Hello Rock Stars! Today’s Artist of the Week is Artist Figgy!
Here’s his story in his own words, enjoy!
Main Photo by Tiffany Salerno
Additional Photo’s Courtesy of Karina Lazcano and Mad Rabbit Media!
VMS:
When did you start writing and performing your music.
What has life been like for Figgy since we last talked.
Figgy:
Life’s been pretty solid, most of my free time these days is spent focusing on mutual aid with LVL and Fifth Sun Project or prioritizing my relationship with my girlfriend. Mostly been keeping to myself building up the next step of my life, but I hope to have time to play more video games or enjoy media while I let my creative flows recharge while this next album is in promotion.
VMS:
What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.
Figgy:
A lot of my influences these days are very rock or latin music and shoegaze, bands like Citizen, Blood Cultures, Rise Against, My Bloody Valentine, MCR, Cult of Luna, Mana, Caifanes Los Bukis, etc. but there’s a lot of modern stuff that cuts through like pinkpanthress, and sewerslvt. A lot of modern hiphop is cool too, new Tyler, Isaiah Rashad, Vince Staples, and Wale really captured me this year. It’s really an abundance of cool stuff.
VMS:
What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.
Figgy:
I do my best to balance my ideas between grandiose concepts and real grounded moments. I like keeping to the heart of the emotions I feel when I’m inspired and literally anything could do it, a good day, a bad day. Sometimes I’m on top of the world and some days I feel crushed by everything, but compared to PLANETBUSTR. I feel like there’s a new confidence in my lyrics that I’ve earned over time fused with the frustrations of being in this crazy time and all the misunderstandings that come with it, both personal and heirarichal.
VMS:
I love your song “Wrong Side”! What is the inspiration or story behind this song.
Figgy:
This song was written about feeling misunderstood; that no matter what I tried I always felt like I was never going to be gotten right and so I embraced that feeling. Its written as a love-song but the idea can evolve into being on the wrong side of teams, opinions, and communication.
VMS:
Tell me about the new Album Release called “Tacho’s Muchacho”
What can we expect for the evolution of your sound with this new album.
Figgy:
My last few years were spent learning guitar so a lot of the music in this project still jumps around genres but its all held together by the instrumentation surrounding it. The lyricism is more mystic inspired too.
VMS:
Which local artist would you like to work with and why.
Figgy:
I think right now I would love to work with Daniel Hernandez, or Astral Jack, two musicians I respect very highly.
VMS:
What’s your overall theme or message of your music.
Figgy:
With this album in its most simple intention it is a journey through identity, love, faith, anger, and ancestry in search of a way to live without betraying yourself or the people who came before you.
It begins very wounded and visceral but I hope it evolves into something more grounded in dignified truth without compromise on self-respect.
I hope it serves as an urgent call to action for everyone who hears it because every revolution starts with transforming the self, and through them, the world around.
VMS:
Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.
Figgy:
Wrong Side probably, but I think Punto or Cada Dia Mejor are climbing up there too.
VMS:
Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.
Figgy:
None that I can tell in a public forum, but my favorite memories are from my apartment with Yatta and Jake, it was cooking season 24/7 and between late nights passing ideas around, WarHammer lore videos, and Super Smash Brothers matches, we really cultivated a chaotic and creative space.
VMS:
What does the future hold for Figgy.
Figgy:
More good I hope. Bigger shows, more community outreach, and hopefully some
out of town opportunities to travel and see more of the world too. I want to cultivate a better home.
VMS:
What have been your personal pros and cons of being a band here in Las Vegas. What do you think the scene could improve on and what are your hopes for the future of the Vegas Music Scene.
Figgy:
I think the scene is strong, The community is insanely massive. As a solo artist, my biggest challenge is doing everything myself. Ideally, I would love to have a team of people that could help me and take some responsibility off of my shoulders to focus on the creative aspects.
Furthermore, the obvious problems with the scene are the lack of consideration for artists and enthusiasts when it comes to infrastructure like the parking crisis in downtown. I don’t think it makes sense to gut all of what gave the positive attention to these spaces in buying all the land and gentrifying it. I find it truly disgusting. I hope in the future we can give each other more opportunities to not only showcase or art, but also thriving it, and be able to become less dependent on other means of income.
VMS:
What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.
Figgy:
I want them to feel seen, I want to be able to speak true to their inner feelings. I wanna be a conduit for our collective experience. And I want them to be inspired to be themselves, and that when they see do what I do, they find the strength to do what they want for themselves.
For More Information About Figgy, Please Follow Him on Instagram!
VMS.