Editor’s Note: Out of Miami, Florida comes a four-piece punk band known as Top Tier. They are giving the listener those feelings of nostalgia of the good old days of 2000’s punk rock where the music was catchy, a bit emotional and all about having a good time. Top Tier recently released their music video for “Over It” and this past Christmas, they also released a punk version of “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”, which is an absolutely fun listen. Bassist/vocalist Christopher Tamez of Top Tier sat down with Madness To Creation to discuss mental health, their music and also contributed their answers to the upcoming book that Madness To Creation will be releasing. Fans can find Top Tier at the following locations:
Madness To Creation: Tell us who you are and what do you do in the band?
Christopher Tamez: My name is Christopher Tamez, but I usually just go by Tamez. I am the lead vocalist and bassist for Top Tier.
Madness To Creation: You’ve released an amazing song called “Over It”, this might be obvious given today’s times, but what is something that makes you say “I’m just over it”
Christopher Tamez: I’m OVER people not taking this pandemic as seriously as they should. As a musician, I know I can comfortably speak on behalf of most artists when I say I miss playing shows. We’re all dreaming and hoping for the day we can safely take the stage again with our fans throwing down in the pit and screaming our lyrics right back at our faces. Do your part, Mask up!
Madness To Creation: Take us into the writing process of Top Tier. What do you feel you bring to the table in the writing process?
Christopher Tamez: Our songwriting process usually begins with a half started instrumental demo/idea put together by Felix or Nico. We each come up with separate ideas from home and meet up to drop our riff salad into one session and pick and choose what we like best. Felix and I usually write the lyrics and I come up with most of the vocal melodies in our songs. After we feel like our demo is rehearsal worthy, we take it to practice and let our king behind the drum kit do his thing. It astounds me how versatile of a drummer B-ry is and we can’t imagine what our music would be like without his prowess.
Madness To Creation: What are you most proud of with Top Tier so far?
Christopher Tamez: I’m most proud of how our bedroom project has evolved into a full-fledged band in a matter of a few years. Top Tier started as mainly Felix and I in my room with two acoustic guitars and a notebook full of lyrics. We developed our sound over the course of two EPs and refined it even further with tons of practice with the help of our BEASTS of bandmates in Nico and B-ry. We then took it upon ourselves to book/host our own shows and make some amazing lasting friendships along the way with local artist and fans alike in our scene. South Florida’s music scene is full of talent and deserves so much more recognition.
Madness To Creation: A moment where a fan came up to you and said “that song really resonated with me”, what’s that like?
Christopher Tamez: My favorite instances are when we get older fans come up to us after a set and hit us with something along the lines of , ”That song reminds me of what I used to jam in high school” We love how our passion for pop-punk and early 2000’s alt music has resonated with our fans of all ages.
Madness To Creation: Finish this sentence, the one wish I had is for…
Christopher Tamez: A big ol’ tour bus to magically appear in our driveway. Preferably one with a built in mini bar and CRT TV to hook up our N64 and Gamecube to. We all love gaming in our down time. We’ve been sitting on so much new material and it hurts that we can’t travel all over to share the content we have in store.
Madness To Creation: What does 2021 have in store for Top Tier?
Christopher Tamez: Shows might be on pause, but the internet isn’t. We plan to keep pushing out new material and filming as many music videos as we can along the way. We put our first formal release, “Ego Trip” last year with the help our label Apocalypse Records, along with two other singles, “Over It” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”. All three were received well and want to follow up with even bigger and better releases. Stay tuned!
Madness To Creation: Anything else you would like to add in regards to where people can find you?
Christopher Tamez: Top Tier’s music is available on all streaming platforms. You can also find us on IG and Twitter at @TopTierFL and on Facebook.com/TopTierFL
And there you have it! Follow Top Tier on their socials for latest news and information!
