a zine and...SEND ALL YOU WANT. Let's do something, anything, splits, comps, etc. Also a big hug to everyone, especially to you (Chris Beyond). Thanks for the support. Remember, you will never die. Things have a reason to be, but only the meaning that you give them. No matter what name shall you give it, things will always be the same. They will always be what they are, because things don¼t give a shit about the meaning that you give to them.

(At this point I mail him my questions and he finishes answering them [at different times of course].)
~Adios!

Chris Beyond