Viveca Hawkins of The Memorials : IPMM / The Citrus Report

Viveca Hawkins – The Memorials (also available on The Citrus Report)

“I want people to lose their minds, shake their asses, shake their dreads, whatever they got…”

I flew into Oakland in the middle of the night and rented the last car on the lot. A quick pit stop for swishers and coffee, and 10 minutes later I was watching The Memorials’ last run through their set. The band was holed up at Moondog Studios in Alameda, CA, preparing for their first show ever, and playing with crazy, spastic, unhinged energy.  I saw Viv in the corner booth, feeding off her band’s intensity and looking enthralled, a vibrant force itching to bust out. She’s been singing and performing her entire life, from her early recording sessions as an 11 year old, to her exploration of hip hop, jazz, soul, and rock n roll as a teenager and adult. She’s solidified her skills and fostered her ability to sing anything, through projects with the likes of Goapele, MF Doom, and Blackalicious, to name a few.

Viveca is Berkeley, born and raised, and she’s on the verge of making her mark on the landscape of rock music, alongside bandmates Thomas Pridgen and Nick Brewer. The Memorials form a powerful and balanced rock outfit that is melodic, yet ferocious, eclectic yet solid. If you took Tool, The Police, Erykah Badu, and a band from the moon (that sounds a lot like Frank Zappa), and put them in a blender…you’d get The Memorials.

A few days later, and between rehearsals, Viv and I kicked it on the couch in the control room, blazed one, and got the details down. You heard it here first, The Memorials are on a come up, and Viveca Hawkins is a big reason why.

by Evan La Ruffa

EL: Where did you grow up?
Viveca Hawkins: I grew up in Berkeley, CA and never really left ‘til I went to college. When I went to Franklin for school, I started dancing “Baile Folklorico” and had did traditional Mexican dance since 2nd grade. I had a very multicultural upbringing, and was in bilingual classes in elementary…my dad’s Mexican and even though he wasn’t really in my life, my mom wanted me to have that. I was in a little banda group, and 7 or 8 girls would all pile into this green mustang…it was bad ass (laughs), I wanted that car soooo bad (laughs)…we’d drive to Richmond, and perform at little events…

I’ve always been a performer. I did a lot more of the traditional Mexican dance when I was younger, and then I got more into hip hop, jazz, and modern as I grew older.

EL: When did you start recording?
VH: I did my first session when I was 11 in a home studio, and then when I was 13 I started demoing tracks for this production company, and they taught me a lot. They would pre-record the songs and then I’d sing ‘em, so it didn’t help me creatively really, but they were definitely hard on me, and it whipped me into shape.

EL: Biggest musical influences?
VH: I know that I listened to a shitload of Whitney Houston! I listened to Whitney until my moms ears were bleeding…the bodyguard soundtrack was in my tape player forever! I was singin’ “I Will Always Love You,” sounding like shit, and lookin’ hella stupid, (laughs)…but I had a sense of respect for her talent.

EL: So tell me how you and Thomas reconnected for The Memorials…
VH: Thomas and I have known each other since we were 12 years old, and we’ve been  bumping into each other, living this life where our paths are just winding around the other, never necessarily going straight along, but always passing by…and ya know, we’d talk every now and then. He’d call me from across the world and talk shit to me (laughs)…it was a very funny love and hate relationship we had for a long time…

(left to right) Thomas Pridgen, Viveca Hawkins, Nick Brewer

EL: So it was like that up until recently?
VH: Pretty much, up until he called me…….

(Moondog Studios is home for a lot of local musicians, so friends and family were chillin’ throughout the duration of the rehearsal process in the lead up to The Memorials first show, in Berkeley, CA, in May of this year. A few folks come in to the control room with us…and a voice says,)

“I brought some weed for you guys….”

VH: …Cool, that’s tight!

(That announcement produces a blunt, and we veer back into the interview…)

VH:….so Thomas calls me in October 2009 and says, “Yea, so I left The Mars Volta…I had to let that shit go, but I’m about to do my own shit and I was wondering if you’d be down to do it with me and be the lead singer…” And I was like, umm, yeah! Are you kidding? I’ve been wanting to be a rock star, but I didn’t really tell anybody (laughs), especially not him…everyone else really just heard the soul side of me up until now, but he (Thomas) knew I could do anything…that I could absolutely keep up. And that was important, having someone like him who understood and appreciated my musical ability.

EL: And you guys were at Berklee at the same time for a while, right?
VH: We were only there together for a semester or two, and I hated every second of it…

EL: Really? No way…
VH: Nah, not every second. I had fun, I try to hate on it sometimes cuz it was so fuckin’ expensive…you pay for what you get though I guess…

EL: Higher education is so insanely expensive these days anyway…but its (Berklee) gotta be a pretty unique experience.
VH: It made me the artist that I am now, being around all those talented people and having to compete really teaches you how to perform under all kinds of circumstances. I feel like Thomas believed we could communicate musically, not just verbally or emotionally…him asking me was enough. I was like, let’s fucking do it. And then when I heard the music, I was like, how am I gonna do this?! This is crazy! But I pulled it out from somewhere…

EL: It’s one of those things where the opportunity comes up and…
VH: ….You have to be ready.

EL: For sure, definitely…and as far as the music goes, I know you’re trying to avoid labels, but how would you describe the music you guys just made?
VH: Well, the messed up part, is that I really don’t listen to a lot of rock music. I was always a fan of the bigger bands growing up, but never anything really heavy, and definitely not anything like what we’re doing now. It’s hard for me to compare us…I’m not sure what type of genre you’d put us in…but we definitely rock. I feel like we’re getting back to a classic feel on some level, and even having a woman fronting a rock band…it’s not terribly common…

EL: What do you hope people feel when they hear this music, or conversely, how does it make you feel?
VH: Dude…I want people to feel the way I do when I hear our music, I want people to be fucking psyched about the future of rock n roll, and music in general. I feel like we’ve been on a decline, it’s kinda like, uhhhhhh…I mean, some stuff is alright…

(Thomas Pridgen, bandleader and drummer, has been pacing around the studio for a few minutes now. I can tell he’s thinking about how soon to start rehearsal, and is trying to wrangle the band. He darts into the control room and hears my question to Viv. He joins us after finding out the crew has stepped out to re-up on spoils from the closest 7Eleven…then I ask him…What do you want people to do when they hear the music?)

Thomas: …SMOKE WEED TO THE SHIT!! (Laughs)

VH: Smoke weed to that shit! (Laughs…) I want people to lose their minds, shake their asses, shake their dreads, whatever they got…

(Just as quickly as he entered, Thomas darts out of the room…)

EL: Were there any major obstacles to success that you think made you more prepared to become a professional musician?
VH: When I was at Berklee I totally lost my voice. I came home and I had to relearn my voice and figure out how to get back. During that process I was recording a lot on my own and having the time and the privacy to mess up, and make everything work again, and I think that’s really what gave me all my chops and made me capable in this situation. There have been times when I couldn’t sing at all, so I might as well make the most of what I’ve got. In rock, a lot of people don’t have half the voice that I do, so I can’t really be afraid of shit…go hard or go home, ya know…

EL: What do The Memorials have that is lacking in music today?
VH: What we bring that others aren’t bringing, at the moment, is an open heart and open mind, and we’re ready to explore. We’re not thinking about what’s gonna make money – we want to make beautiful music that we love. We’re not trying to write the next hit, we want to make music that we can go out and have fun with every night.

EL: If people come to your show, what can they expect?
VH: They can expect to have their faces melted off (Laughs)…Nick Brewer is the man, watch out for his guitar, hell axe you with it…and me I’m liable to push you down, so don’t stand to close to me (Laughs)…and people know what Thomas can do.

EL: When are your next shows? Appearances?
VH: We just played The Airliner last night (Los Angeles), and we play Detroit Bar July 20th (Costa Mesa, 21+), and Slim’s  on July 25th (San Francisco, all ages). We were also just interviewed live on KPFK 90.7FM in Los Angeles (KPFK.org).

The Memorials are on Reverbnation, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Myspace…below is The Memorials’ video for their first released track, “West Coast.”