Record Store Day with The Growlers

The first signs of Summer finally hit Orange County and Los Angeles today, causing the city of Silverlake to simmer with a sizzling heat. Right around the corner from Echo Park, directly on Sunset Blvd., is the thin corridor of a record store, called Origami Vinyl. On this sunny April 16^th, the guys at Origami have opened their doors to the public to celebrate the Official National Record Store Day. Propped upon the wall rack closest to the entrance is a collection of the Growlers’ previous record releases like Hot Tropics, and Are You In Or Out? To commemorate Record Store Day, the Growlers are releasing a new addition to their vinyl collection, a 7” titled, Gay Thoughts.

Around 7pm, The Growlers roll right up to the curb outside Origami inside of their updated school bus named Lizzy. Taking charge of the wheel is bassist, Scott Montoya. Outside the store, a line is beginning to stretch down the sidewalk, causing a bit of a distraction to the traffic passing by. Inside the sweltering bus, guitarist Matt Taylor, keyboard player Kyle Straka, drummer Brian Stewart, previous percussionist Warren Thomas and the beautiful girlfriends, Brook and Emily, fit snug into their seating areas. One by one, each member exits the bus, presenting their sunburnt faces and tan shoulders to the growing crowd of fans that have been awaiting the band’s arrival.

As the sun begins to wane and the congested lights of Silverlake come alive in the darkness, lead singer Brooks Neilsen, who had driven separately, finally joins the band. After a quick run to the liquor store, the guys squeeze back onto their makeshift tour bus, sucking down tall cans and getting a few puffs in before heading inside. A huddle of pretty female fans linger out front the bus entrance, hoping for the chance to be invited in on the fun, but the guys choose to relax, watching videos together, rather than mingling with the hectic vibe outside.

Inside Origami, the employees are rushing around, attempting to keep the racks of records inside clean, and the crowd outside organized. In the midst of preparation, the phone continues to ring off the hook in anticipation of the free Growlers show about to take place. A little before 8pm, the record store ringleader begins to let the line trickle in bit by bit. Most of the crowd appears to be younger, Los Angeles locals, with a reoccurring image of dirty-indie-surf-skate-artistic-rock-kids. The temperature rises gradually as the fans file in, causing the corridor to radiate with a muggy heat that rises upwards towards the exposed wooden beams of the ceiling. Once the room fills capacity, the Growlers sneak in the back door located inside the pizza joint next door, through the hallway, up a winding metal staircase, and up into the loft storage space converted into a dangerously cool overhead stage.

Eyes lifted up towards the platform catch a clear view of Neilsen front and center, and Taylor off to the right, but because of the sharp angle, not much of Montoya, Straka, and Stewart can be seen. Despite the setup, the blocked vision doesn’t stop the crowd from swaying with a sweaty swagger to the ominous melodies crackling from the PA. Neilsen croons to the crowd, “I don’t know where I am, I think I’m lost in the badlands, don’t want to lose who I am, but I’m lost in the badlands.” These dark lyrics are an ironic choice to share with the audience of Los Angeles locals, considering the fact that morality tends to diminish in places like Hollywood and other surrounding cities.

Outside, another hundred people huddle around the front door, catching a glimpse of the Growlers through the tall paneled glass storefront. Fans have officially taken over Lizzy the bus, peering out through her open windows. A brave few have even climbed up the bus’ exterior and onto her roof, smoking cigarettes and moving their stationary body to the beat of song after song. Beach balls fly back and forth in the crowd, and as more people walk by, the group thickens with more and more of a Growler mob.

Neilsen hangs his feet over the edge of the stage, singing the morbid lyrics of “Sea Lion Goth Blues,” with a serious look on his face, and the contemplation of death on his mind. Right to the edge he teeters, and perhaps he’s determining whether or not to take that final step as he sings, “I’ve just been thinking about my Will, thinking about what mark I’ve made, and if I get killed, I wonder who’ll bring roses to my grave?” The cryptic lyrics continue through the rest of the Hot Tropics tracks played, but, as the extensive set progresses, it shifts towards a more positive outlook. The newest songs, “Gay Thoughts,” and “Feelin’ Good,” are officially introduced to the eager crowd. Although Death has fled from these two tunes, the satire and cynicism of Neilsen’s lyrics intertwine with the reoccurring ideas of moral ambiguity he cannot escape.

More than 15 songs in, and the guys decide to call it a night. But the audience wants more, pleading for an encore. Neilsen gets the nod from the Origami manager, and the PA comes alive yet again. Post encore, the swaying crowd outside cries for another encore, caught in the trance of the Growlers. The record store finally empties of sweaty attendees, fans crawl down off the bus, and the mass dissipates. The band continues to sell merchandise and linger with their devoted fans. From the open back door of the Lizzy, Brook peddles t-shirts and such while Neilsen wanders between the cracks of the crowd, humbly interacting with his followers.

After a full set, the Growlers now have their performance systematically wired in preparation of their two-month long National tour. As they travel, they will release their “Gay Thoughts” all over the country, including spots like New Orleans, Pennsylvania, and New York. The trend tonight consists of youth lingering for autographs, the chance for the surf/skate deviant to meet their favorite band member, and the opportunity for that pretty little female to snag a photo opportunity; all things that will no doubt continue as the Growlers travel on their tour. A few female followers huddle around Neilsen, one exclaiming that her picture with him was a, “profile pic, for fuckin’ sure!” Meanwhile her friend nearby couldn’t believe that, “Oh my God! He touched your face!”

Songs Played:

Wandering Eyes

Tijuana

Sea Lion Goth Blues

Badlands

Camino Muerto

Acid Rain

Empty Bones

Let it Be Known

A Man With No God

Old Cold River

Wet Dreams

Stranger’s Road

People Don't Change

Gay Thoughts

Feelin’ Good

www.thegrowlers.com

Songwriters: The Growlers

When did Hot Tropics come out?

Brooks Neilsen: Middle of October (2010) sometime. Yeah it was cool, it was the last one we had made here (at the studio). It was kind of older material, but we had to put it out before it got too old.

When you write lyrics, what are you drawing from? For that album in particular? For those songs originally, and then to fit into the album?

Neilsen: I don’t know. A lot of the songs are written in a really short amount of time, like some of them, an hour, some of them a few hours. We were doing the Couples, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time to think about it. I usually don’t spend a lot of time about it. I just kind of like jot it down. A lot of it ends up being like rap, and rhyming. And then it’s, ‘Oh, it kinda seems like that,’ and, ‘They’re gonna think that…oh cool.’ I don’t really get that deep. If I catch myself getting really into it, I’m like, ‘quit being so artsy.’ But I don’t know, at that time, I was working, and driving around in my work truck all day. I was listening to this guy Dennis Prager a lot and his Happiness Hour and hearing a lot of Judeo-Christian values stuff. Thinking about stuff like that; good and bad, right and wrong.

So what did you think about all that? Obviously you were intrigued by it.

Neilsen: Yeah I like it, I mean, gotta keep on making more music so I don’t have to beat the shit out of myself everyday. Just like, shit it out and make more.

Artists around here get 4-5 songs on their EP, and then live off of those songs for the next year. Eventually it becomes, “What’s new?”

Neilsen: It’s weird. Luckily we made it a point to make a shitload. Cause we’re doing basically the same fuckin’ thing right now, it’s just a lot more songs.

Do you think that’s part of the success?

Neilsen: Yeah, to give us more to choose from. And to keep us motivated and happy. Playing the same shit is a real wear and tear, especially when you’re tired. When it’s everyday it’s tough. But the whole thing is pretty mapped out for you. When we were doing it on our own, it’s not mapped out, we can do whatever the hell we want. But now, we’ve started adjusting to being on a label, there’s timetables for everything; when records should be released. And you gotta know a lot earlier, cause you gotta get it done two months, three months before that deadline, and have the art done. And at the same time, the tour is starting to become something, and you’re like, ‘ugh.’ But luckily you’re still making something that you like, so that’s cool, but it’s kind of weird getting into the swing of deadlines. I failed miserably in school. To go back into that mode of, ‘Oh shit, gotta get this done or dad’s gonna be pissed.’ It’s kind of crazy. And that’s when the decision to take a break comes in. If we were on it, the 7” we are releasing would be a full-length album. But it’s not, so we’re not going to have a full-length. And then we can put it out at the end of Summer, but that’s not exactly the time to put out a record. We’ll put it out next February, so there’s gonna be a huge gap here without music. So then you start thinking, ‘aw, well fuck man.’ Luckily we’re going across the country to all these places where nobody knows us, they’re tiny, and everything is brand new to them. The people around here are probably like, ‘same fuckin’ Growlers show.’ So that’s why we don’t really play here too.

You guys don’t play here that much, and I don’t think people are bummed on it. From an outsider’s perspective, you could probably turn around and play another one.

Neilsen: Yeah, I like playing at home a lot more. But when we were playing a lot, it felt like we were dragging people out every time, and it was kind of more of a scene, and less of a ‘come see the Growlers’ thing.

So where do you like to play when you’re home?

Neilsen: Alex’s Bar in Long Beach is cool. Yeah I don’t know a favorite place, we need to find some. The best place is at a big warehouse basically. And a house party is cool, but you can only fit so many, and it’s easily broken up. A warehouse, they tend to go all night, and little kids get to get drunk and have sex in the corner, and pee everywhere. They’re more fun, compared to the venues.

So are you guys writing at all right now?

Neilsen: Yeah, Matt’s got a shitload of songs, Kyle’s got a bunch of songs, Scott’s got some basslines, I have some. So we just need to kinda start combining, just do a little bit you know.

Do you write yours as vocals?

Neilsen: Yeah, separate. And then on their stuff I just create a melody to it over the top. The 7” is gonna be in April, and the full length won’t be until the end of Summer. We wanna get a massive amount of songs to narrow it down and do a small amount. Maybe like 50 songs, and then do ten songs or whatever.

Do you have a certain vibe you’re going for, or do you just kind of create as much as you can?

Neilsen: Yeah, we tend to do that. That idea is just weird to me, too contrived. Like putting yourself in a box. It’s like how do you map that out, ‘Let’s get more Motown or something?’ I don’t know what the hell to even say. I mean the guys have said stuff like, ‘Hey maybe let’s not be so death’ (laughs). But we write songs all in Minor, it’s kind of what the vibe is.

http://thegrowlers.com/