INDIO, Calif. - Sparta guitarist Paul Hinojos has a history with the 6-year-old Coachella festival.
He played it a few years back with his former band, At the Drive-In, and he went last year to see Jane's Addiction.
"It's gotten bigger every year. This is the first time it's sold out," Hinojos said. "Now it's similar to some of the UK festivals. This year is the first that it's working. We are definitely excited (to play)."
Hinojos attributed hipper bands to the success of this year's fest, which had Hinojos' band playing the main stage on Saturday, right before headliners the Pixies and Radiohead.
While Sparta is signed to a major label and had modest success with their first album, Wiretap Scars, they still have work to do to separate themselves from ATDI and the other ATDI spin-offs, The Mars Volta. Coachella provides a band like Sparta an opportunity to do just that.
"We get to play to all these different kinds of people who like different kinds of music," Hinojos said. "It's always good to play to people that have never seen you."
Through a 50-minute set that featured an even mix of old and new material, Sparta showed that it's evolving and finding its sound. The band's sound is of the screamo variety, with heavy guitars contrasting a sense of melody and emotion.
Its new album, Porcelain, drops in June. And as musicians tend to think, it will be their best yet.
"You're always improving and learning new things. Every record I make should be better than the last," he said. "With ATDI, I barely picked up the guitar, so I'm still learning."
With Porcelain, it might be the case. After touring with bands like Weezer and playing a few festivals with Radiohead, Sparta decided to take some time on their next artistic statement. While the first record was written in seven days, Porcelain was a longer project.
"We all lived in Joshua Tree, (Calif.)" he said. "Josh (Homme) from Queens of the Stone Age has a ranch and he let us come and stay. Everything's raw, we just wanted to capture everything. We're really proud of it."
And with a new album inevitably comes a summer tour. And what better way to tour during hot and humid months than at all-day outside music festivals. Lollapalooza, which is looking for an indie crowd this year, will feature El Paso, Texas-based Sparta, along with Modest Mouse, Sonic Youth, Morrissey and Flaming Lips.
Hinojos hopes that they can help change the perception that Lollapalooza is becoming less and less relevant.
"I think they definitely took it back to the original ideas. It got bad the last couple years and was like 'Metallica, sponsored by Pepsi,'" he said.
While Hinojos talked about the summer tour, the music fan in him was rearing to end the interview.
"I really want to go see the Pixies and the Stills - they're Texas boys (like us)," he said.