My First Band Podcast

Over the course of band's more than 20-year existence, La Armada has frequently toured throughout North America and Europe, shared the stage with legendary groups like Propagandhi and Sick of It All, built a passionate fan base composed of listeners from all around the world, released some powerful and altogether awesome material, and helped shine a light on some of the social injustices many people face. Even more impressive than what the veteran band has accomplished is what they gave up in order to make its two-decade run possible. Before earning a reputation as one of Chicago's (and the Midwest's) premier hardcore outfits, La Armada's members were living in the Dominican Republic, where they were setting up punk shows (in a nation enamored by merengue music) and preparing to move to the U.S. in order to take their artistic ambitions to the next level. Recently, My First Band host Tyler Maas spoke to La Armada guitarist and founding member Paúl Rivera about his band's lengthy tenure, their new EP that's pr