Meet The Artist: An Exclusive Interview with “The Mox”
BY LEILA MIRANDA | May 15, 2025
Photos taken by @le.mirann
Formed in 2024, The Mox is a rock band featuring Vince Spano, Said Jaimes, Alec Ryan, and Carl Agers. Vince, driven by his ambition to take their music career further, moved to Austin, Texas where he laid the foundation for the band. After writing a few songs, the group began rehearsing and soon started performing at local venues like the “Chess Club”, “Regal Room”, and many more. Known for their raw energy and riveting stage presence, the band continues to make waves across Austin’s music scene.
Before they took the stage for their late-night performance, Nopality Mag. had a chance to sit down and chat with them for a few minutes.
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Welcome “The Mox” and thank you so much for interviewing with us today for Nopality Magazine! Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Carl: Hey, I’m Carl Agers, I play bass for The Mox. I’m 25, single, and fun fact; I’m a twin!
Vince: My name is Vince Spano, I am the lead singer of the Mox.
Alec: My name is Alec, I'm the lead guitar player of the Mox.
Said: My name is Said, I'm the drummer!
If you had to choose just a couple of words to describe your artistic identity, what would they be?
Vince: Energetic, cinematic and interesting.
Could you tell us about y’all’s start in music?
Carl (Bassist): I got my first guitar when I was five and I gave up very quickly, and then I tired again at 10 and then I gave up. But at 11 after watching “Camp Rock 2” and “Nick Jonas” was swooning those ladies. I was like wait a minute and then I gave up on guitar. So I started playing bass at church and then I moved to Austin and found these guys.
Vince (Lead Singer): I started playing guitar when I was 15. My sister, who was much older than I am, got a guitar when she was a kid but never played it. So then they hung her guitar on my wall. And then I was just like… I want to play it. It took me until I was 15 to actually get up and play it. But ever since then I've been playing shows and making music. I moved out here about three years ago and started building “The Mox.”
Alec (Lead Guitar): I started playing guitar when I was 17. I was a senior in high school and I was bored out of my mind and had an old guitar under my bed. I went on youtube and started learning guitar and from that day on i just kept playing and kept going, and here i am.
Said (Dummer): My dad was in a band when I was a kid. He took me to his shows and his practices. I was always watching him. I kind of just picked it up. Drums were the easiest, I tried guitar, I tried everything. And it wasn't working. I joined my middle school band, orchestra, and then I kind of just learned from there.
And as a band where do you guys gain inspiration from?
Vince: I’d say starting around “Oasis” and the more recent stuff like “Catfish and the bottlemen”
Alec: I would say a lot of British alternative, more of the modern British alternative. And I think that’s where we all work together because we have very similar influences.
Take us through how you came together to create “The Mox.” What is the meaning behind the name?
Vince: There is no meaning behind the name.
Interviewer: Is it something you guys made up on a whim?
Vince: I used to be in a band when I was 17. This was back in my hometown, in high school, when we were thinking of band names. Eventually the guitarist named it “Creekwood” because that was the street that we lived on. So we just kept the name.
But later on I remember when I was going through the names that I wrote out. The logos of “The Mox,” was something I drew out on a whim because I thought the name sounded cool. I thought to myself, If I were to make another band at some point. I'm going to name it “The Mox” and that was that.
Interviewer: How does it feel to make that become a reality?
Vince: I mean it's pretty cool, I never thought that that was going to be anything. For some reason I drew that on a shitty piece of paper and I don't draw well or anything. But the fact that that stuck with me throughout all this time. Besides every other band name that we came up with. I just knew that was the one.
Give us some background on y’all’s visual direction mainly being centered around black and white imagery. Where did that begin with and how does that tie into your music and sound?
Vince: One big thing is I'm color blind. So everything I wear is just black and white or dark colors. But I'm not black and white color blind but that's a thing I like to play into.
Alec: I feel like the black and white kind of reflects our musical attitude and the kind of sound and direction we are going for.
Vince: Well, the main reason why I wanted to go with that apart from just going about it differently, is just reminiscent of the black and white films.
Interviewer: It definitely makes you guys stand out. I’ve never seen a band represent themselves using black and white imagery.
Vince: In a way we’re just trying to tell our stories. We wanna bring you into this world as much as we can, by making it different by taking the color completely out of it.
So walk us through y’all’s creative process when creating new work.
Vince: This first album, the majority of it was written before the band came to be. I had written the acoustic myself. But we finally got to experience what it's like to write as a band.
And it's exciting how Alec can bring in a riff or Carl can bring in a bassline and we just start building on top of that idea.
Interviewer: Have you guys ever struggled with creative differences?
Alec: I don't think so
Carl: Yeah, we don't argue about it. I think there's one song that's a new one that's not on the album, it's called “Calypso.” I’m still learning the name and the bassline but Vince had an idea to start this song with just guitar. Then I think Alec had an idea to start it with more full sound in the beginning and things like that we talk about.
Alec: Yeah, we always find a way to work it out.
Vince: I also think that whatever we do sonically, and however we evolve past this point I think is going to be cool putting all our minds together. Even if we do disagree with whatever comes, I know we are always going to go in the direction that is in the best interest of the band.
What is y’all’s take on the rock music scene in Austin? What are the challenges navigating the music scene here in Austin/South Texas as a new group?
Alec: I think if you're not well connected, it's hard to get shows in the beginning.
Interviewer: Like networking?
Alec: Yeah, when you move to a new city it's kinda hard to figure out where the scene is at. It's hard to figure out who we’re supposed to talk to and who we should get in touch with to make things happen. So that was one of the biggest challenges.
Are there any future releases or shows coming up that you could share with us about?
Vince: We have “Bitedown” Coming out on May 30th.
Alec: We’re working on a few releases and singles.
Carl: We’re almost done recording the new album, and that's being dropped later this year in fall.
What artists do you all like to see live?
Carl: I'm excited for ACL this year, like “The Strokes” is a dream and “Mk.Gee.”
Vince: “Catfish and the Bottlemen” is coming in august. I swear if they cancel again I'm going to jump out of a window.
Alec: I do wanna go see “Ghost”
Vince: “Ghost” is coming! And that's going to be sweet.
What are y’all’s favorite things to do outside of musicianship?
Carl: I just play bass, noo I just bought “The Last of Us 2”! And I'm very thrilled to play “The Last of us 2.” I'm not a gamer but I'm trying to be.
Vince: I’m a big movie buff, I like comics, Marvel and DC stuff. I also like to cook and grill.
Alec: I like to workout, play video games and go hiking or paddleboarding. Anything that involves the outdoors.
Said: I feel like I'm the most boring one. I just hit the drums and work.
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The band made an impression performing at Freddo’s — a cozy coffeehouse nestled on the corner of South Congress and Oltorf in Austin. The venue exuded warm charm; fairy lights wrapped around the trees cast a glow over the stage, while swing chairs, picnic tables, and white Adirondack chairs invited the crowd to relax and soak in the atmosphere.
The band’s thrilling sound, driven by lead vocalist Vince Spano’s raunchy, grungy vocals, immediately captured the crowd’s attention. The raw emotion pouring off the stage was impossible to ignore. Random passersby literally snapped their heads around as soon as the first notes hit. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. Everyone listened. No one was ready for what came next, especially after the previous act’s mellow, slower-paced set. Suddenly, the whole venue lit up—not just from the fairy lights, but from the sheer energy The Mox brought to the stage. It was a truly captivating experience.
Although The Mox faced the challenge of toning down their signature sound to match the venue's laid-back atmosphere, they didn’t disappoint. They thoughtfully altered their unreleased track “Bitedown” to suit the chill, relaxed vibe. Between originals, they slipped in a few cover songs, transforming them so they felt like their own, drifting far from the originals in all the right ways. It was clear that a great deal of thought and preparation had gone into every note.
As their set came to a close, the crowd erupted in cheers, chanting for an encore. Answering the call, The Mox unleashed the sound they had held back all night — a raw, roaring energy that filled the venue. They closed with an unreleased track, “Tortuga,” giving the audience a taste of their full power and identity. If fans were impressed by the stripped-down set, they were blown away by the unfiltered intensity of The Mox in their true form. For those lucky enough to be there, it was a reminder that rock is alive, thriving, and evolving.
And this is just the beginning. Don’t miss The Mox’s latest single dropping May 30th, because their journey is only getting started. Watch as they carve out their mark across Texas and beyond.
