“I didn’t tell them we were gonna make a band, but in my head, I was like ‘We’re totally making a band”, said Eric, the bass player for Uncultured. That’s the simple origin for Uncultured.
Formed by Eric, the bass player, Xander, the guitarist, and Zen, their original drummer, the project initially started out with them having the idea of jamming out and having a good time.
He recalled one of the first sessions that they all had playing together. Their original plans were to learn the song “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden, which Eric initially believed was impossible, as he had just bought a bass guitar.
“Xander initially pitched the idea that we should learn ‘Run to the Hills’ by Maiden as our first song. I thought it was impossible, as Xander had made the wrong assumption that I was good at playing bass, but I got it done. From there, we just started playing music,” said Eric.
After learning how to play a few covers, the band decided that they needed a singer.
“We spent about a year looking for a singer”, recalled Eric. “One day, I was leaving work, and I had my skateboard. I was going to go home and one of my coworkers comes up and offers me a ride home. I initially turned him down, but he mentioned that he was going to pass by Wendy’s before going home… and I couldn’t say no to that.”
As Eric walked to his co-worker Miguel’s car, he learned that he used to sing in choir.
“I ended up asking him if he wanted to sing in a metal band”, Eric recalled. Miguel’s response?
“Hell yeah.”
The band has played a large number of shows in venues all over LA and the OC, but COVID-19 and the ongoing lockdown has made the process difficult as of late. Despite there being countless trials and tribulations, the band has made it through all of them and remains optimistic about the future.
In late 2019, the band released a single named “The Fallen” on streaming platforms. The song is planned to be the first of a 5 song EP that the band is centering around the 5 stages of grief. “The Fallen” is meant to signify the final stage of that process, acceptance.
It’s a deeply personal song to Miguel, the vocalist for Uncultured.
“I wanted to make it into this very melancholy song that I put a lot of myself into…”, Miguel explained. “The main sources for ‘The Fallen’ were two friends that I lost. One was an older gentleman… and he’s the one who pushed me to pursue my love for metal. I owe him a lot.”
“The other one was a very close family friend of ours, and he was on the track to getting better. Unfortunately, something tragic happened to him”, continued Miguel.
Miguel went on to explain that “The Fallen” is a tribute to those two, and that the writing process was difficult for him.
“The Fallen” is meant to signify the idea that, even after death, people live on.
“They’re no longer here, but they only actually die if you forget about them”, Miguel explained.
“I just wanted to get those emotions in the song. I have to give a ton of credit to Xander, who pushed me to get the song out there. He also encouraged the tone to make the tone of the song a bit more uplifting, and helped the song reach its full potential”, said Miguel.
2021 is shaping up to be a promising year for the band. They’re planning to get a ton of more material done in the coming months and hope to finish the EP by the end of the year. Make sure to follow them on Instagram @unculturedband. They’re also on Facebook.
“The Fallen” is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
