Psychedelic surf carnies The Growlers are heading to our sunburnt island for the first time this March. The band have been working non-stop at their craft since forming in 2006, and now the five-piece are celebrating the release of their fifth album, Gilded Pleasures.
Upon seeing pictures of the band, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that they’re a bunch of slacker surfer dudes. However, lead singer Brooks Nielsen is a determined and business savvy man. While in the studio recording their next album, Nielsen talks about the crash course he and the band took during their early days.
“We were naïve from the beginning,” Nielsen explains in his warm Californian tones. “We had jobs, but when we had to quit our jobs to be in a band, it threw us immediately into poverty. And it was like ‘Oh shit!’ But we pushed through it and just built up a lot of debt, and these guys work hard in the band. We’re just in it for the long run to fulfil everybody for what they deserve.”
The singer reflects on the band’s change in attitude over time.
“We think a little more about it now. You’re forced to treat it as what it really is, which is a business. You’re making music to make yourself happy, and hopefully other people, but there’s no denying that it is a business. We were slow to learn it, but yes, we do need to think about money.”
“It’s hard because you see people around you making shit tons of money without any talent. You don’t want to be that guy, but at the same time you want to be comfortable.”
The Growlers have always been passionate about doing their own thing and not relying on other people for a leg up. In an industry where so much pressure is put on musicians to ‘network’, it’s refreshing to hear about a band with the balls to go it alone.
“You’re making music to make yourself happy, and hopefully other people, but there’s no denying that it is a business”“We had good jobs; we were working 40 hours a week and doing this on the side. I found it annoying when people would hit us up like, ‘Can we play with you? Can we play with you?’”, Nielsen squeals like a toddler.
“We never did that, we never cared. We’d throw our own shows. I found bands that would play with us and find a warehouse, have someone at the door collecting tickets, have booze in there selling to underage kids, and throw our own ragers. That’s kind of how we started our following, taking off and having people approach us saying, ‘you guys should really be a band’.”
Music was never really on the radar for Nielsen. In fact, before starting The Growlers, he didn’t really classify himself as a creative.
“I got into music really late. I didn’t really listen to music at all,” the musician reveals. “Just out of high school, I started smoking weed and being forced to sit there numb and listen to music my friends were playing, and whenever they picked up the guitar I’d be high enough to just croon to it. It just seemed easy.”
“The more I got into music, the more I was like, ‘Fuck! I could do this! I wanna try it.’ Luckily, I had some friends around me who wanted to do it too. I always worked and did whatever I did, I didn’t need music.”
“I’m lucky I got into writing music and playing it, and I really enjoy it.”
While listening to the band’s music, it’s not uncommon for people to ask, ‘What the fuck are these guys on?’ Turns out, that’s probably an accurate question. Nielsen tells of his predilection for psychedelic substances.
“There’s a way when you’ve taken psychedelics and someone else hasn’t. It’s a weird feeling, like, ‘Woah! You’ve never experienced that’. Like you feel a little more wise or something, but I don’t think in any way it increases or makes your music any better,” Nielsen laughs.
“Usually when people are high and they’re playing, they think it sounds good. It sounds terrible, and I don’t think we gained anything musically from playing [while on] it, but it did make us in a way. We felt legit.”
“I got into music really late. I didn’t really listen to music at all”The Growlers were permitted from touring Australia due to label issues, with one label going under and another simply “bullshitting them”.
However, brushes with party-hard Australian travellers fuelled their urge to visit.
“In Costa Mesa, we call it the ‘Aussie Invasion’ because there’s always Aussies everywhere,” he jokes.
At last, after five albums, the band are gearing up for a legitimate Aussie invasion. In March they’ll be playing a tight four-date east coast tour.
“It finally worked out. I think this one will be a very good tour for us. Compared to another one, [where] we might be coming home with 20 or 30 thousand dollars, but this one, I think we’ll come with a little bit or break even.”
A lot of talk centres around the cold realities of being in a band, but beneath that, Nielsen is a driven individual with the nerve and skill to try anything. Above all, he has an undying passion for music.
“Whenever I talk about it, it sounds like a bummer, but it’s not. I’m really comfortable. I’ve always been really comfortable when I’m poor. A lot of people can’t say what they’re doing and I feel sorry for them. We know what we’re doing, which is trying to make good records and playing good shows for our fans.”
“Nothing in the world makes people more happy than music. Not religion or anything; art in any other form you can’t play and immediately change someone’s mood. I don’t think there’s anything more important than that. If everyone was happy we wouldn’t have any problems.”
The Growlers Australian Tour 2014
Wednesday 5th March – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
Tickets: http://blackbearlodge.oztix.com.au/?Event=40998
Thursday 6th March – Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast
Tickets: http://tickets.oztix.com.au/?Event=41022
Friday 7th March – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Tickets: http://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/the-growlers/69885
Saturday 8th March – The Tote, Melbourne
Tickets: http://www.oztix.com.au
