Split Persona: From Reno Roots to Hollywood Nights

Split Persona: From Reno Roots to Hollywood Nights

The Rising Rock Trio Discuss War Within Ourselves, Life on the Road, and Finding Their Voice

With a headline set at the legendary Viper Room just hours away, Split Persona sat down with Highwire Daze for their second interview with the magazine. Since the last conversation, the band has relocated from Reno to Las Vegas, released their powerful full-length album War Within Ourselves, survived the highs and lows of independent touring, and continued building a dedicated fanbase one show at a time.

Joined by vocalist and guitarist Zander Hoschak, bassist Sam Pableo, and drummer Michael Westridge, we discussed songwriting, touring realities, dream support slots, a van accident that nearly ended the band, and the mindset that keeps Split Persona moving forward.

Introduce yourselves and tell me what you do in the band.
Zander Hoschak: My name is Zander Hoschak. I’m the lead singer, rhythm guitar player, and I write a lot of the songs.

Michael Westridge: My name is Michael Westridge. I play drums.

Sam Pableo: My name is Sam Pableo. I play bass and do backing vocals.

Where are you guys based out of, and what’s your local music scene like there? I think it used to be Reno.
Zander: It used to be Reno, yeah. We were based out of Reno for four years, and then we moved to Las Vegas in 2024. The scenes are very different.

When we first started in Reno, a lot of people were finding their footing. We were all starting around the same time, breaking out around the same time, and it felt like everybody was on a pretty equal level.

When you move to Vegas, though, there are so many talented people. It’s a much bigger pool of fish. It can feel more competitive, but that’s never something we really worry about because we focus on doing our own thing.

We stayed in Reno for four years and built a fan base there. Then we moved to Vegas and completely started over.

It was a fresh experience for everybody. We changed some members, changed a lot about how the music was being produced and created, and I feel like we’ve really found our sound over the last year.

Vegas always had some of the best Warped Tours, too.
Zander: Yo, bring Vegas Warped Tour back! Yes, please.

I was lucky enough to attend the one in Long Beach last year, and it was a blast. It was a lot of fun.

We’re here at The Viper Room right now. What are you looking forward to most about your performance tonight?
Sam: For me personally, it’s the fact that this is such a legendary venue. My dad used to live in Ridgecrest, and he would come down to Hollywood and hang out at The Viper Room back in the ’90s.

Hearing him tell stories about those days got me excited to play here. It’s cool being able to experience the same places my parents used to enjoy. Just being here, being in Hollywood, and playing music is an incredible experience. I’m really excited to be here.

Zander: To add to that, our second show ever as a band was at the Whisky a Go Go across the street.

For us to be back here six years later is huge. We played the Whisky in January 2020, right before the pandemic. Then everything shut down in March.

To come back six years later and headline a show across the street from where we played one of our earliest gigs is really special for us.

War Within Ourselves is the name of the new album. Is there a story or concept behind that title?
Zander: When I write, I write a lot. I’ll stockpile songs, put demos away for later, and revisit ideas over the course of years.

For example, on the Drown EP, “Prey” was written only a couple of months before we recorded it, but “Drown” and “Lies” were songs we’d had around since 2020.

As a songwriter and artist, I try to create something cohesive, where everything flows together.

During the writing process for War Within Ourselves, there were a lot of personal challenges happening. We were adjusting to a major move, dealing with lineup changes, relationships ending and beginning, and all kinds of life transitions.

As soon as I wrote the chorus for “War Within Ourselves,” I knew it had to be the title track because it tied everything together thematically.

And honestly, I think albums still matter. When people say, “Nobody makes records anymore,” I say, “F*** that.“

If you have an artistic vision, follow it. Don’t just listen to industry people telling you to release twelve singles over the course of a year and follow some formula that’s supposedly going to make your music blow up.

Of course we want our music to reach the right audience, but we want it to reach them for the right reasons. When people listen to War Within Ourselves, I want them to hear the message and experience the record as a whole.

Artists should create whatever feels authentic to them and stay true to themselves.

There are a few more songs I wanted to ask about. This one’s probably for Zander.
Zander: No worries. Let’s dive into the dungeon.

“FromMe2U.” Tell me about that one.
Zander: I’ve written a few songs over the years that immediately felt like opening tracks.

I wrote “FromMe2U” right before we moved to Las Vegas. In a lot of ways, it was my gift to the fans we had built up in Reno.

The whole song is about being there for them. It’s about how we’re one big family and how they’re just as much a part of this band as we are.

They’re the people who make the magic happen. They’re the guiding stars for us.

So really, it’s a gift from me to them.

“Warrior.” Let’s talk about that one.

Zander: I wrote it during a really rough period in my life. I’d wake up and spend three hours lying in bed doom-scrolling before I’d even get up.

One day, I finally snapped and decided to get my ass in gear. I started going to the gym, focusing more on writing music, and building a routine that actually worked for me.

When I wrote “Warrior,” it was almost like I was writing it for myself as much as anyone else.

It’s for those moments when you feel incapable, when you’re at the bottom and can’t see a way forward.

That song is meant to be a kick in the ass.

Nobody’s going to do it for you. You have to do it yourself. You have to put in the work.

That’s what “Warrior” is all about.

We’ll do one more song. “Bury Me.”
Zander: Oh, boy. We were just talking about this one.

First, I have to shout out Brogan Kelley, who’s rejoining the band after a year away. He moved back to Reno for a while, but now he’s coming back, and we’re absolutely stoked about that.

“Bury Me” started with Brogan. He wrote the instrumental and sent it to me.

At the time, I was constantly traveling between Reno and Las Vegas and flying back and forth while we were recording the album in Wichita, Kansas.

One day, I was on a plane when Brogan sent me the demo and said, “You need to listen to this. Listen to every second of it.”

That’s how we work together. We trade demos all the time.

When I heard “Bury Me,” my immediate reaction was, this is a rebellious song.

It felt like it needed to be about the people who doubt you.

One of the biggest inspirations was Beartooth. Caleb Shomo has been a huge influence on me, and we were listening to a lot of that music while writing.

We wanted to create something universal. A song people could hear and think about everyone who ever doubted them.

The message became: You can do everything in your power to bury me, but I’m still here. I’m still standing. I’m still rising.

That’s how Brogan and I ended up writing that song together.

Touring reality: what’s the biggest misconception young bands have about touring?
Zander: Booking shows.

We know how to play the music. We know how to load in, get on stage efficiently, and run our in-ear monitors.

But booking shows is a completely different challenge.

Artist development has kind of fallen out of relevance. For bands like us, we’re often left to figure things out on our own.

When we book our own shows, we have more control, but then you have to negotiate guarantees. We’re all pretty humble, so we’re sitting there thinking, “We’re not worth $500. What do you mean?“

Then the expenses start stacking up.

A lot of times it isn’t even about making a profit. We just want to break even.

We want to get out there, make new fans, build our audience, and grow the Split Persona family.

You really have to build a name for yourself before larger bands start taking you out on the road. That’s why we’re so grateful to be supporting another band on this run and getting the chance to introduce ourselves to new cities.

Did you guys have a van accident on your first tour?
Zander: It happened on the second-to-last show of the tour, actually here in Los Angeles.

How did that moment reshape your mindset?
Zander: That’s a great question.

Honestly, that entire tour was rough. We were basically playing shows for nobody.

We had just crowdfunded enough money through GoFundMe to buy our first tour van, a purple 1997 Dodge Ram 3500 we named Boo Berry after our favorite cereal.

We were excited. The van was ready. We felt prepared.

Then we went out on this tour and played to almost nobody night after night.

Ironically, our best turnout was in Los Angeles at Genghis Cohen. I think maybe ten people showed up, and we were thrilled.

Afterward, we went to the Rainbow Bar & Grill, ate pizza, and hung out.

Around two in the morning, our bass player at the time offered to drive because I had been doing a lot of the driving. He was exhausted.

At an intersection, he saw a green light and didn’t realize he needed to yield on a left turn.

We got T-boned.

The front-right axle was bent completely in half. The van was totaled.

We ended up stranded, trying to find transportation home while figuring everything out for the first time.

My parents were absolute heroes. They rented a trailer and drove down to Bakersfield to help recover all our gear.

But it was traumatic.

I was in the passenger seat when it happened. Everything we’d worked for felt destroyed in an instant.

I completely broke down that night.

To make matters worse, it took eleven hours for a tow truck to find us because they couldn’t locate us on the Sunset Strip.

Looking back, though, it toughened me up.

Now whenever something goes wrong, I think, Well, it can’t be worse than that.

If Split Persona could open for any band, either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Sam: This is pure selfishness, but Pierce the Veil. They’re my favorite band of all time.

If I had to give a second answer, it’d be Queen.

Brian May is the reason I even picked up a guitar. Before 2020, I barely listened to rock music. Queen changed everything for me.

Actually, I’m changing my answer.

Queen is my number-one choice.

Michael: That’s a tough one.

I’d say Rush, but Rush didn’t really do opening acts.

As far as present-day bands go, Spiritbox would be incredible. Mike Stringer is such an amazing writer.

Honestly, opening for any band I’ve spent money to go see would be a dream.

Even if they never said a word to us, getting to watch them perform every night would be incredible.

It’s the idea of getting to play alongside your heroes.

Zander: Mine’s easy.

Foo Fighters.

That’s it.

Foo Fighters.

Last question. What’s next for Split Persona?
Zander: We’re working on a lot of new music right now. We’re getting things lined up to hopefully start recording again soon.

It feels like we’re heading in a new direction. War Within Ourselves was our statement piece. It was our way of saying, “This is who we are. This is the sound we’ve found.“

Now we want to expand on that.

So the future is really about two things: new music and playing a ton of shows.

For the first time, we have the ability to get out of town consistently and really take this band on the road.

We’re going to write new music, play as many shows as we can, and keep showing people who Split Persona is.

We’re finally in a position to do that.

In Conclusion

From rebuilding after a devastating tour van accident to finding a renewed sense of purpose through War Within Ourselves, Split Persona continues to embody the perseverance celebrated throughout their music. Their journey from Reno to Las Vegas, combined with a relentless DIY spirit and a refusal to compromise their artistic identity, has placed them on an exciting trajectory.

As the band prepares the next chapter of music and expands its reach beyond the Southwest, one thing is clear: Split Persona isn’t interested in chasing trends. They’re focused on building something lasting, one song, one show, and one fan at a time.

For more information on Split Persona, visit their social media pages and streaming platforms, and be sure to experience War Within Ourselves wherever music is streamed.

(Interview by Ken Morton – Photos by Scott Waters)

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