Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Aggielife

Media Credit: File - The Battalion Foreign Affairs consists of Camilo Tobacia, a senior aerospace engineering major, vocals and guitar; Andés Tobacia, a class of 2007 industrial engineering major, vocals and guitar; Brian Graue, a class of 2007 mechinical engineering major, bass and vocals, and Jake Ragle, a class of 2007 finance major, drums. [Click to enlarge]

Brothers Andres and Camilo Tobacia came to Tyler, Texas from Bogota, Columbia more than two years ago. Apart from their linguistic limitations, the brothers share a passion for listening to and writing alternative rock music. The pair quickly overcame their English deficit and began writing music with Brian Graue, a senior mechanical engineering major.

The group started playing songs in their respective basements and slowly put together a list of songs, both originals and covers of their favorite artists like Nirvana, Weezer and The Doors. The band performed one open mic after another, finding that more people had an interest in their brand of music than they expected.

"Mostly it's country music-type of acts in this area, but a lot of people here really like alternative rock," Andres Tobacia said. The guys found drummer Jake Ragle on Facebook, and after completing the lineup, they officially dubbed themselves Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Affairs derives their name from the band members' geographic differences. While the Tobacia brothers are from Columbia, Graue and Ragle are from small Texas towns. But that's about where the dissimilarity between the band members ends. All share influences and a predilection toward alternative rock. The band calls upon influences like Pixies, The White Stripes, Modest Mouse and Weezer to create their sound. Among their other influences are Spanish rock bands Enanitos Verdes, Soda Stereo and Aterciopelados. The band is a signature act of the local indie/alternative rock scene - a scene that is surprisingly large and includes bands like The Hangouts, The Kansas City Faggots, Bantam Seed and The Guns of Detroit.

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