How many members would you guess are in Albuquerque’s largest band? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Alex Camachos’ band has included over 70 collaborators and counting. He says his goal is to jam at least one song with every musician he knows before he dies, and he’s well on his way. Camacho has played guitar and bass in metal bands with original music such as Deforme, Break the Earth, Incest and Lamenectomy, and in the cover bands I’m Broken (Pantera), Medusa’s Madhouse (Anthrax) and Goats of War (Slayer). His newest passion project is 505 GOATS, a community cover band that welcomes anyone regardless of skill level to grab their favorite instrument, join them for a live performance and get Facebook famous. It might sound like any other group of friends getting together for a jam session, but don’t let Camacho’s modesty fool you. This “karaoke” crew is stacked with some professional-caliber ringers, and some might say many of their performances turn out better than the original versions. Check out some past performances online or watch the ensemble live and you’ll see that the 505 GOATS throw one hell of a party.
What types of musicians do you look for when planning a collaboration?
I have no limitations when looking for musicians. I turn to people I already know first, but I also invite random musicians on Facebook or karaoke bars, just looking for anyone willing. It’s pretty fun recruiting people who have just started playing/singing or those who have never played in a band.
How did you come up with the idea and how did the project evolve? How long have 505 GOATS been doing this?
It’s an idea I’ve always had but never thought it’d go far. But during COVID when there were no live shows for a while, it kinda picked up because people still wanted to play music. It started with a small core of five or six people, and when people saw what we were doing more and more joined. We posted our first video in 2021, and since then we have gone on to doing live shows – which I didn’t think would happen given the chaotic number of musicians.
Where do you rehearse and record?
We do all the jams at my house. I’ve got a drum set, microphones, speakers and amps for bass and guitar. We recently did one video at my friend Antonio’s place because his drum set is way better than mine.
What bands or genres do you cover? What are some of your favorite songs you’ve done in the past?
Oh man, we cover everything. Most ideas are song requests from people new to the group, so I don’t have specific lists or anything as far as goals for new songs to cover. But we do everything from death metal to country, rap and hip-hop. The bulk of the music is metal because of my circle of friends, but we don’t shy away from challenges. My favorite has to be the rap stuff though — 2pac’s “California Love” and Coolio’s “Gangstas Paradise” — because even live, the artists use a track that they simply rap over, and here we play the whole track with real instruments.
How do you plan and coordinate a live performance? Can you describe your experience performing live?
Planning and coordinating a live show is a mess. I have to write out several charts of which people are available, then a chart of songs that the people available can do, have backup musicians for songs in case the original person who did the song with us can’t make it, make a separate list of easy songs that everybody knows in case we need to fill more time. It’s absolutely chaotic. But when it all comes together, it’s truly an amazing experience backlining a set and having the bulk of the crowd in attendance essentially rotating on stage. Just seeing how many different people can share one stage is badass.
Check out 505 GOATS performing “Mein Herz Brent” by Rammstein here. Yes, that’s Camacho singing in German.
Listen to their wicked cover of “Mr Crowley” by Ozzy Osbourne here. Don’t tune out before you hear the solo!
For something newer and a bit more eclectic, listen to 505 GOATS covering “Circle With Me” by Spiritbox here
If you want to jump on the next project, have a song in mind and message 505 GOATS on Facebook. No matter what instrument you play, Alex and his GOATS will build the band around your song and learn it if they don’t already know it by heart. You can watch all their past performances on the page, too.