By Craig Chapman
Funeral Party's sound, attitude, and story isn't unlike the story of all of us here at Luxury Goods... so when we had the chance to feature the band and talk to singer Chad Elliot we were elated!
Funeral Party's sound could be created by taking the energy and anger of your teens as a punk rock kid and pairing it with the musical knowledge you have today. It's a raging and beautiful clash that Funeral Party has managed to capture on their US debut, Golden Age Of Nowhere. They are undoubtedly the coolest f*&king kids on the block, electrifying the neighborhood with their 'I don't give a f*&k' suburban teenage attitude; amps on ten, garage door wide open, purposely creating feedback to make the neighborhood dogs howl at midnight. They are the guys you would gladly lose your virginity to over and over again... the bad boys!!!
Gold Age Of Nowhere weaves together intensely raw melodies that don't quite stand out until 30 minutes later when you realize you're still humming the songs; it's brilliance in the subtlest of ways yet so bold and brash that it blindly shines. The (Los Angeles-based) band formed late one night while drinking in a park in Whittier, California, a tired suburb that sits on the outskirts of Los Angeles County. Chad Elliott, James Torres, and Kimo Kauhola formed the band as a way to escape a nowhere town set amidst a cultural wasteland... a story so many kids (including us at Luxury Goods) can relate to. According to Chad, "Whittier is pretty much a dead town. It's boring. That's one of the biggest reasons we wanted to be in a band, just to get the fuck out of there." As a post-punk, dance-craze revival was exploding, garnering party-goers from around the neighborhood, Funeral Party jumped in, playing house parties nightly and quickly gaining a following.
Funeral Party has since enjoyed breakout success and will launch their career full force with the release of their U.S. debut, Golden Age Of Nowhere. Here's what Chad had to say about the bands past, present, and future.
How has your geography and location affected your style of music and writing?
Well, coming from suburban Whittier, a lot of LA's music would slowly bleed into our town and reach the ears of our elder brothers and cousins, who were the first to introduce us to any real music and style.
I've read that you come from an area where it was either going to be music for you or probably not much else. Was there ever a time when you thought music might not happen? And if it didn't, what were some other goals or dreams you were or are still pursuing?
Music seems to have always been in my life; although, that is not to say that pursuing it as a career wasn't a pipe dream more than anything else. So, I did have other aspirations. I wanted to be a film director. I still kind of do. From other interviews I have read or watched, you seem like very humble guys.
Was the fast growth in popularity of Funeral Party unexpected?
Absolutely. Popularity didn't come over night. We weren't praised in the beginning, so every time we do get some, we don't take it for granted.
With everything being so deletable and re-recordable and re-doable these days, what do you do to keep your music so raw and passion filled? Do you like some imperfections in recordings?
I'm doing some demos on my computer right now, and the mic on my laptop picks up everything. My keystrokes got recorded, and the result was a cool sound that I wouldn't have thought to put in there. So yeah the imperfections are all right with me.
Who or what are some of your biggest musical influences and how does that carry over in to the creative process for Funeral Party?
Love, loss, friends, home, teenage years, and rebellion; we draw inspiration from any music, art, or artist who has these qualities.
What is the ultimate achievable goal for the band? Is it just live for the moment?
Funeral Party's ultimate goal is to make our SIAMESE DREAM.
Editors Note: I think Siamese Dream might be a reference to the Smashing Pumpkins album that gained them their enormous popularity and their first Grammy nomination back in the early 90's.
