Coyotes, an alt-country band, was formed by Duz Mancini after he made a bold move from Los Angeles, California, to New Orleans, Louisiana. Since then, the band has had significant success as an indie band. The Daily Reveille sat down with Mancini to discuss the band’s spot in this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The Daily Reveille: How is Jazz Fest different from other venues or concerts you’ve played?
Duz Mancini: There’s a built-in crowd, which is really cool. You get to play to people you’ve never played to before in any light, and hopefully at Jazz Fest it’s a lot of them at that point. You always want to play to new people as a band and meet new people and have people discover you, so that’s going to be pretty exciting. Just to be in such an old festival is pretty cool too. We’ve done a bunch of contemporary festivals but I think this is the oldest one we’ve played. There’s this whole cloud around Jazz Fest being revered as one of the grandfather festivals, and it totally is, so with all that comes more excitement and more anxiety.
TDR: When did the band form?
DM: The band first formed in 2009. It was kind of a songwriting project with my buddy Jake McGreggor, who plays in a bunch of bands. We were both from LA [Los Angeles] and he moved out to New Orleans and was trying to get me to come out here, and I decided to last minute. We almost started playing shows immediately when we got down here, which is pretty cool. We wanted it to be like a mariachi-rock band, and it never really panned out, but we did what we do now.
TDR: What inspired you to pursue music and the band?
DM: My dad managed bands until he was 35, so growing up in a musical household was pretty influential. I just started playing in bands when I was like 11 or 12. I grew up on Sunset Strip doing the Whiskey a Go Go when I was 13. But when you see it coming together you want to keep pursuing it and take that as far as it can go.
TDR: What’s it like being in the band?
DM: The best thing about being in the band is getting to share your art with other people see how people react. Also, honing a song in the studio is pretty fun. It’s a challenge too, but its one of those things that you get to work on for a long time. It’s definitely a craft. It’s like you’re working on a painting or something, and you know, getting to show everybody at the very end and say, “Oh, look at my ‘Starry Night’ or look at my ‘Potato Eaters.’ I feel like that with songs. That’s probably the best part–just traveling, meeting new people, and getting to know new cultures and different cities and states. It’s pretty cool. You don’t get to do that with every profession or career.
TDR: Favorite thing to do off stage?
DM: I don’t know, because when I’m at home, we tend to write a lot. I work from 9 to 5 so I feel like if I don’t write right after work for a few hours, my whole night is a waste. I also like playing basketball with groups of friends. “True Detective” is awesome, I watch a bunch of TV now. We’re in New Orleans, so there’s always live music going on and there’s always a bar to be at or a place to be.
TDR: What’s it been like sharing the stage with so many different acts?
DM: Well it’s cool. Some of the people I look up to a lot we’ve gotten to play with the last few years, like Delta Spirit. It’s just cool being able to sit at the same table as them and pick their brain and try to come out with something that’s as good as they’re coming out with. It’s really inspiring when you play with other acts. Whether they’re a band you like or not, it’s cool because they’re still out there on a three month tour and really believe in their craft.
TDR: What can people expect from your set?
DM: Probably a lot of our old material, but we’re also showcasing a lot of our new material as well. We’re basically playing our whole entire archive which is the first time we’ve ever been able to do that and I’m super jazzed about that. No pun intended.