Agave: A gathering of juggalos

‘We want our albums and live shows to have the diversity of a jukebox” says Tony Goncalves, who fronts the salsa-tinged jam band Agave. “You never know what we’re going to play next, but it’s either going to rock you or make you shake your ass.” Though founded back in 2001, their debut album Radiates Your Head wasn’t released until late 2008. Having weathered a few lineup changes over the years, they just dropped their sophomore follow-up Elegance & Decadence, recorded at White Horse Recorders and produced by Shaun Cornell of Transfer.

Recorded, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Ben Hadsovic, the album features Agave’s current lineup of Tony Goncalves (vocals), John Metzger (bass, vocals), Chris Flores (drums, percussion), and Rusty Bishop (guitar, vocals).

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

Goncalves: “Band of Horses, Cease to Begin. It’s in my top-ten albums of all time, and I can’t name one person in the band.”

Metzger: “Fugazi, 13 Songs. Great makeout music.”

Flores: “Whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV.”

Bishop: “Pretty lights.”

FAVORITE CONCERT?

Goncalves: “The Flaming Lips at 4th&B during the Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots tour.... I was tripping so hard on mushrooms, I had to lean against my friend like a kickstand through the whole show.”

Bishop: “I like dolphins.”

SOMETHING YOU NEVER RUN OUT OF?

Goncalves: “Dirty-martini fixins.”

Metzger: “Feelings.”

Flores: “Self parties.”

Bishop: “Pop-up porn screens.”

UNFULFILLED AMBITION?

Goncalves: “To play the guitar.”

Flores: “Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour.”

BEST GIG STORY?

Goncalves: “Our best and worst gig actually happen to be the same show. We got paid to play an internet porn convention down in Mexico. There were four porn stars onstage getting completely naked [as] we continued to play. It then turned into the worst gig. We had put out a bottle of tequila for the fans to drink, and I didn’t want them to drink alone. So, after about ten shots, I was a fucking mess. I couldn’t remember lyrics, and my timing was completely off. Chris and I got into a fight and had to be separated.”

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THE YOUNGER YOU?

Goncalves: “You have the rest of your life to work. Take a year off and travel the world.”

Metzger: “Do not be a dumb, crass fuck.”

Flores: “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start.”

Bishop: “You won’t actually go blind, son.”

WHERE DO YOU TAKE OUT-OF-TOWN GUESTS?

Goncalves: “Fat Fish in P.B. for pozole soup.”

Flores: “Out of town.”

Bishop: “Fishing.”

BRUSH WITH FAME?

Goncalves: “In the Bahamas at Atlantis, I’m taking a whiz in a small bathroom. In walks Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky takes the stall and Jordan is at the urinal to my right. I want to turn and say something to Jordan, but I’m short so my head would have been at penis level. I keep looking straight ahead and say, ‘You know, I’m gonna tell all my friends I’m bigger than you.’”

Metzger: “Ten years ago, after one of our shows, I sat in a booth next to Eddie Vedder at Denny’s in P.B. He was by himself, and the waitress didn’t know who he was. After we told her, she sat him in her section, just because she thought he was cute. That fucker didn’t even need to be famous, ’cause he gets chicks anyway. That’s frustrating.”

Flores: “We hired Beetlejuice [from the Howard Stern show] at my brother’s bachelor party for some midget-tossing. He was in a mini-Superman suit. Some of the guys would overthrow him and he kept missing the mattress, landing on the bare floor. He wasn’t too happy with us after a few times of that happening.”

ANY FEARS OR PHOBIAS?

Goncalves: “I live in constant fear of sharting.”

Metzger: “I live in constant fear of Tony sharting.”

Flores: “Sharks and spiders.”

WHAT REMAINS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

Goncalves: “Eat the world’s biggest hoagie. Oh, wait, I did that last year at the county fair.”

Metzger: “Jamming with the guys from Ninja Sex Party.”

Flores: “The Gathering of the Juggalos.”

SOMETHING WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

Goncalves: “I fought for this country in the first Gulf War, before I became a U.S. citizen.”

Metzger: “Long division.”

Flores: “I do my own stunts.”

Bishop: “I love sea shells and sea horses.”