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On a cloudy, moody Friday, the band have spent their time prepping for and giving interviews — including their first ever radio interview aired on NMSU’s KRUX 91.5, no less. Now, late night drive home have materialized in front of me in high spirits, ready for an afternoon photoshoot. The duo consists of bassist and pianist Juan Vargas and guitarist and lead vocalist Andre Portillo. Both Chaparral natives, they make “bedroom-alternative style music”. All of their original songs have been produced, written and recorded by the band and they have been steadily gaining traction since the release of their local-hit “waiting for u” — which currently has just over 12,000 plays on SoundCloud.

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I first met Juan last autumn when we were both tentative newbies to the News22 floor. I, a shaky camera operator, was completing mandatory lab hours when a sympathetic Juan was working as floor director. We struck up a conversation and now, over a year later, we were navigating our way through Milton Hall to the studio.

While on our way, their personalities waist no time in showing themselves. Vargas and Portillo both have a habit of thinking out loud and finishing each other’s sentences, giving the impression one is literally watching their minds bounce off one another. The pair are quick to smile and joke. They easily fall into step with one another, and show little apprehension in letting our conversation flow.

At the studio, it is only minutes into the shoot when the guys happily lift their respective left shirtsleeves to reveal doppelgänger-esque tattoos, each acting as tributes to their favorite bands. They’re seemingly so in tune with each other that even their outfits are near duplicates of one another — right down to their identical black-and-white checkered shoes.

Neither of them realize this detail until it’s pointed out by the lighting assistant.

Individually, they project energies of opposite eras. Juan is still as easygoing and polite as when we first met, but with a quiet inquisitiveness previously undetected — his general gait being something reminiscent of Avedon’s Bob Dylan. I hadn’t met Andre prior to this afternoon, but it showed him to be equally pleasant and with bouncy, playful mannerisms — a fusion between a 90s rock and a contemporary indie front man. When together (perhaps by the grace of a friendly wormhole) they emanate an intriguing, amalgamated spirit of Nirvana and The Beatles. And yet there’s not a whiff of pretension or haughtiness around them. Which, in the sphere of local collegiate talent, is incredibly refreshing.

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The shoot chugs along with our conversation swimming between fun and friends, melodies and harmonies. The only time either bandmate appear visibly bashful or embarrassed occurs when the lighting assistant is called in to hold up equipment for a shot. Their politeness skyrockets as both insist that it really is okay and it’s totally fine, they can do it (this does not happen, and they reluctantly fall back).

When the session is over, we traverse back out into the windy world. The sun is nearly set, it’s significantly colder and yet Vargas and Portillo are still smiling ear to ear, just as they arrived. They have some driving ahead of them, so it’s goodbye for now.

Several days later, I contact late night drive home with a set of questions for a Q&A. What follows beneath are their responses.*

*Answers lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

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How did you both meet? Was it always evident you would start a band?

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Andre (A): It was the weirdest thing ever! I was entering a Taco Bell because I had been craving a Crunchwrap all day long. As soon as I walked in, I noticed that there was a guy in the far right of the room, standing on a table playing an acoustic bass. I completely forget about my Crunchwrap, I walk up to him and I say, “Hey, you’re pretty cool, do you want to start a band or something?” And as soon as I asked that question, we gazed into each other’s eyes, as if the band was meant to be, and he says to me, “I’m Ockz”.

Juan (J): I was eating Taco Bell playing my bass and some guy approached me asking if I want to start a band. I was frightened but intrigued, so I told him my nickname and we went on our way.

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What was the inspiration behind the name “late night drive home”?

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A: Mostly all of the time, me and the boys are always hanging late in the nighttime. It doesn’t really matter what we are doing, we are all having fun. However, when the time comes to go home, that is when the silence speaks the loudest.

J: We are all a bunch of good friends having fun, going on late night drives. To me this was the inspiration behind the name of our band.

What does your creative process for song writing look like? How long does it typically take to write a song, or does it depend?

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A:  Usually while writing a song, Juan and I like to isolate ourselves in our little recording studio. One of us usually has a concept for a song such as a bassline, guitar riff, lyrics, and melodies. From the moment we enter that room we are stuck there for about five hours just fusing our ideas together.

J: I mainly come up with the backings for songs, but I have written one song which was “miss me”. We always bring in our ideas at random to each other, we send each other recordings via text message then the next day we get together and put our ideas together. For “miss me”, I recorded it and came up with the melody and lyrics and sent it to Andre as quick as I could.

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What does your recording process look like?

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A: We usually start with the main instrument in the song, and vocals. After those two are put together, it’s as if there is a creative nuclear war going on in our recording studio. From the outside it might just sound like a bunch of random sounds, screaming, breaking of bones. However, I can assure you on the inside, there is a very good song in the making.

J: I always enjoy recording, but I know when we record, we have to clear a whole day just to get a good session. I see it like a tag team battle. Andre or I could be recording and adding our take into the song for an hour or two, then after one is satisfied with what they added we switch and add our own take, and it goes back and forth, while we both let each other hear in between.

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Thus far, you have four singles released. Out of these, which is your favorite? Is there anything in particular that draws you to it?

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A: My favorite so far would definitely have to be, “guardians of space“. Despite having a very funny title, it captures the whole essence of having to make choices in the day-to-day life of an average person. We are all having to make choices every single day, so whenever the choices that I am going to make seem hard, I always remember the melody for this song in my head, and it eases my suffering a little more.

J: For myself it would have to be, “miss me” or “we love u”. Melody wise, “we love u” I believe has the catchiest melody out of all of our songs and I love the lyrics for it as well, but “miss me” I believe has the best quality so far out of all of our singles and the grunge, garage rock take we took on it making it different from all of our other singles made it stand out more in my opinion, as well.

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During our photoshoot, you both mentioned your interest in short film. Have you ever considered directing and filming music videos for your songs?

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A: Yes, actually we have! Me and Juan have always talked about directing a “pillow monsters” music video in my bedroom. The great thing about us is that on a hectic set like this it could get very frustrating, however, the fact that all of our friends are willing to help us make the music video feels very comforting to me.

J: As a CMT major right now in college studying Video Production, I would love to direct one of our music videos, but I would rather let one of our other friends who are into the same field do it as we like to get our friends involved in our process

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We touched on the subject of favorite musicians during the shoot, but in terms of inspiration, who do you look to? Or rather, what subject matters tend to inspire you most?

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A: In terms of musical inspiration, I could name more artist that I could count on my fingers. I don’t categorize music in terms of genre but rather on the way it makes me feel. Most music that I listen to makes me feel very euphoric and fills my body with nostalgia, such as Arctic Monkeys, twenty one pilots, Car Seat Headrest, etc. I also find things that flow through my imagination to inspire me. In my mind, I daze off a lot, as if someone had put me in a hypnotic state, and I often see different colors, shapes, and sounds that are related to space. I find space an interesting place to be, because it’s so vast, however, no one has yet to explore the majority of it, such as our own minds.

J: I daydream a lot, so listening to some of my favorite artists inspires me a lot to bring new ideas to the table, my biggest inspiration of course being twenty one pilots. Their sound is something I can’t get enough of and how much they evolve between each album is mesmerizing to me.

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Describe your sound in five words or less.

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A: Spacey, Indulging, Alternative, Indie & Rock.

J: Alternative, Catchy, Nostalgic, Epic & Melodic

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Both of you are young and have been receiving a considerable amount of attention for this band (you just did your first radio interview after all!). How has that been? Did you expect the reaction you’ve gotten?

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A: It’s been a very unfamiliar experience. At sometimes it feels like we are the center of attention, which feels really cool and I don’t think I’ll ever get over that feeling.

J: It’s very different for sure. If you were to have told me a year ago I would be in a band right now I would not have believed it, but I am glad we are able to be getting recognition for our music. We want to be able to show our message to as many faces as we can and inspire many.

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Let’s talk new releases. When can we expect your first album? Or, can we look forward to another single or possibly an EP prior to your first album?

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A: We are working our very hardest to try to finish this upcoming album as quickly as possible, however we do not want to risk the final product sounding uninspired, unoriginal, and distasteful. I do believe that we are planning on dropping one more single before our album drops, and possibly a music video prior to the album.

J: We know for sure the album will not be out till next year, but we are hoping for a spring release date. We believe we will release one more single or two, but for now we hope the four tracks out are enough to feed our fans.

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Let’s talk shows now. Are there any gigs coming up you’d like to let people know about?

A: At the moment, there are no upcoming shows. Right now, I believe our top priority is finishing the album. That way we have more songs to bestow upon our fans!

J: We’ve gotten offers for shows! But we’ve respectfully declined as we want to perform once we a have bigger and polished library for our fans and newcomers.

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How do you handle pre-show jitters (if you get them at all)? Any pre-show rituals?

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A: Usually before I perform, I like to believe that it is all just a movie. I act like I’m in a music video, and I always try to perform like it’s the last day on earth. Before shows, Juan and I always stare at each other, and it’s like we are talking telepathically to each other, and we just know that it is going to be a great show.

J: I always make sure I have gum on me. If I don’t, I feel very jittery, but as long as I have my gum, I feel confident in any show.

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Finally, what are your hopes for this band?

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A: I always find myself dreaming or fantasizing about our band playing in front of a large audience, sharing love and peace with each other. I like to believe that our music can inspire people to be more kind and friendly to each other and find a family within each other. I also see all of my friends traveling with the band and helping us out with our journey.       

J: I’m the same as Andre. I fantasize being able to show our music to a larger audience, but who doesn’t? I like to think that our hard work will pay off one day. I really enjoy making music and performing it and I realized it’s something I want to do for the rest of my life.

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late night drive home is active on social media as well as Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and YouTube. The applicable links, handles and usernames are provided below.

Social Media:

Instagram: @latenightdrivehome

Twitter: @latenight_drive

Facebook: @latenightdrivehome

Music:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1muzcpVFKmKSrT7rVNAwBB?si=9RC_FziRRxW6_LkmQXlzCA

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/late-night-drive-home/1469468288

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/latenightdrivehome

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUYLuGZO84Kz5VNl80WwVeg

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