Music Bugle Exclusive – Q & A – Juanma Medina Of The Tragic Company

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

In the style of acts like Tool, Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater, alternative rock band The Tragic Company just released a lengthy new single “Rotten,” which will be featured on their upcoming third studio album ‘Paradox’ via Spanish label Wild Punk Records.

A prominent name in Southern Spain’s underground scene, The Tragic Company are known for their well-crafted English lyrics and strong stage presence. In their time, they’ve honed their sound to blend alternative, post-grunge and stoner rock with a dash of prog thrown in.

The Tragic Company is currently guitarist/vocalist Juanma Medina, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Mariano Alcobendas, bassist/backing vocalist Alan Voreaux and drummer Jose Luis Fernández.

The Music Bugle had the opportunity to talk with Medina about their new single and more.

Music Bugle – What inspired you to write your latest single and the idea for its music video?

Juanma Medina – Boredom! No… seriously, it was more like a challenge to see how far I could go in terms of songwriting. The video is homemade in the most literal way. We shot it ourselves with phone cams and the resources we had in our hands.

 

Music Bugle – How did you come up with your band name?

Juanma Medina – It all started back in 2008 as a solo project. I didn’t want to call it “The Juanma Medina Project,” as I am no Alan Parsons. I think it sounded right because it made it look like something bigger. Gigs started to pop up, so I needed to put together a band. There’s been several lineup changes, but with this one, we’ve been together for around four to five years and I’m quite happy with it. We are solid and we all know each other very well. Mariano is on lead guitar and backing vocals, Alan is on bass and also on backing vocals and Jose Luis is on drums. Two Spanish guys, an Argentinian and a French – sounds like a joke!

 

Music Bugle – What excites you the most about prog rock?

Juanma Medina – I think it makes you listen in a proactive way. It needs you to pay attention to what’s in there and as a musician, even more. It’s far more interesting than yet another AC/DC tune, with all due respect to AC/DC fans. It takes you to places no other style or genre can.

 

Music Bugle – How would you describe Spain to someone who has never been there before?

Juanma Medina – A hot place, especially in Summertime, with a terrible taste for rock music or no taste at all, let alone prog rock. At least beer is not bad. Food is not bad either.

 

Music Bugle – If you had the chance to chat one-on-one with one of your musical influences, who would you choose?

Juanma Medina – Steven Wilson and Tim Christensen from the Danish band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy.

 

Music Bugle – How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the band?

Juanma Medina – We’ve had to rethink all our plans, as we wanted to release the new album before the Summer, gigs, touring… everything. At least quarantine has brought a nice tune for us.

 

Music Bugle – Where are your favorite places to play?

Juanma Medina – I like small venues with good sound. I also like big arenas, but the sound is different. Smaller ones have this raw sound that I like better.

 

Music Bugle – What can fans expect from your forthcoming music?

Juanma Medina – I think the new album will please both fans from the first album and fans from the second one. The first one is more garage-ish and the second one is more metal-driven. This one will have some classic sounds from the first with a heavier twist, like the second one.

 

Music Bugle – What’s something people should know about the band?

Juanma Medina – The Tragic Company is a band that mixes heavy riffs and very melodic parts in a way that you may have not listened to before. We love prog rock and alternative metal, but I’m also a huge fan of The Beatles, so there you go.

 

Music Bugle – What do you hope to accomplish within the next year?

Juanma Medina – We would love to tour Europe and take our music out of the Spanish borders. Sometimes, we have the feeling that we don’t belong here.