An Interview With Acid Alice: On Mexico City, Writing Songs, and Their Debut Album

Acid Alice is one of the most exciting emerging acts in the Stoner Rock scene right now. The quartet pumps out a robust blend of Fuzz Rock mixed with Psychedelia—all from their hometown of Mexico City.

Our first encounter with the band was when we stumbled upon them on Spotify a few months ago. One listen of their debut album, The Road, turned into two listens, then three listens, then a dozen. We were enamored.

We had to get an interview.

Before we get into our conversation with the band, here’s a quick rundown of the band members (you can learn more on their Facebook page):

Darcy Core: Voice
Mark McFuzz: Lead Guitar
Dankoi Marco: Bass
Hector Vamartz: Drums

Monster Riff’s Interview With Acid Alice

You guys hail from Mexico City. On the international stage, Mexico City isn’t exactly known for pumping out Fuzz Rock/Heavy Psychedelic bands—but you are surprisingly authentic and refreshing. Tell us about the music scene down there.
Well, it is true that Mexico City does not stand out so much for that type of music. [That scene] is very segregated. We are really not with any people from the scene. There are certain groups [within that scene], but they have amassed the little scene for themselves. We won’t say any names, and, unfortunately, they have never offered us a hand. So, it’s hard to find the correct people and good shows. But we love the music we make.

Who are the band’s influences? We could go down a long list of bands we hear in your music—Led Zeppelin, Wolfmother, The White Stripes… I’m curious—who do you pull inspiration from?
We are four guys making music, and each one has his own taste. But The Road has [mixed] inspirations. Jimi Hendrix, Toad, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Nirvana, The Mars Volta, Tool, and other bands from the 21^st century. It’s a really long list, but we mix all things that we like and, at the same time, we have our own essence. The songs are different from one another, and we like that.

Talk to me about the decision to sing in English, when you may have been more comfortable in Spanish. What do you think is gained? Do you think anything is lost? 
We believe the language directly affects how the music you make sounds. Previously, we tried to write songs in Spanish, but they just sounded terrible. For the sound of the band, the songs were required to be in English. This helps us make our music more universal, and, at the same time, we learn another language that is necessary in these times. We decided [to sing in English] because almost all the music in Spanish that people call “Rock” is actually [not Rock] in any form. It’s more like “Pop Rock” and Mexico has too many bands playing it. So, we made another thing.

Does that create any confusion when you perform in Mexico or do your fans readily accept the language? 
We have never had a problem here singing in English. In fact, most of the reviews are quite positive because our gigs have much energy, but the reality is that our market is outside of Mexico for the same reason. Although, we can say that there are people who are against music that is made in Mexico with a language other than Spanish.

Tell me a little more about your writing process. “Acid Horse,” for example, is a really strong opener. How did you write that one?
This question will be answered by the band’s guitarist, Mark.

It is a long story. Really that song was already old and was taken up and produced again because it was never recorded, but the idea was precisely that it sounds like the gallop of a horse. That’s where the name comes from. All the instruments are connected. It is a simple song, really, if we compare it with other tracks on the album, but it has a lot of attitude, and this is the most important thing from “Acid Horse.” When I think of a guitar riff, I also imagine the other instruments too, and as a producer of the band this comes in handy because we all understand each other. But if another guy has an entire song or something like that, and we like it, I only order the parts and produce the entire song. It’s really fun.

We have a global pandemic right now that everyone is figuring out… After that is resolved, is there any chance we’ll see you on tour in the U.S.?
Oh! Actually, we have the possibility to make a tour in the U.S. when the pandemic is over. But we have to wait and resolve other things before.