Till Death Do Us Part.

Life on this island is a fine line between funerals and fiestas. If my wife Regina and I weren’t at a gig this year, we were probably mourning the loss of a loved one. That’s what living in Guam will do to you if you're lucky. What I once considered a boundary in its sands is now viewed more like a path to walk on. Keeping me in balance as we all shuffle toward fate.

Music has always been a part of ours. That’s why After playing in a couple of bands that eventually kicked the bucket, Regg and I decided we wanted something more permanent in our lives. This was after our indie band to the Hill ended in 2016. So we started Never Dreamt. Between her and I, we figured we could always rely on each other. Not just as bandmates, but as soulmates. That’s why after our set at GAX 2018 in front of a live audience of friends, family, and folks who had no idea they were about to witness the happiest day of my life, I proposed to my drummer on stage.

‘Till Death Do Us Part’ is our first official release as the band NVRDRMT. Accompanying our debut single is a music video created by my childhood best friend Travis Brown and his wife Ashley in San Francisco. Before he and I became husbands to wives, we were roommates from Guam living together in the Bay Area. The visuals are a testament to all that history between us all. The song itself is more of a live demo, recorded in one take at Marca Musica by Jordan Hardy during one of our band practices the year we were married. The song lyrics were written in spite of a GAX event I refused to attend years prior because I was spiraling and detached from everyone. Amazing how things can change if you do something about it.

Live at Marca Musica in 2017.

My perspective on the track is a lot different these days. I was more of a night owl back then when I wrote it, going out to seek meaning (or trouble) till dawn. It felt like my time was up each morning when the sun came up. By now I’ve stared death in the face enough times to see the day as an opportunity to live. I think the song reflects that tenacity amongst other things. Because for the longest time, I was so hard on myself and my art thinking nothing was good enough to represent my vision. The song wasn’t polished enough, the video needed more work, all thoughts that had me hoarding awesome output in hopes of making it perfect. Life is a mess, however, and death is ugly. Truths I’ve embraced since then. I see now it’s truly about not giving up until it’s over.

Opening for the band juiced at their album release a few months ago.

On that note, I want to thank everyone who helped make this release possible. Without your patience and effort, I wouldn’t have seen this through. I feel grateful to have such creative people in my life who allow me to express myself on this level. That includes an unfinished EP we recorded with Ryan Shook that is waiting to be completed. Until then we have our first release on all streaming platforms. Thank you to everyone who has listened to the track and watched the music video as this means so much to Regg and me.

It’s almost casual how effortless things come together in retrospect but That’s why I want to honor how special this all is. To be able to contact someone like Royce Hare for advice and end up getting the best animator on Island to animate the titles in the music video just to make something cool is wild. I am very fortunate to live like this in a community that loves to create as much as I do and I don’t want to take that for granted. This project, the song, and the visual all encapsulate how we live our lives as artists and as people (imperfections and all) - Genuinely.