Emerging bands these days need to be careful with the amount of music they release. With so many groups trying to get their names out into the blogosphere and beyond, it is easy for full albums to get lost in the ether. Luckily for Barbarian, band leader vocalist/guitarist Andrew Mills realizes this and took 2012 slow, releasing just a few singles before bombarding listeners with the quintet’s slow burning brand of lo-fi surf rock.

But the San Diego-based outfit plans to hit the ground running in 2013, beginning with a month-long Monday night residency at Soda Bar (complete with a petting zoo!), a West Coast tour, an EP and LP release, and much more. Before the holidays picked up, Mills was kind enough to chat with me about the residency, new music, and the band’s plans for 2013 (which involve happy meal toy deals, an erotic clothing line, and a Lifetime movie filmed by Steven Spielberg, naturally).

Katrina Nattress: Barbarian has a lo-fi, surf rock feel to it. What would you say are your largest influences?

Andrew Mills: I really like raw sound and reverb is probably my favorite effect, which has really become synonymous with the lo-fi and psychedelic movement over past years. Some of my biggest influences are Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Iggy Pop and the Stooges. I think because both of these bands started out as punk bands and realized you can only play 3 chords over and over so many times before you kind of get bored, at least that’s how it is for me. There’s a lot of light and shade in their songs, you know, both minor and major, so you get the dark ambience and the light at the end of the tunnel. Also some big influences are The Cramps, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and the whole ‘80s post-punk movement i.e.. Joy Division, Echo and The Bunny Men, Television, The Birthday Party. All these bands had a great punk drive and dark aesthetic, yet a huge sense of melody, which I strive for.

KN: Do you think living in San Diego has affected your sound?

AM: San Diego is kind of just a big Frat party, so if you let it affect your music then you’d probably end up sounding like LMFAO or Sublime with Rome. I think California in general has really affected my taste for music since my teens because of the whole Southern California skate and surf movement since the ‘80s. I could never skate very well because I was a chubby kid, so I picked up the drums when I was about twelve so I could still be involved with that whole punk, skate, graffiti culture. I got into a lot of music like Black Flag, The Misfits and The Descendants from my older brother, and from there it progressed to hardcore then metal and then I got bored. I still listen to and cherish a lot of those bands but needed something more. In college I got really into the ‘80s post-punk stuff like The Cure, Depeche Mode and Joy Division, and from there I think it was a natural progression towards Serge Gainsbourg, Nick Cave and Jarvis Cocker. The latter musicians continue to make interesting and thought provoking music to this day, and I think I strive for that longevity, to at least continue to entertain myself and not become bored.

KN: You recently released your second single, “Daze of Youth.” What made you decide to release a single before an EP or LP?

AM: We all really wanted to have our first release on vinyl, a format we all hold dear. We also decided to do a single because there are so many great releases each year and amazing emerging artists that we felt if we release too many songs they would get lost amongst that. We really want to be an “album band,” but I feel as a new artist it’s important to take your time writing and recording to make sure your happy with the end product. Also studio time isn’t cheap.

KN: Are you currently working on a record?

AM: We currently have about 6 or 7 new songs we’ve been working on that will become an EP, but our songs tend to end up in the 4-6 minute range, so it will pretty much technically be an album.

KN: You have a January residency at Soda Bar. What can we expect from these shows?

AM: These shows are gonna be rad! There’s going to be a kissing zoo and petting booth. And, it’s all FREE so that’s cool, and we have some really great local San Diego and L.A. bands on each bill, so it’s going to be different each date and a whole lot of fun. We’re also gonna do some covers that we’ve never played before and might not ever play again, so we’ll definitely keep it interesting and entertaining.

KN: Are you planning on touring in 2013?

AM: We’ll be up the coast this February hitting up Long Beach, L.A., Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco with our friends The Wild Wild Wets. We’ll also be making runs up to Long Beach Jan. 11th at The Prospector and in works of confirming some future LA shows. So anyone with floors in those areas…

KN: Some great bands have been coming out of San Diego as of late. What are some up-and-coming bands that we should know about?

AM: The San Diego scene is awesome right now, and we are stoked to be a part of it. Some of my favorite bands coming out of San Diego are Mrs. Magician (fans of The Beach Boys and Cults), New Mexico (fans of Wire and The Ponys), Tropical Popsicle (Fans of Jesus and Mary Chain and Crocodiles), Plateaus (fans of The Ramones and Black Lips), Roxy Jones (fans of Gang of Four), Bruin (fans of Washed Out and Neon Indian), Family Wagon (fans of Black Keys), Wild Wild Wets (fans of The Black Angels and Jefferson Airplane), Jeans Wilder (fans of Wavves and Best Coast), and The Beaters (fans of The Misfits and Thee Oh Sees).

KN: It’s the end of the year and “Best of” lists are circulating. What are your Top 5 albums of 2012?

AM:  1. Tame Impala- Lonerism

2. Mrs. Magician- Strange Heaven

3. The Soft Moon- Zeros

4. Trash Talk- 119

5. Scott Walker- Bish Bosch

KN: What can we expect from Barbarian in 2013?

AM: A new EP in Feb/March, a full-length next summer (maybe a vinyl 7” in between), a spring West Coast tour, SXSW shows, some summer tours, McDonalds Happy Meal Toys of each band member (in the style of HOMIES figures), line of erotic clothing, a full-length feature film about the band written and directed for Lifetime Network by Steven Spielberg starring the original cast of Party of Five. That’s all I can really divulge right now, but it’s gonna be a good year!

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