The Hidden Genre Taking Over San Marcos 

Juniper Wolff

Local Music Journalist

Plenty of genres come to mind when thinking about the San Marcos music scene. Typically, an outside observer would assume San Marcos to be a massive hub for jazz, rock, country, and adjacent genres due to George Strait and Eddie Durham’s upbringing here. However, there is more than meets the eye in this small college town. 

A complete contrast to the honky-tonk country led by George Strait, skramz is a much smaller, more unknown subgenre of rock that has begun to bury some of its roots in the San Marcos community. From busy bars, to packed living rooms, to lively record stores, this niche has reached a dedicated audience from all across San Marcos. 

Skramz, also known as screamo, is a subgenre of alternative rock notable for its harsh, aggressive vocals and energetic instrumental segments. Similar to punk, skramz features lyrics ranging from breakups and hookups to social justice in politics. Due to the political nature of skramz as a result of its punk origins, many skramz artists are from marginalized communities which add to the raw nature and instrumentals of each screamo song. Skramz began to take off in the ‘90s in San Diego with bands like Pg. 99, Saetia, Orchid, and I Hate Myself. 

Skramz has had a revival in the 2020’s as a result of the rise of alternative culture during the lockdown forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This individualism and open expressiveness has brought many people, especially teenagers and college students, together through the internet. Many screamo bands such as herlovebeheadsdaisies, Foxtails, Salvinorin-A, and Oakwood blew up through the internet on social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and in some cases, Discord. 

One local band stands out from the rest of these. My Dad Died is a local band who has brought the emotionally charged punk to San Marcos. The self-proclaimed “Three-piece screamo band from Texas” has gained over 3,500 monthly listeners on Spotify. With their new self-titled EP released in May, My Dad Died has produced 3 singles, 3 EP’s and 1 album so far. MDD has preformed all over San Marcos; from Alchemy Records to house shows, the energetic band has expanded its reach and grown its audience significantly. 

This growth has led to new opportunities for the seemingly small band. They have preformed with big names of the scene such as Salvinorin-A. These ties have brought them to new venues and locations outside of tiny San Marcos into bigger cities such as Houston, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, they still pay homage to frontline bands of the scene with song titles such as Old New Squirrelfriend on their split EP “My Dad Died / Feeling Left Outside” being a reference to Old New Girlfriend, a massively popular song by prominent band, I Hate Sex.

Although being a band in a seemingly oversaturated genre, My Dad Died keeps it fresh and different from the rest. In songs like The One with the Microtonal Horn, the prevalence of instruments outweighs the volume of the vocals, giving a unique experience compared to other recent skramz bands.

My Dad Died is a local phenomenon that continues to keep giving. They preform consistently amazing live shows in homes where the environment is more personal than a massive arena with sold out tickets.