About this interview
In a 2007 interview with Ryan Minic of Ryan’s Rock Show, Eric Victorino, frontman of Strata, gets personal about his journey from working in Silicon Valley startups to fronting a rock band. Eric discusses Strata’s connections with bands like Drowning Pool and Team Sleep, the band’s musical evolution, and how Eric handles online criticism.
Eric shares how he originally planned to be a writer, winning storytelling contests as a kid before pivoting to music in his late teens. He recalls working in graphic design at tech startups during the dot-com boom in Northern California, where he met Strata bassist Hrag. That path eventually led to forming the band, with the two bonding over music rather than computer screens.
Strata’s ties to Drowning Pool came about in an unexpected way. Eric explains how Jason Jones, who replaced Drowning Pool’s late frontman Dave Williams, heard Strata’s demo and passed it along to Wind-up Records. Although the band wasn’t fans of Wind-up’s roster—think Creed and Evanescence—they appreciated the label’s commitment to nurturing bands long-term, especially after watching friends get dropped from major labels before their albums even came out.
The conversation shifts to Strata’s tours, including the surreal experience of sharing the stage with Team Sleep, featuring Chino Moreno from Deftones. Eric relives moments like getting busted by cops in Austin for skateboarding with Chino and Sonny Moore (Skrillex), and the honor of singing onstage during their set. Despite the success, he’s candid about past tours that didn’t inspire him, opening for bands he didn’t respect, and how hard it was to wake up every morning and do it anyway.
Eric talks openly about Strata’s live sound, explaining that they often come across heavier live than on their records, citing shows with Silverchair and Silversun Pickups, where they ended up being the heaviest band on the bill. He also reflects on Daniel Johns from Silverchair rocking MC Hammer pants and being “pretty drunk” at their show.
The conversation takes a deeper turn as Eric opens up about dealing with criticism. Despite receiving tons of positive messages on MySpace, one negative comment could throw him off. He describes his initial instinct to lash out, before realizing he needed to stop reacting and focus on himself. These days, he prefers spending time talking philosophy and perception, like how your brain stabilizes your visual reality—exactly the kind of conversation that happens when you have 12 hours to kill in a van.
Eric also gets philosophical about death, explaining his atheistic worldview. He shares his belief that this life is all we have, and that we should live like it’s a limited edition, rather than banking on an afterlife. He sees death not as something scary but as a reason to live fully in the present. His personal journey includes sobriety, quitting drugs, drinking, and smoking, and channeling his energy into learning and writing.
Speaking of writing, Eric self-published a book of short stories and poetry, which he hand-packs and ships himself. The book sold out its first run ten times faster than expected, and he takes pride in doing it all on his own terms without label interference.
The interview closes with Eric discussing his passion for science, religion, and philosophy, citing Nietzsche’s ideas, and debunking common misconceptions about atheism and belief. For Eric, it all ties back to living an intentional life, whether through his music in Strata or his personal pursuits.