Interview: Cilantro

What’s your favorite type of sandwich?

“I’d have to say a breakfast sandwich w/ Sourdough bread” (Check out Cafe 1369 in Cambridge!)

Are you from Boston? Does being in Boston have an influence on your music? How?

"I'm originally from Oakland, I grew up in San Francisco... My friends there showed me how magical live music is, and that anybody can do it... When I came to Boston there was new people, new things to love, new inspirations... my music has definitely changed coming here, but I'm still not forgetting my inspirations from back home"

Can you tell us about the writing and recording process for your latest release?

"The last song I’ve finished is called ‘Are Those Broken Bones’, I wrote that a couple months ago… it’s definitely gonna take some time to flesh out.”
”Thinking of my art as a product has been difficult for me... But I think you can make a product special, give it magic... When I do record something, I like to give each one a certain place and time in making it... It's still a product that people can consume but that's not a bad thing, when you put a little bit of your soul into it"
“When I play a song that I wrote, years ago, it’s… I get this feeling, almost this taste in my mouth, of being in that exact moment, feeling those feelings… Even if that relationship is over, I can still feel all the love I felt in that moment, in that instance, for that person… it’s commemorative, a little capsule of the beauty of that moment I was in”

What made you want to pursue music? Did you have any inspirations? Has your motivation changed now?

"I was really into this rapper, and I wanted to make parodies of her… I was joking that I would have a rap alter ego and call it ‘Cilantro’… that’s where the name came from"
“I had a beautiful walk on the beach in Cali, and I wanted to write down how I was feeling… so I made my first song, uploaded it to SoundCloud, and I made it under Cilantro”
“My oldest inspiration is Deathcab for Cutie… They really knew what they were doing… I’m very inspired by soul music, Mary Wells”
“Definitely Winkler (shoutout!)… I heard them for the first time almost exactly a year ago, and that’s when I knew I’m supposed to be in Boston right now”

Where did the name Cilantro come from?

“Cilantro. It’s not for everybody. The people who like it, like it. The people who don’t like, don’t like it. That’s just kind of how music is.”

“They call me ‘soap’ for short”

Miscellaneous Quote:

“I purposely keep my music completely separate from anything school-related, or money-related… That way, I never have to rely on my creativity to exist… it’s a passion”

Are there challenges to being a small/local artist? How do you deal with them?

“Well, I have intrapersonal challenges and then I have external challenges… external challenges--there’s so many bands, and so many people, I will never be able to soak in everything… it irks me when I don’t have ten million ears… it also means it’s hard to book”

“For internal challenges, it feels like you’re doing something that’s already been done… The way we’re raised is like, ‘How are we going to be different? How are we going to stand apart from the genre? From our peers?’... How much I should take in to account from other people’s opinions? That’s something I struggle with.”

“…I think the music speaks for itself… when I write a song, it just tumbles out of me, like it’s running away, and I just have to catch it. I think whatever I catch is meant to be caught…”

Can you tell us about any collabs with other bands/ artists?

“Two of the three songs on my Spotify with synth in it are produced by my friend, Aediles... A huge inspiration of mine, introducing me to the beauty of electronic music”

“Alia (Ay-lee), she plays the bass, I’ve played with her for about six/seven months now…”

Can you tell us about the most memorable show you've played and why it stands out?

“Was it the show that we went to [1/21/23]?”

“That was probably my favorite Cilantro show… I used to be in another band, Sunday Killer… and we had a really sweet show at [venue]… usually I feel iffy, and nervous, but I felt confident that night.”

“I had never been in a band before… but Sunday Killer blew my mind, the way everyone wanted it, wanted to make music together… I felt this pressure taken off my shoulder. We all knew we were good musicians, but knew we all had so much to learn from each other.”

Can you talk about any specific themes or messages present in your music? Do they relate to your experiences at all?

“My songs are from my experiences… when I’m writing a song, and I’m getting the chills… that’s how I know it’s just worth chasing that moment”

What genre would you say your music is?

“Oh, I’m definitely Indie. Whether Indie rock or indie folk, I don’t really know…”

How old is your band? Has it changed over time?

“I was just walking with a group of friends, who I didn’t know super well… one of them was a drummer who was looking for a project… another one played guitar… we met up a studio to start playing, and we hit off from there and started Sunday Killer.”

“A friend needed an opening act for a creative event… I was like ‘I’ll just go as Cilantro’… I performed solo once. I was like ‘Wow, that was super lonely’… I met Alia in loud show settings, but she hit me up and was like ‘this would be really cool…I’m looking to sing with you’… it made it way more fun, when it’s just her on stage, it feels super full.”