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Local Norwalk Band ‘Watch for Horses’ Gallops to #1 Hit on KROQ-FM   

 

Watch For Horses members from Left: Joshua Borja, Ralph Tafoya, and Julio Quijano. Photo by Peter Parker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Daniel E Beckham

Note: HMG-CN exclusively interviewed the up and coming Norwalk band named “Watch for Horses” about their recent milestone, their likes, what motivates them and how they plan to dominate the music world.  

“Watch for Horses” is on a mission and on the rise as one of the hottest musical acts on radio.

The Norwalk based band has skyrocketed to the number one top hit for the past two weeks on the legendary radio rock station KROQ-FM.

Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper landed an exclusive interview with the hot musicians who cut their teeth in music right here in Southeast Los Angeles County.

In fact, these Norwalk boys always give a heartfelt performance on stage while putting their hearts & souls out there for the music world to find and embrace.

Members of the band were born and raised in Norwalk and consist of Lead Vocalist Ralph Tafoya; Guitarist Julio Quijano; Guitarist Jeremiah Acosta; Bass Guitarist Joshua Borja and Drummer Julian Chavez.

Forming a group of their own in early 2011, the five locals who call Norwalk their home base, has already established a sharp early resume.

The band has performed at Chain Reaction, House of Blues at Downtown Disney, The Legendary Roxy in Hollywood, the Slidebar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen, Detroit Bar and The Troubadour in West Hollywood.

Certain to take the breath away of fans, this band will surprise you with their energetic and engaging performances. Performance ranging from backyards to professional venues has helped them establish a slot for them in the Los Angeles music scene.

“It’s kind of a shock that we were on the radio. We have the smallest fan base compared to other bands and we went from nowhere to number one on KROQ”, said Ralph the lead vocalist.

The band feels like they’re official. The radio has given them that buzz they’ve been waiting for.

The name of the band was established in a local Wal-Mart in the agriculture center. One the band member’s sister saw a sign that said “Watch for Hoses” and it was then transformed into “Watch for Horses”. The band has continued using that name to this day.

“We were desperate for a name and thought about Ghostmouth and Hypersnail but we settled on Watch for Horses,”commented Borja, the bass guitar player.

The members of the band developed their musical passion while attending John Glenn High School located on Shoemaker Avenue in Norwalk.

The song that had the biggest impact on the band and fans everywhere is “Charismatic,” which was debuted at their OC concert at the House of Blues.

Borja commented, “The song has lyrically had a big impact on everyone. Jay wrote the song about Ralph’s cousin who passed away a year ago. It happened out of nowhere. The song starts dark/slow and turns into this happy song. It has the most changes, a bass solo, and a little bit of everything.”

The band started back on Feb. 23, 2011 when Jay proposed the idea to play with Junior.

Quickly the band started practicing in their garage and at that time was comprised of three band members Ralph, Jay, Jr. Then in April of that year, they introduced Julian as their drummer and by May 2011, the group was playing their first private show that was performed in the lead vocalist’s backyard.

In the summer of 2011, Borja was initiated into the band as the lead bass guitarist and from them on the band was complete.  Watch for Horses performed their first show in August 2011 at “Chain Reaction” in Anaheim.

“We were really nervous and really confident but we were ready to play”, commented Ralph Tafoya the lead vocalist.

“It was different not making eye contact so we looked at the ceiling half the time. We have made a big turnaround now and I stare at people directly into their eyes. I actually make people uncomfortable now.”

The genre of the band is to be determined.

“When people ask I just say rock. We considered “indie” but it was too commonly used. We wanted to be a part of something different. Now that we have been on KROQ we would like to consider ourselves Alternative Rock,” commented Joshua Borja the lead bass guitarist.

Bands that have influenced Watch For Horses are The Strokes, The Killers and Two Door Cinema Club.

The band is also talking about big changes that are coming.

The band has two upcoming shows in June and July. June 14th KROQ will be hosting their performance at the Slidebar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen. July 12 KROQ will be hosting their performance at the Viper Room.

Around July or August they plan to lock themselves in the studio and work on new material. They are looking to make some big changes.

“We want to give our fans a big thank you for getting us on KROQ, it’s very surreal. We have never had a hard time getting our fans to come to our shows but it still shocks us that we have come this far”, commented Ralph Tafoya, the lead vocalist.

The band recently hit its 1000th fan recently which is much smaller compared to other bands who have reached their 20,000th fan.

The band currently has an EP Album called “Evil Kid”.

“The hardest part about being in a band is finding names for the albums and songs. We usually have the song ready but we don’t have a name for it. That’s the nice thing about music it never runs out”, commented Ralph Tafoya.

Look for their upcoming performance in this year’s Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 18 Warped Tour 2014. Watch For Horses currently holds an 80.3% Buzz Rating. Buzz Ratings give audiences a real time snap shot of each band’s overall exposure level. Taking into account both viral reach and real world factors that produce a rating percentage system giving you an accurate reading on each band’s relevance within the industry.