Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Polanco and Tyler Ross.
After being friends for over six years and growing in their love of art and mutual passion for music, in 2018, Tyler and Ben decided to follow in the footsteps of some of their greatest influences to form a band. These influences range from My Chemical Romance to garage rock bands like Pavement and Guided by voices, as well as legendary acts such as The Smiths and The Cure. The band’s first milestone took place after searching for an outside party for recording assistance and coming up short financially. The boys decided to throw their own concert to raise funds for equipment for the recording process. With little to no experience recording live, Tyler managed to record all nine of the songs on their album from his own bedroom with live drums performed by Ben.
The album, entitled Free Time, which is an ode to fond memories at a shared summer camp experience, was released in November of 2019 on all streaming platforms. After the effects of the coronavirus took its toll on their music endeavors, they decided to perform intimate driveway concerts for no cost to residents of prosper attempting to spread their love of live music to a quarantined audience. Saving the tip money from the concerts, they plan on combining a few re-recorded songs from their initial album as well as a few new songs onto a professionally created EP, set to be released before the end of the year.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the main challenges that Ben and Tyler face is not uncommon on in young musicians, and that is funding. So far, they’ve been able to overcome this obstacle with help from the generosity of others but they intend on increasing their revenue stream in order to produce and release the highest quality music possible. Another issue facing the band is finding other like-minded musicians their age willing to make a commitment to the band and to music.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
Tyler and Ben play melancholic indie rock music, with a writing style that is driven by themes of nostalgia, meaningful relationships, and childhood memories. Tyler, the predominant songwriter, is greatly inspired by both the warm, intimate sound of an acoustic guitar, as well as the effect of grandiose stadium rock. Laredo Two is an attempt to blend those two influences into an intimate yet driven rock and roll experience. Tyler’s guitar style takes inspiration from both precision and rich chord progressions of math rock and emo, as well as the casual simplistic melodies of jangle pop. Bens drumming takes influence from the fast-paced grooves and linear fills of gospel and hip hop, as well as the blending of jazz and rock drumming perfected by the likes of Jimmy Chamberlin and Carter Beauford.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The Dallas area facilitates a great training ground and learning place for young artists with a diverse music scene made up of the jazz and hip hop deep Ellum clubs, as well as the punk and soft rock of Denton. Tyler and Ben have grown up in the area and its lively culture has been a great motivator for their success.
Contact Info:
- Website: Linktr.ee/Laredotwo
- Phone: 469-773-5379
- Email: Laredotwoband@gmail.com
- Instagram: Laredotwo
- Facebook: Laredotwo
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