Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Munoz.
Hi Billy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello Voyage, first of all. So I started out playing as far as 2002 in random bands, mainly bass and guitar, but being a huge Ska and Punk fan and wanting to write my own songs me and a couple of my close friends growing up started Always Guilty a Ska/ Punk outfit here in Houston in 2006-2011. Then from there, I started getting more deep into the traditional ’60s and ’70s two-tone ska, a lot more of a mature sound than what I had in the prior band, and hence I started The Skatastrophics with a few other musicians who dug that style I met along the way in playing with Always Guilty, so basically Skatastrophics started in 2011, and we are still here today with plenty of tours and adventures in between.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh yeah of course especially playing in a ska band with six to sometimes eight or nine members there’s a lot of personalities you have to deal with, and there has been a few lineup changes through the years, but we do still have three of the original core members out of the eight members we have at this moment. There’s also some crazy touring stories, but I’m sure any other band that has been on the road can attest to that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well me myself I am the primary songwriter of the band and baritone sax player as well, I guess it makes sense being the vocalist, I write a really rough version of the song, then I get with the guys, and they add their magic touch to it, I definitely have a talented team around me, I guess band wise the thing I’d be most proud of is just knowing that I’m in a band with other dudes who are down to play tunes that I have written, it’s something that I wanted to do since I was a kid, and as a youngster the thought of having a band and bandmates seemed so far out of reach too me
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Well, I have two musicians I can definitely call mentors who play in bands that I grew up listening to, who I can call friends and not just colleagues, and how I linked up with them is just opening for their bands through the years, and actually becoming friends, who encourage me and make me feel like I’m doing something right, and give me that affirming feeling, like I’m in the quote on quote club or what not, that’d be Eddie Casillas from the band Voodoo Glow Skulls, he actually mastered our last album, and Chris Dowd from Fishbone, he has broke down a lot of music industry things for me while hanging out together.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/the_skatastrophics?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: Skatastrophics Houston
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@skatastrophicshouston6634
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UE3H7Rx0qLNWuexfDQCJZ?si=7qUFDphpQKGzsz1o50bigw&utm_source=copy-link
