Whether well-known or local, being in a band is a tough gig. But when a band is composed of tight-knit, level headed musicians, it makes the ride a little smoother. Ralpheene’s drummer Michael Isaac Peregrino and frontman Ray Peregrino are brothers while bass guitarist Michelle Delgado and Ray Peregrino have been an item for 10 years. Delgado and Peregrino have been playing together in various bands since 1998 and younger-brother Michael Pergrino joined them in 2003 to form the band now knows as Ralpheene. While the three of them take their music careers seriously, they never forget to have a blast doing what they love best. I got a chance to interview them Downtown at The Percolator. Needless to say, I became a fan after getting to know the upbeat indie band.
How did you guys come up with your band’s name?
RP: Three years ago, we were Closure for Emily. Ralpheene is the name of a street in the lower valley. We just thought it had a cool ring to it and sounded better.
If your music were to be a movie soundtrack, what would it be?
RP: I think we would fit right in with the movie Baxter. It’s an indie film with Michelle Williams and Michael Showalter, who’s also the writer.
What is your favorite El Paso venue for shows?
RP: The Percolator. The owner Bobby Smith is very supportive of having local bands perform at his restaurant. If the band charges for the show, he usually lets them keep the money.
What do you think of El Paso’s music scene?
MP:There’s a lot of good bands here but not enough places to perform. We also wish there were more all-age shows. A lot of our fans are under 21 and can’t go to some of our shows because of the age requirement.
Where have you guys performed other than El Paso?
MD: We’ve performed throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. For one tour, we played in Albuquerque, then Flagstaff, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Tucson.
Which place is your favorite?
MP: Tucson was really cool. They have a lot of all-age places.
RP: Flagstaff was pretty awesome too. We played at the Hotel Monte Vista where they filmed a scene from Casablanca.
Tell me about some cool memories.
RP: Back in December, we opened up for Taking Back Sunday, which was pretty awesome.
MP: At one show, there was this one hardcore rocker who kept on shouting, “Hey, play Slayer! Play Slayer!” He turned out to really like the music. By the end of the show, he bought most of our merchandise!
What advice would you guys give for people that want to start a band?
Any big news for the band?
MD: We’re going to do a two-week tour with Logan Greene & The Bricks. We’ll be going to Tucson, California, Oregon, Washington, California, and Arizona.
To listen to Ralpheene and find out about their tour dates, visit their MySpace
