Strawberry Fuzz Talk New Album Miller’s Garage | Interview with Lyndsey Parker (LPtv)

Hi, this is Lindsay Parker at Licorice Pizza with LA's own, Venice's own, Strawberry Fuzz. Welcome to Licorice Pizza.

What up? What up?

It's a strawberry pizza kind of day.

Yeah,

that wasn't awkward. Um, what brings you here today?

We're going to play our record in its entirety. And uh, Licorice Pizza printed printed the darn thing

in how many variants?

Three.

Three. What are the colors? What's available at sale for on sale here? It's like a a red.

We got the lime green. We got the red.

Sealass blue.

And the sealass blue.

Translucent.

Get all three.

No pink.

I think we thought about it.

We were going to Colobby said no pink.

Colobby.

Did I say that?

It's okay. I'll add slide.

Would have matched your hair.

Have you ever seen Glass Blue?

Uh,

all right.

Don't mind that.

So, I'm gonna ask So, the album's called Miller's Garage. gonna ask the question I'm sure you get asked in every single interview. Is this based on a real garage? You hang out at Chris's garage.

It's a real garage.

So, it seems like it's where all the magic happens. Describe the place. Is it what is on the cover?

It it is the Well, the cover is the backyard. Uh but yeah, it's just uh I live in the back house. No,

it's a garage,

but it's a it's a really nice garage.

Uh ladies, it's a back house. Uh, it is

a really sweet garage, let me tell you.

Uh, no, but it's just like the spot in Venice where everyone kind of gravitates towards after the bars close. And actually, anytime throughout the day, I'm constantly people are just showing up. Um,

you're welcome to check it out.

I'm going to do my Stefan from SNL. Venice's hottest club is Chris's garage.

Miller's garage.

Has everything pianos

degenerate.

It's definitely the after hours of Venice. Yeah,

people just like storm in.

So, I haven't had you properly introduce yourselves. We Why don't we go down the line? Obviously, we'll start with you because it's, you know, it's your garage. What do you do in the band?

I'm Miller. I play guitar.

Cool. And you have a radar.

I'm Dash and I play bass.

I'm Colobby and I sing.

Alex Tambourine. Andy drums.

He kind of plays guitar. Yeah,

he's the secret Savon, but we don't like to tell people that. Ah, [ __ ] Cut that out.

The magic sauce.

So, you I mean, you guys have been doing this for about five years, and it seems like because I mean, you're literally a garage band. Started in a garage. Maybe you started not in this garage, but Oh, yeah. See what I did there?

Crazy. We're hoping to become a threecar garage band.

No. Well, actually, now we're a living room band because now we practice in his living room. We took all the furniture out and turned that into a practice space.

By the way, threecar garage is the name of Hansen's label. So, are you trying to sign Hans's label?

Andy just wrote a song with

Actually,

you wrote a song with Hansen.

Next week. It keeps getting moved.

I mean, I would be really genuinely impressed.

Taylor. Yeah, it's going to be cool.

You wrote a song with Taylor Hansen.

Next week we're going.

I love Taylor Hansen. That I was just joking around, but this is really cool.

Hans's one degree from Strawberry Fuzz, y'all.

Mhm.

Wow. Who knew?

I'm not lying.

Are you at liberty to talk about that or?

Uh, no. I'm under NDA, actually. Okay.

No, I'm just kidding. I'm not. We just have It's It's in the works.

But you are literally doing that. That

Yeah, it's gonna happen. Yeah. Speaking of Hansen, shout out Carly Hansen. We love you.

Yeah. Another Hansen.

Shout out.

That's so cool. That's so cool. So, okay. So, you are But whether you're a living room band, you're a garage band. My point is you you're very DIY. You're self-contained. You like produce your own stuff. You kind of are your own team. You do your own design stuff. So, like, you know, you probably would have opportunities to sign to a major label or a label at some point if you so choose, but like why do you like to keep it indie? I guess

we want them to sign to us.

I I think we just haven't really like there hasn't seemed to be a need because yeah, it's like I do all the design work, all the logos and merch and Alex produces and

records everything. We all write everything and so it's very yeah self-contained thing which is nice because then we don't have to like take any cues or have to do this or that and it's very we can kind of just do whatever we want like on our own schedule.

The label would help us get to like a higher level in terms of like marketing and stuff like that but we'd still always keep it like within this team.

Sometimes I kind of wonder would it be is it just easier to be independent or is it harder to be independent? I guess there's two sides.

We have no clue. We don't know what it's like. It's weird. It's It's really weird out there right now.

Yeah, it's Well, I mean, I guess that's my point. It's like a weird time to be in the music, especially as a as a a band. Like those days of sort of, you know, I don't know, like getting in a band.

Yeah, we've done what we've done as this and it's cool that we have and I don't know, but with a label, who knows? Maybe it'll make it worse, maybe make it better, but we we'll keep doing us.

I like being in control of what we're doing and uh not having anyone pressuring us to do it. Yeah, it's better than sign and hope for the best.

It's working out for you so far. So, you've been going on around for like five years, right? And I have read the mythology, the lore that I've read is that it was sort of an impromptu, maybe it wasn't a garage party, but it was a house party or some kind of party and then it turned into this real band. So, tell me that origin story.

Yeah, it was just during like COVID when

Casey's birthday. Yeah.

A box of shoe box being passed around with insane amount of mushrooms

and everyone got

well we met we met before before um we met in co

wasn't a party it was a uh blind date and so but we but we hit it off and then we played a party the next year after we found everyone and kind of rehearsed and made it all kind of happen and uh [ __ ] stuck.

What was the party like? I hear it was lit.

It was a wig. It was awesome. There was a wig party and this dude had a shoe box that was like full to the brim with mushrooms and was just like passing them around. So then

everyone was frying on mushrooms and that was so even if we played bad, I think everyone thought it was like the best show they ever saw. And then yeah, it was our buddy Casey Grant's birthday and like just this sick little

backyard in Venice. Homie was making wings. It was It was sick. Yeah, it was awesome.

There were wings.

Yeah, wax too from Venice.

So there were wings and wigs. It was a wing party or a wing party?

There was a lot of things happening.

We were wigging out.

Did you know right away that then it was going to be like this legit band or were you just at the time?

We knew it felt good, but the legitimacy factor was not apparent.

I mean, we felt legit, but like did did we know we would be at Licorice Pizza today?

Hell no.

No.

Who could have known? Strawberry pizza. Like I said,

strawberry pizza. So when did I guess it become a thing that you started to take really seriously and because like I said you're a welloiled machine. You like manage yourselves I I believe or you know you make you know

candy shop records candy shop management.

Yeah. There you go. Okay. Well things just started like you you you get a little bit you get a little bit and kind of just keep tugging on the thread and just at some point it just felt it felt like oh okay we should do this further.

Oh further further. And then and then at some point we we took oursel, you know, seriously and we felt like we can, you know, get along with other bands and all that.

Andy joined it was it was on cuz the first show that we played the wig party, Andy wasn't No, he was he wasn't in though. Like he was like, "I'll fill in for you guys." Like I don't know about these dudes.

I was like, "Well, yeah, I'll fill in. I'm bored."

He's like, "Where's the chorus?"

I did I did say that. It was like Lando's thing and we were uh in Echo Park and we were at a bar and we were like,

"No, I called Colby the day after the wig party. I was just like, I want in.

This is good."

I was like, "I don't know, man. We We're going to have to keep vetting you."

5 years later.

Just kidding. Still might make the cut, buddy.

Weirdly enough, the PI we hired by his background is still going.

Fiveyear background check.

Proono. Do you have any footage of the wig wig/wings party? You do?

Yeah. Yeah. There's like a bunch of photos and there's a little like video edit somewhere.

In the early If you look at the the first few posts in our Instagram, you could find it.

Very deep.

Did you guys wear wigs?

Oh, hell yeah.

I refused actually.

He never does themes.

I'm not really a participator in costume regard.

So annoying.

We made you at least for the photo.

I put a tambourine on my head.

Okay. What kind of other way? What kind of wigage was happening?

He did that before Oasis.

Hi.

He was doing this way before Oasis, man. I

Oasis last week. Yeah. Who didn't know? The whole world. I did too.

I know. I don't know anyone. I know I don't know anyone who didn't go. Almost. Yeah.

It was awesome. I

Okay. I know one person. You missed out.

Anyway, but now we're here at Licorice Pizza.

So, want some lasagna?

He keep he keeps saying that. So, since we're talking about parties, I have heard that you guys are fa Well, sort of about what goes on in Miller's garage, but you guys are famous for your own parties. What happens at a Strawberry Fuzz party? I guess I'll sort of find out today.

Just a lot of stuff.

Jamming, mu, music,

debauchery,

a lot of politically correct [ __ ]

Okay, that's good to know. That's good to know.

Got to have to see it for yourself to believe it.

Lots of pe good people.

Yeah, music, good vibes, nice people, late nights. That's the best crew for real. Like

Venice, we wouldn't be anywhere without the Venice community and they support so hard and it's like

yeah, it's just a b a bunch of really good people that like to just gas each other up and have fun, you know.

I that you I was actually about to ask that about the Venice community because you know you're proudly from Venice and I don't even I know it sounds kind of silly say I don't even know how bands like build scenes anymore. Like we hear, you know, people like the old style of like getting in a van or what? I don't know. Like

everything's done social media now. You hear that people go out less. I don't think that's actually true.

I feel like we got lucky because being on the west side, there's not there's not as many bands as any other part in LA. And so

that time in the beginning when we started

and so like it's easier to stick out rather than um being in a you know spaghetti bowl.

Well, and yeah, it was like we were trying spaghetti bowl. Totally. You know what I mean?

But we were trying to show or throw shows on the west side like by the beach and it's literally

Yeah. There was just only shows downtown and then so our we just have a huge group of friends like 40 to 50 people that are all musicians all meet at the bars every weekend and then it was like we're throwing backyard shows and then the other like younger homie bands that are all born and raised Venice. Then we start playing backyard shows with them and then that kind of just like snowballed into then meeting the older heads in Venice and like they're down as [ __ ] and that's what was really sick about it. Yeah, it was kind of that like more old school starting with live shows rather than trying to be like we're pretty bad at social media so that it helped being able to have shows.

Dogs were pretty good.

[ __ ] Straight up. Uh, I read an article

that said, uh, your band was uh, the Strawberry Fuzz are definitively LA. Do you agree? And if so, why?

What does mean?

They said this album is definitively LA.

We agree.

Yeah,

we agree.

I think so. Like,

no argument there.

Are y'all from LA? Y'all born and raised?

All of Miller's Seattle.

Four of us are though.

We're all spread out in LA.

City, you know.

Shout out Fall City.

Shout out Fall City. Ven Venice raised or where where you where about?

I'm South LA. These guys are more around here.

Yeah, you're Pasadena Glendale. So, yeah. And then we all just like moved into like Venice and then that's when we all met each other. So,

why' you all gravitate? I mean, Venice has a really cool history in of in LA, but

I don't want to say it was cuz I I was there.

No, it was definitely not Alex. I think Venice is just a fun spot.

Ocean maybe more than you. I don't know. Especially it it was like the culture there is skating skate culture uh music

culture you know punk rock suicidal all that all that stuff. It was like it's like the the the slum by the sea.

Yeah. It's not as much not as slimy as it once was. But

no it's not. So yeah it's very different but also yeah I guess as you sort of alluded to there's not a lot of now there's the Venice West there are there's not a lot of clubs. It's usually downtown le Silver Lake Park Hollywood. So, were you trying to sort of build your own scene within Venice?

That's why I feel like it just happened like organically because we just wanted to throw like backyard shows just kind of like back to the old school days of like taking over a homies backyard like dirt lot dogs throwing shows there.

Those are the boys. And it was more so just like very fun house parties, especially when we weren't supposed to be during COVID. Like that's when I was like, "Dude, [ __ ] this. Let's just throw like a show here." And then uh yeah, I think that's what kind of sparked it.

Okay. Um I want to ask this is not a song off of Miller's Garage, but because I'm from LA myself, I was born in the valley. I live in Hollywood now.

I love that you have a song called East of the 45 because just

the 405, the freeway.

That's I I'm not Yeah, I never take the 405. That's why. Click. I'm going to say it again. I No, honestly, I never take the 405 for a reason. So, we're

straight up. That sucks.

I used to live in Tarzana and go to UCLA, so I've spent enough time on it for. But I'll say it again.

I love that you have a song called East of the 405,

as some call it. The You always have to have the the I didn't realize until later that only Californians do the thing like like the SNL get the Californians where we put the word 'the' in front of freeways because that's how important freeways are to us. But anyway, my point is the reason I bring up this song is there's sort of a debate depending on which part of LA you're from or which part of LA you live in, where the west side is and where the east side is. Like I I I live basically by Melrose and Fairfax and I consider myself to live in Hollywood and my friends that live in Echo Park are like, "Oh, since you live on the west side," I'm like, "I don't live in the I live on the 323. That's not the west side."

It's like central. My friends in Eagle Rock, they don't want to venture west of Vermont.

Yeah.

So, where do you stand on debate of what's west side, what's east side?

405 is a pretty

405 is kind of our divider.

Okay. So,

whoa.

Since I've known Colby, he's lived in three places west of the 405, but now he

moved next door to me east of the 405 by the border

by five blocks.

Is this like a block? Is this like a Sharks versus Jets thing? Is there a division within the band? Cuz some of you are west of the 405 and some of you are east.

I'll be honest, I live east of the 405.

Oh, we're par west of the 45.

Okay. So, you spend a lot of time, Venice, the valley,

but I cross I cross the 405 all the time to hang out there.

If you live in Sherman Oaks and have bandmates in Venice, you're on the 405.

I'm on the 405 like five days a week. But I think that's what it's like also and it's not even like a division thing. It's more just about how [ __ ] I don't sorry I don't know if we can curse but like how bad the traffic is constantly to where it like we have buddies downtown that it's like we want to hang out with it but it's like bro I'm like I don't I'm not going to sit in a car for an hour and a half and then it's it's like [ __ ] it I'm never going to 405. Like it's so much easier just to stay in this little one mile radius with all the homies.

Break the bubble bro.

Yeah. No offense. No offense to my friend Laura. Laura shout out to you. She lives in Venice and she's like want to come over? I'm like, "No,

Laura from Venice."

Shout out.

So, that's sort of why you have to kind of create your own scene a little bit.

Yeah. It's tough cuz it's like it's too many freaking transplants.

But you came Are we We're We're where We're where We're where We're where We're Are we We're west. Okay. The valley. Where are we relative? We're east of the 405 right now.

We're east.

So, what brought you What made you decide?

I guess we came east of the 40.

You didn't have that far to go, but the rest of you, what inspired you to come join us here in the valley? licorice and we love pizza,

but also your guys' the care for the music and artists like ourselves that are a bit kind of under the radar. Like the fact that you help us with the records and the quality that goes into it. Like I had a buddy DM me who's like deep in the music scene as a designer. He's like, "Licorice, they're the best." He's like, "They care about the product." Like he was do I can't remember the artist. It was a big artist, but uh he went through someone else and they pulled from the samples like, "No, we're not doing it with you." And then he came to Licorice and he was like, "That's quality work." So

that was unsolicited advertising.

Yeah. But no, it's for real. It's like when we went and saw shout out Ryan in there pressing every record, checking every record like to see that pro cuz I didn't know what goes into it. Like I thought you press a button and then it's like a 100 records, but that homie is doing each one, checking it. Like that is badass.

That's like artisan type work

straight up. And that's like you can tell the love goes into it. So, thank you guys for helping us.

Well, thank you for saying that. Also, thank you for coming here and thank you for choosing Licorice Pizza for all you the one and only.

I'll wrap up before we're going to celebrate and have a little I guess it's a sort of a house party.

Um, tell me about Miller's garage a bit more. You mentioned a couple artists like that you might be influenced by uh like beach artists, punk artists. Like this is also like I believe probably your longest record in terms of minutes I guess. Uh so yeah, just tell me a little bit about this record which is available today here in three different colors. Yeah,

not pink. Um, yeah, this one we uh the

very first album we did was kind of a bunch of demos that we that we kind of had to [ __ ] out because of our very first show. And then we spent time made our our last record, Strong's Drive, and we spent a bunch of time on it. And then this one we just kept leveling up and like the more we got to know each other and spend more time in the studio, I feel like it becomes more of a product that we love. And this one we love. And shout out to Pixie for for the for the cover photo. Like everything about this one, we're just

It's a great photo.

It's also very 90s, and I mean that in like the best possible way. It looks like an iconic 90s punk album cover.

Yeah. So,

and all the all the stuff in the back. Like that's literally where we hang out and like the beach chairs out there. Like the pool was there when it was summer and that was

Yeah. Not really any BS in that. That's literally the hangout spot. It looks exactly like that.

I don't get the impression you there's much BS to kind of anything you that Starbucks does. We try to just like do whatever we like and that's kind of a our like drawing line with with the song is like does that sound corny or it's like are we trying to do something that we actually don't do? So it's like yeah we just kind of talk about yeah surfing, skating, chilling with the homies and funny little stories that happen late at night and that's kind of how it all started and yeah just trying to stay true to our guns late.

We hope you like it.

Yeah, brother.

We do. Uh I've enjoyed this very much. Thank you for venturing well for four of you at least venturing east of the 405 uh to come here to Licorice Pizza and um I'm thanks for bringing a bit of bit of Venice to the valley

and uh thanks for uh I guess I'm just actually really moved by all the stuff you said about the how much you like pressing your vinyl here. I think

straight up no thank you guys. Thank you guys

for having quality and like helping the, you know, up and cominging bands and having that ear to the street and yeah, I see all the bands that you guys do work with and it's just badass.

Assuming in the scene,

assuming we survive till the next one, I hope we print it. You're

there'll be a next one. In the meantime though, well, we'll see how tonight goes. But yeah, let's we all survive.

Let's go have a party. Thanks for coming by.

Let's rip it. Thank you.