“Boys Don’t Call Them Tank-Tops Because Then You’re Wearing Your Sister’s Shirt…” ~Andoni Flores

Andoni Flores, band member of Cannibal Heart talks about his international band. It’s hard to classify this district dude’s spirit  because  he has many talents: business entrepreneur, musician, and is an all-around creative individual.  His passion to bring back Rock-n-Roll is freakin’ awesome.  Listening to Savage Garden, Nirvana, and Nine Inch Nails on the daily needs to roll on back to the current century.

FULL NAME OF GROUP AND LOCATIONS YOU’VE PLAYED.

Our group is called Cannibal Heart, and we play every weekend in venues such as Club FF, Club Free Bird, Woodstock, The Navy Club, and we occasionally get bored and busk on the street.

Andoni Flores, Guitarist/Songwriter

WHEN AND WHY DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN MUSIC?

Personally, I got interested in music when I was about 13-years-old, I was at WalMart and they used to have these headphones were you could listen to a CD before you bought it, and one of the CDs they had was like a Nirvana’s greatest hits or something and when I heard the track “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Also, a DistrictGal absolute favorite!!) I instantly knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to make music and I wanted to change lives with music just like that song had done for me.

WHY IS YOUR MUSIC/BAND AWESOME?

The music we make is awesome because it’s real, and I think people connect with that. I was watching a TED talk the other day and the guy was talking about what Apple, the Wright Brothers, and Martin Luther King Jr. have in common and how they beat they’re competition. One of the things the guy kept saying is “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” and I think that few people really do follow that rule. People instinctively know when a song was created simply to sell it and when it was made because the artist felt it. It’s the difference between “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and pretty much any Nickelback song that has ever been made.  That’s not to say that we’re the next Nirvana or Beatles but I think there’s a level of honesty in the lyrics we write and the music that we make that people really connect with. That’s also the reason why we make music.  It’s to connect with people on a deeper level.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE HANDS and How have THEY inspired you?

I would say right now my favorite bands are The 1975, Little Comets, Fall Out Boy, Third Eye Blind, and Panic! At the Disco.  That’s right, Panic at the disco. I think recently, the creativity of rock music has really died out.  These are a few of the artists that, instead of going back to the safety net of the past and recreating music from another era, are pushing the boundaries of music. They are making something really new and amazing.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A BAND?

Be more passionate about making music than anything else because if you get in it for the fame and money, it’s going to be a long road before you see any of those things. So you should find something about music that’s instantly gratifying and keep doing it.

ROCK BANDS USUALLY HAVE AN ECCENTRIC FASHION APPEARANCE, WOULD YOU AGREE?  WHAT LOOKS WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR BAND TO RESEMBLE? (INCLUDE PEOPLES STYLE, ENERGY, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT.)

I think there are bands who understand that if you can’t maintain the same level of quality as the recordings you did in the studio then you should at least compensate for it live by putting on a great show in a different way. Often times they do this by putting on ridiculous outfits.  Very few rockers go around wearing their stage clothes because it’s too exhausting and not very comfortable. But I do think that rockers affect fashion in the sense that they make eclectic styles, like the color black, skulls, and crossbones more acceptable to wear. I think grunge and punk music had a huge effect on fashion because they demonstrated that it was cool not to give a shit what you looked like, which in a sense became a fashion movement. I know no one was really wearing deep v-necks until Kings of Leon came around because people were too homophobic and had deemed them “gay”. I guess that’s what rock does though, it takes stuff that people think is taboo and then says, “If I wear that, then people are going to talk about me.”  As an artist, any PR is good PR, so they try something taboo to create their band.

DESCRIBE YOUR OWN PERSONAL FASHION STYLE.

Personally I love wearing tight jeans, converse and a “wife-beater”. I know that’s not politically correct but there’s something about calling it a “tank-top” that makes me feel like I’m wearing my sister’s shirt. I also have a thing for jackets.  Some guys are sneaker pimps and collect mountains of shoes, but I don’t.  However, I do have a mountain of jackets and coats that I rotate according to the season.  As an added bonus, you don’t have to wash jackets as often and since I’m pretty lazy so the less maintenance I have to do, the better.

HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE FASHION IN SEOUL TO YOUR OWN CITY?

Apples and oranges man.  My hometown is in the middle of nowhere California, I remember in high school the cool guys wore wrangler jeans, tucked in patterned shirts, cowboy hats and kept a tin of chewing tobacco rolled up their sleeve. Yeah, it was pretty insane. Did I mention they also wore cowboy boots?  After getting stepped on a few times with those things, it really hurts.  Needless to say, I didn’t fit in much in high school.

HOW CAN DISTRICTdudes or dudetts GET CONNECTED WITH YOU?

Visit Cannibal Heart on http://facebook.com/cannibalheart or go to soundcloud.com/andoniflores for more beats.

WHAT FASHION STYLE OR ADVICE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ON DGAL?

I really can’t stress how sexy loose tops that show some skin are.  Whether you’re a guy or a girl, showing off your arms and chest will always be sexy because it shows you’re confident enough to reveal something so personal.  The best part is you don’t have to go to the gym that often to make those areas look good, but the belly on the other hand… takes a lot of work. Keep it real! =)

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Interim Editor: The Red Rabbit