everyone looks that in-depth , but I am pretty anal about that stuff when it comes to our band . Those are the things I do care about aesthetically . But like bands , I like to watch them . “ The Story So Far ” is a pretty far off-genre reference , but I ’ ve watched them go out there and play to five people in San Diego . And I just watched them always act the same and just kind of chill and just literally go on stage and vibe too , and would play live and it wasn ’ t any sort of extra craziness . Another band , also from San Diego , they ’ re pretty popping , and their vibe and aesthetic ... I ’ ve always been very into them . And they kind of just like dress a little bit cool . But I also don ’ t make a big façade out of it . Just put out music that means something consistently , and you will be rewarded for it . Fans will know if something is real . that , wherever that is in the city that has a massive impact on how things will
come out for you guys and how your band like acts and is .
What were some of local San Diego bands that inspired you ?
JAMES : For me , I guess what the scene was to me when I was growing up . There was Casino Madrid . That ’ s a band that some people may have heard of . There ’ s another band called Adestria . Those were some great personal friends of mine . I ’ m trying to think of the third , big three band . Lower D – I was never that into them , but all my friends were there , and most of them were from San Diego . They would play at SOMA and stuff like that . So to me , those are like the notable names . I never played a show with Lower D , but people went crazy for them . I think Tino from of Mice and Men was in that band .
After a while , how hard it is to sell people on youthful angst , and does it become potentially transparent for the sake of edge ?
JAMES : On that subject , I ’ ve never really resonated with that . I honestly respect anyone who has made it through life just kind of raw doggin ’ it . I ’ m not a real fan of that . Every band has their core values . I think also where you grow up and where a band is from can greatly alter the vibe you like . A band from Ohio is just going to be very different from So-Cal and bands from Florida . They ’ re going crazy right now at this venue called SOMA . The local scene is popping , and every local show was sold out .
It ’ s kind of chaotic . It was kind of nuts . There was very little supervision . There ’ s a lot of like young people running around there , like me , especially having to run around there when you ’ re like 15 , 16 and just like , I don ’ t know . It ’ is crazy , but it ’ s like your home vibe . Your home venue is
What was the central thought in putting out a stripped down version of your earlier tracks ?
JAMES : We ’ re a big fan of when bands do stripped-down stuff or drop random acoustic versions . When you ’ re a band that signs a record contract , it is set in stone that you do these many records with this budget . It ’ s kind of hard to convince your label , “ Hey , can we do an EP ?” We just decided to do it ourselves . This was in the middle of quarantine , so let ’ s just make some music at home . It was also a test for ourselves to see if we could make some high-quality type ( Continued on page 65 )