by Ramon Mesa (8/22/22) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
photo taken by: Sal Rispoli ( @sexiestgrandma ) (Gravess playing at Pianos in NYC on May 23rd, 2022)
1 - WHO ARE YOU?
Amy Añez
2 - HOW OLD ARE YOU?
i'm 19 years old, turning 20 in october
3 - WHAT WAS THE FIRST INSTRUMENT YOU PLAYED AND HOW OLD WERE YOU?
the first instrument i ever played was piano, i hated it so much, i was like 4 or 5. but my first real instrument i played for more than a few months was the trumpet, i was either 10 or 11 and i played for about 9 years.
4 - WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BANDS?
my 10 favorite bands have to be probably (in no order)
title fight
basement
bloom dream
the ruffans
pierce the veil
my chemical romance
hotline tnt
julie
four year strong
los blenders
5 - WHO IS IN GRAVESS RN AND HOW DID YOU MEET ALL OF THEM?
at the moment gravess consists of
me (amy)
franklin on bass
dereck on guitar
and emmy on drums
dereck i met in highschool i actually didnt like him at all until last year hahaha. franklin i met through the ruffans and being around that group of people, and emmy i met on instagram actually and we met at shows and just became friends.
6 - DID YOU EVER PLAY THOSE OPEN MIC SHOWS AT REAGAN AND IF SO HOW WERE THEY?
yeah i did, it was called coffee house and i played it with an old cover band i had at the time with some highschool friends called fade to black and we used to cover mostly the strokes haha. those things were always a degree of lame but it was fun cause it was kind of like live karaoke with friends. very wholesome experience.
***(when i say reagan i'm talking about ronald reagan high school in doral)
7 - HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE GROWING UP IN DORAL FOR PEOPLE THAT AREN’T FROM HERE?
god, the way i would describe growing up in doral is like growing up inside of a bubble where the rest of the world doesnt exist. you know nothing of any other places around you and you know nobody other than the people you go to school with. its just a giant pool of copy and paste individuals with no brain. everyone dresses the same, talks the same, thinks the same. awful lmao. suffocating is a good word for doral, but in a lot of ways its still home yknow there were some good times here too.
8 - WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REAL SHOW?
our first show as gravess ever was July 3rd, 2021 at The Spot Wynwood hosted by someone ill never play for again LOL some really sus guy who tried stealing from all the bands trying not to pay us for playing. lots of friends came through so it was still great, it was ours and bloom dream's first show ever. felt great.
9 - HOW DID YOU BREAK YOUR ANKLE?
i broke my ankle same way ramon broke his hand. fucking headfoam bro. enough said.
***(lmaoooo ^^^)
10 - WHEN DID YOU TRANSITION TO AMY AND HOW WAS THAT FOR YOU?
i haven't transitioned hormonally nor do i feel the need to. i started going by amy really late in my senior year of highschool last year and its just always been a lingering feeling inside me my entire life that just made sense to me when i really started studying identity and such. its gone really well for me and people are very respectful and accepting. and for those who aren't i really don't care. i focus on the people i love who love me for me.
11 - YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR QUEER KIDS TRYNA FIGURE THEMSELVES OUT?
best advice to any queer kids or even adults who are puzzled by any of their thoughts. labels are meant to be a comfort to give a name to the unexplainable. don't be consumed by naming how you feel and the pressure to "come out" or make sure the world knows who or what you are. as long as you're comfortable do what feels right for you. Don't force anything upon yourself. follow whatever your heart says.
12 - WHATS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE SHOW YOU’VE PLAYED EVER?
my favorite show we've ever played is honestly probably our ep release show in may or when we played at the corner warehouse in february. both shows have had the biggest turn out and support and it amazed me how much people actually cared and had fun listening to us play songs that mean so much to me.
13 - WHATS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE VENUE YOU’VE PLAYED EVER?
favorite venue ive played is probably the corner or gramps mostly cause of the pizza lol.
14 - WHATS THE CRAZIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN ON A TOUR?
craziest thing i saw on tour was watching one guy get jumped by around 20 people in the middle of times square. nyc is wild for that lmfao.
15 - WHATS YOUR SET UP LIKE RN LIKE PEDALS, GUITAR AND AMP?
my set up is as simple as it gets
RAT distortion, Fuzz War, and a tuner pedal.
at the moment im playing a fender hot rod deluxe i only use the clean channel.
and for guitars, im playing a modded squier paranormal cyclone i got off reverb and an upgraded 2008, i believe, squier starcaster strat model.
i also use an Echo Master from deathbyaudio for vocals.
16 - WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SONG FROM YOUR SET TO PLAY?
my favorite song from our set at the moment is probably mndgbln and blow, those are probably our most dynamic songs and they transition into each other really well. the parts are a lot of fun.
17 - FAVORITE LOCAL BANDS TO PLAY WITH?
favorite local bands to play with are definitely bloom dream, the ruffans, the old youth, mold!, smelter, foxgloves, and a few more forsure.
18 - FAVORITE LOCAL VENUE TO PLAY?
favorite local venue to play right now is probably gramps which i dont necessarily count, but other than that i GUESS naomi's garden. really cause there nowhere else to play.
19 - IF YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH ANY BAND EVER WHAT BAND WOULD IT BE?
title fight. id give anything i have to even just see them live.
20 - WHATS HAPPENING NEXT FOR GRAVESS IN TERMS OF MUSIC OR SHOWS OR TOURS?
what's next for gravess at the moment is we have an east coast tour coming up in support of our best friends Bloom Dream's album release show starting in Miami, Sept 8 at The Bridge! and other than that, the new record is finally fully written now its time to practice it like crazy to get ready for recording!
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*** <---- notes i (ramon) added in
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