All The Mowgli’s Stories

Chicago – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you’ve heard the hit single “San Francisco” by the Mowgli’s. Formally an octet, the recently turned septet consists of Dave Appelbaum, Colin Louis Dieden, Katie Jayne Earl, Josh Hogan, Matthew Di Panni, Spencer Trent, and Andy Warren. The California band mixes rock, folk, and country to spread joy, love, and peace… literally. They ask their fans to join them – to “Be a Mowgli” – and “create positive change in the world by spreading a message of joy and love.” Their upbeat and inspirational Waiting for the Dawn was declared an album perfect for road trips and summer parties, and in 2013, BestNewBands declared The Mowgli’s an act “bound for very big stages.” I had the pleasure of chatting with Katie Jayne Earl about new music, good deeds, Bill Nye, and Beyoncé.

Sarah Hess: Word on the street is you’re getting ready to record another album in May, and I heard you’ve been writing new songs. Can you talk a little bit about what your plans are for the new album?

Katie Jayne Earl: We have been playing and touring the songs from Waiting for the Dawn since we began writing and recording it 4 years ago. Since then, we have all been writing songs, poems, licks, etc so we are excited for the chance to get those ideas into the kitchen and see what becomes of them. I think deep down, the 2nd album has already been written but it lives in separate pieces and is scattered between the 7 of us. We are older and more developed both as musicians and as people than we were then so it’s exciting to see what we’ll come out of the studio with.

SH: Now that you’re a seven piece, how has your sound and dynamic changed?

KJE: Spencer plays guitar and sings more, which is exciting because before he played keys and melodica in the Mowgli’s, he played drums in the Mowgli’s. And before he played drums in the Mowgli’s, he was a guitar player. He played with a lot of our friends and was in a lot of cool bands around LA, and we were all fans of his playing! It’s cool to see him get back to his roots. Josh and Spencer enjoy playing together and playing off of each other. They push and inspire each other musically, so it’s been a lot of fun for us.

SH: You played SXSW again this year. Can you share some of your favorite SXSW moments?

KJE: Oh man, SXSW is insane! It always is! There is just so much going on, and if you’re in a band at SXSW, chances are you do little more than run around nonstop! The vibes are so good that week and all the shows are really fun, but there’s always that one gig at SXSW that really gets you to that peak. This year, for me, that gig was the Lagunitas party. Maybe it was the weather or the beer or the time slot or maybe the super fun crowd at that show… I’m not sure what made it so great but it was some of the most fun I’ve had on stage all year!

SH: You recently shot a new video with Bill Nye for “Say It, Just Say It.” First of all, how awesome was it to meet THE Science Guy? Second, can you talk about the making of the music video?

KJE: Meeting Bill Nye was insane. We all grew up watching and learning from him so it felt very surreal. He was both fun and very professional. Working with him was a very positive and exciting experience! We basically partied on a rooftop in the rain with Bill. It was a lot of fun.

SH: How’s the “Be a Mowgli” campaign going? What types of volunteer projects have you guys been a part of recently?

KJE: It’s good! It feels strange referring to it as a campaign. We try to look at the intention behind “beamowgli” as a way of life, doing what we can for others when and wherever possible. We just did a pop up show in Kansas to celebrate the amazing people at Happy Bottoms, an organization that collects and distributes diapers to low-income families in the Kansas City metro. They have dedicated their lives to helping better the lives of their neighbors! They are Mowgli’s and we wanted to help raise awareness about who they are and what they do, and we collected plenty of diapers too! We are currently trying to find fun ways to get fans involved in sharing their good deeds with the world, ‘cause we believe positive actions should be celebrated.

SH: I saw that you asked fans over social media to give suggestions of what movies, TV shows, and music you guys should check out while on your current tour. What have been some of your favorites?

KJE: Breaking Bad was a huge part of our tour experience when it was still on, and it is still one of our collective favorites! This run we are catching up on Walking Dead, GIRLS, True Detective, and we look forward to the return of Orange is the New Black! I’ve also gone back to watch classics like The Sopranos, and I LOVE the Beyoncé visual album! We watch a lot of classic award winning films and binge watch mafia movies, which always gets us craving Italian food! I’m barely scratching the surface to be honest! Between band and crew, we enjoy a lot of great entertainment in this van!

Katie and the rest of The Mowgli’s are currently touring the U.S. through the end of April. Be sure to keep an eye out for the soon to be released music video for “Say It, Just Say It,” featuring Bill Nye The Science Guy!

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Sarah Hess

At the age of six, Sarah Hess discovered True Blue by Madonna. This resulted in her spending hours in front of the bathroom mirror with a hairbrush microphone, belting out "La Isla Bonita" off key. Her love for music only intensified over the years thanks to her parents; her mother exposed Sarah to The Jackson Five and had her hustling to the Bee Gees, while her father would play her albums like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Some Girls' from start to finish, during which he'd lecture on and on about the history of rock & roll. Sarah would eventually stumble upon rap and hip-hop, then punk and alternative, and fall madly in love with Jeff Buckley and film photography.

After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.

You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.