Three young men, one of whom attends UC High, make up the band Demand Less, which was formed in 2019 and is preparing to play a show on May 6, 2022 at Queen Bees in North Park.

   “There are a few things that go into preparing for a show of ours,” said Guitarist and Vocalist Chico Vasquez.

   “We rent out a room at a local studio in Miramar one or two times a week to practice for a couple hours,” said Bassist Anton Gillespie.

   “This is meant for us to practice on our timing. We’re also planning on ordering merchandise to sell at the show. We plan on selling stickers, CDs, vinyl, and maybe t-shirts,” said Vasquez.

   “For the show in May, we are planning on playing songs from both our first and second albums along with maybe a cover or two,” said Gillespie.

   “Our first album is called No Subject and our newest album is called Micromanage,” said Drummer Cannon Astor.

   “We also invited some other local bands to open for us so we’re looking forward to seeing them perform as well. Those local bands are: The Reckless, Fake Naked, and Garage Party,” said Vasquez.

   “Anyone who is interested in buying tickets for our show can start buying them on the Queen Bees website towards the beginning of March,” said Vasquez.

   “We’re really excited about this upcoming show, because it’ll be our second show at this venue. In addition, a few of our songs have been on the radio, so hopefully a few more people show up,” said Gillespie. 

   “The message we want to get out to people with our music is that anything is possible. No one else can interfere with achieving what you love and enjoy, so be yourself through it all,” said Astor.

   “The band originally just consisted of myself and Chico. We met at a Music Club meeting at UC High, and I saw he had lots of experience with guitar, so we sat down and started jamming,” said Gillespie.

   “I had started showing Anton some songs I had been writing over the past two years. We had been playing for a few months and soon we needed a drummer to complete the band. We met Cannon in a really funny way,” said Vasquez.

   “I met Chico and Anton through Chico’s sister. It was freshman year and word got around that I was a drummer. So one day after class, she came up to me and told me that her brother was looking for a drummer,” said Astor.

   “He told her he was interested, so she exchanged my contacts with his. I texted him that night and a few days later we showed up to his house and started practicing. The rest is history,” said Vasquez.

   “Originally we were called The Motive when we first started out as a band, but because of other bands having the same name we wanted to change it,” said Gillespie.

   “We were going around downtown taking photos for the band and we stumbled upon a building that said ‘Demand Less’ carved out into the side of it,” said Astor.

   “We always thought that would be a cool name, so when it was time to change the name we all decided that would be a great choice,” said Vasquez.

   “Our band takes inspiration from a lot of genres but mainly punk rock,” said Gillespie.

   “Our influences are mainly bands from the ‘70s and ‘90s so if you’re into punk rock music, come check us out in May at Queen Bees,” said Vasquez.