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Since 2013 or so, Albuquerque’s Sorry Guerro has been one of the most popular bands in Burque, plain and simple. Perhaps they have a big following because of their ability to pack venues full of folks who keep bartenders busy and they know how to make a concert at any venue into a raging party. You could use the expression, “They put asses in seats,” but you probably won’t catch anyone sitting down during a Sorry Guerro set. Maybe people get so wild because their sound is aggressive, always groovy and technical during all the right moments – just complex enough to keep seasoned metalheads on their toes without becoming too chaotic for diverse crowds. Maybe it’s because you can move to their nasty metal riffs and beats, or because Sorry Guerro’s airtight live performances reflect the decades of experience these dudes have inside the studio and, even more evidently, on the stage. When guitarists Jason Bryant and Chris Boydston play live, you can literally feel the music blast through your bones. Yes, it’s loud, but they don’t need amplifiers to pump even more energy into their already electrified crowds. And Tim Garcia creates a tone and style on bass guitar that’ll make you want to have a smoke after it’s over. Who can forget The Guero himself, Liam Harcus, on drums? He’s the glue that keeps the music impeccably in time, setting the pace for vocalist Ray Chavez to do his thing. Chavez’ powerful, mean, in-your-face vocals rival the pipes of any frontman in town, and his charismatic stage presence is reason enough to check out the band’s next set at a rager near you.
Will you describe your sound for us?
Groovy, funky-ass bass that’ll punch you in the gut, followed with a mix of heavy, floppy, movement-inducing drums, hard-hitting guitar riffs sprinkled with a little of that weirdness you can’t get enough of, and topped off with the bellowing howl like a one-man wolf pack.
When we first started playing together, I think it was Ray or Tim who came up with the only thing any of us were satisfied with or just didn’t know what it was or if it was even a thing: [it] was “American Death Groove” – super groovy rhythms mixed with heaviness to the fullest extent. (Have to throw a thank you out to Angelo Perea for helping define our sound in the early days.) Our sound has evolved over the years, but [we’re] still honoring that sound that has always defined us.
What are your favorite venues to play and why?
I think we would all agree in saying Launchpad here in Downtown Albuquerque. That’s, like, our unofficial home base. Our first show was there! One of our favorite things to do is play Night of The Living Cover Bands every year and try to pick somebody that sounds nothing like us and turn it into our weird version of metal. I also think most of us just like dressing up like we’re going to some bad Halloween party in a trailer park. Launchpad does it every year, dedicates almost the entire month of October for all the bands here in Albuquerque to have some fun. You gotta love them for that!
What are your lyrics about?
Ray just writes about whatever comes to mind while we’re creating these songs. It works really well for us. We have one song about this crazy experience him and Tim had in New York City with some fellas in an alley, and another one about motorcycles. We’ve got one song, “Run with the Wolves,” that’s about brotherhood, being there through all the good times and bad, carnalismo. That’s a lot of what this band is about, brotherhood, familia, people that give your life true meaning.
What bands or genres inspire your music?
Funk, hip-hop, metal (subgenres too long to list), country, “Selenas,” Primus, Pantera, Waylon Jennings, Elton John, Vicente Fernandez – you know, the good stuff!
What is the best show you have ever played and why?
I think we would all say our record release a couple of weeks ago. But really, it’s any show that our loyal fans, friends and family come to. Every show for us is just an opportunity to jam out with our brothers on stage, and everybody out there moshing like they’re getting paid to is just the best feeling for all of us.
Right now, we’re starting to work on James Brown for Launchpad’s 2025 Night of The Living Cover Bands which is always one of our favorite shows of the year. We’ve done the likes of Brittney Spears, Michael Jackson, Prince, Garth Brooks, Ludacris, Suicidal Tendencies and Cypress Hill. We’re really looking forward to this year, think it’s going to be a great show!
What does the name Sorry Guero mean?
When we first started jamming together, we didn’t want to be another metal band with some gruesome name with a logo that looked like somebody scratching up a tree with a knife. Floated ideas for a little bit, but nothing was really sticking. We were jamming one night, working on one of our songs, when this smell drifted across the room. I stopped playing, stood up with my shirt over my nose, and asked the question, “WHO FARTED???” Ray just started laughing and told me, “Sorry, Guero!” Tim shouted right away, “That’s our fuckin band name!” Always good times to be had with this band.
We started this band years ago when I met Ray while he was bartending at Low Spirits. I used to watch him and Tim play in one of my favorite bands of all time, Tetelestai. We started talking music one day, and he told me to come jam. That’s where I met Tim, and they gave me the chance to jam with them. I had never been in a real band before, and it just all started clicking that first night back in 2013. The rest is history.
Listen Up:
Like most artists these days, Sorry Guero is active on Facebook and Instagram, and their music is available on most major streaming platforms.
You gotta watch this live virtual concert from Sorry Guerro at Launchpad about four years ago. We run a lot of these virtual concert videos, and this one is really creative.
Check out an older music video for “Run From the Swine” here.
