Las Cruxes are a hard band to pin down. The goth/indie/psych/post-punk outfit with a Spanish name, Spanish song titles and Spanish lyrics has a full roster of about 20 people across the nation that fluctuates depending on the show or the record. And the guy behind it all, Eduardo Trujillo grew up in Los Angeles traveling the world playing music
In other words, not your typical Omaha band.
In 2018, Trujillo moved to Omaha from Los Angeles to be near his son, who’s mom is from Nebraska and wanted to raise him here. Trujillo figured Omaha was about as good a place as any to keep Las Cruxes, which he’d recently started, going.
The Reader sat down with Trujillo as he gets ready to play Maha on Friday, July 29 on the Union Pacific Stage at 5:30 p.m.
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The Reader: Tell me a little bit about yourself and the band
Eduardo Trujillo: The band started off in Los Angeles, right when I was getting out of my old band Pastilla — it’s was like indie, alternative, poppy, very ‘80s. We had just finished playing this show in Mexico City, a festival with like 100,000 people. Like, massive a festival. Literally, I flew back from that and I started my own band.
TR: Did you grow up in LA? And how did you get into music?
ET: Lincoln Heights, which is next to Dodger Stadium. And I just got into it like everyone else, just through friends and high school buddies.
TR: What was your musical diet like growing up?
ET: It was very weird because I grew up with two older sisters. And they’re, like, seven years older than me. So I grew up on this weird [mix]. Because I didn’t grow up with rock and roll. And I honestly think that’s why I probably hate the Beatles. Like people always tell me “Oh, you’re just trying to be cool.” And it’s like, no. No one’s like, a kid, and says “I want to listen to Pink Floyd.” It’s like it’s in your surroundings when you’re growing up that’s due to a parent or an older sibling. And I didn’t have that. First off my mom’s an immigrant and I’m first-generation American. So she listened to like the country ranchera [music]. And my sisters, they listened to En Vogue. The most rock and roll stuff that I got was probably The Beach Boys.
TR: So when did you start playing music?
ET: I was like, 14 [in 1998]. But I was really lucky. Because, for some reason, I always got into bands that we’re doing little things like, going on a TV program or doing press stuff or working to put out a record. Jut things you feel like you’re supposed to be doing [to take music seriously].
TR: What kind of music were you playing?
ET: I mean, like rock, indie, indie rock. Just all mixed in. It was never like pop music. It was never metal. I was never like, “Oh, we’re gonna start a rap rock band.” But yeah I just started doing that and ended up joining Pastilla when I was like 19 and they were already established. They were like on EMG, they had records out. In the US there were like a few Spanish bands that were getting signed [and Pastilla was one of them].
TR: And what did you play?
ET: Bass. I’ve always played bass. But yeah, I was lucky enough that I joined that band. I learned a lot. We traveled everywhere.
TR: So how did you leave Pastilla?
ET: They got mad at me. My son was born. His mom’s from [Nebraska] but I met her in Los Angeles. And then she was like, I want to have a baby. And [taking time away from the band for that] was ultimately what got them mad.
TR: So were you like, “Oh I’m gonna move to Omaha?“
ET: So, she moved over here, had the kid. I went back [to LA]. I was still playing in Pastilla, Las Cruxes had just started [in LA]. We started recording August 2017 and then the first EP came out on Sony US Latin in like September. Then we were just like touring and touring and touring and touring. And I was coming here like every month. And then in [2018] we started recording the next record when I got into a little trouble. I was working at a weed store and they took everyone to jail.
TR: Wait, in California?
ET: It was like five months before it became super legal. Certain counties, like, one week, one month, they’d be like, “We’re gonna have dispensaries” and then they’d have a town hall and then be like, “We’re just gonna have a delivery.” So we got raided. It wasn’t even the feds. It was Long Beach [Police Department]. They took us to jail. I had to do community service. And then in the middle of that I recorded another record. And then I remember the day we finished mixing and mastering. I had finished all my court stuff and I was like, ‘I’m gonna go.’ I literally finished at like 3 pm, bought a flight and went to the airport [in October 2018]. So I was here for like, a month and then I left. And then we went on tour for like a month and a half. And two days before New Year’s I called my kid’s mom and I was like, “I think I’m just gonna stay in Omaha. Is that cool?” She was like, “Yeah, that’s fine.”
TR: So how does Las Cruxes work now? Is it more of like a recording project than a live band?
ET: Yeah, so we did [our last record] at ARC [Studios in Omaha]. And right now we’re actually going in to record.
TR: So how has moving to Omaha impacted the kind of music you’re trying to make? Has it just been like, “same mindset, different city.”
ET: Yeah. I think that’s what it is. I think that’s the good thing about this. Everything sounds good because it grows. But I think since it’s still just one person, you know, it still sounds a little the same
TR: So do you have other bandmates?
ET: In Omaha right now there’s five, sometimes six, seven. In Chicago, there’s four. In Los Angeles there’s easily another seven. And then in Mexico City there’s three.
TR: And how does it work?
ET: I hit up the people who are free. For the recording stuff, it’s whoever’s around.
TR: How would you describe your music?
ET: It’s like a little bit of goth rock. A little bit of indie pop, a little bit of psych. It’s just kind of like a mix.
TR: Has there been like any sacrifice to moving out here? Like, “Oh, I can’t make as much money so I gotta have a side job.”
ET: Yeah. Not having a rehearsal space.
TR: I would expect the rehearsal space would be cheaper out here.
ET: But there’s no rehearsal space [to rent]. And everyone here that plays in a band, for some reason, just wants to stay here. You don’t want to travel and do tours.
TR: I guess one thing I wonder about is Omaha has this a very large Hispanic population. And there’s all these first-generation second-generation kids who are looking for someone like them, who’s doing something cool. Do you think about that?
ET: That’s the only thing that I’m excited about [playing Maha]. That’s a big deal, we’re the only Spanish that’s ever played there. And I’m excited for that. Just kind of like to show people like, “Hey, it’s not all timbales and congas and fucking horns. Actually, the first few singles released off this record, the guy that did the cover art, I met him at a O’Leavers. Just like some random Hispanic kid. We had just finished recording the record. I met him literally the night we got our masters. We were like listening to them on the phone and they were outside. So I was like, “You guys want to listen to some shit?” And they were like, “It’s in Spanish? That’s fucking cool.” And then the dude goes, “I do graphic design.” And I was like, “Want to do the cover for us? I’ll pay you, it’s not gonna be a lot, but 50 bucks per cover.” But yeah, that’s the only thing that I’m excited about [for Maha] because there’s probably only gonna be like 50 people there because we’re the second band.
TR: But what would that mean for you if like 30 of those 50 were young Hispanic kids?
ET: Even if they weren’t. If they just liked and could be like, “Oh, not all Spanish music is just fucking mariachi music.”
contact the writer at chris@thereader.com