Native Crowds: The Remy DeLara Project
Punk music has been trying to resurface, and really hit it off in the mid-2000s with popular bands like Blink 182. Native Crowds from north Texas is “a love letter to this genre of music.” Remy DeLara created this emo band in 2018 and remains the central creative staple of the band.
“I love playing punk, but we are too emo [for some punks].”
Emo music came from punk music. “It came from the hardcore 80s movement.” Remy said. Instead of being hard-core and rebellious, emo music has more substance and feelings. Bands that fit this style of music include My Chemical Romance, Fallout Boy, Say Anything, The Get Up Kids and Jawbreaker.
Remy calls the lineup of the band “fluid” with a revolving door of members. Kody Tosh, a drummer and bassist, plays for him as well as B.J. Dyer, a drummer. “I write and arrange the music,” Remy said. This gives him total control on what the songs and band sounds like.
“I got impatient,” Remy recalled playing in other bands. This is where he decided to create the music and find the people to play with him. By being the only constant member of the band, this gives the other members freedom to explore other opportunities. “I provide space to collaborate but I have a vision I want to follow,” Remy said.
“If they want to go on this journey with me, great, if not that’s okay too,” Remy explains he enjoys working with others. Having fluidity of members takes a lot of stress off him, knowing they have other opportunities to turn to. “I don’t want them to feel equally responsible for my band. Success or failure is not on them. If the band is successful, they can reap the reward of that, but the failure isn’t on anyone but me.”
“A song doesn’t feel complete until it’s played live.”
Live music is a huge part of Native Crowds. Remy not only writes and performs music, he helps with sound at The Golden Light Cafe and Catina and runs open mics at the 806 Coffee and Lounge. “It gives me the opportunity to reassure people we are not alone,” Remy loves speaking to the crowd after a show. “Our experiences are unique to us but similar to one another. It’s a part of being human.”
Native Crowd’s most recent single, “Bakersfield” was written about starting over. Bakersfield is the town where Remy reconnected with his biological family. “I was adopted from California by a family in Lubbock, Texas.” Remy said this song is a symbol for going back to square one. “It’s fun to play.”
“Heartsbane” is another song Native Crowd plays at shows. “I have a love/hate relationship with the song because I love how the crowd responds to it, but I hate it because it doesn’t sound like us.” Remy described this song as a “weird witchy latin song.”
Inspired and written for his friend, Julianne Bivens “Maybe in the Next Life” is a song that allows Remy to honor her memory on stage. “She saved me when everything fell apart.” Remy recalls. Bivens had passed away in 2018 leaving a huge hole in many lives. “She walked me through grief, and then I lost her.” She taught Remy that “grief and trauma weren’t a cave to get stuck in, but a tunnel we walk through.”
“I felt like I wasn’t just living for myself anymore, I needed to live for her too.”
Native Crowds has two singles set to release this summer, with a full album in the works as well. “This album is so annoying now,” Remy said. When he wrote the songs, they were words he needed during that time of his life. “I’m happy now, I feel love.” Remy said he needs to finish this album for others to hear. “There are people out there who might need those words. That’s the reason I need to get it done.”
Photo by Machelle Downs
Native Crowds continues to evolve with Remy’s unwavering passion for emo and punk music. “I want punk to be seen again as the music of the people, and not just nostalgia.” Remy’s music reinforces the shared human experience by capturing the essence of starting over, honoring lost loved ones, and navigating life’s complexities.
Keep up with more music from north Texas via Loud and Heavy Booking.
