Tony Hajjar (Sparta)
June 14, 2002
MUJER Festival

For the past few years, drummer Tony Hajjar has lived the life every kid with a rock 'n' roll dream would die to have. Originally with At the Drive-In and now a member of Sparta, Tony has toured the world, worked with musicians he's idolized and best of all been able to make a living off what he loves doing most. In L.A. you have to jump through impossible hoops of red tape and annoying publicists and record company middlemen just to get an interview request to these guys. But on this day in our hometown, anybody was able to sit down for a casual chat with this one of rock's most hyped musicians.

I bet you guys have been running all over the place since you got into town.

We literally just got here! Well, I was here earlier to see Siva play, and then I went to the hotel to take a shower and stuff, and I got back and wanted to keep watching other people play but then, eek! [Mimes being pulled around]

I know how it can be - I've been trying to talk to you guys for a while now, so I'm glad that finally we're back in our mutual hometown and everything's cool and we're not going through the industry machine.

Me too!

I've heard Jim talking a lot about how it was important to do this particular event and what it means in general in a political sense and for human rights. But tell me what it means to come back here and what El Paso did for you guys as musicians and human beings?

I think it's pretty simple - I think it relates to what we're doing here today more than anything. I always use this as an example. I grew up staying a lot at my best friends' houses and their parents treated me like family, I grew up lower to middle-class and a lot of my friends' families were in the same boat or less on a political or financial level. And it relates to this: The man or woman of the house worked all day and at the end of the night if all they could bring to the dinner table was a bowl of beans and a few tortillas, it was something that they were proud of. And I think we learned that as people in general, being around that kind of mentality.

Unfortunately, a lot of people here and in Juarez don't have these opportunities that we do, traveling and so on, so you earn and respect what you get. And anything you do get, you don't take advantage of it. I think being in this kind of situation and being in this kind of environment all your life, you learn a lot about what a lot of people don't have, and I think the more you get, the more you try to give back.

Yeah, and bring it full circle.

Yeah. I think that's what it's done to us as musicians. It's made us a little bit modest and very, very aware of things that I think a lot of people would never be aware of.

And how has this attitude been affected by all the temptations of success?

You know, I think as all human beings, if you're doing one thing, you wanna be doing something else. If you're at work, you'd rather be out. If you're not working or are unemployed, whatever the case, then you wanna be working. So as human beings, yes, we get tired sometimes, and yes, we don't wanna be on the road, and yes, we don't wanna play, but you know, that's just human tendency - that's not anyone being a baby. That's just being human, and I think that you get tired and you get worn out here and there. But at the same time, we're very lucky to be doing what we're doing, and we know that. We're never gonna take advantage of that, and we're lucky to be from such a great city that has such a great support.

And this festival shows that more than a lot of things ever will. I mean, I am literally in shock, I really am, and that's not rude for me to say because I was even talking to Marina about this. I mean, we can't believe it. It happened, and there are people here, and there's a lot of spirit here - you can see it! And I literally am in shock and I can't wait to see more bands play tonight.

Yeah, it's gonna be great - and capped off with you!

Yeah! But this could be the beginning to a lot. Hopefully, we can start telling our friends to come and do these festivals, you know, those who are in bigger bands, and make this a bigger event. If it's for this reason, for the women, or if it's for cancer or AIDS or whatever the good cause it could be for, then I think it's a good thing. And I think if we can bring more awareness to any of that, it's our responsibility.

This cause being so specific to this area, what are you guys doing to explain it to your own peers, to the musicians that you work or tour or hang out with?

Well, it's specific to this area in the sense that it's based in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, but it's not specific in general, because there's these kinds of problems all over the world, and I think everybody can relate to that. But unfortunately, we're in a situation that…. Mexico is a third-world country, and this example is always used and most people won't like this comment but I don't really care - it's really about these people don't have money. There's no money pushing any buttons, and that's why it takes all of us, you know - you coming to do interviews and us coming to play and these people setting up the festival and making us food - to make this happen.

I think it's not specific and the way you bring it up is by saying, "This is what happens here, but we know it happens everywhere else." But here it's gotten less attention because there is no money behind it, and it's not gonna do anyone any good. It really isn't - I mean, for someone else that doesn't know anything about this, it's not gonna do them any good on a business level, and it's bullshit.

Right - they're asking, how can this profit me if I pay attention to it?

Exactly. And that's why you gotta relate it to a lot of people by saying that it could be your sister, it could be your mom, it could be anyone, and it could be any night - it doesn't have to be a person leaving a maquila. It could be a person coming home from work that works at some kind of business as a receptionist or from a corporate office or whatever the case. It just depends on who has the money to actually bring the attention to it, and these people obviously don't and hopefully we can help with awareness of that.

In terms of the future of not only this event but also the music scene in El Paso, what's your feeling behind it having kind of kick-started a lot with the bands that you've been involved in? Where do you see it going?

I see it going a lot of places. There's a lot of talent here; unfortunately, what happens to a lot of people in our age bracket and younger is that when they graduate from high school, their big star at the end of the mountain is Austin, Texas. They go to UT and they see how cool that city is - it's a beautiful city, don't get me wrong - but we gotta bring them back. And it's slowly happening, you know - downtown [El Paso] is building stuff and there's low-rent apartments for students and stuff and I think it's gonna become - hopefully, eventually - cool. And when you have the cool factor in any city, that brings kids. Luckily we already have a good university so we're not worried about that.

I think the scene in general thrives on a lot of support, and hopefully…. Like I was here earlier to see Siva and it was kind of empty and I was saying to myself, "God, there's a lot of kids I've never seen before in my life!" And I don't know if it's because I don't live here anymore or whatever the case, but it made me feel good because that means there's some attention, and if we can bring more attention to it - being in a band that is doing a little bit more than other bands are right now - then more power to us. We'll try our best to do that.

And always come back home.

Yeah, we'll always come back home, and never take advantage of what we get.