Meet Villarreal Band | Rock n’ Roll Band

We had the good fortune of connecting with Villarreal Band and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Villarreal, why did you pursue a creative career?
All of the words below are direct transcriptions of the band members of Villarreal.

Luke: Funny story actually, I was sitting there minding my own business, and Heidi was plotting to start a cover band. She gets a guitarist and drummer, but the bass player they found has to quit. Kiira goes “How about Luke, Luke would you like to play bass?” I said, “Sure why not!” I had never picked up an instrument before, other than a piano, which is ironic cause you can’t ‘pick up’ a piano.

Kiira: I cycled through a million different creative career choices when I was a kid. First, I was going to be a dancer, then an author, and after that part of me wanted to be a visual artist, then an actor for many years. Way in the back of all of that, I wanted to be a musician, but I couldn’t play an instrument, so I just assumed that was off the table. I guess finding artists and musicians I love inspired me to pick up music and finally go after something I thought I couldn’t do. I knew I wanted to make people feel the way my favorite artists and bands made me feel. I think part of me was nervous about playing drums, I didn’t know what people would say about me playing. I guess the moral of the story is, I knew I was never going to sit behind a desk for a career, ever.

Heidi: In a similar fashion to what Kiira said, I also knew growing up that I would do something creative. I wanted to be a film director for many, many years, then I wanted to be an actress, then I went back to directing. Then I took up voice lessons and my vocal coach highly recommended I try opera. I could see myself having a career in musical theatre/opera but something about it didn’t sit right with me. I’ve always felt comfortable on stage performing for people, whether to make them laugh or feel another emotion, but any performance that I had done in the past didn’t have quite the impact that I was looking for. After searching for some time, I found a love for rock music that I didn’t know I had. I then found a passion for writing music and performing it with a more intimate crowd.

Atom: From a young age, I always knew I was going to have a creative career. My whole life, I grew up around music, my dad was in a band and my mom played cello. The majority of my childhood consisted of emo and what others would consider “dad rock,” so my musical repertoire is heavily influenced by my father and his music taste. Gradually, I was influenced by my dad to play guitar. I started playing guitar for a couple of months and dropped the thing thinking I would never play again. About four months later, I decided to pick up the guitar again. After about a year of playing, my guitar style started to develop. Parts of it sound like Hendrix all the way to Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins. Fast forward a couple of years I decided to start my own band called Entropy. I played my first shows with them, but unfortunately, after a couple of months, all the members decided to go their own ways, except for me and the drummer. We decided to start a new band called The Birmingham Walk, but again that band only lasted for a bit. I took a trip to the beach and got a DM from Heidi Woods from Villarreal band asking if I knew anyone interested in joining Villarreal cause they had just lost their guitarist and I said I would be. I decided to meet up with the band at a coffee shop and felt an instant connection with them. Actually, I was a little scared of Luke at first because he decided to mimic my body language to make me feel more comfortable. Now I know he’s just like that, so don’t worry, I have a connection with him too. Shortly after that, we had our first band practice. Needless to say, I always knew I’d develop a love for a creative career of some kind.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Our music sets us apart from others in the industry due to our creative process in writing and producing. We take heavy influence from our faith, while still making secular music. We are also set apart from others because we pour our hearts and souls into every lyric written and every note played. Villarreal was only started in December 2022, so we’ve been moving quickly and are most proud of that progress. It took a lot of time and research to understand fully how to go about the whole “rock n’ roll thing.” The biggest struggle we’ve had to face would be being so young and having a lack of money and experience. Because we’re all so young, others in the industry do not take us as seriously as we would like to be taken. We have faced many problems like having our first guitarist leave and having to prove ourselves to everyone we know. It took us some time to “prove ourselves,” and we will most likely never stop having to do that, but it makes the art more satisfying. We have learned not to compare ourselves to other artists and carry ourselves professionally at such a young age. We want the world to know why we make our music and to inspire all who listen to it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Kiira: West Side Provisions, definitely. There’s mini golf, amazing restaurants and shops, and Jeni’s Ice Cream. Come on, you can’t beat Jeni’s.

Heidi: My personal favorite place in Atlanta to go is probably the Fox Theatre. I’d take my friend to see a show, then get ice cream at Jeni’s!

Luke: Definitely the Marietta Square. My personal favorite place is the sidewalk.

Atom: JENI’S ICE CREAM.

Kiira: Clearly we all have a thing for Jeni’s Ice Cream.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would love to give shoutouts to our parents, Vicor Ezquerra, Brian Jones, Heather Witt-Owens, Steven Morrison, Anaston Ragsdale, and Celia White. We would also like to give the ultimate credit and thanks to God.

Website: www.villarrealband.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villarreal_band/

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@villarrealband

Image Credits
All image credits go to Celia White.