Meet Bury Mia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bury Mia.

Hello Bury Mia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Devin Martinez (Bass/Vocals): I am the Bassist and second vocalist for the Colorado pop punk band Bury Mia. Well, my story eh? I am Colorado born and raised. I Grew up in Denver and the surrounding areas. I spent most of my time mainly skateboarding and causing havoc around town with my friends, occasionally hitting up a local show. Never really took music seriously for a long time. I played in a handful of small school bands here and there.

Nothing became of it. But I met Justin in 2013 with a previous band I had formed in high school. Toward the end of that band Justin and I knew we wanted to keep at this. And cue the birth of Bury Mia. We spent many months, even years finding new members and saying goodbye to old ones. I can never thank them enough for the part they’ve played. Like many local bands before us and many that will come after we got stuck in the scene of playing the same venues to the same people.

Empty rooms playing to the staff was not odd for early Mia. In 2016 I welcomed my son into the world. That had a major change for me. I left the band for a short hiatus to focus on my family. In the time I spent away (though needed), I was able to self-reflect and realize music is what I want. With convincing from my wife I decided to reach out and hopefully have a spot back in Bury Mia.

Shortly after rejoining, Justin and I had a conversation about what our goals were with this band. If I was going to keep at this I knew that it had to be worth it and strive to be better. Through the years, I have defined who I am as a person and as a musician. I have met so many amazing people, and had great opportunities come my way; and, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. If you’re at a show, come up and hang out and talk, I love socializing and just talking in general.

Justin O’Neal (Guitar/Vocals): This damn band is now 7 years old. More than 40 venues were played. 14 cities. 8 states. 8 line-up changes. The only consistency has been me (and Devin mostly).

Marcus Allen-Hille (Drums): The band had been around for a few years before I joined in the spring of 2019 right before we recorded “… And Sleep It Off.” I was looking to get back into music, specifically punk/ pop punk, so I responded to a Craigslist ad after listening to a couple of Bury Mia songs on Spotify. I sensed something special underneath the homemade recordings, so I auditioned.

Since then it’s been a steady grind of hard work & keeping the faith. In the Fall of 2022, we were fortunate to be asked to play a few shows with some national touring bands like Heart Attack Man, Boys Like Girls & State Champs at iconic venues like The Ogden Theatre & The Gothic Theatre.

Stevan Alt (Guitar): It all started in 2002 when I was 11 years old and went to a local hardcore show. Heavy bands and live music energy was just my thing ever since then. Started a band around 14 years old trying to sing Misfits songs and quickly realized I sounded like garbage so I decided to learn guitar instead. Spent the next decade playing in hardcore bands before moving away to the west coast and taking about 8 years off from any musical projects.

I eventually moved to Denver in 2021 for work and randomly started searching for bands on Craigslist that needed a guitar player. Came across another local band called Years Down who unfortunately already filled the position, but forwarded my info to Devin. Drove 2 hours in a snowstorm to audition and went on tour a month later.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
JO: I would love to say that it’s been a smooth road but it certainly has not. Both Devin and I have had to wade through the waters of balancing home life with children, including Devin leaving the band for one mysterious year before his wife kicked him out of the house.

It’s extremely difficult to have to decide between being home to see kids after work and having to dip off for band practice, a show, or even worse leaving to tour the western US. All of us work full-time jobs to get bills paid and spend as many possible moments as are available working on the art. One of our struggles has been retaining talented and motivated members through the years.

We have had 8 prior members of Bury Mia leave the band (and 3 sit in musicians for specific shows, thank you to Ricky, Christian, and Ben) and while we believe that this current line-up is the best it has ever been, it is hard to keep going sometimes when you have momentum and you have to bring in someone new and team them all of the songs.  The type of chemistry that we want is made from years of playing shows and it’s been nearly impossible to meet that standard. But we’re excited to get there with this line-up.

DM: I have faced many challenging things in this band but the biggest I think is finding myself on stage. If you have been to a Mia show you may have seen me acting a complete fool and having the time of my life while doing it. Well, it wasn’t always that way. Originally I was supposed to be the drummer of Bury Mia.

Shortly after formation, I became the bassist. Having dabbled in the guitar I knew nothing other than the basics (if you can even call it that). I knew I wanted to be my ADHD self on stage but I just didn’t know how to bring it out. It was very much a challenge to learn to play and move.

As well, as be comfortable with the mistakes you make during a live set. I wasn’t used to being upfront on the stage, so it was very odd. But practice makes perfect and as I kept at it with resilience, I became an utter buffoon. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Live every moment like it could be your last.

MAH: We’ve paid our dues grinding through the local circuit. Early on we’d play almost any show/ place/ time. The band stayed engaged & busy during Covid by writing & recording. It’s been smooth in some ways & a struggle in others. Justin, Devin & I all share the same vision & dream for the band so we’ve been willing to do whatever it takes to get to the next level.

In that sense, it’s been smooth with a certain sense of trust, reliability, & steadiness regardless of what arises. We’ve struggled to keep a guitarist but I think that frustration is behind us with the addition of Steve. He’s stepped in & solidified his presence & style in the band.

SA: It’s never a smooth road being in a band ha. I felt a lot of pressure trying to learn enough songs to go on tour after not even being in a band for over 8 years. At times I felt like an idiot joining a band that had already established itself and worked so hard and had all these aspirations and goals in mind, while I’m over here just trying to learn some weird jazz chords and hoping they don’t catch on that I don’t know how to play guitar.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We’re a pop punk band! We released a high-energy album with great riffs and thoughtful lyrics called “Somewhere Between Where We Are and Where We’ve Been”. We will be releasing a ton more music in 2023 and starting with our next single “We’ve Been Meaning To Reach You About Your Car’s Extended Warranty” which takes us to a slightly darker sound and lyrics with the same fire and passion of our past.

Here’s a Spotify link to the current album:
https://open.spotify.com/album/70TAPBFuVmml4YKE6oG4wg?si=L1wwCc_gRZuuZ3YZpV81IQ

From its inception over breakfast burritos and nitro brew, the growth of Bury Mia has been rapid and steady. In just a few years the band has launched itself from sweaty garage practices to packed and rowdy shows across the West Coast. As this 4-piece brotherhood of Punk has progressed through growing pains and extricated band members they’ve held a tight grip on their mission to assert their authenticity and musical lineage.

Frontman Justin O’Neal has supplied the band with an endless stream of catchy and somehow already-familiar Pop-Punk songs. As Bury Mia continues to gain recognition over the years, their sound has become tighter and instantly recognizable. Their most recent single ‘TRNWRCK’, recorded at the Punk-famous Blasting Room Studios, has been a hit with the running and fitness community as an ‘emergency hype anthem’ to push through those last few miles or reps.

Within a few years, Bury Mia has already toured the West Coast in addition to embracing their local scene. They roam the local bars like HQ and Lost Lake as well as iconic venues like The Marquis Theater, Fox Theatre, Ogden Theatre, and Gothic Theatre, opening for bands like State Champs, Boys Like Girls, Jimmy Eat World, A Day To Remember, Rise Against, Heart Attack Man and more. They’ve earned acknowledgments from publications including 303 Magazine, Westword Magazine, Kill The Music, and Colorado Punk Rock Army and are continuing to garner radio play this year.

“We believe that this music demands success. There’s something special here, a reinvention of sorts, a familiarity but with a unique freshness unlike anything out there right now. It’s not about claiming to be original. Originality is a myth. But this music is authentic.”

This group is passionate about their music which shows in every note. With no other goal besides issuing their hard-earned music into the world, they are going to get heard. Bury Mia has firmly planted a flag in the sound they’ve been dialing in from the beginning: It’s big, it’s loud, and it’s undeniably punk rock.

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
JO: I am a biomedical engineer with a Master’s degree.

DM: Something surprising? Well, let me think here. Oh, I got one. I’m left-handed! I play all my instruments right because that’s the way I learned them. Most people don’t know that about me.

MAH: No one in the band knows my real age.

SA: I have an unhealthy obsession with Spam and Mac n cheese. I also have no idea how old Marcus is…

Contact Info:

• Website: www.burymia.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/burymia
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/BuryMia/
• Twitter: twitter.com/bury_mia
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHMdWg3PbGlbgG8xuOHqqA

Image Credits
Morgan Elizabeth Photography and Max McNerny