The name just sorta fit the band members... being outcasts and rebel rousers from the scene down in Miami... The Devils just kinda fit. We liked the idea behind it but it sounded a bit too... too bland... so we spiced it up a bit.

Playing live is the best thing about being in this band... the musicianship... the friendship... it's something that you don't find too often in a lot of bands.

We're also able to be a little more aggressive in our live shows... the juices are flowing and the sweats coming down... you know... your just into it.

Recording is different... the lights are low... the creativity is high... so the vibe is totally tight... and intense.

The internet is the best thing to happen to music since they discovered how to put a groove in vinyl. Music is freedom... and you shouldn't have to pay for freedom.

I mean... bands make money on t-shirt and sticker sales... the record companies make money on the c.d.'s and mp3 sales. Being an unsigned band... I'd rather let anyone download our stuff for free and keep their money to buy a ticket and a shirt when we come to their town.

Sure... the one thing a major label gives you that you can't get anywhere else is exposure and distribution. As a songwriter... it would be a lie to say that I don't want any exposure for my songs... our songs.

The majors can get your physical product in physical stores where real people can hold it... rather than the virtual world you need to rely on as an unsigned artist.

We all have known each other for years... we all have been through similar struggles and close calls in the music scene. Chino, Jorge, and I (Mark) decided a few years back to start something different... you know... a departure from the loud and brash sh*** that we were used to playing. The songs just started to formulate on their own.

We didn't stop anything during this process... we just let it go. Some of the stuff early on was really bad... sappy and meloncholy.... we had to work hard at forming the sound that we're at now.

We wanted to get a nice mixture of loud guitars and acoustic harmony... take the best parts of stuff like Buck Owens and Gram Parsons and the best parts of the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. and throw it all together... and so far it's been working well.

Will came to us after about three or four different bass players... he's just been amazing to play with and has become a valuable member of the band.

Tom falling into this was just pure luck. We had been talking a lot about how we really needed a guy to play lap steel but how we didn't really need it in all of our songs. We needed to find a guy who could play a lot of other stuff besides the steel... and thats hard to find when your a rock band... most cats who play steel want to stick to top 40 country or bluegrass.... Tom grew up on Black Flag, thank God.

Anyway... he happened to be a friend of Wills and came by a pretty mellow acoustic set we were doing one night. We talked a bunch of sh*** and he came by the studio the next night and that was that.

We all come from the underground of rock music... noone really is from the bubble gum pop industry. We all cut our teeth in loud, fast punk rock bands and heavier alternative bands. Love of music brought us to where we are now... more emphasis on songwriting than on beating the hell out of ourselves.

So... we really have our own unique and individual influences. Will likes a lot of lo-fi stuff... Tom is more into that western swing and bluegrass... Jorge likes a lot of 70's hard rock... Chino is into more of that 70's punk and me... well... I grew up with a skateboard and a Descendents T-shirt.

We all agree on stuff like the Stones... Gram Parsons...Tom Petty... just good rock -n- roll.

Chicago and Nashville... Atlanta is cool too.

Gibsons, Fenders, Nationals, Slingerlands... a lot of vintage stuff...