Band polishes metal sound with distinct edge
Mondays are busy for Sonny Boy Rivera.
After all, the guitarist/front man double threat had just left a session of guitar lessons with Jerry Sims at Columbia music superstore Sims Music, only to find himself in the car and on the way to his second job: working the kitchen at Wild Wing Cafe in the Village at Sandhill.
“When I’m not at work, I’m usually writing music,” Rivera said with a laugh, counting car rides like these and the occasional hot shower as prime time to churn out new material for the band. But don’t worry — you can still catch the singer fully clothed on stage, performing with his groove-infused metal quartet, The Losos.
Roughly two years in the making, The Losos have discovered that sometimes it takes two (or three) times of switching and swapping musicians to find that perfect glovelike fit. Rivera himself is one-half of the original lineup with bassist James Matthew Roby, while former Casual Kings keyboardist Scotty Taylor and drummer Kyle Allen are the freshest additions to the foursome. Though he said it’s taken some time to mold the exact sound they’ve envisioned since the start, Rivera said the most pivotal aspect for the band is to have each member working on the same creative wavelength.
“It’s not my job to be overly critical of everyone and say, ‘You have to play this song exactly my way,’ or anything like that,” he explained. “I believe that the best foundation for good music is when the majority of your members are all like-minded about what sound they want to produce.”
The Losos’ title, taken directly from the Thai phrase for “low society,” seems fitting for a band whose sound stems directly from real-life experiences, opting for heavier, more impactful tunage rather than the glossed-over fluff of today’s mainstream music. However, that’s not to say it’s a messy splatter of bass where lyrics should be or vice versa. Whereas many modern metal groups tend to build their musical from pre-existing melodies, The Losos’ style is fused with a slightly groovy edge coated with a fresh sheen of polish.
Lyrically, many of the band’s original tracks are grown from a tiny sprout of an idea in Rivera’s mind. Self-taught on guitar at age 13, he began his foray into the world of professional music at 18 with a handful of local bands, which he now admits were really just a lot of “racket and noise.” But Rivera’s journey suddenly came to a halt when legal issues and repeated mischief landed him in jail, forcing him to take a long, brutally honest look at what the future held for him. What did he do in between these thoughtful periods? He wrote music, of course.
“During that period, I wrote so many Losos songs that I still have in a giant book,” Rivera said. “I had at least 30 songs written in my head that we were finally able to bring to life.”
When it comes to songwriting, Rivera says it’s a total effort by the tight-knit group of friends, building on a single melody or guitar riff that funnels The Losos’ passion into a complete track. Whether he comes up with one line or an entire section, the singer prides his band on its ability to meet him halfway and “whip up” something amazing. Delving into the technical side with his guitar lessons, Rivera has honed a new appreciation not only for the art of songwriting but also for the art of cracking into the music industry.
“I’m very realistic with myself; I know what it takes to be on a signed label,” he says. “But no matter what, I know I can always live a regular life and still make time for writing music.”
These days, The Losos are reaching viral fame, recording new tracks and carrying their pulsating sound to a number of fans in and outside the Columbia area. They recently launched a new YouTube channel, which Rivera says he hopes will reach a previously untouched fan base. For now, you can catch them rocking out at local venues like New Brookland Tavern and 5 Points Pub, rocking crowds to their core and having a killer time doing it.
“When I’m 60 years old, I’d really like to be able to say, ‘Hey, this is something I did when I was 20,’” he says. “I’d like to leave that as my legacy.”