Hello Rockstars! Today’s Artist of the Week is Alternative Rock Band The Channel!
Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy!
All photos courtesy of the amazing Tiffany Salerno!
Also, Please save the date for their show at Taverna Costera on August 16th at 7pm!
Check out Vegas Underground for more information!
VMS: When did you start writing and performing your music?
What’s your backstory and current lineup?
The Channel:
JAMES: The Channel first formed in 2022, but this lineup has been around since 2025. I had just recruited Carlos into the band, a journeyman who I knew since he was always in a ton of projects. I saw William – Billy – on the side of the street loading a guitar into someone’s car. I hadn’t seen him since I was fired from this shitty movie-theater hookah-lounge job I had.
We had some other guitarists fill in since our previous guitarist Alberto had just returned to the wild, but for various reasons we did not keep them. I flat out asked Bill if he wanted to play for me, and I warned him that it would not be easy. He said, “Yes,” with no hesitation. Honestly, that’s it.
There was no spirit journey that formed us specifically. We’ve had plenty of guys fill in or change roles. That’s not to discount anyone or say the music is any less meaningful. I think it’s good to recognize that music, like all skills or trades, is not some big bang event. You’re not always going to strike it big with the first shot you take.
CARLOS: I first met James at a backyard pool party show in 2023, I was subbing in for Bryan who was the drummer for Sticker at the time. That was my first time seeing The Channel and playing in Sticker. James asked me to join officially after I left Sticker in 2025.
WILLIAM: I brushed elbows with members of The Channel for the first time at two separate jobs I was working at Spring 2023: met Jamie at the now defunct Art Houz Theatres that was temporarily owned by Floyd Mayweather’s loser cousin. I met Liam and previous guitarist, Alberto, at Music & Arts. I remember when The Channel first dropped the Double Feature EP, I became an instant fan. Though it wasn’t until last year I popped the cherry of catching my first show of The Channel at Swan Dive (now Bizarre Bar), and going home feeling inspired to pick up my guitar differently that night.
Fast forward to a couple months later, I was leaving an audition for another band at the Alamo the same time The Channel was leaving rehearsal. James called to borrow me for a minute and told me Alberto was moving out of the country. He offered me the position and wasn’t pulling punches because I was green to the music scene. I was hungry to join a band in the Vegas music scene. Play guitar for a band I’m a fan of and inspired by? That’s a no brainer.
ALEX: I met up with Jamie last summer when they played Swan Dive. He let me know he was looking for another guitarist. I had just finished playing with my last band La Monte and was looking to play in another project. Him and I had known each other for a while and it seemed like the most reasonable course of action. It was a great decision. 
VMS: What artist or bands inspire you and your sound?
The Channel:
JAMES: This is such a hard question. Obviously the indie and rock tradition of offbeat weirdos is my home, your Beatles, Beach Boys, Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Weezer, Yes, King Crimson, Pixies, LCD Soundsystem; I could go on forever just naming rock bands and singer-songwriters, but that wouldn’t even scratch the surface. My heroes include Mingus, Coltrane, Nina, Evans (Bill, but nothing against Gil), Tyner – I also picked up a healthy appetite for chamber music. It’s rock and roll, it’s jazz, it’s electronic music, movies, literature. Anything thoughtful or sublime is what fuels me.
ALEX: Math rock, post-rock, j-rock, Geordie Greep, Santana – Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock 1969. I’ve always had an ear for playfully rhythmic jams and noisy funky music.
WILLIAM: I like eclectic, fun and interesting music. Ween, Pink Floyd, Daft Punk, MJ, and Khruangbin are some of the main influences I look up to that I can think of off the top of my head. For The Channel, I’ve been diving into late 70s punk, prog, and jazz, like Gang of Four, Yes, and Chuck Mangione.
CARLOS: I grew up listening to classic rock like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Queen, and Led Zeppelin, but honestly I love anything that has a guitar in it. As far as bands that influence drumming for The Channel: I love Arcade Fire, Mac Demarco, and The Cars.
VMS: What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics?
The Channel:
JAMES: So far, I’ve written all our lyrics. When it comes to lyrics, I find the whole exercise rather frightening. It’s by far the aspect of the music that I have the least control over, if that makes sense. I find myself humming and endlessly improvising or composing chords, loops and melodies during quiet moments. Instrumentation is near instinctual body spasms, while my lyrics are an intellectual undertaking.
I prefer using a real pen. Staring at a computer is a leading cause of idea death. I like to try to get in character, it’s easier to imagine myself as someone else penning these lines. Pretending to be a beatnik – getting an overpriced coffee and hating myself and the world, trying to catch the floaters and specks in my frontal lobe. I have to get into a certain level of discomfort to really get the juices flowing. If I’m me, then I’m unhappy, if I’m functional, if I had something to eat that day, I’m just a fat hedonist. If I starve myself and see what comes out, maybe the calories I would’ve spent gnashing my teeth will go to my brain synapses. Skinny, shaking and deserving of a rock and roll hall of fame spot.
Paradoxically, my best songs were written stream of consciousness, alone, in my bedroom between the witching hour and sunrise, staring at my computer screen. Or I felt a pang in my western hemisphere and needed to write something down in a meeting. It’s fleeting, I guess.
VMS: I love your songs from The Fascist America EP and Double Feature.
What is the inspiration or story behind these songs?
The Channel:
JAMES: Our first EP featured “The Spaces Between Us” and “Verklarte”, which were composed in my high school years.Verklarte was actually the first song I ever wrote for The Channel, technically speaking. It was something I wrote at sixteen and presented to a couple of friends as a fun little set of chords, and I had no lyrics associated. Ninety percent of other musicians I brought it to were completely flabbergasted on how to take it, which was strange to me as it seemed a standard affair. I found myself dissatisfied with working with anyone besides Liam on my material. I sat on Verklarte until the first Channel lineup, and started working on Spaces in the car ride on the way to our first ‘rehearsal’ – really just a jam and a meet and greet.
The Fascist America EP is clearly pointed in a certain direction. I mean, it says it on the tin. I wanted something loud and frank and fearless. I will avoid overaggrandizing it. It’s a political message – we are living in a Fascist America. The first track, the non-title title track, it’s about how we as Americans hate each other, how we live in the society that created the boogiemen, and how we are just so apathetic and self-centered it doesn’t even matter that we’ll all die to steal a dollar for ourselves. It’s actually even more pathetic when you think about it, a lot of people will kill and die for the privilege of stealing a dollar for someone else. The American Dollar Suicide Cult.
Both of the songs on Double Feature (“The Spaces Between Us”, “Verklarte”) are very surface level. They’re both insipid, with teenaged desires, one of a girl I was falling in love with at the time (but was far too scared, stupid, and troubled to properly express affection for) and one depicting a failure to communicate in a ‘situationship’. This is what I assumed would be relatable and cool. I look back at it with a bit of embarrassment, because I definitely could have done better if I thought longer, but maybe If I thought longer then they would’ve never came to be.
VMS: Which local artist would you like to work with and why?
The Channel:
WILLIAM: I don’t know where to begin, there’s so many local artists I’m a fan of. The Red Seduction, SECOS and probably Post NC are some acts that come to mind first that I’d love to collaborate with.
CARLOS: I would love to work with Haphazard, Washed, and Mutual. I think our sounds are similar and I just really love those bands’ sound.
ALEX: Mr. Oro featuring on a Channel track.
VMS: What’s your overall theme or message of your music?
The Channel:
JAMES: Live a real life. Do what you love and do it for real.
VMS: Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform?
The Channel:
ALEX: At Sea and Campfire are two songs that showcase the vulnerable nature of Jamie’s voice and the sensitivity of his writing. They have become recent favorites to play.
CARLOS: If I had to pick one I’d say Mania.
WILLIAM: The Fascist America EP and At Sea. The first time hearing those songs on the EP as an audience member left me inspired.With At Sea, I felt the lyrics on a personal level. I had struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts as a teen and some of these lines were reminiscent of a time when I felt alone. It’s a song that would’ve kept me going had I known of the song’s existence during my high school years.
VMS: What does the future hold for The Channel?
The Channel:
JAMES: I want to play and sing for everyone in America’s bars and clubs, and in the streets, running with honey liqueur, and maybe change a few people’s minds along the way.
CARLOS: I hope to continue to play shows and record music, and eventually tour the country!
ALEX: Arizona tour!
WILLIAM: To continue entertaining the Las Vegas Valley with our shows and future recording endeavors.
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?
The Channel:
CARLOS: Pros would be to be able to make connections and friends with other musicians and like minded folks in the scene. Cons would be that there aren’t enough all ages venues and I hope that more will open up in the future for kids to go and have fun.
VMS: What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows?
The Channel:
JAMES: The drive to create something.
CARLOS: As long as I can make someone forget their troubles and worries for 30 minutes or however long we play, I’m satisfied.
ALEX: Ultimately some sense of catharsis. In our day to day lives we sometimes are unable to properly deal with our feelings. Music should be able to help you properly process those feelings sonically, physically or on a deeper emotional level.
WILLIAM: Alive in the moment.
VMS. 🙂