Today we’d like to introduce you to Darious Flores
Hi Darious, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was inadvertently bred to become the perfect musician through a combination of young parents, exposure to great music my entire life, and being taken to concerts. My first was The Cure at five years old. The most recent was the Pixies and Modest Mouse. I grew up with a lot of conflict and instability around me with some bad advice injected into my childhood brain that seemed right at the time. My Mom essential put me in a state of fight or flight “Us vs. Them” within the context of my home life. My Dad and her broke up, and suddenly there were these new people in my life I was told I shouldn’t love or relate to, and that they were the reason my “real family” never got to exist. It was traumatic. I felt like I had no one who loved me. This combined with the alienation and bullying at school lead me to find respite, healing, catharsis, and connection through my favorite musicians. My top three are Nirvana, The Cure, and Radiohead. I got my first guitar the same year THAW came out for PS2, and it was a Christmas miracle. The rare Texas snowfall on my hometown of Palacios, Texas. I practiced my guitar ever since. I began singing in the backseat while I learned to talk. (My motivation to read was playing The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.) I learned by imitating my heroes like Thom Yorke. After all this time I’m ready to actually get out there to play shows again. I used to have a weekly gig at a restaurant in my hometown of Palacios at age 13.
I’ve never had stage fright. I’m more afraid of normal conversations than I am when I have some objective in mind. Especially when that objective is to move you. Please help me get going again. I have 3 or 4 records ready to be tracked, developed, finalized, and performed. I’m not against playing alone alongside backing tracks sometimes. I’m an imperfect human being with a kind soul who kinda grew up in a bad place emotionally, spiritually, and locationally. Not every day of my life has been a proud one, but I wouldn’t change any of them. In a way, I’m proud of the dumb mistakes I’ve made because It will only make my success that much sweeter! I plan on passing this sacred knowledge to the next generations. Hopefully I can prevent other young men and women or (insert pronoun here, and love yourself) from making the wrong choices like I did in love. If there’s one thing I can tell people who receive this message, it’s that they should leave their codependent relationships. It doesn’t get better.
I kept going back. It makes me look like a worse man than I am. I’m a gentle, shy, romantic, and melancholy sort of person who gets vibrant and excited about life sometimes. Especially, when I feel comfortable with the people I’m near. I am the most antisocial social butterfly! I have layers. Not all of them have grown in yet. I’m always striving to be the best version of myself, but I try to not be so hard on myself, either. Mistakes are how we learn. We must destroy some of the stigma associated with f*****g up. In my humble opinion, failure is the most important teacher we have.
My music is about healing, connection, and cathartic release. Even if ultimately you decide I’m s**t as a human being, (which I contest), I think we all can relate through our universal struggles. I’ve realized that people are more the same than we are different.
SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG, DAVID, I’VE BEEN GOING THROUGH A LOT LATELY AND ITS NO EXCUSE. MY PASSION IS SINCERE, AND SO IS THE ART! I WONT PRETEND LIKE I DONT WANT TO DO THIS AS A CAREER THOUGH. I WANT TO SUBSIST OFF OF MY ART AND LIFT PEOPLE UP AT THE SAME TIME.
Recently, I had a health problem (hurt my back) and tried a few different money-making ideas. I ran a hood Uber and ended up in a town called Danevang. After taking my customers to HEB, and the gas station, they invited me inside to chill and get stoned. I had my guitar. So, I ended up playing an impromptu bedroom concert for two women and a man. The women were touched by my songs and started crying. They hugged me and gifted me a foam roller for my bulged disks. I didn’t expect that! I know my music has a place, and an audience. I just need help making it real.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has absolutely not been smooth. “THE GAME WAS RIGGED FROM THE START!” I grew up feeling hated, unloved, alienated, lost, and alone. It’s no wonder I ended up in a toxic codependent relationship like I did. I didn’t have the strength to leave my abuser. I still love her to this day, but I respect the lick. Some people are lessons and some are blessings. I have no Ill will. I just want to do better for my own self/future and eventually for the children I have when I find the right woman. I come from a poor family. My parents allegedly were drug dealers. I am a nerdy little Hispanic goth boy who lived a sheltered life despite my proximity to the trap. I grew up with my earphones in, guitar in my lap, and on the internet playing RuneScape. I was always learning about the bands that inspired me. My Myspace had a Jack Skellington background with the song “Sad Sad City” by Ghostland Observatory automatically playing on my projectplaylist.com embedded player. I even got a response from the band Ween one time! My friend, Hunter and I even played a pep rally in middle school. I picked the song, “Pork and Beans” by Weezer. If only we had that video!
I moved to Austin once, with the intention of chasing my dreams, but I got distracted by the first great romance in my life. My first true love! She inspired a lot of great art. She’s the author of some of my best and worst memories. I can’t be too upset. I can only accept myself. Forgive myself (and her) and move on. I think being transparent about it is the best way, because many of us know someone who has been affected by a situation like that. Things are too nuanced to pass blanket judgements. I know ’cause I was one of those “paint with a wide brush” types. We must not let bitterness cloud our perceptions, because perception is everything. It shapes your reality. I’m a one man band. PRESIDENT FLORES. A more controversial Neil Young type of figure. I want to use my platform to spread good vibes, feed myself, have fun, and maybe even affect the culture in way that’s positive.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m proud of the fact that I mostly taught myself all that I know. I had a relative (family friend who was considered a cousin) who taught me some basic chords and a few songs in the beginning. He then challenged me to learn the rest on my own. After that I learned songs strictly by ear. The first song I learned (that way) was “Broken Dreams Club” by Girls. (Shout out to Christopher Owens. I was the kid who requested you guys play the song “substance” that day in Dallas before Girls broke up)
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My sincerity.
If there’s one thing that’s consistent about me it’s that I am sincere in my beliefs and intentions. Even when I’ve been a total i***t and gotten my head screwed up, I always meant well. I’m humble enough to be real about my darkness. Gotta let the light out somehow! A certain [redacted] used to put me in bad situations and make me lie to people. It seems like this person completely stopped loving me once I made it clear I felt dishonest and bad about maintaining this elaborate web of lies that was hoisted upon me like it was my calling, and singular purpose in life. It really made me hate deception. So, I don’t like to lie. I prefer to be honest with people.
If there’s one thing I can say it’s that I’m authentic. These emotions aren’t made up for money. I want money. I want to make great art that’s uncompromising and real. I won’t act like I don’t want to do this as a career. I know that’s not very punk rock of me. Selling out is the goal, but I think you can do that while maintaining your true self and integrity.
Thank you for this opportunity! I am grateful for your ear, and if anyone wants to collaborate and help me get my act together I am damn near desperate for the chance! Do NOT hesitate to hit me up! I am a penniless musician, but I have no doubt at all about my upcoming success. The journey will be significant, and beautiful. My life has been a movie. I have lived many days that people would classify as cap. That’s fine with me!
Contact Info:
- Email: dariousfloreswork@gmail.com
- Instagram: @presidentflores
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092481594655&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Twitter: @dariousaflores
- Youtube: @presidentflores
- Soundcloud: Check out PRESIDENT FLORES / BIG D / DARIOUS FLORES on #SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/bnfxT
Image Credits
Darious Flores. (Myself mostly)
I own all these pictures.
Y’all can use them.
Please and thank you ❤️
