www.myspace.com/subrosaunion GreenlandLive.net: Describe your band. How did you come together? Mike: Chris and I were 14 at the time and we went to a concert and ran into Paul at the concert... We needed a ride home and since Paul who is 3 years older and driving age gave us a lift. We were so stoked by the concert we discussed jamming together the following day. This was nine years ago and the rest as they say is history..(chuckling) GreenlandLive.net: How did you come to be known as SUBROSA UNION? Chris: We started out as Subrosa, which is English-ized for 'sabrosa', which is Hispanic for 'with flavor'.. and not wanting to be categorized a Mexican band or Hispanic band especially in the southwestern markets we played on the word. During the first year or so as we were marketing ourselves we found out the name 'Subrosa' was already taken. We were sitting with Mike's dad and our manager about 5 years ago and had the discussion on our name and what it would mean to our 'union' of friends and fans if we changed it... then it hit us... Union! Let's add this as we liked 'union' for its symbolism of unity and family and how it could be interelated with flavorful unity and/or that spicy concoction of our original music... so hence, Subrosa Union. GreenlandLive.net: Who and what are your influences? Paul: We have a very eclectic base of influential musicians, entertainers and sounds that have influenced over the years and now! Each of us has our own unique drivers and tastes, but when we play we all note the influential sounds of Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix... which is apparent in our unique sound that we've dubbed as a new genre...'RASTA ROCK'... GreenlandLive.net: How would you describe your audience? Mike/Chris: All ages! We've noted on our many tours the age groups are vastly spread from 15 to 50.... We play to the college crowds, we play to those serving in uniform our great nation which in itself are varied age groups, we play to all walks of life... Paul: We believe we have a sound for all! GreenlandLive.net: What are your goals as a group? Paul: More tours, more albums, larger venues... we feel we've been doing this for a long time, like 9 years, but we really only been in the major scene since 2004/2005 when we all relocated to Austin. GreenlandLive.net: What drives your music? Chris: Our desire to play.... SU's motto as we affectionately refer to it is 'livin' to play and playin' to live'.... We really are happy go-lucky kinda guys that love to play... We've had many many people state that... cause it shows in our stage performances... Mike: We have all been extremely fortunate to have family that supports us and I mean in almost every way... they support what we are doing.. how blessed can you be to have that, plus do what you love to do! GreenlandLive.net: What message/s are you delivering to the world? Paul: Happiness, peace, live life like its your last day... enjoy what you have, care for one-another... care for yourself... we all make choices, we have the ability to be happy or to be sad... Subrosa Union knows theres enough saddness is the world...lets make it a better place... together! GreenlandLive.net: What does your latest album portray? Mike: We are currently being produced by Mike Cosgrove from Alien Ant Farm and Chad Sexton from 311... and these guys have helped us with 'maturity and finding the soul of our music'... that sounds kinda heavy but knowing that we started at age 14 and we have never covered Sublime or 311 and/or any of the bands that influenced us, we've been told quite frequently we have that Sublime or 311 sound. Now, this is an incredible compliment, but we want to stand on our own merits... Our first albums have hard rock tempo tracks, combined with reggae surf tracks, and so on... our newest album has that maturity and feel to it of coming into our own... We are extremely pleased with what we've done and our hopes are that our fans will be too! GreenlandLive.net: What roles do each member of the band act out/play? Paul: Mike is the frontman as the industry tags it, with incredible vocals, seriously the best fucking guitar player around... not cause he's my friend, but he can shred the shit outta that stringed stick...he also writes and composes some great stuff that lends itself to our creative juices and musical interpretations. Then, you got Chris who can handle the bass and the riffs with genius... and can 'spit' out some rhyming with clarity and speed that grabs the audience. Chris: Then you got the little-old man and the heartbeat of Subrosa Union... Paul is a awesome drummer who is constantly vigilant with regards to his percussion abilities. He is the funny guy, always joking around and keeping it lively. Hell he has the proverbial personality of a drummer. Hahahaha GreenlandLive.net: Describe a defining moment for your band. Mike: Subrosa Union recently came off of two back-to-back overseas tours for Armed Forces Entertainment. It was the most humbling and invigorating experience we will probably ever have. We traveled and played to the troops in Krygzstan, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and on a Navy ships in the Persian Gulf...flying on helos, C-130s, C-17s, Snap 15s, then off to the other side of the globe to Korea, Japan and Guam... all done in eight (8) weeks. It was fucking incredible. To see and to know that the men and women who serve our country believe in what they are doing, the sacrifices they give for our unalienable rights... it's fucking humbling. To play for these folks and give them a moment of peace, by bringing our music to them and a little home at the same time was extremely rewarding and a truly defining moment for Subrosa Union.