South Florida artists wear many hats and no one wears them better than Beatriz Monteavaro.
A darling in the contemporary visual art scene, Monteavaro's revered as a living legend by fans of sludge-pop-metal outfit Floor. And her current band, Beings is gaining great momentum at both the local and national level.
Crossfade recently had a chance to ask her five questions and this is how it went down.
Crossfade: First off, who are you? Where do you come from? And what are your thoughts regarding the revolutions occurring throughout the Arab world?
My name is Beatriz Monteavaro. If we've had beers together, you probably call me Betty. I come from Cuba, Hialeah, Philadelphia, and Miami. In an abstract sense, I tend to be pro-revolution in general. But I concede that some revolutions, like let's say the Cuban Revolution, don't work out so well.
I am happy that people are rising up against their oppressors, though, and hope things can be resolved without too much violence and madness.
To many, you are recognized firstly as a musician. But you are also a talented visual artist. How do you see yourself?
Making music or visual art is almost exactly the same thing, except for the audiences.
Music is a collaborative thing for me. Art is my solo act. Art is funny that way. I could play my drums by myself anywhere for however long and call it an art piece. Music is usually music.
I guess someone could propose the making of a drawing (the performance of the making of a drawing) as a music piece, but it would be a stretch. My visual work has always had to do with/been inspired by music, so I'm really happy to be actively playing again.
How has your association with Floor mattered to you? To us fans, the band is of mythical proportions. How was last year's reunion?
I'm happy to have played with Floor, and every other band I've been in too. I would say that it is more important for me to have known Anthony before Floor than the actual Floor experience. He turned me on to a lot of great bands that I might not have otherwise heard at the time and I had some of my earliest band experiences with him.
Last year's Floor shows were amazing and bizarre. Driving to Tampa to stay at a guy's house I had only ever met once. Getting there first and waiting for the others to arrive Real World-style. I had seen Steve very recently, but hadn't seen Anthony in years. Jeff, like Henry, I had barely known. We got along great, practiced songs we hadn't played in years and then did it all over again when it was time to do the shows.
Beings has come out strong and the band's commanding well-earned attention. What's in store for the near future?
We've been writing stuff. We recorded some songs recently and will be on a Discosoma comp coming out later this year. Our Discosoma seven-inch is almost sold out. We had a blast playing Sweatstock last week. We are playing Respectable Street in West Palm on Saturday with the Jacuzzi Boys, Love Handles, Partial People, and the Dewars.
[This] Friday, I'll be playing with my other band Holly Hunt, with some awesome Australian bands, Das Butcher, Rodney J Cooper, Chronox, and Miami's own Rat Bastard at Churchill's patio stage.
Finally, I really dug your book and accompanying sounds. Will we see something similar in the future? Other projects?
Thanks, I'm glad you have been enjoying the book. I am really happy Mike and Ivan agreed to collaborate on the soundtrack with me. I will always be interested in making more books and more music with Beings, Holly Hunt, or anyone else I happen to be working with.
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