Zagadka tied for first place in UNM’s Battle of the Bands thanks to their powerful sense of identity, developed over the last seven years. While other bands seemed unsure of who they were or what they were playing, Zagadka played the show with a clear and confident sound, causing people to sing along. Watch for them at Fiestas this year in April.
Daily Lobo: Are you guys psyched after tieing for first place in the Battle of the Bands?
Jameson Rey: We’ve been playing Battle of the Bands for so long, and just so many of them it feels kind of … not bittersweet that we won, but just kind of surreal that we got first for once.
Adam Abetya: I think it’s funny because we’re trying to have this attitude going into it that we would be indifferent, and this is the first year pretty much that we’ve been indifferent because we have been in second place every year. Winning and being indifferent it’s… nice.
JR: It’s like setting the bar low, and then jumping over it, and saying, “We made it.” (laughs) Not that the Battle of the Bands is setting the bar low by any means.
DL: You shared the win with “The Noms.” How did you like their set?
AA: They were damn near perfect. Their set was great, not necessarily my style of music that I listen to. For what they play they are very good. They’re on point vocally and dynamically.
DL: So how do you feel the audience responded to your band?
AA: I think for the most part everybody seemed to be into it. I feel like, unless there’s a ton of people around, people are kind of nervous to get into the music. I saw a lot of bobbing heads and tapping toes. Some people were singing along, which is always nice to see.
JR: It’s cool to see other bands too checking out your set and seeing what you do. That’s essentially what it’s more about then a battle.
Matt Garcia: They shouldn’t battle they should share. (laughs)
DL: So where does the name Zagadka come from?
AA: Have you read “2010: A Space Odyssey 2?”
DL: No, just the first one.
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AA: Oh well it’s from the second book. It’s a Russian word and in that book he explains it to translate into English, “enigma.” I was a big nerd at the time, probably still am, and I just really liked that name. It kinda stuck.
MG: Kinda stuck and kinda of a nerd. (laughs)
DL: I just wanted to clear that up because I am sure people will be curious.
AA: You should put it in phonetics too (Za-gad-ka).
JR: People even spell it wrong on their shirts that they print.
DL: You guys pretty excited about playing at Fiestas?
AA: Oh yeah, we’re excited for Fiestas because of the kick drum.
DL: Do you have anything special planned?
AA: We’ve been doing a lot of writing lately, so hopefully by that time we’ll have at least a couple of new songs to throw into our normal set. People will have something fresh to experience from us.
MG: The big thing is we’ve done a lot of Battle of Bands, not even here, but in Gallup and our hometown. We never win — ever. It’s cool for us after all these years to be like, “You can really do stuff if you try.”
AA: Yeah, when you least expect it, it really pays off.
