The last two years have been crazy for local rock trio, Tres Leches. They’ve taken a project initially rooted in free-form, experimentation, and fun, and found comfort in their own chaos that has made a unique sound. This unique sound has caught the attention of many key figures around Seattle as of late. Recently they put out their debut album, Amorfo, which has been seeing ample attention and leveling the band up quickly.
I had a moment to conference call with Tres Leches AKA Alaia D’Alessandro, Ulises Mariscal, and Zander Yates. In the collective way the band will switch instruments mid-set they collectively told me their story. The yarn they spun had strong ties in friendship, open-minds, and artistic-exploration.
Zander met Alaia in Olympia during high school and even back then they were playing in a band together. Ulises (Uli) met D’Alessandro while he was at Bumbershoot, and struck up a quick friendship that led to ample jamming. After seeing D’Alessandro and Yates play in their high school band, Mariscal made note of his desire to work up his chops on drums. Eventually, Yates was brought in on request to jam with the two and things really began to get groovy.
This led to laying down some catchy singles, an EP, and plenty of gigging around the city. Uli made a comment saying that when they first began jamming together “it was more about sharing ideas and growing from that.” Have a look at this music video they put out mid-2018.
Tres Leches “What Are You Doing” Music Video
D’Alessandro brought up their time spent at Crybaby Studios on Capitol Hill. She said the other local acts that make use of the spaces such as Tacocat and Guayaba have had positive influences on them artistically. Uli and Alaia have been living on Capitol Hill for the past two years as well, so the area has really become home.
When asking the group about the integral nature of Seattle and the PNW to their project they had varying thoughts. Uli lightly said, “my painting changes with the weather, as does the music, in the sense that you never know what you’re gonna get.” While D’Alessandro affirmed him saying “Seattle is beautiful” and “the frequent change in the weather is kind of reflective in our music.” She concluded saying “if we did end up living somewhere else for some time I’d love to see how we’re affected by those different experiences.”
Though Zander had to move back out to Olympia to work with Doc Croc, he still makes weekly trips to the hill to kick it and jam. He told me in 2019 there are a lot of secrets they can’t yet unveil. They’re already on the bill for Leavenworth’s “Timbrrr!” Winter festival, as well as performing at some bigger venues like the Paramount. My best bet is that they’ll be making more appearances on festivals this summer.
Of the venues the band has fond feelings for they told me about how the Stay Happy Collective brought them to see performers at Central Saloon and eventually got them on a bill there. D’Alessandro additionally made note of Central Saloon being the home for their 2016 EP release. It’s also where they sold out their performance at Upstream this last year.
It’s then fitting that Tres Leches will be putting on a veritably memorable performance at Central Saloon for night four of the 2nd annual Seattle World Tour. Buy your tickets now and bring clothing for donation to Mary’s Place if you can to help those in need!
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