Today we’d like to introduce you to Sept Sept.
Hi Sept, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Well, it all started when I (Ben Ochoa) met my drummer (Caleb Ervin) in middle school. We bonded over talking about music, and skating and whatnot. We even tried starting a rap duo, which didn’t last very long haha. So eventually Caleb picks up the drums, even though he’d never played them before. I hopped on the guitar with the little power chords I knew. And we started playing together. My cousin Matt Pagano bought himself a bass and started playing with us as well, and soon enough we started playing shows. Our very first show we threw was in our own backyard, we called it “Jamuary”. A few shows later and the pandemic had hit, leaving us with nothing to do but record our first record “Sept” (or Self Titled).
After that, we started gaining a little fan base; a few people would start singing along to our songs at shows, and more and more people started showing up as time went on. Things started moving and next thing ya know we had a show every weekend, all those shows would lead us to meeting Misa Lara, our now guitarist who was and still is in another band called Deth Coast… He wouldn’t join until January-February 2023, but he was a good friend of ours. In between all that we dropped a few more records, Doggy- EP, Going Going, Gone/Racecar Bed, and Accidentally Dying On Purpose. Our newest single being “Stacy (F**k ur mom)” and we’re still working on more stuff today!!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There’s a good few struggles to being in a band, missing/stolen/broken equipment can be expensive to replace, and gas certainly ain’t cheap. But besides the money side, writing music and getting rid of those nerves before a big show can also be really difficult.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We’re best known for technical difficulties… no I’m kidding haha, I’d say one of the things people love about us is our energy!! On that stage, you gotta give it your all and get that crowd going!! Our guitarist Misa says, “If you don’t look like you’re having a good f-ing time up there, your crowd isn’t having a good time either” Another thing we’re known for is our style of songwriting, sad depressing words, over some upbeat instrumentals. You can cry and dance to any one of our songs, and that’s just that raw honest emotion behind the music. Without that, it’s not the same. I feel people can tell the difference between someone who’s just singing the trendy words and cliché lines because they’re writing FOR people and someone who’s writing for themselves, through their own experiences, trials, and tribulations. That’s why I feel people can relate to us because it’s all honest. That type of feeling can be imitated, but it’s never as good as the real emotion behind the pen and paper. And that’s exactly what we try to encapsulate.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
As far as I’m concerned, being in a band is within itself its own risk haha. Bands aren’t as mainstream as they used to be, so money wise, I’m not expecting to be swimming in a pool of gold. For some of us, there is no plan B, we’re in too deep and even if we wanted to (which we don’t) we couldn’t do anything else. For some of us, this is all we got. We NEED this to work. So we’re trying to make that possible in any way, shape or form.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/thebandsept
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6E5VSw9TfmeA0Vh6ChIr4p?si=lM5b0DJPR1yd5FSRI5eS_g
Image Credits
All photographers: @nathan109pics @ripehoney @photosbykayleee @septsroadiee
