Erratic Impulse: San Diego’s Unforgettable “Gateway” Metal Band
Founded in 2020, Erratic Impulse is a dynamic four-piece punk band made up of Carlos Giles, Russell Castro, Jarrod Eichorn, and Damon De La Paz. Carlos is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Russell is the lead guitarist, Jarrod lays the basslines and provides backup vocals, and Damon is the skilled drummer. Originating in San Diego, the band released their intense first single “American Scheme” on November 22nd, 2020, and they have continued to make music and perform high-energy sets at local venues. On February 24th, 2024, I set out to interview Erratic Impulse during their release party for their new album "Life Without Color."
LISTEN TO “LIFE WITHOUT COLOR” BY CLICKING BELOW!
Carlos describes the band’s origin, “Right before 2020, I wanted to start an indie band… I had originally been meeting up with Rebecca, our old drummer and we would do experimental indie s***, it was just me and her. And then I was like, ‘Man, it’d be cool to start a metal band, I’m more of a metal guy,’ and then I made a post on Instagram, and these guys [Russell and Jarrod] responded, and they were super humble, they were like, ‘Oh yeah, we know how to play a little bit…’ I f***ing meet them and they blow me away, they’re f***ing crazy talented.”
PHOTO TAKEN BY UNKNOWN
Before joining the band, Russell and Jarrod jammed together for several years, and their immense skill from their never-ending practice is clear through their music. Carlos continues, “This is their first band, ever. They f***ing got lucky and got in a sick band… Jarrod’s our metal guy, and Russel is our math guy… He writes off time s*** all the time, anything that isn’t in 4/4 is him… He gives us some variety and lets us step away from 4/4.”
PHOTO TAKEN BY UNKNOWN
Carlos continues, “And then I was like, ‘I think it would be kind of cool if we all met up with Rebecca, and then we started the band. We started super hot in 2020… we were on top of it, putting in a lot of work. Shows started happening again... A couple of years down the line, our old drummer left the band, and then Damon came along. We used to be coworkers, and he has a crazy f***ing awesome resume… He made our sound beefier because he does double kicks, and plays a lot of metal s***... it really helped put our band in the right direction.”
Before joining the band, Damon recalls hearing of the band all the time, stating, “Then Carlos started working at the same job as me and I was like ‘Oh he’s in that band,’ and then I would hear them practice all the time like ‘Damn, that band’s good!’” Carlos adds, “And that’s literally how it started, ‘cause he was a drum teacher and I was like ‘Hey, do you know any drummers that might be interested in joining our band?’ And he was like, ‘Well, as a matter of fact, I think y’all are pretty good!’”
Although humble, Damon has been in many bands, most notably Fenix TX. He also has played with many remarkable mainstream artists, including Blink-182 and Good Charlotte. With all his experience working in different bands, Damon confidently states, “This [Erratic Impulse] is the most functional band full of nice people I’ve ever been in. I’ve been in bands for years, and these dudes, when they talk to each other, they talk to each other with respect, they listen to each other… They play with each other's ideas… I just feel I have to say that ‘cause it’s the rarest thing, I’ve never experienced that, not once in my life. This is the only band I’ve ever been in where people treat each other like that, and it’s the coolest f***ing thing ever.” Carlos relates, “I’ve been in a lot of bands too, where it’s never really like a perfect dynamic. We all listen to each other, we listen to our ideas, we play very well together, we hang out as friends, everybody’s super cool.”
In regards to musical inspiration, Jarrod says, “Every single one of us likes different kinds of music… I feel like my influences grow from a lot of Gojira… Pretty much everything I wrote when we first came out was more Gojira-oriented.” Russel adds, “I’m a big Iron Maiden fan… I kind of like that 80s metal… I like heaviness with some progressive elements… But also hardcore punk and thrash, like Suicidal Tendencies.” The varying genres preferred amongst the band members show in their music, as each song has a different sound depending on who wrote it. Carlos affirms, “Everything I write sounds like a punk song or sounds like an emo song, no f***ing in between.”
As Damon describes his drum-playing origins, “Learning to play drums was all about Metallica and Slayer and Testament… All 80s thrash metal.” Continuing on his musical interests, Damon shares, “Lately, I’ve been super into old 90s hip-hop, I listen to a lot of Ghetto Boys, Juvenile… I just saw Juvenile in LA, it was so good! I listen to everything… I love Steve Miller, I love Def Lepard, Motley Crue…” Carlos adds, “This dude has like a million records at his house, they’re all organized by category… He’s an avid music listener, which I feel like brings great drums to our sound.”
Talking about the San Diego scene, Carlos says, “These people come out, and they support the f*** out of us, it’s f***ing rad seeing all these kids knocking each other's teeth out, but still picking themselves up after they eat s***. That’s a big thing for us, you eat s*** in the pit, help your homie up, but you’re still having fun… It gets rowdy, but people are cool with each other, it’s interesting.” Jarrod recalls an experience at a past show, stating, “There was this kid, he came up to me and was like ‘dude I’ve never seen you guys before, I can’t wait to see you,’ and then after the set, he came up to me and his tooth was gone, and he said ‘dude, that s*** was sick!’”
One of the most prominent characteristics that set Erratic Impulse apart from the others is the unforgettable experience they give their audience. Carlos says about their live shows, “Every show, we try to do a wall of death. No one else does it like us… Every scene is a little different too, if we play with a heavier scene and a heavier crowd sometimes they’ll be more aggressive, and sometimes we play for an indie crowd, maybe they’re just not into it, and then we start bullying them a little, and they try the pit.” No matter what genre you favor, you’re bound to enjoy the Erratic Impulse Experience. Carlos continues, “It doesn’t really matter what scene it is, people are coming out to support local music and it’s the s***. I didn’t do that when I was a kid, I wish I had… I didn’t start going out to shows until I was 17, 18.” Jarrod adds, “This was my first time ever going out to shows when I started playing in the band.”
Talking about their success as a band, Carlos says, “I’ve been in like, so many bands since I’ve started playing music, and no band I’ve ever been in has picked up the momentum and the following, that this band has, and I don’t know why. I really don’t know why… We got super lucky with our fans and crowd, hopefully we can keep that upward momentum.” In listening to their music and seeing the performances they put on, it is clear to see why the band is well-renowned in the San Diego scene. Carlos talks about a criticism the band faces, stating, “A lot of the heavier bands think that our music is more for like, weenies and s***. And I’m like ‘Good.’ If I can make a normie or an indie kid listen to our band and go, ‘Holy shit, I wanna listen to more heavy music,’ my job is f***ing done.” Carlos continues, “They say we’re like a gateway band. We’re the weed, we’re the marijuana of metal music. F***ing smoke some of us, and you’re gonna have a good time.”
When asked about potentially collaborating with other artists, Damon shares, “I like Raue. Their drummer’s great, I like them.” Carlos continues singing Raue’s praises, “Paige and Jax from Raue… they’re killing it right now. We’re cool with them, they’re really friendly, it’s always a really good time playing with them. And they’re a two-piece! A singer and guitar player, and a drummer. They’re f***ing rad, I’d love to do something with them. It’s hard to find people to work with, just ‘cause of scheduling, and it’s almost impossible to get even just us in the same room for more than f***ing two hours, you know.” Carlos resumes, “We’re open to it though, we’ve done a couple of collabs with some people. We did a collab with Violet from 12 Gauge Trixie when she was in a band called Mouthguard… The vocals came out rad, and we did some really awesome back-and-forth stuff, and we never put that song out. It’s just sitting on my phone, and maybe one day we’ll put it out.”
Photo taken by Unknown
Carlos shares more of their connections in the local scene, “We have some bands that are really good friends of ours like we’re really cool with Dead Rosetta because their bass player Isabelle was actually our bass player when we didn’t have a drummer and Jarrod was playing drums for a little while. Our bands both draw really well at SOMA. ” Further speaking of the venue, Carlos continues, “We love playing SOMA, SOMA’s really good to us, like every single time we play SOMA, we average about one hundred ticket sales, so they love to call us back. This year our plan is to play mainstage, so we’re trying to book something there. I really like Humble Heart, though. The people are really nice, the sound is pretty damn good, and they’re super inviting and welcoming, letting anybody play. A lot of venues won’t respond to you if you don’t have a following or can’t guarantee x amount of ticket sales, but they’re willing to help anybody out as long as you are willing to work with them.” Damon contributes, “I feel like we have really good shows at SOMA. I love Humble Heart, just the fact that the place exists and does what they do is killer, that’s one of the best things you can have. Kids seem to really like going there, it’s great.”
Regarding their song-making process, Jarrod says, “It’s kinda weird the way we write our songs. What we’ve been doing a lot since we started is that one of us will write the whole song and just kinda show it to the others.” Carlos provides more detail, “We record it on our own time, and then email it to each other and be like, ‘Hey, here’s a song idea, let’s work on this.’ And then from there, we add extra guitars, add lyrics, change up the drums, whatever. Again, this is why our songs kinda have different genres to them because if we individually write songs alone and pitch it to the band… I don’t think we’ve actually sat down and written a song in the same room together yet.”
Damon once again commends the band’s mutual respect for one another, “I have to go back to, that, in my experience, writing songs with you guys has been awesome. No one is fighting, you’re all listening to each other if somebody suggests something… It’s the coolest f***ing thing. I know I keep saying it, but it’s because it’s so rare.” Carlos adds, “Writing is hard, it’s a whole f***ing beast on its own… But it’s a rewarding experience.”
In regards to their newly released album, “Life Without Color,” Carlos says, “Well, we’re currently at the release party for that. We had our release show at SOMA last month and it went well.... It took us like two months to record it.” “We did about five sessions,” Jarrod adds. Carlos continues, “Half the album is previously recorded stuff re-recorded with our new drummer, and then the other half is new s***. It’ll get better, I think we are all stoked on the new album. It took us f***ing four years to get a f***ing album out. This is our first full-length album, and it’s still two minutes shy of a full length, but it counts.” “We’ll definitely learn from it,” Jarrod expresses.
Photo taken by Unknown
Carlos describes a new approach to their music, “I really like reggaeton beats, so we threw that into one of our songs. I took that as an opportunity to sing in Spanish, ‘cause I never do that. I’m trying to sing in Spanish more, not only ‘cause I like to do it, but like, I feel like it’d open up a good demographic for us.” One of the band’s goals for the future is to perform in Tijuana, Mexico. Carlos continues, “I f***ing love TJ. I’ll say it in Spanish like, ‘Somos Impulso Errático!’”
Further talking about the album’s creation, Carlos says, “I’ve recorded a couple of times, and even then, like, you find a flow. We know what we can do better for next time to get a better overall result. It’s a learning thing, everything’s a learning curve. Kris from Capricorn Studios is awesome and he helped us out so f***ing much, and he also had really great ideas.” Their deadline for the album was only three months. Jarrod shares, “We set our deadline way too early to give us enough time to really get the full sound that we wanted, I feel like.” “Next time, we’re gonna give ourselves more time. We’ve learned what to do better. It just sucked but it was fun. It was a fun suck,” Carlos adds.
When asking the band about their final thoughts they want to share, Carlos expresses, “I guess all I gotta say is listen to our music. I promise it’ll get better, and our goal is to make our recorded music as good as our live performances, because we’re one of those bands, in my opinion, that I feel like, you wanna see live.” The band is also trying to expand the range of their live shows outside of San Diego and venture into Los Angeles, so they can share their music with a broader audience. Sharing his words of wisdom, Jarrod asserts, “If you wanna do music, and you don’t think it sounds good, just play it live. People are gonna love it anyways, they’re gonna love to see you play up there.” Carlos contributes, “You’ll find your audience, just do it. Put music out, play f***ing shows, and you will find your audience. It might take some time, but it’ll come to you.”
Photo taken by Unknown
Overall, my experience getting to know Erratic Impulse was very gratifying. Not only are they skilled musicians, but they are also very chill and down-to-earth. I was already a big fan after seeing them play at many shows, but now even more so. Since finishing the recording of their new album, the band has prioritized playing live shows again. Not only will they continue to play in San Diego, but they hope to perform in Los Angeles and Tijuana to expand their audience. As Carlos states at the end of the interview, “We’re excited. The future is bright. This band ain’t f***ing going anywhere.”