Chicago – Back in 2013, when L.A. punk rockers FIDLAR released their self-titled debut, the foursome quickly built a reputation for partying it up (perhaps a little too hard) and letting loose on stage (never too hard on this end though), making for one of the best live shows around, complete with massive mosh pits and plenty of crazy, crowd-surfing teenagers. Zac Carper (rhythm guitar, vocals), Brandon Schwartzel (bass, backing vocals), Elvis Kuehn (lead guitar, vocals), and Max Kuehn (drums) rode the wave of acclaim for over two years, touring the world, selling out shows left and right, and gaining more and more fans along the way. Now almost three years since the release of FIDLAR, the partying has calmed a bit (especially with Carper  finding sobriety), but the guys are still getting down musically. This September, the men of FIDLAR kick off another tour and release their sophomore album Too, via Mom + Pop Music, featuring the singles “40oz. On Repeat” and “Drone.” 

In both a celebration of album number two and in anticipation of FIDLAR playing Chicago’s Riot Fest, Best New Bands talked with Elvis Kuehn about Too, DIY videos, and #mantineemondays!

You’ll soon be releasing your sophomore album Too, so of course we need to talk about this. How long have you been sitting on this album, what tracks are you most excited about, etc, etc? Tell me all about it!

Well, we had been writing it for awhile. We had like forty demos, and so we narrowed it down a lot, to essentially twelve songs. Two of those songs we had already been playing for awhile, as well. “Punks” and “West Coast” were part of our set for a few years back. We’ve played them live a bunch, and they basically took on a life of their own. We always wanted to properly release them, so we added them to the mix… I don’t know about particular tracks, but I’m pretty excited because it’s been awhile since our last release.

Yeah, almost three years!

Since January 2013.

Let’s talk about your new video for “West Coast.” You had been performing it for awhile, and you put out that epic video with those 90s anti-drug commercials? Why put out an “official” video? To get a fresh take on it?

We just wanted to do a proper video, and we had Zac’s brother-in-law, who pretty much does all our videos, we had him compile [footage]. He’s been on the road with us a lot, for most of our shows, at least in the L.A. area, from the beginning of the band, so he had a lot of footage that he was able to compile and make a cool montage for us.

Also, in “West Coast,” Zach sings, “I’m growing up, but nothing’s changing.” That song was probably written moons ago, so do you and the guys still feel that way? I mean, it appears your music has changed a bit. 

That was Zac [Carper], so I can’t say exactly where that was coming from, but that was actually written more recently. That was a bridge that was just added. I think that’s referring to when he was growing up. Well, that’s my interpretation of it. He hasn’t really commented on that. But yeah, we’ve all gone through a lot of changes.

I was reading some reviews of the album. I’ve not yet listened to it, except for what’s been released, but a lot of critics are pointing out there’s more of a popish sound. What do attribute that to?

I don’t know. That’s just what came out, you know… [we worked] with a producer, so that definitely changed the sound because the first album we recorded by ourselves. That was huge. Production has a lot to do with it.

In “Drone,” you guys sing about not becoming drone. I assume by that you mean not falling into that nine-to-five, suit-and-tie life, working towards never-ending consumerism? Is that what you’re talking about or something else altogether?

It’s more about, well in a way it’s up for interpretation, anyone can take their own meaning from it, I guess, but it was specifically more about being disconnected as a person. Especially being on the road, it’s easy to get in this cycle of playing a show, going to the hotel, and doing that over and over, and you lose touch with yourself and get in this disconnected state.

I love the video for “40oz On Repeat!” Well, I love all your videos. I enjoy that you keep the DIY feel. I read the idea to recreate 90s videos came from Zach’s brother-in-law. Did you guys help pick which videos to enact? Which were your favorites?

Thanks! Yeah, we all had suggestions. The ones that I suggested that made it in were Devo – the video for “Jocko Homo” – and the Suicidal Tendencies “Institutionalized” video. Those were my favorites just because they were the ones I wanted. We all picked out different ones and Ryan [Baxley] had suggestions too. We narrowed down a big list.

Awesome, awesome video! It reminded me a little of your epic mini instagram movies. Are they inspired by anything specific, cities you visit, or just whatever you find on Netfilx and think, “Let’s make that a Matinee Monday!”?

Brandon [Schwartzel] is the dude behind that. He is just a big movie guy. He knows a lot about movies and watches a lot of them. It’s usually random. We did a Wayne’s World one when we happened to be on tour. Where was it?

Milwaukee!

Yeah, because they refer to Milwaukee in the movie.

Do you guys ever take fan suggestions for Matinee Mondays? 

I don’t think so.

Oh, man!

But I can’t say for sure.

I’m going to give you some anyway. (laughs) I think it’d be awesome if you guys did Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Dick Tracy. 

Is that the new Mad Max?

No, it’s an old one with Mel Gibson. It’s the second one that pretty much everyone thinks is awful. 

I’ve never seen that.

You should watch it. Tina Turner is in it! Anyway, you’re playing Riot Fest in Chicago. Last time you played Chicago, at the Double Door, you brought out Mario Cuomo from The Orwells. Should we expect him again or maybe even the whole band to join you guys this time around?

I guess you’ll have to wait and see. There might be some surprises coming. (chuckles)

Will you guys be staying for the whole fest? 

Hopefully… I really want to see Iggy Pop.

We really want to see FIDLAR! If you’re heading to Riot Fest in Chicago, be sure to hit up the Riot Stage at 12:50p.m. on Saturday. If you can’t make it out, no need to worry because FIDLAR is touring North America and Europe all Fall.

A full list of tour dates can be found on the FIDLAR Facebook page. Too is set for release on September 4 and is available on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Alice Baxley

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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.

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