‘Coming to fruition,’ the Grand Rapids indie-rock trio with an anthemic, gritty vibe has a new single, video and EP on the way, along with a show at The Pyramid Scheme. The Local Spins Artist Spotlight.
Ten Peso Version: ‘We like the kind of music that we make together.’ (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
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With every step along the frozen driveway of a house on Grand Rapids’ Southeast Side, I can hear the ice crunching beneath my boots.
I follow the beam of light coming from a side door, when I’m startled momentarily by the voice of Collin Jones, bassist for Ten Peso Version. He greets me, then I follow him through a side door, and down a flight of stairs to the basement.
A single lamp in the corner casts shadows on the white brick wall.
Ruben Resendiz Jr. (lead vocals/guitar) and Tom Nissen (drums) are seated, their larger-than-life silhouettes looming behind them.
The 2024 Live at Dogtown EP
“It’s nice to see everything come to fruition,” Nissen says. “We’re staying busy with gigs and found some great opportunities to get out of Grand Rapids last year touring. It’s been great.
“This second EP is releasing about a year from the time we released the first one. It’s just nice to see all of our hard work come into fruition. And it’s all kind of like happening at once.”
Since 2022, Ten Peso Version has toured the Midwest, put out two EPs and garnered attention for their colorful, room filling indie-rock. The band currently is preparing a bevy of releases in the coming months, including a single, a music video and a new EP, “Towards the Horizon.”
Ten Peso Version performs at The Pyramid Scheme for its EP-release show on March 6 with Tiberius, Sqautch and Joey Gaydos Jr.
The show is an all-ages affair and tickets are $15 in advance online here, or $18 at the door.
LISTEN: “Put the Past Behind You (Live)” from 2024’s “At Dogtown”
‘FUNNY GUYS’ WITH A NEW MUSIC VIDEO DEBUTING NEXT WEEK
“Towards the Horizon” features five songs — the first half written by Resendiz and the second half written by Jones.
In the basement rehearsal spot, Resendiz is eating popcorn as the three bandmates squish together on the couch. There’s a flow of levity and leisure among the musicians — an undeniable camaraderie, forged through music and friendship.
“I mean, I don’t want to say we don’t take what we’re doing seriously, but we like what we’re doing. So yeah, yeah, we like what we’re doing,” Jones says.
Ruben Resendiz Jr. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
“We like the kind of music that we make together and we just were able to have a lot of fun. And I think it was funny too. I think we’re funny guys, I think we’re just goofy.”
During the filming of the ambitious “It Doesn’t Matter” music video, the trio careened around town, on foot and in their own cars. It’s an urban, cinematic gem, featuring popular landmarks around the city.
“It was just part of the vision, part of the story that I had. Tom gave me an idea for what the story could be. And I just ran with it,” Resendiz says.
“So we prepped for it for like a couple of months and then we filmed it in August over the course of two full days of filming. It was filmed here in Tom’s basement, it was filmed around downtown on the West Side, at one of our shows at Rosa Park Circle. There’s some animation. But part of the story is just running around downtown through these recognizable spaces and places, you know?”
The video, created by Kenny Acker, will be released on digital platforms on Feb. 21. Ten Peso Version also plans to release the single, “Snakes and Butterflies,” on the same date. View a video of a live rendition of “Snakes and Butterflies” recorded at Dogtown Studio below.
As a trio, the band has no problem conjuring anthemic, cathartic rock ‘n’ roll with a little arithmetic and a lot of grit.
On stage, they complement one another well. Jones fills his share of rhythm parts. Resendiz flips between chords and melodic solos, while Nissen is steady as a mechanical metronome. The translation from studio to stage is an important one, however.
“We definitely feel the freedom to not be afraid to like add things to the song or the recording to make it sound how we want it to sound,” says Resendiz.
“But we don’t want to overdo it to the point that it sounds nothing when we play it live, you know. We push it, but not push it too far.”
VIDEO: Ten Peso Version, “Snakes and Butterflies” (Live at Dogtown)
PHOTO GALLERY: Ten Peso Version
Photos by Chelsea Whitaker
