Strawberry Girls is a progressive instrumental rock trio that reigns from Salinas, CA. They have had the chance to work with musical talent such as Joey Lancaster from Belle Noire on their new album Italian Ghosts which was released in February of 2017 which also have vocal features from Nic Newsham (Gatsby’s American Dream) and Kathleen Delano on the song “Thank God” from the album. Sarah Glass and Jenna Fournier from NIGHTS are also featured on the album’s song “Shadow of the Moon.” The band first started out in April, 2011 when drummer Ben Rosett (Eternity Forever, NYLON VINYL) and guitarist Zachary Garren (formerly of Dance Gavin Dance) became acquainted along with bassist Ian Jennings and began making music as Strawberry Girls.
The band has had the pleasure of doing a full US tour with mewithoutyou and Pianos Become the Teeth and on top of that they just finished a tour with The Contortionist, Silent Planet and Skyharbor until April 6th. These guys do not stop and have appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly in February of 2017 and if you’re a fan of vinyl like me the band also has their sophomore album American Graffiti available with random colored double vinyl with no two pressings looking the same.
I am a firm believer that Strawberry Girls is a band that’s WAY before their time and the rest of the world is not ready for what these boys have in store for us next. They were gracious enough to take time out of their busy schedule on the road and answer a few questions that we had for them.
TC: What has been one of your favorite or most inspiring bands that you have been on tour with so far?
Zac: “mewithoutYou, definitely. I first saw them around 15yrs ago, and I was really big on them in high school, so to be able to tour with them and watch them every night was really incredible. They’d play one of my favorite songs of theirs, Torches Together, every few nights and any time I heard them start playing it, I’d get as close to the front as possible and sing along. Absolutely incredible touring with those guys.”
Ben: “Honestly I’d have to choose The Contortionist. We just got home from a full U.S tour with them (as well as Silent Planet and Skyharbor). I don’t usually listen to music particularly like them, but watching them play every night, and also seeing their level of professionalism and production, was really inspiring to me.”
Ian: “I’d say either the Contortionist or meWithoutYou. I really enjoyed getting to know their music more in depth. The Contortionist had lights they used on the last tour that was pretty spectacular and added a really cool vibe to their music. Also, meWithoutYou had an energy and intensity that was pretty inspiring to watch. I’m always curious to see how other bands approach performing live so it was a real privilege to tour with both those bands and watch them every night.”
TC: When on the road, what are you guys usually jamming out to?
Zac: “I’m always trying to discover new stuff, while also sifting through my library of nearly every style of music, so it’s pretty unpredictable. Everything from afrobeat, to rap, to country, to electronic, to indie, to ska, to punk, to metal, etc. Whatever I’m feeling in that moment. Often times I’ll hear a song and it’ll make me wanna hear a different song, and I’ll just keep playing off that. The past week I’ve been really into Frankie Rose, Cardi B (mostly her song “Get Up 10″ which is one of the best songs of the year so far) and The Drums.”
Ben: “When I drive I usually get to play music off my iPhone via Spotify, so I’m usually listening to a huge playlist I’ve been adding to for a couple years now of all my favorite songs (“Ben Rosett’s Favorites” on Spotify, or artists like Facing New York, Helen Earth Band, Inc., Drake, Rihanna, Floral, Circa Survive, The Fall of Troy, etc…”
Ian: “Zac usually brings a bunch of playlists he makes for the road that we listen to in the van. We also frequently check out new releases that other bands drop when we’re on tour. Personally, I like to make a few playlists that get me charged up and in the zone for our sets. I made a funk and groove playlist (Jamiroquai, Quincy Jones, Average White Band, etc.) for this last tour that I was listening to a lot.”
TC: If you could pick any artist to tour with who would it be and why?
Zac: “I heard The Mars Volta is coming back, so that would definitely be a dream. Foals, Refused, At The Drive-In, Thrice, Glassjaw, Circa Survive, AFI, Tool. Any of the stuff that I grew up on and inspires me as a writer would be amazing.”
Ben: “Oh man… right now I’d have to choose Circa Survive just because they’ve been hella killing it lately, and I grew up listening to them. I just love their music and it’s special to me. It would be unreal to actually be on a tour with them.”
Ian: “I’d love to tour with Refused or Mars Volta. They’ve both been big inspirations to me in recent years and I think we’d fit well with them on a bill if we ever had that opportunity. I got to see Refused at FYF back in 2012 when they reunited and it was one of my favorite shows I’ve ever been to. They had an epic stage presence and their album The Shape of Punk to Come has been a big influence on me as a musician. Unfortunately, I never got to see the Mars Volta before they disbanded but their music has also been heavily influential to me, especially Omar Rodriguez Lopez use of tones and effects. Rumor has it that they might reunite soon so that would be an awesome tour to be a part of if we were lucky enough to open for them.”
TC: I can only imagine being on the road and having to deal with so many different aspects of the music industry that you guys have experienced some crazy stuff. Are there any stories or lessons you can share with us and with anyone who might be new to the music industry?
Zac: “I guess the best advice I could give is to just be aware of other people. Try to think of what’s best for the group, not just you personally. It’s also really important to try to keep good, positives vibes/morale. If you foster an environment that isn’t fun to be around, your band will almost certainly break up, because people can’t only put up with that for so long. Try to be encouraging, helping, and considerate of your band and crew, and I think it’ll help make a huge difference. Obviously we’re all human and make mistakes, we get angry, tired, etc, but just try to be aware of how you treat people. Especially the people you’re around constantly. Leave them with good feelings. Vibes are so important when you’re around the same people 24/7 for over a month at a time.”
Ben: “I like what Zac said. Basically just being aware of the people around you, most notably your band mates and crew, and try to have good positive happy vibes. It can be difficult on tour, being absolutely exhausted, and then having to be stuck in a van for long hours with the same people every day. Putting effort in towards being polite and kind, helpful, thoughtful, respectful, and fun. Even just a little kindness goes a long way.”
Ian: “I agree with what Zac and Ben said. Having a positive attitude and being aware of others is key. There are always going to be things that aren’t going to go the way you expect so being able to roll with the punches and focus on the good moments will help create a much better tour experience. Also, I’d say be outgoing and try to make as many connections as you can. The music and touring industry really is based around “who you know” so the more friends you make on tour the more likely you are to grow and succeed as a band!”
TC: This is one question that I have been dying to ask since I’ve heard about Strawberry Girls. Where did you come up with that name?
Zac: “It’s from the chorus of “Christine” by Siouxsie & The Banshees. It was kinda picked due to what I knew I didn’t want in a band name. I didn’t want a name that was super cliche, I didn’t want a name that was hard to pronounce, I didn’t want a name that was easy to forget. I wanted something that would stick out.”
It is a usual levitra online problem amongst men who cross the age of 40 – 45 years. The same goes when it lowest price viagra comes to Erectile Dysfunction (ED). The name itself says it is more icks.org discount price viagra important for the person suffering from erectile dysfunction or other related issues then it is the time to take them seriously. All you need to accept that you can win over your assessment just because you cialis pills wholesale want to get over the problem . Ben: “Zac and I were having a texting conversation about potential band names during the first couple weeks we started jamming. We had a few other decent names, but when he texted me “Strawberry Girls” …I immediately loved it and said “that’s the one” or something like that.”
TC: I love that the band gives the opportunity to have so many vocal features on your albums being mainly an instrumental band. Is there anyone that sticks out to you the most that you have had the chance to work with?
Zac: “Nic Newsham who was in Gatsby’s American Dream and The Money Pit is definitely one of the more special features for me. I grew listening to him and loving albums he made, so to be able to collaborate with him is really fun. I first got the chance back in 2008 with my old band Dance Gavin Dance when we made “Uneasy Hearts” together. He’s also a really great person, and we always have a lot of fun whenever he comes to hang out at our shows in his area.
I’m also really happy we’ve had my friend Sarah Glass on our last two albums. I first collaborated with her on some solo stuff back in 2009, then she moved out of the country for a while to do some really cool things. Luckily, her and I got back in touch once she moved back and have been working on a currently untitled album together for the past 4 years or so. We’re almost done with it and it’s really wild stuff. I’ve known her for over 10 years so it’s super fun to be able to include her in our stuff.
And obviously we love everyone we collaborate with a lot, that’s why we ask them if they’d work with us. We’re super stoked on every feature we’ve gotten, and can’t wait to see who we get next.”
Ben: “I also have to choose Nic Newsham on this one because his band Gatsbys American Dream was like literally my favorite band during my high school years. I listened to them A LOT. So it’s crazy that Nic has parts on my band’s albums. So crazy to me.”
Ian: “I really liked the songs we did with Joey Lancaster and Sarah Glass. They are both extremely talented vocalists and good friends that are fun to work with. Sarah, in particular, had a real dark and ethereal vibe that I loved on Shadow of the Moon and Volcano Worship. I also love the flow of the lyrics and melody that Joey wrote on Gospel. It was a ton of fun to have him sing that song live with us every night on our headlining tour last summer.”
TC: Can you please explain the concept and give us some insight on your single “Vanilla Rainforest” from Italian Ghosts?
Zac: “That song was one of the first songs we ever wrote back in 2011. It was influenced by dub reggae, French electronic music, New York hip hop, groovy funk, afrobeat, and just weird experimental key changes and chord changes. Just wanted to combine lots of influences into a blender and create something that hopefully makes people wanna move and feel energy inside them.”
Ben: “Zac presented the musical idea of that song to me within like the first two days of us jamming. I thought it was simple, yet groovy and interesting. I wanted to go more wild and proggy, but that song was based off like a Dead Prez song or something. Some part in the song that Zac wanted to emulate. So we started writing it and it just came out how it did. Fun song.”
TC: Being such a technical band, when going into the studio what kind of approach do you use to write new material?
Zac: “Mostly just jamming live. We start writing a part, and then we record it if it’s cool. Then we try to piece together different ideas we have, or just keep writing based off that original idea. We have hours of recorded ideas from 2011 til now. It’s fun because our albums are like a quilt of past and present. We have riffs on each album that date back to when we started as a band. There’s videos of us writing riffs in 2011 that ended up in 2015’s “Spanish Bay” and we will definitely continue throwing in old unused riffs that still sound good to us after 6-7 years. Its fun, because even though we’re always evolving and trying new styles, we still integrate ideas from when we first started the band to balance it out and keep it sounding like Strawberry Girls.”
Ben: “Like Zac said, we just jam with each other, try to find exciting riffs to play and piece them together to maintain a groove and a vibe. Its just the three of us trying to have a really fun and groovy musical conversation with each other.”
Ian: “I think when it comes to writing/recording we try to have an open-minded “try everything” approach. Most of the songs we have written started as short ideas and phrases we recorded on our iPhones during practices and the gradually became songs as we jammed and pieced them together. Now that all three of us live in different cities it will definitely be more of a challenge to write and record together but I’m looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. I know we are all super committed to pushing forward and continuing to write and tour as much as we can!”
TC: Once you guys are finished up with your current tour, what’s next for Strawberry Girls?
Zac: “Writing, a little recording, and…. Maybe a tour much sooner than later. Keep an eye out.”
Ben: “We have a ton of music that we need to write and record. We also have a special tour coming up sometime in the future too.”
Listen to Italian Ghosts and the rest of Strawberry Girls’ catalog below:
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