Nygma Q&A: Caleb Dunlap & Chris Perez

Q: So I know that the Sanders brothers started the band in 2015, how did you all meet?

Caleb, Drummer: Bernie, Coco, and I met about 17 to 18 years ago through local shows in Mansfield, Ohio. In the midst of that, I actually started going to their church. I joined the worship team and started playing music with them. Fast forward many years and bands later, we started our first project back in 2013. We didn't put anything online until 2015. Around 2018, Bernie got asked to play this small event for a church but it wasn't a Christian event, so we could play secular music. We did a show without practicing or anything like that and it kind of reignited that passion for playing live. So that's how the three of us met. Fast forward two years later. Wait, was it two years? Maybe a year.

Chris, Guitarist: We met a year after. I had a roommate at the time that was playing music as well. I wanted to be a good roommate and support them. They were playing a show at Killers Tacos in Denton on the backstage patio. They also have an inside stage. My roommate and I went outside to try to bum a cigarette, and we ran into Bernie and Coco sitting outside.

Caleb: This is interesting. I’ve never heard this part of the story.

Chris: So we ended up smoking with them. They mentioned that they were playing next and that they were looking for a bassist and asked me if I played anything. I told them that I played guitar and bass. They said cool and told me to stick around and watch their set to see if I wanted to join. I watched them and really liked their vibe. After they asked me to join and I said yes. The rest is history.

Q: Seeing as though your group started to play shows and release music consistently before the pandemic, how did COVID-19 affect your plans as a band?

Caleb: Honestly, it didn't because everything that we were playing live before COVID were a lot of Tuesday and Thursday shows at Killers Tacos. Since COVID forced us to slow down, we had nothing better to do than be on social media 24/7. This really helped us develop a more serious platform for Nygma because we weren't taking it seriously. We got hit up by this independent label. They kind of winded it a little bit and made us feel good about ourselves. It made us feel like we had more of a shot as opposed to being a band of church boys playing music. So we started writing and spending a lot of time in Houston. It was far, but we were on a stage so it didn't matter. I feel like 2020 really launched Nygma. COVID is a terrible, terrible thing that has happened, but there were a lot of positives that came out of it for us.

Q: You mentioned that you’ve played in Houston a few times. I also saw that Nygma has played in LA. Tell me about that experience.

Caleb: Yeah, dude, LA was fun, but we all have different takes on it. We all played different roles during the trip. Bernie and I played more of the parent roles. We had to make sure everything was taken care of; a lot of the adult stuff.  Because of that, the trip went by really fast for at least us. I'm very, very thankful that the entire performance was caught on camera because I don't remember it; it all happened so fast. The experience was fantastic. It was one of the coolest experiences of our lives. We all really vibe with the West Coast. We all feel really at home there even though Texas is our home. We were supposed to back out there next month but it did not work in our favor.

Q: What's your most memorable performance experience other than LA?

Chris: I can think of several dates that I can list off. One of the most memorable was Nygma Day down in Houston. We’ve also played a sold-out show.

Caleb: Those were the first two that came to my mind. We recently played with Kurt Travis formerly of Dance Gavin Dance, and he sold out the Wrigley Room. We got to open that show which went fantastic. It was just a sold-out crowd and like we've never played anything like that so it was extremely fun.

Chris: Yeah, and with Nygma Day, I did a lot of work for the city when I was in high school. I created a project called Safe Sidewalks for Kids back when I was interning there for city council member, Andrew Burks. I just wanted to ride my bike and skateboard to and from my middle school and elementary school at the time, but all of the sidewalks were pretty messed up and or just not there. So I wanted to do something. Plus, I needed the internship credits from my high school. Because of my past work and involvement in the band, we were able to receive the honor to have our own day.

Q: In terms of your stage presence, how long did it take you guys to create that energetic atmosphere? Is it something that came naturally to you?

Caleb: You can thank Bernie for all of that. This is the stage presence that Bernie and I have had since we were 19. We started when we were in the band back in the day called “Cataracts”. We were actually way heavier. We considered ourselves to be more hardcore. Not really much singing stuff like that. So that was part of our gimmick. So Jacque Gagan (original leader) who left three months after they released their very first album, Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, started another band called Pyramid. They were known for their guitar-centric music, very experimental. Bernie introduced all of that to me. Our stage presence kind of became this chaos that we gravitated towards. Oftentimes, we would carry that kind of performance over into the church. Sometimes we would get a little carried away. I’d say that we are pretty drawn to hardcore stuff like that. I'm just going to say on behalf of Chris because I've watched Chris grow over the last few years. Chris used to stand in one space and that was it. Chris actually gets out of his space now and it's a beautiful thing to watch because he's confident in it now. When you can feel the music and actually get into the performance like it's a totally different experience. It's so much more than just standing in your place and playing it. You know what I mean? But it doesn't come naturally to some people, so I wouldn't feel bad Chris.

Chris: I had to get comfortable with playing and being able to move with it. I just had to like get comfortable with it over time.

Q: Do you guys record and produce your own music?

Caleb: Kind of both. Bernie produces everything as far as the recording format; he produces the song exactly how he wants it to be. Once we're done with it, we will send it off to some friends of ours that have a company; they do all the mixing and mastering for us. We just got a master back two days ago. I think… we've been waiting. It sounds so big. We got the mixed version back a couple of weeks ago. And we were like, “It's gonna be bigger, right?” and they were like wait for the master version. They were right.

Q: I read that your band name is inspired by Edward Nygma otherwise known as the DC character, Riddler. Why did you choose Riddler?

Caleb: Back in 2013, my brother was in the band at the time and two other guys were in the band at the time. We were all living at a church and we were playing worship music for a living and we were done. So Bernie started writing music and we got drunk one night and started to talk about forming a band. We're all DC over Marvel, we're like Batman vs. Superman. Like all that stuff. One of our favorite characters is Edward Nygma, the Riddler. Obviously, we can't take Edward Nygma or whatever. I mean, like, we're not trying to get sued.

Q: What would you say is your group's biggest challenge whether it be in songwriting, advertising, or mixing?

Caleb: Personally, I'd say our biggest challenge is social media. It is hard, extremely difficult. Record executives stress that you can't pump out enough content; the people want more. There are days I just sit and look at my Instagram icon and just think, “I don't even want to do this right now.”, but it pays off. Even if you don't want to hear it, it works like TikTok will be the death of me. I freaking hate it. I am awful, awful at it. I'm too old for it, I think. Instagram I've got that shit figured out. I love it. That's where most of our interaction is anyways with people but it's connected to our Facebook so you know a little bit both ways. But yeah, honestly, social media is probably our biggest struggle

Q: Do you have any upcoming tours or gigs that we should know about?

Caleb: Yes, no upcoming tours right now, but we do have a couple of dates next month that are pretty big. April 16 we are opening up for Everyone Dies in Utah and the bunny the bear it we're that's gonna be big, Rob's in Uyless. If you go to our website, nygmanoise.com it sells the tickets the cheapest. Right after that we have 4/20 Fest in Denton where Chris works at a smoke shop. We played that festival last year and we're going to play it again this year. It's a big outdoor stage with lights and all that stuff. It's a lot of fun.

To have the ability to seamlessly blend different styles and genres into music is nothing short of incredible, and their live performances are truly unforgettable. Nygma is a force to be reckoned with.

-BlueGirlHours