Venny Vargas, aka: Silverslums
Nothing comes between Venny Vargas and his art - not the death of his dog and bff, Ringo, not a global pandemic, and certainly not his 9 to 5 auto parts job.
LISTEN on Spotify
Based in the desert town of Hesperia, CA, Venny (aka Silverslums) spends his nights immersed in art and music, always searching for that perfect album that will give him "goosebumps or the stank-face." Once ingested he takes this amalgam of culture through the Silverslums factory (his home studio) and spits out his own blend of genre-defying, trippy music.
WOOO spoke with Venny about the release of his most recent album and beyond.
I love the name of your new album: Dedicated to the Dreamers. What's the idea/theme behind it?
I wanted to give a shout out to all the people still chasing a dream. I feel like a lot of people when they hit a certain age or when things haven’t quite gone the way they planned they give up and move on. It’s a drag to see people let time become their worst enemy. For me and for a lot of others though that’s not really an option, even if we do have to keep a normal 9 to 5. The hustle is just regular life for dreamers. So this ones for all those still doing their damn thang. Also I’m a big fan of Art Laboe’s Dedicated to You collections.
Each song feels like a journey, or a wild ride at times with lots of layers and textures. Did you write/record all the parts? What is your recording process like?
Yeah I do everything by myself in my little home studio. Pretty much any free time I can get. Each song always starts in my head and I just try to recreate my ideas as best as possible. Sometimes it's a complete mess and sometimes I like it.
Who/what are your main influences with this album?
I’m mostly listening to 70’s and 90’s stuff - golden eras for music.
It seems like you've been working hard at your day job while also pushing to release this album and make music videos. What keeps you going and gives you energy?
I’m still not sure. It's mostly 'cause I love to do it still. It’s rough a lot of times but really in the end I write and record whenever I get a chance 'cause it's fun and freeing.
Your dad was an avid record collector right? (a DJ too?) Do you feel that you’re carrying on his legacy?
Yeah he was a DJ when he wasn’t painting cars. I grew up around a lot of record crates. And I like to think I do. I definitely owe my love for making music and DJ’ing as well as my music taste in general to him.
What else do you find joy in besides playing music?
Good health and seeing the homies succeed. I'm definitely a big cinephile. Video rental stores were my safe haven when I was a kid. Now I can’t fall asleep without the t.v on lol. I used to draw a lot but not as much as I’d like to recently 'cause I’ve been so busy. I’ve been buying a lot of art books lately though and it's definitely been giving me the spark.
Your songs are trippy. Do you smoke weed? If so, how does it influence your creation process?
Yea I guess it's obvious huh? I mostly just smoke to level out. Just the right amount though or else I’ll get stuck and drift. But it does really help with kind of assembling the ideas. I don’t intentionally try to make trippy music really.
I love the video for "Tweny Tweny." What did you use to edit it and what was the process like pulling it all together?
Thanks! I had no clue what the reception for it was gonna be like. Two weeks before the album dropped I realized I didn’t have anything interesting to promote the release. Marketing and media has never really been my thing. Since I’m always on a tight budget and didn’t have much time I tried to come up with the easiest and cheapest way to make a video. I’ve always been big on using what you got instead of not doing anything at all. Thanks to Instagram filters, an iPhone tripod and iMovie I made my first video without knowing what the fuck I was doing.
What's next for Silverslums?
Definitely more music. My next strategy is to just pump songs out individually instead of going the album route. Its' too much when you’re your own team. I would like to do some more videos as well, maybe collaborate with a director since my skills are limited .
Any fellow artists/creatives you'd like to recommend?
The big homies Dreamlover, Chola Orange and Marc-Arnel.
