Hello Rock Stars!
Today’s Artist of the Week is Punk Band JINX! Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy! They also have a brand new EP called “Home Sweet Home” available on all music platforms, and save the date for their show on February 6th!
All Photos Courtesy of Tiffany Salerno. (@halfstop on Instagram)
VMS:
When did you start writing and performing your music.
What’s your backstory and current lineup.
JINX is:
Ayden Fodge – guitar and vocals
Lewis Ferris-Herrera – bass and backing vocals
Zuriel “Z” Botello – Drums
Ayden: I’ve been writing music for probably 10 years now, but for JINX specifically, it started with a collection of songs I wrote in late 2024, most of which became our ‘Home Sweet Home’ EP.
I knew Z for a while before JINX from a previous band, after that band kinda dissolved we knew we still wanted to play music together. I met Lewis sometime in spring 2025, he said he was looking to start a band, so we all got together and now here we are! We’ve been playing consistently since then.
Lewis: I’ve been playing string instruments seriously since middle school. I was with a high school rock band originally that I got kicked out of for skipping classes. Following graduation I met Ayden via vampr and as a band we’ve all clicked since then. It’s been one of the best choices I’ve made and I absolutely loved meeting Z and Ayden and working with them.
Z: I’ve always played the drums from as little as I can remember. I started young because I wanted to find something to fixate on to kill time and it ended up being one of the best decisions of my life. Music is now an escape to me from everything else around. I’ve been in several bands which have all resulted in disasters including a band with Ayden.
I took a big break from music and focused on some life stuff for a little bit and reconnected with Ayden. We talked more and he had said that they found a bassist finally after a long time so we decided to give it another shot this time with lewis. And ever since we have been killing it and honestly are getting more in sync with each other every day. They are the best people (and friends) I could’ve had for this band.
VMS:
What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.
JINX:
Ayden: For me personally I pull from a lot of old Punk and Hardcore. Bad Religion, Circle Jerks, The Germs, Descendents, etc. there’s an undeniable Green Day influence in my style as well just because I grew up listening to them.
Lewis: Rancid and MxPx have been my favorite bands for the longest and a lot of the techniques I’ve been learning have been on par with their sound.
Z: For myself, I would definitely say my sound is definitely inspired by some amazing drummers including Travis Barker, Tre Cool, Dennis Chambers, and Bad Religion’s Jamie Miller.
VMS:
What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.
JINX:
Ayden: Most of my lyrics come from my own feelings and struggles, a lot of our songs end up being from a third-person point of view, which makes it easier for me to sing about things like my mental health when I’m looking at it from an outside perspective.
In the beginning of the band, I would usually bring the main bones of a song (lyrics and chords) to rehearsal and we’d work it out together. In recent weeks we’ve started coming up with ideas on the fly together, someone will play something that sounds cool and we’ll say “that should be a song!”, That’s been fun.
VMS:
I love your songs “Falling”, “Love Song”, “Catharsis” and “Paralyzed”. What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.
JINX:
Ayden: Paralyzed was actually the first song we ever did together at our very first rehearsal. “Paralyzed”, “Catharsis”, and “Falling” are all broadly about mental health. All 3 of those songs have a loose message of “don’t live a life you don’t believe in”.
“Love Song” stands out because it’s a little more light-hearted than most of our songs, it was meant to be a slightly humorous “boy meets girl” story. Musically those songs all came very naturally I wasn’t really trying to be anything specific with them, I think they define our sound well.
Listen To JINX on all Music Platforms!
VMS:
Tell me about your EP: “Home Sweet Home“. What was the inspiration and process of writing it.
JINX:
Ayden: I wanted this EP to be kinda like the definitive JINX EP, I wanted it to really establish our sound as a band. I don’t have many vivid memories of the writing process these songs were some of the first we did together. We recorded the whole thing ourselves as we do with all our music. The title track and EP title go into themes of a broken home, something a lot of people especially within punk and hardcore deal with.
Z: This is our watermark EP for sure. This is the sound people will recognize while listening to us for now. Home sweet home is based on problems stemming from a fucked home life and what was done to deal/live w it which can resonate with many of our audience.
Lewis: Ayden actually banged his jeep’s back window over my head, and I slept for most of the recording. I believe the home sweet home ep illustrated our sound and how we play together and is the root of our sound going forward.
Ayden: For the record, I didn’t purposely hit his head, it was an accident I still feel bad about that, I’m sorry Lewis lol.
Listen to “Home Sweet Home” on all Music Platforms.
VMS:
Which local artist would you like to work with and why.
JINX:
Ayden: I think it’d be cool to work with the band Ovis, we’ve been good friends with them ever since we started playing shows.
VMS:
What’s your overall theme or message of your music.
JINX:
Ayden: I don’t know that there’s any specific message or theme that we push in our music. Most of our songs come from not-so-great aspects of my life, I just try to express myself and hopefully it resonates with people.
Lewis: I believe a lot of our messages can vary but the overall theme is taken as aspects of life and political influences such as Delirium and New Old America.
Z: Our music can have several meanings, and our audience gets to make their own meaning. Our music is for the audience, not for us. But a common theme would 100% be personal issues and what was done to live through them semi-comfortably.
VMS:
Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.
JINX:
Ayden: “Paralyzed” is always my favorite.
Lewis: Definitely “Happiest Man Alive”, I believe it to be our best song.
Z: “Fight or Flight” is my current favorite as of now.
VMS:
Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.
JINX:
Ayden: I think the most interesting thing that’s happened so far is when we ran into Smelly from NOFX outside our last show at Taverna, he circled back around the block as he was leaving and yelled “JINX MOTHERFUCKERS!” from his car, that was pretty cool.
Lewis: We rescued a stray dog at our second show and named it Bartholomew.
Z: Had a show in the middle of the week in the rain at evel pie and Lewis’s amp ended up getting fucked.
VMS:
What does the future hold for Jinx.
JINX:
Ayden: A lot more shows and a lot more music! We’re working on another EP right now that’ll probably be out sometime in late spring, maybe an album by the end of the year. We wanna start playing out of town shows this year as well.
Lewis: Honestly I love the aspect of how we all get along as a band and I believe the future will just show our bonds better.
Z: The future of Jinx holds us producing a lot more music for everyone to enjoy. The shot is for us to build our audience to a reputable level while exploring new cities together touring around.
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.
JINX:
Ayden: Biggest pro of being in Vegas is just how active the music scene is compared to other cities, especially with punk. It’s so vibrant, yet still small enough that it feels very communal.
The biggest con I think is all the 21+ shows, being in Vegas there are so many 21+ exclusive venues. Punk Rock isn’t supposed to be bar culture, the best and most active fans are the kids who show up to be a part of the scene, for local music to thrive I think it needs to be more all-ages friendly.
Lewis: The best pro with Vegas comes with the available promoters in the area who work to make shows inclusive to all. One thing that I believe can be improved on in the scene is definitely more promotion for vendors. Some of our best shows have been through benefit shows and I believe benefit shows help bring the scene more together and helping a cause is something I’m always interested in doing.
Z: I think a pro for being a Vegas local band is that the scene for punk is one of the bigger scenes in the whole United States. So many opportunities because of all of the promoters and venues wanting to draw people in. It’s perfect for us, and we’re gonna make sure we take full control of the opportunity.
A con I would say would be the weather in the summer around festival season, it’s way too hot here and would hold people from coming out.
VMS:
What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.
JINX:
Ayden: I want them to feel like they can just be themselves. For the 20-30 minutes that we play, I want our audience to be able to forget all the bullshit and all the hardships of life and just be present and dance with us.
Lewis: Definitely to feel comfortable and have fun.
Z: When listening to our music I would love them to connect with us and drop everything they had on their mind before they walked into that venue. We want them to feel happy, excited, sad, or whatever THEY need to feel at that moment while listening to our music.
For More Information about Jinx please check out their Links!
—-VMS