Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carlos Vasquez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Carlos, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I was introduced to music around 11 years old, after I started losing my vision due to an eye disease that was not treated in time to prevent losing my sight.
Prior to that, I was heavily into sports, particularly soccer. However, the more I began to lose my sight, the less I was able to play. Back then, there was no way to continue practicing the sport as a disabled player, so I had to let it go. This was very difficult for me.
When I started middle school I had a teacher that was really into music. He was not the official music teacher, but he was permitted to bring his instruments to school for his disabled students. It was then that I discovered the drums. Mr. Tucker taught me the basics and even managed to form a kids band to inspire us to move on and continue living. He even inspired me to pursue music outside of school

As I grew up, I joined official music classes in high school which really helped me further develop my skills and eventually joined our school’s jazz band. However, during the first two years I was not allowed in the band because the instructor at the time did not want to deal with my blindness. Though, I was slowly putting myself out there through talent shows. By the end of my junior year, he retired and a new director stepped in. She had heard about me and asked me to audition. With my careful practice and her willingness to take a chance on a random blind kid, I got the spot.

When my senior year began she set up lessons with the drumline instructor to teach me more advanced techniques so that I was also able to join the drumline. He took me seriously and also gave me confidence to compete at a state level. Quickly, I became the main drummer and participated in various competitions both individually and with the jazz ensemble. Eventually, I ended up winning a medal for state drummer of the year.

My only regret was not being given the opportunity to start earlier. I felt as though I could have improved faster as younger student. Either way, I managed to inspire my older brother to pick up the guitar and create the band that we represent today.

Carlos, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Carlos Vasquez and I am the drummer and lead vocalist for the band Distartica. I’m also a part time content creator focusing on fighting games and providing accessibility feedback and updates on behalf of players who are blind or visually impaired. Distartica began as a pass time with my brother and I jamming out together in our garage. Actually, I first began my foray into music by playing guitar, but then I found the drums and I kept up with them ever since. The band officially started in 2008 after I met Carlos Zaldivar in high school and introduced him to my brother. He then became part of our garage jam sessions.

The name Distartica derives from three words, distortion, art, and Metallica. After we came up with the name we found a bass player and started doing shows around the Houston area. We first played metal covers as a way to get used to the stage and to lose our fear of crowds. After several years, we finally broke into the local metal scene and in 2014 we were getting booked without us having to take the first step. Bands and venues started recognizing us.

This change inspired us to start writing our own material. Now that we had lots of practice with other people’s music, we felt it was time to start working on a record with original material.

We encountered many challenges once we started focusing on our own music. All of us have regular working jobs, so it was difficult to make time to record and write songs. However, the regular 9 to 5 allowed us to have the funds to record our first record, which was released in 2017. Everything else just lined up to allow us to create and record ideas. We went through a few other bass players until we found Hector, who brought great energy and skill to the band.

Our first album was a major step in our career, as it helped us to be recognized in the underground metal scene. At the same time I was starting my content creation for accessibility. This gathered the attention of Apple, who reached out to me to participate in an accessibility campaign for the disabled community. When they found out I was in the band they asked us to take part in that campaign and said we could promote our latest record. The campaign gave us lots of exposure. It was the most viewed commercial out of seven others that were published alongside ours. It was also categorized as the most exciting because of the vibe our music gave it. The commercial had 1.2 million views on YouTube and also aired during the NBA finals and morning TV programming.

This resulted in metal magazinesr who brought dedication and skill to the band, our rhythm guitarist returned to us, and we were able to come back with that second album. We also thrashed t positively reviewing our album. Shortly after we were able to embark on a short Central American tour for the first time. We also started playing shows around Texas and the surrounding states. Our band is now considered one of the most recognized names along with other current thrash metal bands.

The pandemic almost killed the band, as we lost our bass player and our rhythm guitarist. Through it all, Alex and I continued to write material and record, we were able to find yet another bass playe
hrough another Central American tour.

Admittedly, we are not as active as we want to be due to being an independent band and the great expense of funding our own tours. However, our fans understand. When we announce shows, we feel the positive reception.

One of the things we are most proud of is that we have unique traits that other bands may not have. First, the fact that I am both the drummer AND lead vocalist usually sparks interest since not many bands do that. Second, I also happen to be blind. New people that find us don’t know this at first, as we do not make it a focus to promote the band. First and foremost, we want people to be fans of the music. However, our shows give people a chance to find out. The reaction is always surprise, shock, or disbelief.

Another thing we are proud of is the fact that we do everything ourselves. Alex brings many skills beyond playing guitar. He is our audio engineer and video producer. We tried working with others, but we felt that there was always something missing. Alex recorded our first and second records. He is also responsible for the high quality music videos that helped promote our second album.

Currently, we are working on releasing a live album for the first time. We had a major gig in Central America and we had the opportunity to film the show. Alex is currently working on the audio and video to ensure it’s the best it can be. We are also about to start working on our third major album. We are currently in the writing process. We hope that we can continue with the momentum of the first and second albums.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The hardest challenge we had was during the pandemic. In 2019, we were finalizing details to embark on a European tour. It was set to start in early 2020. However, we are all aware of what happened during that time. We had to cancel everything. It was devastating, as we lost a major opportunity to spread our music beyond America. Many local bands around us started to break up, as there was no point in playing live music. Some tried to continue streaming, but not many made it. We tried it as well, but we also had to pay our bills. Music will not do that for you anymore.

At this time our bass player that was with us during the first album decided to leave the band. We understood his decision and he is still a great friend. However, this was still a major blow to our band. He had a unique style and was an excellent bass player. Then our rhythm guitarist had to leave due to family matters. Alex and I stopped playing for almost a year. It was only Alex and I once again.

Then one night, we were just listening to music and having a few drinks. Alex said that he wanted to share a song he had been working on. Apparently, he was still working on new material despite the circumstances. I heard the track and was immediately blown away. It inspired me to go back and start writing new material.

Alex and I have this friendly competition to see who can write the best songs. That is one major dynamic that pushes us to write material. If he writes something that I think is awesome. I have to go back and impress him as well. This was one of those nights.

Eventually that competition became our second record. We were so close to announcing the split of the band for good on our social media, but that night hearing the new track prevented it from happening. It became the title track for the album. We did not want to give up music after all and our spent time recording and mixing resulted in a comeback. Once the pandemic wound down, we started auditioning bass players and, luckily, our other guitarist reached out to us and decided to come back.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The aspect that is most rewarding to us is the response we get when we play live. It’s safe to say that any musician would feel great when their audience responds to their craft with excitement, hype, and all around positive energy. When we play at our gigs, we never ask people to come to the front to jam with us. Everyone is usually there already waiting in anticipation for the show to start.

The metal scene is very difficult to break into, so its especially nice when metal fans enjoy our sound. Though both our records have received positive responses, there are some who prefer our first, those who prefer the second, and those who appreciate both. It’s cool when people have differing opinions about our music because then it creates discussion.

It’s also very rewarding when people recognize us for our music and not as that band with the blind drummer/singer. We have referenced it lately in our music videos, but everyone who follows us knows that our music comes first.

Thank you for the chance to tell our story.

Alex Paxtor/lead guitar, audio, and video producer
Alexander Dodd/Bass guitar
Carlos Zaldivar/Rhythm guitar
Carlos Vasquez/drums and lead vocals

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.distartica.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialdistartica/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/distartica
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/distarticaband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/distartica
• Other: https://distartica.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits

Alex Paxtor