32AD is an independant and self-produced rock band/solo artist from the Inland Empire of Southern California that walks the genre-lines of Rock, Metal, and CCM with an authentic delivery. Formed in 2019, 32AD believes music should help people rise above their circumstances. The Metal Demo EP entered the scene at the start of Winter 2020, followed by a Rock LP, with new albums alternating across the listed genres.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with 32AD about the latest music, adapting during a pandemic, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?

I’m from southern California. Been here all my life and lived in most of the counties here at one point or another.

I was always into the rock and metal scene as a youth; head-banging while driving with the radio cranked-up. Listened to Sabbath, Ozzy, Anthrax, Megadeth, Testament, Metallica, and a lot of the Scorpions back in the day, plus a ton of other bands from the 80s. Early influences like Randy Rhoads, Alex Skolnick, Kirk Hammett, and Joe Satriani helped put me into a lead guitar role as I learned to play.

32AD puts-out music across both rock and metal genres, and I think it’s because.. while my heart for the guitar is with metal connecting to my youth, my singing voice however isn’t hardcore like that, and so the music ended-up having a mix going from metal to rock, even some rock/pop. However, even in the softer-rock Singles I try to slip-in some heavy-sounding drums and a tiny slice of metal in the guitar solo whenever I can.

So having said all that, I’d say the style of music is such that whatever we do is going to have an authentic rock-style delivery because of our influences; even the song we wrote for the church has heavy drums and an unhindered guitar solo.

How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?

When I was in 7th grade I went to a friend’s house after school. He had a Fender Strat. He picked up the guitar and played the guitar solo for the song Still Loving You by the Scorpions. It blew my mind – and I immediately fell in love with the guitar. I knew I needed to be able to play like that, and wanted learn how to play licks on the guitar.

Then one day my uncle came over and gave me a guitar lesson that changed my life. He showed me scales, and how to spell chords from those scales. It was remarkable how he communicated such understanding in one or two sessions. He practically taught me a lifetime worth of music theory in one visit.

How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?

Yeah, glad you asked this because the first EP was a metal demo tape, and this last release was rock, softer-rock, plus an electric acoustic style. Originally it was going to be one big album, but I realized that we had different genres coming-out so I separated them. This also allowed me to get the first demo tape out faster. I’m looking forward to the next album though because it will be an older metal style.

Originally we were just getting together to jam and play around with some home-recording equipment, but personally I was taking it more seriously because I was ready to get back into it. I had been thinking for a long time about building my own home studio. It can take years to make that happen depending on how much help, time, and money you have (or not which was my case).

Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?

Well one of the challenges was that my buddy asked me to sing, which I’d never done before. I’ve always been the lead guitarist in a band and I liked it better that way. But, you know, it was just the two of us and so we needed to wear multiple hats to get an album done.

Then my buddy decided to take a break from the creative process when we were already deep into it; meaning we had already recorded about 10 songs and they weren’t even done mixing yet when he needed to step-away.

This leads me to probably the bigger challenge, which was that I needed to learn how to engineer/mix and master my own music. I remember walking around Guitar Center wondering what to buy so I would be able to record at home. I had no clue. Back in the day we would go to a recording studio to get it done, but times have changed and now you can put that money into your own equipment. However, you’ve got to be self-educating, and must have the tenacity to stick with it.

So it took me a few years to assemble the equipment and teach myself how to record and mix. Only now after those two albums are done am I finally learning how to do it better.

What was the last song you listened to?

The last song I listened to was Thief In The Night, one of our own. I am constantly listening to the songs and critiquing everything about them. It’s hard knowing that you could’ve done better on the song, on the mix, or on the vocals, but you just got to move forward. At least each time you mix a new song you gain more experience.

In the end, the reward is that I can finally independently produce and distribute music without depending on anyone else. The downside is the unimaginable amount of time it takes to produce a song when you’re a solo-artist. It’s ridiculous actually.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?

I like CDs because they sound better and the technology is still cool. The whole mp3 thing and streaming platforms kind of ruined the music industry in some ways, yet it has allowed independent artists tremendous opportunity for worldwide distribution. So I’m cool with mp3s as long as I can get the highest quality possible. However, I do prefer to listen to CDs.

Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?

Right now the best place to connect is through the website. When you sign-up there you are in the 32AD family: 32ADmusic.com

Also, we just very recently started a Facebook page for the band. I was holding-out for a long long time… but finally gave-in. So we’re just getting that started: facebook.com/32ADmusic

I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?

I super appreciate it, and I saw on your website that you’re really here to help the little guys. I think that is so honorable and I thank you from my heart. Being a musician has always been tough, and you don’t always have direct inspiration to keep you going. You just got to have a bigger reason to never give-up. So thanks for your help.

God bless you,
A. Apodaca
32AD music