SAN ANTONIO – In a warehouse that once housed motorcycles on Broadway, San Antonio’s Pop Pistol found its sound.
It is a hypnotic blend of electronic textures and raw rock energy that would define their two-decade journey through the city’s evolving music landscape.
Twenty years since their first performance, the trio stands as both architects of sound and custodians of the local scene’s D.I.Y. spirit.
“We started as these weird art kids,” said Alex, the band’s guitarist, vocalist and actual architect by trade.
Together with his cousin George on bass and high school friend Jorge on drums, Pop Pistol emerged from the intersection of San Antonio’s drum-and-bass underground and its burgeoning indie rock scene of the early 2000s.
The electronic underground meets rock
Their origin story reads like a perfect arc of disparate scenes.
Two local DJs with access to an empty warehouse introduced the band to the pulsing rhythms of electronic music, leading them to experiment with merging live instrumentation and programmed beats.
This warehouse, which would later become known as the Black Lion, served as more than just a rehearsal space — it became a crucible for the city’s underground music community.
“It was community on another level,” George explains, describing the venue’s significance. “This underground network of people, all these really great bands that were touring and coming through. It was a really cool time to be born and be a part of the music scene.”
Beyond genre boundaries
Pop Pistol’s sound defies easy categorization, drawing from a well of influences as diverse as cumbia, funk, and experimental electronic music. Their creative process mirrors this complexity: Alex crafts initial demos in their home studio, which then transform through extensive jam sessions with the full band.
“It doesn’t get real until the jamming begins,” Alex says. “Then it gets pumping, and it feels like you can finally loosen up. It fertilizes the music, and stuff starts to grow.”
The San Antonio renaissance
As San Antonio experiences what the band calls a “rapid season of growth,” Pop Pistol finds itself in a unique position. They’re veterans of a scene they helped build, yet still pushing boundaries with new material. Their current strategy involves releasing new songs every few weeks throughout 2025, each accompanied by visuals that Alex creates, maintaining their commitment to a complete artistic vision.
A new chapter
Now, with twelve fresh tracks recorded and ready for release, Pop Pistol is embracing what bassist George calls “Pop Pistol season.” Their sound has matured like fine mezcal – smooth but with a kick that reminds you of its raw origins. Their performances remain largely improvisational, with the trio communicating through looks and energy rather than words.
“The best compliment is when I look into the audience and see someone closing their eyes, just in their own space rocking out,” Jorge says, capturing the essence of what makes Pop Pistol’s live shows transcendent experiences.
As they mark their twentieth anniversary this October, Pop Pistol stands as a testament to longevity in an industry that often celebrates the new and novel. They’ve survived the shift from dollar beer nights to the emergence of sober spaces, from physical albums to streaming platforms, all while maintaining their artistic integrity and community-focused ethos.
For this SA Vibes set, Pop Pistol performs “Crazy Wisdom,” “Sooner Noon,” “Every Possibility,” “Hear With The Wind” and “B4UKnew.”
You can catch Pop Pistol at Studio 111 for “Mo Carnival,” a Second Saturday performance on August 9 at 10:30 p.m.
After that, they’ll be performing at First Friday for Photoseptiembre in the Upstairs Studios at Blue Star Arts Complex. That’s on September 5 at 9 p.m.
You can follow Pop Pistol and find their music on their Instagram page and Spotify. You can visit pistolapop.com for merchandise and updates on their boundary-pushing art installations and performances.
After you check out this set, the band recommends you check out Trash Dragon, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Mr. Pidge, HoneyBunny and Cinderleaf.
Special thanks to Jacob Guerrero at The Starlighter for mixing and hosting this SA Vibes!
About SA Vibes
San Antonio is well-known for its culture, but the local music scene has always seemed a bit hidden.
Unless someone takes you to a local show — at venues like The Lonesome Rose, Hi-Tones, The Mix, The Starlighter and 502 Bar — chances are you’ll never even know our music scene exists. That’s what made me decide to launch this passion project that we’re calling “SA Vibes.”
My name is Valerie, and I’m a video editor at KSAT. I’ve been attending local shows for over a decade, and I want to put a spotlight on the great talent that San Antonio has to offer.
Each month, we’ll be releasing a new “SA Vibes” video across all KSAT digital platforms and our YouTube channel, showcasing a local musician performing live versions of their songs from music venues around the city and the KSAT garden.
If you’re a San Antonio musician and would like to be a part of this project, please send information about your next show to our SA Vibes email. (We can only feature original music because of licensing.)
More episodes of SA Vibes on KSAT:
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