Xeon Switch

Reviewed by: Holly Castillo

When a band has a name like Xeon Switch, one tends to wonder where in the world a name like that comes from. The truth is that band members refuse to indulge our inquisitive minds, and claim they want to keep the origin of their name top secret.

I sat down with three of the four guys from Xeon Switch at their recent show at The Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale, where they opened up about their influences, motivations and even their hobbies. Jorge Matto, the singer, explained how they met. "Well, I've known Jarrett [who plays drums] for a long time, since the old soccer days. I met David Clark [guitarist] from skating and met Tony Palanas [bass] through a mutual friend. We've known each other a long time."

Although they have all been friends for quite some time now, they have only been together as a band for three years, and acknowledge bands such as Tool, Mudvayne, KoRn, Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine as some of their influences. And as for their favorite local bands, their tastes seem to vary from SITH and Scars of Life, to Darwin's Waiting Room, Nonpoint and Red Sun Down. When asked about their motivations to write music, they all seemed to agree that they love making music, and put their heart and soul into their songs. "It's like a job - but not," stated Tony, "It's loving what you do… making music, it's a passion."

Tony and Jorge seem to have a little bit more humor behind their answers, especially when it came to the most interesting thing a fan has ever done. Jorge's highlight was having a girl throw her thong up at him on stage during their set at one show, and Tony's was the fact that a girl asked him to autograph her butt. I asked them one final question: if they could cover any song in history, what would it be? David, picking his obvious favorite, said "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine, while Tony thought it would be fun to do the classic song "My Boyfriend's Back," and Jorge claimed he'd like to do "That song that goes Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye."

So keep an eye out for Xeon Switch and other local artists as they make their way to the top. One day, you'll see all their CDs at Spec's and their videos on MTV.

Who: Xeon Switch (Tony, Jorge, David and Jarrett)
What: local rock band
Where: Miami
When: go to www.xeonswitch.com for show dates, info and coming soon - merchandise
Why: their motivation drives them to create music

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