Thanks is an upcoming band from Miami mixing indie, alternative rock, and adding their own twist. I was lucky enough to sit down with two of the band members, Brett Gilbert who plays the keyboard and Danny Garcia who is the lead guitarist.

Band Members; Lead Guitar: Danny Garcia,  Keyboard: Brett Gilbert,  Drums: Marc Fiol,  Bass: Jakki Davison,  Lead Vocals: Andy Hernandez.

So how did you guys meet up?

Danny Garcia: Well, I moved down from Boca, freshman year and I was in homeroom with the drummer for the band, Marc. We just started talking because I have always wanted to start a band. We needed a bassist so I called Andy and he began to play bass, but now he’s the lead singer. Then I started jamming with Brett on the side.

Brett Gilbert: It was really awkward at first because I was all jazz and Danny was all metal. When we got together all we could play was Journey covers for about an hour. Just “Don’t Stop Believing” non – stop. That happened to be the only non-jazz song I knew. I didn’t think this was going to work. And then Danny called me again and this time it was Marc, who’s our drummer, and Andy. We started playing and it just all seemed to come together.

What made you guys decide you wanted to start a band?

Danny Garcia: I actually did a music camp before moving down to Miami and basically they put you in a band. I just really liked the experience and being in a band was fun so I thought I’ll just start as band.

Brett Gilbert: I was just kind of going with the flow. I bought this keyboard and I also wanted to be in a band. And then we just all started to mesh well.

What type of genre would you say your band falls under?

Danny Garcia: We’re like Indie, Alternative Rock, but the Album that is coming out has some very experimental moments. For example the whole beginning of the album is just open and very spacy. The best way to describe our whole style is Chill.

Brett Gilbert: This album is a mix of all the writing we have been doing for the past two or three years. Like one of the songs on the album we wrote sophomore year. Junior year we focused more on booking gigs, but at the end of Junior year we started writing again and we thought we should make an album because we want something to remember us by. This album is a coalition of our years as a band.

So how cool is it that you’re about to release your debut album?

Danny Garcia: It’s amazing. It’s kind of funny cause when we record the rest of the band doesn’t know what the finish product sounds like and then I’ll come in and produce it and sometimes they don’t know what it sounds like.

Brett Gilbert: Like there’s one song on the album, that i heard the beginning stages of and then I was out of town for the next three weeks and I came back and it was done and I heard it and was like “Wow, that’s amazing!”

What is the energy like on stage when you’re performing?

Brett Gilbert & Danny Garcia: We are all very excited and no one is really nervous.

What is your favorite venue to play at?

Danny Garcia: I loved playing at this place called Eve Night Club. But I also really love playing in this garage where we do most of our recording. We’ll just fill up the garage with people and it’s just really fun because I really let loose here.

Brett Gilbert: Yea it’s definitely very comfortable in here.

Do you have any advice to upcoming artist who want to start a band?

Danny Garcia: First thing would be to conduct yourself. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Be proud of what your band is.

Brett Gilbert: Definitely be confident so other people will feed off that energy.

I know this question is hard because I’m a song writer myself and it is not always clear where I find my inspiration from, but is there anything in particular your band likes to write songs about?

Danny Garcia: Andy, our singer, writes his best lyrics when he is addressing a story. We have one song “Anne” where a guy who lives in an apartment and he is being haunted by a ghost named Anne. “Name Game” is a guy who is in a colony of robots. So just like weird things, not generic. But I love that because our whole album has concepts throughout each song.

Brett Gilbert: It’s like a story book, and every song on the album has a moral. Some songs it’s easy to figure out what that moral is and other songs it’s not. It’s like a narrative. Me and Danny also always send song ideas back and forth to each other. Our music is just all about being an individual.

Danny Garcia: We just like making songs that we like to play. We make songs we won’t get bored of.

Brett Gilbert: We play for ourselves, and that’s when I feel like music is the truest.

Listen to their new album self titled Thanks now out on Soundcloud!