Photo by Cowboi Kidd
I had the chance to speak with Violet Mayugba, lead guitarist of Destroy Boys, while they were headed to Dallas to finish up their touring run of 2019. Here’s what she had to say...
How did the current version of Destroy Boys come to be? I know it started as a project between you and Alexia (Roditis) in high school, so what’s changed from then to now?
Well, we put out an ad for a drummer in 2018 and were blessed with our new friend Narsai (our boy!) He’s in the car right now. And then Falyn we had actually known for a couple of years when she joined the band, literally because she posted online, “I just want to play bass in more bands!" I was like, “Dude. Come to the light!” She joined Destroy Boys and it was awesome. We all get along really well and love each other. It’s great! Musically, when Alexia and I first started the band, we just wrote songs that we felt (as opposed to) pushed ourselves as songwriters. As we grow as a band and grow individually, we’re really pushing the craft of songwriting. Having all four of us is really effective for our songwriting, as we have all different influences, but we all come together and write these really cool songs, so it’s a lot of fun.
“I Threw Glass at My Friend’s Eyes and Now I’m on Probation” just hit one million streams on Spotify! Describe how that feels to you in one word.
Surreal. It’s not that we never had the goal of hitting one million streams; I just never really had that picture in my mind. Like, for some reason, I never pictured Destroy Boys hitting a million streams. And we did, and it was really humbling and awesome! It feels really cool to look at. It’s funny because I remember that that’s us—that that’s our band.
Did you ever have a defining moment when you knew you wanted to pursue music?
Yeah! I was listening to a record (that will not be named) really loud on my stereo when I was fourteen. I was dancing and felt this energy that I couldn’t contain. I was literally thrashing around and was like, “How do I get this out of me? What am I feeling right now?” And I decided, “I’m going to be a musician. I’m just going to play—that’s how I’m going to get this out." And I still get that feeling before every show we play and it’s fucking cool that I get to say all of that now. That was definitely the [defining] moment. I remember I was just freaking out in my room, and I somehow ended up under my covers in my bed. I was just thrashing around and I was like, “Yeah, this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life."
Who were your biggest creative influences growing up?
I was really into 80's/90's punk rock, the East Bay punk scene, Operation Ivy, The Clash and all the classic bands like that. Hearing about how they just didn’t care was so sick. I was like, “I want to be like that." I care so much about everything that I couldn’t picture myself being like, "Fuck it." I realized that’s the coolest fucking attitude, and I was like, “I want to do that shit!”
If Destroy Boys was a cover band, what band would you cover?
Oh God. We would probably be a Ramones cover band. I think that’d be really cool. That’d be fucked.
How do the DIY scenes in Sacramento and Oakland differ? In what ways have they shaped you into the musician you are today?
I know everybody [in Sacramento] and that makes it kind of weird for me. There’s actually a lot going on in both cities; a lot of young people are playing music again, which I think is really awesome. A lot of teenagers are making bands and actually booking shows, which is really great for the community. It’s always funny to go home and go to a show and see ten people I went to high school with. It’s definitely really tight-knit. There’s a scene in Sacramento. I’m less involved in the Oakland [scene] just because I work all of the time.
Do you see yourself always staying in NorCal?
You know, I don’t know. I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately. I’ve wanted to live in the Bay Area my entire life, but touring so much and being in so many different places…I see some that I really like. I love being in New York. I would definitely move there. I would love to go there.
You guys have been touring all over the country this year! Which city surprised you the most? What city do you always look forward to passing through?
Chicago [and] New York [are] always great! I always am really excited about both of those cities. This isn’t a city that surprised me, but the show in Denver...the crowd was fucking rowdy! They were stoked! It shocked me. There was a beer-walk or something outside the venue, so I was like, “Oh okay, [the crowd is] probably going to be a bunch of older people." But there were a bunch of kids there that were super down!
On tour, would you rather have an unlimited supply of green juice or be able to bring Bonnie (Vi’s sweet cat!) with you?
Oh my God! Green juice. Not because I don’t love my daughter, but because she wouldn’t like it. I’m allergic to her, so it’s kind of like a little vacation of not having allergies. Also, I just found really good green juice at Whole Foods today: kale, apple, lemon juice. It’s fucking good as fuck.
What can you tell us about the future of Destroy Boys music? Any radical changes or new influences we can expect?
Like I said earlier, we’re really branching out in our songwriting and pushing ourselves to write the best songs possible. We’re incorporating a new dynamic, and I’m really excited! We have a bunch of songs right now that we’re working on. I can’t tell you when they’ll be out, because I don’t know, but we’re writing as much as we can and having a lot of fun. I’m really excited about the songs that we’ve come up with so far. I’m stoked to see what happens.
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Words by Mack
