Menorah is a four-piece alternative grunge band from San Antonio, Texas. Formed in 2023, the band features Jacob Parker on vocals, Christian Rivas on guitar, Nasiah “Nas” Caples on bass and Issac Barrientes on drums.
Together, the four create a sound reminiscent of 90s grunge. The collective first released their single “La Llorona” in September of 2023 and followed up this year with their debut EP “Sycascend” in June.
The band opened for Los Angeles metal group Violent Vira at the Paper Tiger this past summer, which has helped boost their popularity in the local music scene.
Live in the Newsroom, a student-run project under TAMUSA Radio and Enlace Media Lab where musicians perform intimate concerts to a small group of people inside the Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s newsroom, proudly welcomed Menorah as its first-ever guest.
Communications senior Joseph Ramon, director of Live in the Newsroom, interviewed the band Sept. 21.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity purposes.
Q: How did you all meet?
Rivas: Me and Jacob met, we were in this band that didn’t really work out two years ago. Me and him just were like, you know, let’s just start our own things. Then we met Nas (Caples) after some party and Isaac through an old friend I went to highschool with. He was like, “I know this drummer who is pretty good.”
Q: What other artists inspired your band?
Rivas: I put Smashing Pumpkins and probably Tool in there. I take a lot of inspiration from Oasis, you might not really hear it, but I just like them a lot. I just like that whole catchy rhythm that keeps you energized.
Caples: [Nas] For me it’s probably Muse. Their bass lines are always pretty aggressive and fast. One of their songs was one of the first songs I fully covered, and that kickstarted how I play bass nowadays.
Barrientes: I’d say Oasis. We’re both fucking huge Oasis fans. Also Soundgarden and early Led Zeppelin.
Parker: I think mine is more obvious: Eddie Vedder and Acid Bath.
Q: What was it like playing a sold out show at the Paper Tiger?
Rivas: Unreal bro. And then the autographs after – we had never signed autographs before.
Barrientes: We autographed people.
Rivas: It’s cool having a big speaker and amplifier system come back to you. Being able to play that big of a spot sound-wise is really cool. It’s just nice when you can hear it that loud and that far away. The whole reverb and echoing room is a cool feeling.
Caples: We met a lot of people who pull up to our shows now, that were never at our shows before, because they saw us open for Violent Vira. You could tell they’re really super supportive of what we do.
Rivas: It really made me want it more, bro. Those guys [Violet Vira] were doing that every other night: playing 1500, 2500, max capacity, you know? And it just made me want that more. I want to get to that level where we can do that every night.
Rivas: [Christian] To go from playing those little backyard spots to getting to play a bigger, more established kind of venue where they don’t just let any band play. It’s just cool for all of us to go to experience that as a group, because that’s a big win for everyone bro.
Menorah will perform Saturday, Nov. 2 for a show in Austin’s West Campus neighborhood at 11 p.m. that will include live music and vendors. 20% of profits from the evening will be donated to aid in Gaza.
The mission of Live in the Newsroom is to document local talent and archive Texas-based music while also giving a platform to musicians. To watch Menorah’s full set and interview, visit TAMUSA Radio’s YouTube page.
