Coachella Q&A: The Marías
With each The Marías song comes a freshly earned passport stamp. The LA-based quintet are known for being a smooth rendezvous of jazz percussion, hypnotic guitar riffs, smoke-velvet vocals and nostalgic horn solos. And to be honest, I couldn't have said it better myself. I've been playing their 'Superclean Vol.1' EP all morning and I feel like I've been on a gondola ride drinking a full-bodied Pinot Noir with the sunset lighting the way; a dreamlike fusion of lounge music and lounging.
As luck would have it, we got to host a Q&A with the band leading up to their performances at this year's Coachella Music Festival, and they're as lovely as their music. So, without further ado:
Where were you when you first heard you'll be playing Coachella?
We were all home, Josh messaged our group text but we weren’t able to say anything to anyone. Hard secret to keep!!
When the Coachella lineup was announced, what's the best reaction you received from a fan, friend, or family member?
We had just gotten back from the tree of life hike in Hollywood, we got a text from a friend saying “you sneaky bastards”, Jesse thought the line up leaked but shortly after realized the line up had been announced. Josh’s mom changed her profile picture and cover photo on facebook to the line up, needless to say she as very excited. Maria’s Puerto Rican mom said “what’s Coachella?”
Are you a Coachella newbie? If so, what are you most excited or most nervous about? If you're a veteran, what's the one story that encapsulates your most memorable Coachella experience?
This will be Maria’s first music festival ever, slight fears of getting lost in crowds. Eddie has been to Coachella twice, lasting memory is his “camping neighbor breaking his leg playing leapfrog in the Sahara tent. It was only a matter of time.” Jesse has been before.
What's in your Coachella survival bag and does that bag include any extra special add-ons for your set that we can look forward to?
Our survival bag: paper clips, gummy bears, crayons for down time, super 8 camera and film. A kitten. We wish! We may also sneak a few songs from Superclean volume 2? I don’t know, we’ll see how big our bag is.
Describe how you envision the day of your performance to go:
7AM: Watch sunrise in the desert
9AM: Everyone makes breakfast for Maria
11AM: FaceTime our dogs
1PM: Wipe sweat off faces after lugging gear through desert + Maria starts vocal warm ups
3PM: [may or not be getting ready for our set]
5PM: [may or not be getting ready for our set]
7PM: [may or not be getting ready for our set]
9PM: IF we’ve already played, we may or may not be watching Jamroquai
11PM: IF we’ve already played, looking for Josh who is lost in the sahara tent.
If you could have any celebrity front row during your show who would it be?
Erykah Badu and Jennifer Lawrence - Maria
Vanilla Ice - Josh
Woody Harrelson - Eddie
Justin Trudeau - Carter (he’s Canadian too)
Natalie Portman - Jesse
Out of all of your fellow Coachella artists performing, whose show are you most looking forward to watching?
Mild High Club, Jamiroquai, David Byrne and Boogarins!
What was the last song you listened to on repeat?
If I was A Child - Wilko (Eddie)
I Need A Man - Sam Evian (Josh/Maria)
The new unknown mortal orchestra song (Jesse)
If you could partner with any brand, who would it be?
Gucci, Oliver Peoples
Post-Coachella, anything exciting on the horizon we should know about and share with the universe?
We’re going to Indonesia and Mexico to play a few festivals!
Describe yourself with three emojis.
🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ Eddie
🕊🐆💃🏻 Maria
💪🤨🤳 Jesse
🧐🎩🦅 Josh
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 Carter