Muscle Beach is a glorious band that has been on our radar for the past few weeks. Their ambitious collection of songs comes in the form of "CHARMS" which surprised drop late last week to the delight of our ears. Their sound is surrounded by driving beats, swirling guitars and persuasive lyricism that drive the record as a whole, home. We had the distinct honor of catching up with the band for an exclusive interview you can dive into below.
1. What is the inspiration behind your latest record CHARMS, which is out now?
This record was us building off of the sound we established with our EP and first record. We wanted more of that, but on overdrive. We wanted these new songs to be faster and sharper and with more teeth showing, so we wrote the riffs and messed with the formulas for what seemed like forever until we were happy with the chaos we churned out. When it came to writing the lyrics, we listened to the music and tried to align it with some concept that suited it. For the past few years we've all been seeing the world getting turned inside out with what's been happening around us every day; obsessive gun culture, drug crises, and the veil being pulled off of mental health for a lot of people. The album is basically us commenting on the world's madness in different chapters.
2. How did you discover your passion for creating an eclectic blend of your own sound with hard rock elements intertwined?
We've always loved heavy music, but there's stuff that the three of us love that the others may not so much, heavy or not. I think our individual influences that we bring to the fold get interpreted by the others in ways that make sense to them, so all these eclectic vibes get poured into the Muscle Beach funnel and these songs come out the other end that have our individual stamps on them.
3. What places in your mind do you channel to craft your songs?
We've been friends for a long time that genuinely love to be around each other, and we like to have fun and make wild music. Life's stressful and the world's on fire, so getting together to make something loud is a release of sorts.
4. What are your favorite venues to perform at? and if you had to choose, do you feel more comfortable in the studio or onstage, and why?
My (Derek) personal favorite places to play are house shows. Sweaty, cramped, stinky, sticky, house shows. Also I'm pretty sure we're unanimously more comfortable on stage than in the studio. Performing live is just us letting loose, being around friends and making new ones.
5. How do you create your songs? What is the process like? Does it take you days, weeks, even longer? How does the perfect piece cometogether?
It's different every time. Some songs come together immediately, where one of us comes to practice with a riff or beat in mind (sometimes a whole structure) and shows it to the others. If it works we use it, if not, we toss. Sometimes we just lock ourselves up and try stuff out for hours. Whatever it is, we always have one of our phones record the madness so if we like something here or something there, we can pull it up, take that part and put it in the bank to use somewhere else so we can Frankenstein it in with some other stuff. I think we started one or two of these new tracks three years ago and finished it last year, hahah.
6. How did you create a sound throughout time that is so uniquely your own? What defines the Muscle Beach sound to you?
I think the main goal in our music is to make people move; whether it's to bang their head, bob their head, mosh, or break out their dancing shoes. If i could find a riff that doesn't necessarily make sense melodically, but sounds awesome tonally or groove-wise, ill leave it to Justin to form the melody and just make sure I'm locked in with Roy on the drums.
7. This year is shaping up to be a great musical year for you. What do you hope to accomplish as we head further in 2019 and into 2020?
We hope to tour to areas we haven't been to yet. We've done the west coast a few times, but would really love to go east of Colorado. Also, we're gonna make a lot more music videos.
Find Muscle Beach via:
Muscle Beach Facebook
Muscle Beach Bandcamp
Sailor Records
