“First of all hello from Last Day Deaf! We are happy to have this opportunity to talk with you and answer to our questions because there isn’t much available information about you on the ‘net’ while you have recently released your single ‘Angostura’.”
How did the four of you meet and when did you decide to create the dream pop quartet as Bolinas? Whose idea was it?
Phil, Dwight, and I were coworkers at a Backline company a couple years ago. I started writing the first songs as a solo project when I was still living in Seattle. One day when were we in the shop I showed the songs to Phil and Dwight and the rest just fell into place.
How long have you been playing all together and to make it more interesting where do you mostly jam as a band or do your dreamy rehearsals?
We’ve, for the most part, been recording and mixing on songs for a year or so. The full band thing just recently came to fruition earlier this year. We rehearse in Dwight’s garage in Glendale, CA.
Why did you choose the name of a coastal community – Bolinas – as the quartet’s name that you are going playing and recording music?
I flew down to San Francisco to escape Seattle for a while. My friend suggested that we go up to Bolinas and go hiking. I don’t know if it was the sheer contrast of going from a run down Motel in Oakland to a tiny, sleepy beach town, but I just fell in love with that place. There’s a line in the second song I wrote for this project that names Bolinas as a place I could end up, so it just felt right.
The first single is already out and has been gaining the attention from the indie and dream pop audience. When is going to be out the next reveal from the upcoming album? Would you like to share with us the title of that song?
We recently shot two music videos with our friend Justin Robinson/Paradise Island Films called ‘Angostura’.
What about the debut album? Are you still recording? When is going to be officially out? Will it be also in world record record?
We’ve recorded a lot of music and still have some left to do. I guess an official release is gonna depend whether we end up self releasing or someone likes it enough to put it out. As of now we’re just focusing on writing the best songs we can and playing them for as many people as possible.
In which studio are you recording/have recorded and who is the producer of your debut album? The producer is often considered as the band’s extra member. How is that collaboration going?
Phil is an excellent producer. He’s also the wizard behind the mixing console. A lot of times we’ll disagree on something and we’ll just record it both ways, listen to it over & over, and by that time we usually do it Phil’s way haha. Other than that, I’ll demo something and send it to Dwight so he can do drums, then back to Phil. Both Dwight & Phil are great collaborators, they hear things the way I do, and when they don’t, their way is, most likely, better.
What about your music influences? From which bands the Bolinas’ sound is mostly influenced and are there any that are in common for all four of you and which are these bands or albums?
Man, where do I begin with influences… We all have pretty eclectic tastes and influences. We’re all from different parts of the country originally, so i think that is a big factor in that. I guess the main goal for me with the band’s direction has always been to blend the shoegaze atmospheric wall of sound, surf rock licks, 80’s synth, and pop hooks together. I could rattle off almost every shoegaze band, or early 90’s-00’s emo/indie rock bands. If I’m being honest my two favorite songs of all time are ‘Right Down The Line’ by Gerry Rafferty and ‘The Boxer’ By Simon & Garfunkel. As collective it’s pretty diverse Amusement Parks On Fire to Rick Rubin to Waylon Jennings even.
What do you think about the dream pop and shoegaze music genres which are on a continuous evolution for, more or less, three decades. Are they two completely different music paths? Are these genres becoming more and more popular as time passes?
Music fans, myself included, sometimes try to classify music into genres to much, but the truth is that there are no rules. Genres shouldn’t be these little boxes that you try to stuff all of these bands into. I guess more I can’t tell the difference between dream pop and shoegaze, the better. A lot of players across all genres use dives on a jazz master vibrato bar, use atmospheric synths, and so on & so on etc. How I see it, when music uses elements of all genres, people are writing music for the love of music itself, rather than the perpetuation of a certain genre. I will say, I think we are definitely in the thick resurgence. Slowdive recently put a new record out, Swirlies are playing shows again… So yeah, It think it’s getting more and more popular.
What are your upcoming plans? Have you arranged any tour? With which bands are you going to share the same stage? Are you thinking of visiting Europe for any appearances?
We all work in the music industry, hopefully, we’ll be doing some touring soon, but right now we’re just focusing on putting music out. Europe has been one of the biggest goals for me since I started playing music. Hopefully we’re taking strides in the right direction for that to become a real possibility soon.
And last but not least, what is your opinion and inner thoughts about the political scene and the economical crisis we are facing?
There is so much going on in the world right now. I can’t even begin to scratch the surface in a paragraph.
Photo credits: Devin O’Neil
Eleftheria Gesou