"Hot pants." That's what Bert Irigoyen's fellow band members call him when he isn't putting up blazing times on the cross country course. The Ransom Everglades senior leads a sort of double life: state champion runner and hardcore drummer.
"I'm always doing crazy fast bass drumming. The other guys say I move as if I have something hot in my pants. I guess you could apply that to my running too."
Bert didn't start out on the drums. In sixth grade he played percussion and had to play bells. He then taught himself to play the drums and by the eigth grade he had it down pat.
"I could play really fast like double kick bass drum and quick snare fills. I quit band though after ninth grade because I was never really taught how to play. When I got to high school I had to read music which I couldn't do so I bought my own set of drums after 11th grade.
The rockstar in Irigoyen has spread to his teammates. On a recent cross country trip the senior bought a Nirvana Icon CD. He says they all had a Nirvana phase at one point, but he likes the band the most. In fact there really aren't many bands he doesn't like.
"I'm kind of old fashioned. I like actual CD's. There is something about being able to hold a material thing. Blink 182 self titled, 2003, may be my favorite album of all time ever tied with EOTS and Nevermind, but self titled has such raw emotion on it, and it was such an emotional step for them; crazy stuff."
Blink 182 band members Mark, Tom, and Travis make up a big part of Bert's life. The band inspired him to start his own band, and like drummer Travis Barker, pick up the sticks and start to jam. Irigoyen's group, which has yet to be named, has been writing on and off since July.
"When listening to All The Small Things and driving around with my mom in Montana I realized I wanted to play. Now I have a band and four songs written. We're going to the recording studio later this month and were going to a Blink 182 show on the 23rd and 24th of September. We are going to try and give them a copy of our EP. We all bring something different to the band. I'm really into punk rock, our bass player and rhythm guitarist are more into pop punk and our lead guitarist is really into metal. I am into all so it really mixes well. Our leader singer listens to all of it as well like me."
The group's influences include Metallica, Nirvana , Blink 182, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, and a little Reel Big Fish. Combine those with some ska, and Irigoyen says you can only imagine the insanity that ensues.
"Every song we have is completely different. The problem we have is none of us can come up with a band name. We've gone through a couple like Rocket Cove, Hollow Point, Hearts and Hammers, No Idea, and all sorts of weird stuff."
Berticus, Berty, Bert Bert, Betrano--whatever you want to call him--running fans simply know him as Bert. One name Irigoyen could get used to is "state champion." In 2010 he won the 2A Cross Country title. He explains that running and music complement one another acting as an escape from everyday life.
"If I don't want to run, I'll play some music. I go and play the drums, band it out, or turn the distortion up to 11 (Spinal Tap reference), and just rock out. It clears my mind. If I can't find a riff or a vocal melody, or a fill on the drums is giving me blisters which it does then I'll run. If runners think blisters on their feet are bad, they know nothing. I've had both. My hands are so destroyed with blood blisters the size of nickels. If I don't want to play music, I'll run. Both can be intense at times."
He started out running track as a ninth grader, but admits he likes cross country a lot more. The team aspect, just like being in a band, are what brings out his passion for the sport.
"You really feel like the guy puking his guts out next to you or even on you is like a blood brother or even closer than that. There is a part of you in every person on the team and a little part of your friends in you. That's why I like cross country more. When you run that course your friends have to go through the same thing."
The Raiders have finished fourth, fourth, and fifth at states the past three seasons under head coach Don Kappelman, but it was Irigoyen's middle school cross country coach Mike Becker that he owes a lot of his success too. Becker coaches the track team as well and has remained a friend and mentor to the senior. Irigoyen says if it wasn't for the man they call Jesus, Adam, Achilles God, Zeus and finally Becker, he wouldn't be half the man he is today. It's no surprise that Irigoyen's goals revolve around his team. His main goal is to bring home a team title to Ransom.
"Team state title, individual state title, Foot Locker Top 10, those are my goals in that order. The team is before anything else. We want it more than anything this year. We've been talking about for way too long to let it slip away."
Bert the rocker, Bert the runner... does one take preference?
"It's a symbolic relationship they have with one another. They are two different parts that come together to make one me."
Interview: 2010 2A Cross Country State Championships
Personal Bests
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1600 Meter Run4:20.95
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3200 Meter Run9:31.10
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5000 Meter Run15:29.87
