What is your full name?
Christian Ayala Cruz, at yer service.
Do you have any aliases?
Many people on the internet forums and such know me as Volteau.
What bands are you actively involved with?
Only Avandra, the band I founded in 2017.
What was the first instrument that you played?
Guitar at the age of 12. I learned to play bass and Puerto Rican Cuatro after a few years (especially after being hired to teach it at a music institute here in P.R.).
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
Watching The Beatles perform Twist and Shout on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was 8 (of course, it was on VHS, as I wasn’t close to being alive then haha). I then went to a Beatles tribute called Beatlemania (I think) a few months later. From that moment on I knew I wanted to be a musician, though it took a few years to really get started (I did sing in school choirs since I was 5, though).
What was the name of the first band you were in?
First “real” band I was in was called Ubisumpt (don’t ask… haha). We were a power metal/progmetal quintet. We actually made quite a lot of noise in the local scene and for the first 9 months we played a lot and had quite a following. After those 9 months, though, music started getting too repetitive for my taste (I shared writing duties with the other guitarist but the rest of the band wanted a “specific sound”) and I got bored and left. Wouldn’t be in a band again for around 10 to 11 years.
Tell me about the genesis of Avandra.
The idea for Avandra came about in around 2011. That’s when I decided to do a project (then named The Geneva Project… dodged a bullet there) with the now bassist José Miguel Vázquez. It was meant to be a kind of post-metal/post-rock project ala ISIS the band, Russian Circles, GY!BE, etc. I spent the first 2 years writing some of the songs that would appear on the first album Tymora and learning how to record. In 2013 I decided to go back to the university and study full time so dropped the project. In 2016 though, as I started doing my master’s degree, I felt a void in my life. And so I decided to resume recording Avandra’s first album. I wrote a few new songs for it, and set out to record. It was released in 2017, and though I never meant to have an actual band nor to play live, the reception was such that I had a bunch of people asking me when “we” would play live (there was no “we”, only “I”, as the original bassist was already in another band). So I got a band together and in August of 2017 we played our first show.
What inspired the name Avandra?
Avandra comes from the 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons (ironically the worst fucking edition ever… shameful, really). There was a goddess there called Avandra and I really liked what she represented, so I decided to go with that name. Plus it’s easy to say in many languages (much easier than “Project Geneva”).
How long did it take you to write and record Prodigal?
I actually began writing Prodigal in 2020. The plan was to get Adrián (the drummer) to start recording the drums for the album in March and to have finished its recording in May, then send it off to mix and master. Of course, COVID hit and those plans were scratched. Instead, from March to May I wrote and recorded Skylighting, which was much more attune with the sentiments of the time. Good thing too, because the original Prodigal was an hour and a half monstrosity (way too long for my taste). The extra time allowed us to trim it and really polish it.
If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?
Porcupine Tree, just because I'd love to see Steven Wilson’s writing/recording/production process.
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it? If so… What was the song and artist?
Extreme Ways by Moby is one that comes to mind. I love that song. Also Automaton by Jamiroquai. Then there is OST stuff like most of Stellaris’s one, as well as the Deus Ex Human Revolution one.
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
Way too many to mention, tbh. Jamiroquai is one of my favorite groups of all time, as well as The Beatles. Video game and movie composers like Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls series from Morrowind onward), Michael McCann, and John Murphy come to mind. I also really like alt. hip-hop (jazz hip-hop): A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, and De la Soul being my favorites. John Mayer is also a massive inspiration for me.
What’s a non-metal song that you'd like to do a cover of?
Kiss from a Rose from Seal was one we had thought about.
What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?
MEER. Love them.
Do you have a favorite venue to play at?
If in Puerto Rico, La Esquinita Jardín Cervecero and in The Netherlands (where we played ProgPower Europe 2022) Sjiwa in Baarlo.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Besides warming up? Not really. We just fuck around a lot and walk amongst the crowd to get to know them a bit better. I find that calms the nerves. Like playing for new friends.
What is your favorite thing about touring?
Never been. Hope to someday so that I can give a more interesting answer. Sorry.
What is your least favorite thing about touring?
Same as above. Also, see below.
Is there a city that you love to hit while on tour?
What is “tour”? How does one embark on “tour”? I kid. But we have yet to be on tour. Most booking agents are afraid of booking a band from a small island for some reason (legit we’ve had 2 interested and stepped back cause they didn’t get where we were from). I am sure we’d love hitting anything in The Netherlands/Germany/Belgium area.
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on the road?
UFO sighting at 3am, while drunk inside a car going 80 miles per hour cause we want to get home and the show was 3 hours away from it. Spectral figures that randomly disappeared. No. I don’t believe I actually saw any of that.
The year is 2006. Where are you at and what are you listening to?
Playing with my band Ubisumpt and listening to a shit load of power metal like Sonata Arctica’s Silence and Labyrinth’s Return to Heaven Denied.
What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Don’t listen to the boomers who say to stay away from doing music just so they have the bigger piece of the pie. Understand that having a backup plan is important, but that not even trying is a sin in itself.
What is an absolute band killer?
Laziness. Time flies. Next thing you know, you procrastinated everything to hell and are old and with no energy to continue.
Have you ever recorded a song that you really didn’t like, but somebody else in the band really did?
Nope. Everything that appears on our albums are songs that we all love, collectively.
If you were to start your own music festival what would be the name of that festival and who would be the three headlining bands?
Avanfest, and headlining would be Avandra, Avandra and more Avandra. I kid… or do I?
What’s the longest time you’ve gone without bathing?
Legit? 3 days.
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I have a master’s degree in philosophy (Cognitive Philosophy and Philosophy of Mind). Also, that I am a dog lover. I like cats, but dogs are the best.
Is the Fistful of DOOM show in the top 10 of your favorite music podcasts?
DOOM is in my top favorite games, and I give them demons a nice fistful of death. In all seriousness, shall check it out.
Do unicorns sleep standing up?
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time. What album will it be?
Probably one of the unreleased Avandra albums.
You are writing a book about your life thus far. What is the title of that book?
How to Choose Two Professions That Will Leave You Bankrupt for the Rest of Your Life: A Philosopher Musician’s Tale.
What is your favorite song by Styx?
Come Sail Away (always reminds me of that scene in Mozart in the Jungle).
Slipknot or Deftones (if you had to choose)?
Deftones. Though both are meh for me.
Doobies or Boobies (if you had to pick one)?
Boobies 100%
Waffles or Pancakes (if you had to pick one)?
Waffles… no, pancakes… no, waffles… ad infinitum.
Star Wars or Star Trek (if you had to choose)?
Both have been crucified to death, but Star Trek just for Deep Space 9. Though Andor…
Favorite band t-shirt you own?
My Philosophobia shirt, gifted to me by the man Andreas Ballnus himself.
Favorite meal?
Sushi (Salmon tempura).
Favorite book?
Between Beyond Good and Evil (Nietzsche) and Fellowship of the Ring.
Favorite movie?
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Favorite album?
Damn… Images and Words by Dream Theater, but this is alongside many others.
Favorite video game?
Stellaris!
Favorite Professional Wrestler?
Don’t care for wrestling.
Massive thank you to Christian for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate it. Avandra’s new album Prodigal is now available for your listening pleasure. Naturally there is a link to the album included below. What else could you possibly need? Seriously. Click on that link and cram some Avandra in your ear holes.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6xJ9vvsz2uFZBkX3uHvMvO?si=zT-YEYwHTtGe7GMVPfu7IA
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