Rage Resonates: An Inside Look into Coachella Valley’s Rage Against the Machine Tribute Band
By Esther Sanchez
What started as a wild idea for a pandemic project is starting to make waves in the Coachella Valley and beyond. Four stellar musicians with a combined century of experience performing in countless musical projects in their beloved desert empire have come together in pursuit of doing justice to one of the most iconic bands of all time.
Every member of POTS was raised, educated and cut their musical teeth right here in the valley. True desert rats forming a bit of a super-band consisting of some legit, hometown heroes on the music scene. With Josh Fimbres on lead vox, Nick Hales on guitar, Armondo Flores on bass and Jeff Bowman on drums; this rag-tag group of players have combined their skills with their love of RATM and we should all be here for it.
Attending a POTS show is truly a raging affair (pun intended). With their exceptional musical talent and the electrifying stage presence of frontman, Josh Fimbres, POTS has truly elevated the bar in their mission to honor one of their most beloved bands.
CVW: Who’s idea was it to start this project and why RATM?
Jeff Bowman: “When the music industry came to a halt during Covid I and had stopped playing with Mondo Generator so I, like many other people, had a lot of time in my hands. I’d always loved RATM, and it sounds funny, but the idea was born when I was out of town at a hockey tournament for my son, and we had to wake up super early for a game. I was searching for a custom ringtone for my phone alarm and Bulls on Parade made for the perfect rise and shine! It made me miss Rage and I thought that it would be a great Covid project to put a band together, do our homework and learn some of their songs so we could be ready to rock when venues opened back up for shows. It’s gone over so well that we’ve kept it going, and we’re having a blast!”
CVW: How did you go about gathering your band members?
Armando Flores: “Jeff had the players picked out from the beginning. I think he had already picked out who he wanted when the idea came to him for the project. Originally, we had a different guitarist and vocalist, but things change and that’s ok. The current line-up has great chemistry. They’re all talented musicians and genuinely good peeps. Personally, I will take mediocre musicians with a great attitude and the hunger to strive for perfection rather than an uber-talented dickhead any day of the week. Lucky for me, these guys are great players and stand-up characters. Ultimately, having fun doing what you are doing is the goal. To me, that’s what’s best for the creative musical soul.”
CVW: All of you guys are extremely talented dudes who have been ingrained in the local scene for decades. I’m curious as to your individual journeys as musical performers.
Nicholas Hales: “My father had a couple of guitars lying around the house when I was a kid. I ended up picking one up when I was about 10 or 11, trying to pick out “Iron Man” from hearing it on the radio. I was in 7th grade going into 8th and one of the elective classes that CDA (Cahuilla Desert Academy) offered was guitar so I signed up as soon as I could. I remember getting my actual first guitar towards the end of 8th grade, a cherry red Squier Stratocaster (Thanks dad!). A few weeks later, my closest friends ended up getting instruments as well and we started a band that summer before we all went to high school. That first project which included my best friend, Chris King was called, ‘Fist full of Glass.’”
Hales continues: “Over the years I have been a part of far too many projects to list. I have been jokingly referred to as, “The man of a thousand bands.” Once the pandemic hit and everything came to a halt, I emerged with a much more streamlined repertoire of bands. As much as I loved and enjoyed every project I have been a part of, I came out of it all with the realization that being a part of 3 groups is much more reasonable and less stressful than 7 or 8.”
Josh Fimbres: “I’ve had imaginary bands since I can remember remembering. There’s always been instruments in my vicinity and if I fuck with them enough something cool eventually comes out, or sucks. Either way it’s fun ain’t it?”
Armando Flores: “Both of my parents played the radio. My siblings and I grew up listening to lots of Motown, disco, and whatever tunes from the 60’s my parents enjoyed. I tried playing trumpet in the 6th grade but had a terrible condition with my lips that prevented me from becoming the Mexican Miles Davis. That, or I was just terrible at it…(almost certainly the latter). By middle school and high school I was introduced to metal and alternative music, and began searching for things I couldn’t find on the radio. Music began to mean something more to me in my late teens. I didn’t start my current musical journey on the bass until I was out of high school. I was so enamored I decided to try my hand at a more formal music education in college… Again, I wasn’t very good and didn’t complete that education, but I learned enough to be dangerous and didn’t let it stop me. It’s been downhill ever since.”
Jeff Bowman: “No one in my family was a musician, but what made me want to be one was when I heard the music and saw the pics on the cover of my first KISS album, Alive, when I was in kindergarten. I was blown away by their image and the heavy sound. They were my super heros. I have played in countless bands since back in high school: Unsound, the Agents, Mighty Jack, Waxy and Mondo Generator to name just a few, and currently I’m playing with Lisa Lynn and the Broken Hallelujahs and of course People of the Sun. I have been so blessed to work with some amazing musicians over the years, and I’ve gotten to see a fair chunk of the world in the process. Pretty incredible when I think that I basically learned how to play drums on a school desk and a five gallon bucket.”
CVW: This question is specifically for Nick. You are playing guitar in the style of Tom Morello who is arguably one of the most innovative guitarists to ever exist with a sound that is as unique as it gets. What kind of work did you have to do to attempt to emulate him?
Hales: “I’ve been listening to RATM since before I started playing guitar, so I was actually quite confident that I could play the main riffs and chords since Tom Morello’s style is so deeply embedded into my own guitar mainframe. That being said, I almost didn’t know what I was getting myself into and how very specific some of the guitar techniques/tools that Morrello uses. From playing a whole song with an Allen wrench, to unplugging the guitar cable and using a pitch shifter to manipulate the feedback is just a couple of tricks I could mention. It definitely took many hours/days of practice, the right pedals/amps/settings, and many instructional/live videos to get everything dialed in properly.”
CVW: This last question is specifically for Josh. You are the frontman in a band where you are essentially filling the role of Zach De la Rocha who is an absolute powerhouse of energy and passion on stage. What, if anything, did you do to prepare yourself for this role?
Fimbres: “Cardio, few brews, dash of psilocybin. There’s only one Zach, obvs but music is a release in any form, and ripping Rage can be quite the money shot, ah thank you.
CVW: Okay, quick follow up on that note… RATM is a radical band with very specific lyrics, opinions, points of views, and a general message regarding their politics and beliefs regarding the times we live in. How much of that do you embrace?
Fimbres: “Woof. He gets pretty heavy duty with some brutal topics, so it’s a fine line. I’m the farthest little planet a 1000 light years away from the political universe, but art is art. You learn things listening to Rage, the stuff he was screaming about 30 years ago is still relevant.”
You can learn more about The People of the Sun and their upcoming events on facebook.com/ThePeopleoftheSunCV.
