Mexican Slum Rats began in Granada Hills, CA as a solo project by Kevin in 2015, “I had a love
for faced past surf music” says Kevin. The band now consist of four band members.
- BenSchlesinger (Drums),
- Brock Mchenry (Bass),
- Emilio Mouriz (Rhythm Guitar), and
- Kevin Villalba (Vocals/Lead Guitar).
Ben is known as the wild one who was always down to do shit “my fondest memories of
middle/high school always included Ben in some way” says Kevin. Ben is known to learn quickly
when it came down to music, “A quick learner and a sharp ear for sound, he became a machine
and the musician I admire the most”. Brock was first known as the shy and reserved person but
soon became cool with the rest of the guys. He didn’t know how to play any instruments, so they
taught him how to play bass for their past metal band named Kadaver and he’s been there ever
since. He’s the “sound guy” for the group when it came to their equipment fucking up. “Filled
with insight, raw honesty, and opinion, Brock became the shaman and loyal friend we all looked
to”. Kevin always had a love for music, he grew up with the rest of the band members and spent
most of his high school years in bens garage. “When playing music there’s this connection and
energy I feel that drives our performances that never ceases to electrify and amaze me”. He’s
constantly writing and finding ways improve and tighten the sound they’ve come to formulate.
He pushes himself to create real music, and that’s what they’ve done with their new album.
Kevin writes, records, and releases everything from his bedroom but he “wouldn’t be nowhere if
it wasn’t for my boys” (brb crying in the club rn). When writing music Kevin likes to listen to their
music for hours to make sure everything sounds perfect. Emilio is the “baby” of the group
because he’s a year younger than the rest of the guys. They all met Emilio in high school, they
didn’t really know who he was as a person but as soon as he opened up he was the perfect
friend for them. “He was never afraid to be himself, which was a breath of fresh air as the
majority of the people around us all felt they had to conform to a certain way” says Kevin. As he
grew closer to the rest of the band he got better and better at guitar, showing them how creative
he was. “Calm and relaxed, he’s always been the friend that we go to whenever we need
advice, or just need a friend to talk to”.
I’ve been a fan of Mexican Slum Rats for about two months now and instantly fell in love with
their music.
When I first heard their music they kind of reminded me of the band Surf Curse, but
with their own unique twist to it. Sadly I’ve never seen them live before but just by seeing
videos, they sound amazing. They recently just came out with a new album Magnum Opus
check it out it’s on Bandcamp, SoundCloud and Spotify!! It’s an amazing album you won’t regret
it. Currently they don’t have any upcoming shows but next year on March 23 keep a look out for
a secret show they *cough* may or may not be playing *cough*. Thank you for reading I hope
you enjoyed it,