John DeMena is a Los Angeles rock artist who discovered his passion for music at a very young age in his native Spain. He has worked with producers and musicians of notable bands such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Jane’s Addiction. We’re excited to bring you his single “Eternal Eyes,” out of his latest album “Dreams and Lies.” The song features Glen Sobel (drums), Pete Griffin (Bass), and Matt Rohde (Keyboard) and grounds itself in a majestic, yet trippy atmosphere with big, unique sounds.
Huge dynamics are heard in the instrumental to begin such a massive-sounding song. The slide guitar and drums crescendo perfectly to excited the start of “Eternal Eyes”. As the intro fades away, the song picks up in tempo and changes the vibe to sound reminiscent of classic 70’s rock. To us, “Eternal Eyes” sort of sounds like a newer sounding song from the band Alice In Chains, but with a trippier vibe. As the song continues, it does not follow the conventional chorus-verse structure but, it does have different parts that sound different from each other, which gives it more than one feeling through “Eternal Eyes”. The song can go from spacey to uplifting, to nostalgic, and makes the listener feel many emotions. “Eternal Eyes” has the elements of an old rock song, however, the creative styles and new knowledge John DeMena contains makes the track interesting throughout the whole listen.
Stream "Eternal Eyes" on Spotify.
Hey John DeMena! Welcome to BuzzMusic, we are more than happy to be representing you and your new single “Eternal Eyes”. Before starting your solo career, you had mentioned that you had played with some major artists. That obviously brought your musical skills to a new level, but did it also help you with your networking skills? Did those artists teach you how to make better connections?
Every project and artist you work with teaches you something of great value, and I’m so thankful for all the people I have worked with. There are artists that took me under their wing when I was just a teenager and have become lifelong companions along this musical journey, and there are many recent ones that have helped my music career since I moved out here. I’m blessed.
The music you make is like nothing I have heard from any rock band’s today. To me, I feel as if everyone is trying to appeal to someone else, but you are making music for yourself and because you like your sounds. How do you maintain that control of yourself, and not give in to pressure from other people/businesses?
Well, waves come and go, but the ocean is always there, you know? I’m not chasing the latest trend in rock and roll nor write music trying to appeal to a specific audience. I’m a storyteller first. I focus on the story and then write the music around it, but always staying true to myself. And paradoxically, sometimes the more personal and intimate the song is, the more universal it becomes.
You have been playing the guitar for quite some time. Do you always make the guitar parts for all of your songs? Do you ever create drum or bass parts as well?
I write all the music and lyrics. I record all guitar/bass parts and use software to program the drum and keyboard parts in pre-production. Then I arrange everything and work with session musicians in the final recording phase of the album.
What is your favorite aspect of the Los Angeles music scene?
I just love its diversity and abundance. The list of shows and venues, big and small, is simply breathtaking. I have seen concerts here that half of my friends all over the world would kill to see. It’s true that many things are changing and it has been sad seeing some iconic venues close their doors recently, but the Los Angeles music scene is still hard to beat by any other city.
Since it is a new year, of course, we are going to get some new music. Are there any albums or major collaborations in the future of 2020?
We’re working on two amazing music videos that will come out in the following months. I’m also arranging some very interesting songs for a project that will see the light soon. Plus, I am in the middle of finishing all the writing for the next record.