School by day, aspiring musicians by night, first place winners at the final round of Battle of the Bands 2011, Sinsored, have since landed gigs at different venues around Austin are still continuing their musical aspirations.
Juniors William Prewitt, Santana Gutierrez and seniors Michael Loera and Francisco De La Rosa make up the punk-inspired band that’s played at Stubbs, Red Eyed Fly, and Club 606.
Prewitt recently joined the band after seeing Sinsored at Battle of the Bands last year.
“After I saw Sinsored at the Battle of the Bands last year I became a fan,” Prewitt said. “I used to play in a band where I played bass and did lead vocals.”
Though Sinsored has dealt with feuds and band members leaving in the past, they still managed to work together to book shows and draw in crowds despite hardships. Their Facebook page also has over 500 “likes”.
“At our first show we drew 24 people and the crowd has grown since,” Prewitt said. “When we played at One Eyed Doll at a sold out venue our fan base grew a pretty decent size. We have two fans that drive an hour and a half to come see us at every single show. I owe everything to the fans. I try and develop a friendship with each of our fans.”
Being a band is not a simple hobby that’s just about playing favorite music.
“It’s fun to play music,” Gutierrez said. “But sometimes we get a little too fed up with each other, creative dispute, arguing and what not; we work it out every time.”
Loera faces the most difficulty with song writing.
“Writing would have to be one of the most difficult things because the different opinions in the band makes us want to write a song but change it,” Loera said. “Usually the finished product is awesome.”
The attitude of other bands that Sinsored has met from previous gigs is also an obstacle the band face.
“The people you meet aren’t always nice,” Loera said. “A lot of bands are competitive for some reason when playing a show. They will boo at all the other performing bands which I don’t dig at all.”
Prewitt is a major contributor to the band. Prewitt has experience with the business and has booked many gigs for the band.
“The biggest challenge to me is pleasing venue owners with the size of crowds,” Prewitt said. “Any size crowd is great for us, while venue owners do like music, they are a business and small crowds don’t make as much money as big crowds,” Prewitt said.
As for now, Sinsored will continue playing gigs. They hope to start working on an EP sometime in the near future. Their next show is October 20 at Red Eyed Fly and will cost $8 for anyone 21 and under.
