The Obelisk Questionnaire: Pablo Anton from Demons My Friends
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Pablo Anton from Demons My Friends
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I play guitar and sing for Demons My Friends, a Stoner/Doom project based in Austin TX that I founded with two close friends from Mexico City who are seasoned musicians. I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12, and I’ve been an avid extreme music collector since around the same age. I’ve always been enamored with strange sounds and obscure bands from all over the globe.
Describe your first musical memory.
My dad spinning records for me on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid. He was into progressive rock, and I distinctly remember the time he played “No Earthly Connection” for me, by Rick Wakeman. The vinyl had a distorted image in the cover that became clear if you held a mirror towards it at the right angle. For some reason that stuck with me.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
In 2018 I got a chance to perform with my former band at a metal festival near the pyramids in Teotihuacan Mexico at night, under heavy rain, right before Alice In Chains and System of a Down. That was a great night. The crowd had an energy that was unlike anything I’ve ever experience before or since.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When I became a father. Everything I thought I wanted in life was forever changed. I always thought this was a cliché, but it turned out to be true (for me, at least).
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
For me, artistic progression has led me to the darkest corners of my mind. It has enabled me to release and let go of traumatic memories and feelings that I had been unable to process before by other means. The more time I spend creating music, the more I get to know myself, forgive myself and heal myself.
How do you define success?
I personally define success as an artist as being able to materialize all the dreams and hopes I had for myself when I was a teenager. That’s all I’m trying to do, really. Chase the excitement and deep emotions I felt when I was 15, sitting alone in my room listening to deeply complex and emotional music from the likes of bands like Opeth, Katatonia, Borknagar and many others, and dreaming of being able to one day be at their level. All the “successful” moments that I can think of as a musician relate to moments where I’ve been able to connect with those raw emotions from my past and feel them with equal intensity again.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
“Two Girls, One Cup”. Eww.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A concept album, but every time I’ve tried, I’ve struggled with stretching a plot long enough to last me for multiple songs.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Art has the ability of connecting people and bounding us together, while at the same time meaning something completely different and unique to each of us. I don’t think there’s anything else that exists in this life that can achieve that.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I always look forward to spending time with my family, whenever I am away from them.
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