The dirty concoction of punk rock, skateboarding and California is the perfect recipe for making music to complain about the problems life throws at you. The combination of those traits has lead to volatile bands from this state thrashing and jamming through some of the most iconic moments in music history.
FIDLAR, a four-piece punk band that hails from Los Angeles, maintains the ethos of punk rock with the release of their latest album “Too." With a headlining tour to promote the record, bassist Brandon Schwartzel took time out of his schedule to talk about stretching before shows, music video budgets and the importance of apps.
Do you guys get nervous going into recording an album with the way the music scene is right now?
No, we really don’t think about that too much. We’ve always just done our thing and it’s always worked out. We started playing our music because there was a lack of rock and roll or guitar music. For us, it’s what we want to play and it’s fun for us. We don’t ever really get nervous.
Why do you say that? Are you confident that everything you do is going to be a success?
We just do what we do regardless of if we do well. We’ve never not done well, so we’re lucky in that regard. We didn’t get into music to do well. We got into it to make music that we like and never being nervous has been just the attitude we carry.
Where did the idea come from to do the MTV retrospective for “40 oz. On Repeat?”
That video was the first time we actually had money for a music video. (We made) our older music videos we for free or did with friends for free, and we did them in a cool way.
The inspiration came from the music videos in the '90s and the early 2000s that had these insane budgets, like millions and millions of dollars. Some of them were over the top and amazing, but others would be a band playing in front of a black wall. How did that cost $20 million? So we asked, “How many of these big budget music videos could we recreate with the budget we got?” but in a FIDLAR fashion.
Part of that seems to come from people that don’t really want to watch a music video and there isn’t a platform like MTV to promote them.
When the band started, we would release stuff through YouTube and make a video for it. Now that anyone can record songs or create a video in their bedroom, it’s just a cool way to release it. We’ve always been excited about the visual as well as the sonic side of the band.
The noble and mighty lords of the outback @DUNERATSS are playing our Fall US Tour! Info @ http://t.co/EYpVsl5BdH pic.twitter.com/vgic82TqYp
— FIDLAR (@FIDLAR) July 17, 2015
Also, kids now are so ADD that you need to release the song, the app and the virtual reality version of everything, which is cool or whatever.
What would a FIDLAR app even look like?
I can’t give away our multi-billion dollar app idea. That’s a trade secret. We’re striving to become a tech company, that's the real secret (laughs). After we launch that and our app, we can make whatever music we want.
Does the band have any pre-show rituals?
We just kind of do our own thing; we’ve never really had a pre-show routine. We might stretch more than we used to because we get sore now from all the energy we try to give during our shows. There’s a lot more toe touches and yoga posing because you just get banged up otherwise. We’ve also been walking out to R. Kelly’s “Ignition Remix” before we play so that’s kind of our pump up song.
Catch FIDLAR live at The Crescent Ballroom Oct. 16. For more information and tickets, click here.
Related Link:
LA skate punks, FIDLAR brought the ruckus to Crescent Ballroom
Reach the reporter at dloche@asu.edu or follow @DMLoche on Twitter.
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