KYOTE RADIO - Over Time And Through Changes... (Usa - Garage/Stoner-Rock - Interview with Micah Paredes).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music? 
Hello ! My name is Micah Paredes. I play guitar and am the lead vocalist for KYOTE RADIO. I am also the band’s primary songwriter. I would say that my relationship with music goes back to my childhood growing up out in the deserts of West Texas, where I was privileged enough to spend time around some of the finest songwriters in Texas - guys like Butch Hancock and Steven Fromholz, and I think that early exposure to master class level songwriting in the social settings that I was growing up in had a major impact on me. I just really developed an appreciation for the power of song and the way that music can serve as a vehicle for bigger ideas, and music just felt like something that was worth doing. 

Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
I started this project as a way to further develop some of the songs that I was writing back around 2013, and I recruited some of my friends from college to help fill out the lineup. Those initial bandmates have all since moved on to other projects, so the band has evolved over time until we ended up with the current group. For the first 10 years or so, the band was based out of Austin, and so I have two longtime collaborators still based there - Nick Smith and Wesley Riddle, but in 2024 I shifted headquarters to New Mexico, and we have added some locals here into the mix - Russ Connell, Ray Heilman, and Nick Blossom - and together, the 6 of us collaborate on recordings and get together in various configurations to play shows and work on music together. 

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
It’s always tough to describe your own music, but some of the aesthetics that we gravitate to are big riffs, fuzzy guitar solos, and a heavy rhythm section, but we don’t box ourselves in too much and we definitely have a lot of songs that are a bit outside of the typical garage rock/stoner rock format. I think that the best reason to listen to our band is because we are striving to make music that is true to ourselves and authentic in its creation and presentation. We try to make music for the right reasons and create art that we believe in, and I think that’s the place that all great art has to come from. 

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ?  
I’m definitely a lyrics guy. I start the vast majority of our songwriting project with lyrics first and develop the music around that. I think that music is just a really effective way to deliver writing to a bigger audience, and a good ear worm is a great way to get people thinking about an idea that you want to communicate. I’m really into rhyming and meter and I work really hard to write meaningful lyrics that still have a musicality to them. Most of my favorite musicians are great lyricists - Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse is definitely someone whose work means a lot to me, and I know my own style is heavily influenced by his writing and approach to making music. 

About your latest release ? 
Our new album "Habitats" was recorded between 2022 and 2025, primarily at the Bubble Studios in Austin, TX with our friend and producer Frenchie Smith. We did some additional recording here in my home studio in Taos as well. The album features artwork from my friend Dan Patrevito. "Habitats" was released on feb 13th and is available for streaming on all platforms. The album can be purchased on 180g vinyl from our Bandcamp site. 

Future plans ? 
We are currently planning new shows in Texas and New Mexico and starting to work on songs for another record. 

Your most insane dream with the band would be ? 
We got to check one of our big ones off the list in 2022 when Kyle Shutt from THE SWORD joined us in the studio for a collaboration that is featured on our new album. I would say that our goal is just to have our music heard and enjoyed by the audiences that it resonates with. Oh, and I would love to visit Ice Cream Party studios up in Portland, that’s definitely gotta be on the list. 

Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ? 
The worst one is easy - we had a long drive out to a gig in West Texas that ran into some nasty weather - we got our van stuck in the mud, our show had to change venues because of the rain, and we ended up playing for the bartenders and the wait staff, and then just turning around driving back the next morning (Kinda adventure to forget I guess - Ed.)
I think the best one is always the next one - we are happy to just get out and play and share our music with people. 

Next live-appearance(s) ?
Our next confirmed show is opening up for Howling Giant here in Taos at the Goathead Collective on March 16th. 

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ? 
We’re still pretty new here to New Mexico, but we’ve connected with some great bands across a pretty wide range of genres - we definitely want to shout out The Bees and Locusts, Foggy Memory Boys, and some of the local songwriters - Garry Blackchild, Jack Lorang, and Brendan Flippo are some of our favorites - but there’s way more great musicians here than we can mention, so we always recommend people come check out the New Mexico music scene and hear for themselves. There’s lots of great music to be discovered here. 

Last word is yours.. 
I just want to thank people for taking the time to check out our music and share it with their friends. We are doing our best to contribute real art in a world where it feels like genuine expression is more endangered than ever before. Oh yeah, and FUCK ICE. (Of course ! Ed.)