AMZ: It's hard to believe but it's been about two years since you released FUNDAMENTAL, your debut MCA CD. Once you wrapped up your tour supporting FUNDAMENTAL, did you immediately begin work on your new CD, UNION, or did you take some time off? 

--- We did take some time off, for about a month. We wrote songs for two months, and did most of the preproduction. Then we moved to Vancouver to record UNION.

Sergio: actually, Ed, Ramon and Harold started as an instrumental trio that was more blues-oriented and playing under the name "Whiskerbiscuit." That was in 1991. I was hanging out with them, catching their act in the clubs, and starting doing sets with them as a vocalist in 1992 while they were still in Puerto Rico. 

AMZ: Vancouver seems like an unusual place to record a hard rock CD, especially considering your backgrounds. What was it that attracted you to Vancouver to record UNION? 

---Actually, it wasn't unusual at all. A lot of rock CDs are recorded in Vancouver. The studio we used, Bryan Adams's studio, was great. It's a good setting, very warm and natural, there's a huge window in the studio which gives a lot of good light and atmosphere. We got to meet Bryan while we were there which was exciting as well. Another reason that we chose it was because of Garth Richardson.

AMZ: What was working with Garth Richardson (Rage Against the Machine, Kittie, Mudvayne) like? Did he contribute heavily to the recording of UNION, or basically sit back and stay out of the way while you did your thing?

--- Garth was a great producer, he didn't interfere with our creative process or with our arrangements at all. He's great to work with; he's not at all interested in working with big bands. He's more interested in working with bands like us that are coming up. 

AMZ: Did you have the tracks on UNION basically worked out before you went into the studio, or do you prefer doing most of the work in the studio environment?

---We try to work as much out as we can before we go into the studio, in preproduction. The problem with going in without anything concrete is that it wastes time and money. That doesn't mean that things can't happen in the studio. However. "Socialize," off of UNION, was written entirely in the studio, while we were finishing up UNION with Mudrock in Los Angeles. Also, a lot of times we'll go into the studio with an idea and by the time we work it through it comes out differently. But we usually go into the studio with a concrete take of what we want, even though that might change once we're there.

AMZ: One of the things I love about UNION, and about Puya's music in general, is your sense of and utilization of sound dynamics, using contrasts in volume to heighten tension, throwing surprises into your tunes that hold up over repeated listenings. Is this something that you've always used in your music? If not, how did this come to develop? 

Ed: We've always done this, even when we were an instrumental trio playing blues. We always had funk in there too, throwing in changes here and there. And it's evolved into what we're doing with Puya. 

AMZ: Your tracks also tend to be more percussion-driven than most metal bands. I was really knocked out by the fact that on UNION You use a lot of classical, or old-school, if you will, rhumba percussionists such as Cachete Maldonado, Anthony Carrillo, Raphael Vargas, and Hector Lebron. I was also floored to hear trumpet player Juancito Torres. The last thing I expected to hear on a hard rock CD was this type of music. Yet, it fits perfectly into your songs, it doesn't sound at all like it's thrown in or tacked on as a producer's afterthought. Who came up with the idea to actually go the source, so to speak, to do that?

Sergio --- Everybody came up with it, we wanted to do more percussion, we wanted the best guys we could get, and we got the best. Harold is close to Cachete, which really helped. The sessions with those guys were just great; they fit right in even though they never had played with a hard rock band. A lot of their rhythms are afro-Caribbean rhythms and we wanted to adapt our songs to their style of playing. Since our music is pretty much coming from the same place anyway, none of us had any trouble adapting to the others.

AMZ: You're in Columbus with Fear Factory as you tour in support of UNION. You also toured with them during Ozzfest in support of the release of FUNDAMENTAL. What is particularly interesting, though, is that you opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers during the South American leg of their "Californication" tour. Is there any difference in the appreciation of your music between North American and South American audiences?

--- We really went over in Chile, Mexico, and Argentina. We were able to connect right away with those audiences because we could sing in Spanish; sometimes language is a barrier with the U.S. audiences. That wasn't a problem at Ozzfest, though! 

AMZ: You relocated from Puerto Rico to Fort Lauderdale in 1994. What prompted your relocation?

Sergio: Well, the main reason is Puerto Rico is small. You can only tour it so many times. The states are huge, and it's where the audiences are. We already had friends living in Fort Lauderdale, so it was a natural choice for relocating. It was easy to go there and find a place to stay, get day jobs, and get gigs. It's also close to Puerto Rico which made it easier to get home for visits.

AMZ: You're in the middle of a pretty ambitious tour in support of UNION. You play a number of dates in the southern California area, where you're presently based, in early August. Will your tour wind up there or are you going back out for more?

Ed --- We wind up in southern California at the beginning of August. We've been out on the road for awhile so it will be good to get back home. Ramon won't have too far to go ---he lives in LA --- but Harold and I live in Puerto Rico --- 

Sergio---and I live in Miami. 

AMZ: Out of the cities you've played in ---keeping in mind that you haven't had much time to enjoy them --- which one did you like the best?

Ed - Oh, Poughkeepsie, definitely.

Sergio - Norfolk, Virginia! Man, they were just great there. And Poughkeepsie, New York, the audiences there were terrific. And Texas. Texas never disappoints. Everybody's really receptive there to what we are doing. 

AMZ: Who set up your website?

--- Actually, our official website now is www.puya.com. We have another website, set up by Brutal Noise of South Florida, www.puya.net. We've known them since we were in Fort Lauderdale. And they've been really supportive, especially when we were starting out. 

AMZ: You recorded and released your very first CD, PUYA, independently in 1996. Is this CD still available? 

Ed --- We don't know! (laughs) Actually, you can probably still get it somewhere. It's out on Noizvoiz; we'd like to get ahold of it and remix and remaster it but I don't know if that will ever happen...maybe someday... Is "People" going to be the next single off of UNION? 

Sergio --- We're not sure yet. We're looking at "People" of course, but it could be "Bridge" or "Socialize." We'll have to see.

AMZ: What musicians have been your major influences?

Ed - John Bonham, Stewart Copeland, Lars Ulrich, John Fishman, Igor Cavalera, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon, and Butch Trucks. 

Sergio - Oh, man, there's so many...Marvin Gaye, Philip Anselmo (Pantera), James Hatfield, Robert Plant, KRS- One, Chuck D, Rackim, Maxwell, Jill Scott. Marvin was incredible, the stuff he was singing about back in the '70s on "Mercy Mercy Me," songs like that, are happening today. The guy was a genius. 

AMZ: Lastly... Name a musician, living or dead, that you would like to jam with if you could.

Ed - Jimi Hendrix, Flea... 

Sergio - Carlos Santana, Jill Scott. Jill Scott is so talented, what a voice. I'd love to work with her sometime.

AMZ: Thanks guys.I'm looking forward to the show tonight.

---Great! Thanks!