The Bastard Winos are four guys who just want to have a good time rockin’ and rollin’. Made up of Harlis Sweetwater on vocals and guitar, vocalist Chile Thomas, Estaban Camacho on drums (stepping in for original drummer Greg Garcia), and bassist Chris Garcia, the band has been playing shows in the Orange County, CA area and have a newly released CD for your listening pleasure. Here, Harlis and Chile talk with the footnote about their musical mission…

How did you Bastard Winos get together?

Harlis Sweetwater: We all had the same prison pen pal! Naw, fer real, I’ve known Greg and Chris Garcia for a long, long time. We always wanted to do a project together, but it never seemed to materialize. Recently Greg had to split outta state for reasons we can not disclose, but we have a great new cat in the band, Estaban Camacho playin' drums for the band now. He's a cool cat and a great drummer! Chile is my brother-in-law and sings in a band Thrill Deluxe used to play shows with a while back, and I asked him if he wanted to jam with us. But what happened was, I wanted to get back to the roots of what I like to do, and that's soul and blues music. It's what I'm most comfortable doin'. I also wanted a side project I could be in that didn’t have the pressure of "trying to make it." I don’t wanna worry about writing a hit or how many people show up at a show and all the bullshit that goes with being in a band. The Bastard Winos are laid back. We're up there to drink and have fun and play music as a family. If people jump on the train... cool... if not then we're still doin' what we do.

Your sound is pretty bluesy, as you said, but with lots of rock ‘n roll muscle… Was this a conscious decision? Or did the music just naturally evolve when the four of you started playing together?

HS: Dang man, I like that term “rock ‘n roll muscle.” Can we use that? When people ask us "What do you sound like?" or "How do you describe your sound?" we can say, "Rock 'n roll muscle, fool"! Ha ha. No ain't a conscious effort. Nothing we do is. That’s the beauty of the BASTARD WINOS and being in this band. We just bring in the songs and start jammin'. Everyone throws in what they wanna do, and there ya' have it! It's all just a mesh of what we grew up listening to and the kinda music we love to listen to and play.

Chile Thomas: Yeah, that is it! We wanted a project where the music moved, whether it was blues, soul, country, rock, or punk it -- just had to be something ya’ wanna get outta your chair for. Damn, I am sick of barstools, benches, and chairs! Burn ‘em and let’s party! Interact ya’ know.

Is this band really made up of bastards? You seem like nice fellas…

HS: Make no mistake. We are ALL complete Bastards.

CT: LOL! Yep!

Your CD will be out by the time this interview goes online… Was it a challenge capturing your live sound in a studio environment? How was the album recorded?

HS: Our goal was to go in and record pretty much what we do live. There are over dubbed rhythm guitars on each track, but basically we went in, set up, and rolled tape. We wanted everything in one or two takes. Chile was in the booth doin' the vocals, and we were set up in the studio room all together playin' live. Then, as I said, I would over dub a rhythm guitar and do my vocals. The important thing was to capture the energy, and I think we did that really well. We intentionally did wanted an UNDER produced record. Ya' know when ya’ go back now and listen to Zeppelin or the Stones or Chuck Berry, any of those old records the mixes are really shitty, but they capture a vibe and energy, and that’s what we wanted to achieve. We weren’t concerned about the mix of the song, just the vibe and performance.

CT: Basically, we had all recorded big digital multi track monsters with our other bands and were thinking we wanted this album to be the opposite. You know what I mean? More raw and dirty, more true to our roots and what we are trying to express. We wanted those extra studio sounds, laughter when we choked on a part or extra squeaks when I bit the spit guard on the mic -- more like we enjoy and have in the studio and at live shows.

You’ve been playing shows in the Orange County area, and it looks like you have quite a few coming up… How’s the reception been?

HS: Ya’ know it ' s been really cool; I think people are really diggin' our songs and the way the band runs. Ya' know everything's about drinkin' and havin' a good time and people seem to really be latchin' on to that. I think they feel it's a refreshing change to other bands that are out there honing their skills and show. We don’t do smoke and lasers and practice what to say in between songs and all that crap. We load in order our drinks and play what ever we feel. We don’t do set lists; we write down the songs, but we call 'em out as we feel 'em.

CT: I think people have been pretty exited and that really stokes me to see they get it. Our shows are very induced with sporadic banter, drinking, microphone swapping, shots, amazing guitar solos, wine, police interjections, and beer. We really enjoy what we are playing, we really dig each other and it shows!

Sell your band to the still unconvinced reader / music lover…

HS: Okay, here it goes... Tired of the same ol' Emo – screamo – metal -thrash – disco - pop music? Are you sick of hearing the same old top 40 flavored rap about bling bling and sex up in da' club? Well, then look no further, friends. It's the BASTARD WINOS. THAT'S RIGHT! THE BASTARD WINOS!! Simply twist the cap, chug, and enjoy the refreshing no frills, bare bones, slap you upside the head rock ' n roll taste! Goes down smooth doesn’t it? Aaahhhhh, yes, The BASTARD WINOS... the regret and hangover are WORTH IT!

CT: Basically, we are four of the baddest mo fo’s on the planet Earth and would like to have a beer with you!