Cannibal Kids is a South Florida band from Miami. With coastal-indie vibes, they combine disco and alternative rock to make up-beat, surf-inspired tunes. Everything from love, to heartache, to existential ideas and ocean waves, they pride ourselves on having fun and making moments last.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

 Damian Gutierrez: Vocals, Rhythm Guitarist 

Luke Faulkingham: Drummer

Dustin Diaz: Guitarist

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to (insert band/artist name here)? How long has the band been around?

Funny enough we have all been in the same band before Cannibal Kids, it was our previous project No Compromise. It was a garage-rock/alternative-rock outfit full of angsty heartbreak and overdrive-guitars. Cannibal Kids has been around for about 4 years. This band still maintains themes of heartbreak (slightly less angsty) but dropped the distorted guitars for a cleaner, more quirky sound.   

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

Yeah, we used to be called No Compromise back when we were in highschool. We quickly became tired of that name and project once we were graduating and changed to Cannibal Kids. Long story short we broke into an abandoned school and found documents of a kid who got in trouble for attempted cannibalism. 100% true story. Weeks later when we were rebranding our previous project, we were thinking of a new name. Dustin just said “why not Cannibal Kids”. We all stayed quiet and that’s when we knew that was it. 

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time? 

Every song is completely different. But more recently the three of us have built project studios in all of our houses. Since we all love to record and produce we’ve been trying a new process. We all write an idea at home and bring the project file in person and hash it out in of Ableton. We’ve been trying to nail song-structure and sonic production in ways that are fresh to us. This is where a lot of our new sounds has been coming from. But again, you never know when that song will creep up on you. There have been several moments when, out of nowhere, a melody will strike me and I gotta run to the bathroom to record it on my phone’s voice memos.

For this new project and the new music coming out this and next year we’ve been dedicating weeks to just writing and nothing else. We would sit in a room for hours everyday for 2 weeks and write and write and write. No rules, no parameters, nothing. We wanted to push ourselves to the limit. 

I, Damian, write most of the lyrics. As I’ve grown older I’ve been practicing trying to be inspired by my immediate vicinity. Talking about the people around me, the place I go to, trying my hardest to think of simple things in a different perspective. For instance, I love writing about heartbreak (lol I know how that sounds). For our newest single I wanted to pick something really specific to talk about in respect to heartbreak. S

o I talked about the moment when you’re so upset and stressed out that you close your eyes to hide your face from your partner, hence the name “I Keep My Eye Closed”. I wanted to invoke that feeling of helplessness. When small tears fall from your face and you can’t even open your eyes to see what’s in front of you. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

Of course as we get older and experience more life, topics are definitely going to change. I would say our newest album deadheads has the most diverse set of themes and topics we’ve ever compiled together. Touching on finding new love, missing your youth and fearing the inevitable end, missing old friends, the desire to get better, and wii sports resorts. Ahah so lots to talk about.      

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Definitely, Kero Kero Bontio, Vegyn, Rex Orange County, and some old japanese pop acts like Kiyotaka Sugiyama, Hiroshi Sato, and Junko Ohashi.

 Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Watching Glen Hansard perform as a kid on Youtube really pushed me. I was addicted to watching him busk on the streets. I love everything he was doing vocally and instrumentally. All of his songs had these intense build-ups and he would passionately sing at the top of his range, I wanted to do the same. I saw him live several years after that in Orlando, Florida and it literally changed me. It was a truly bone chilling performance. It solidified all my dreams and aspirations of being an artist. I’ll never forget that. D.G. 

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

We don’t necessarily have anything that we do for a kind of ‘pre show ritual’. We usually are just hanging out and enjoying the night, maybe watching other bands we’re playing together with. We do normal warmups right before going on to get into the swing of things, set up on stage when it’s our time, and then we do our thing!

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

We’ve had lots of crazy things happen and lots of amazing experiences. As for the biggest highlight I’d have to go with opening for Knox Hamilton and Young The Giant at Riverfest in Arkansas, and the fact that people at the show in a completely different state were pushing up on the barrier and sang along to every word of our songs.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Being able to tour with Daft Punk would be a dream come true. First of all, that would mean they’re actually out and playing shows which we all want to see. Also their shows are legendary. Every time they roll out for a tour or performance they bring something really special to the table and make sure it’s something to remember. Whether it’s the stage setup, the visuals, even down to what they’re wearing they always outdo what they’ve done in the past, and being able to be a part of the monumental event a Daft Punk show would be truly incredible.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you so much for having us! If you like what you’ve read so far, please check out our latest single “Save Me The Time” as well as our other single “I Keep My Eyes Closed” and it’s new music video! And please follow us on any social media platform with the handle @CannibalKids. Our music can be found anywhere and so can we. Be on the lookout for tour dates and come out. Again, thank you!