LOS ANGELES, CA- On February 23, 2019, Blurred Culture and No Season were able to host the explosive new band Veers on the Madame Siam stage. They brought their large, Indie/Alt rock sound, coupling it with dynamic stage presence and fantastic stage production for a performance that proved to be bigger than the venue itself. Their performance was so intense, it even set off the venue’s fire alarm, which only added to the excitement of the evening.
Their performance for us was to celebrate the release of their latest single “We Know Too Much” (which is now available to stream and purchase), and we were able to catch up with their lead singer, Andrew James, after the single’s release to learn more about the band and what makes them tick.
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Who are The Veers and how did all of you come together as a band?
The band is Spencer (guitar) , Chris (drums) , Nick (bass) and myself (Andrew , guitar /vox ) …and we all pretty much met through Spencer whom I met in a very LA cliche way …at a pool party . It was a pretty easy first introduction , somewhere along the lines of “you play guitar? Wanna be in a band?” . He knew Nick from high school back in Arizona …then we all met Chris at a bar in Silverlake (LA) and from then we all clicked and that’s that really.
Since the band’s inception, how has the sound of the group evolved since your 2016 EP? Is there a particular “Sound” or groove that you guys are looking to achieve?
That first EP is mega mate…We had a great time making it and it’s a true representation of where we were at the time, and this new record is obviously where we are now ..an even better place ..I mean if I’m honest we’re already way ahead of this new record …and have songs written for our next album and beyond.
There’s no shortage of songs..and all the newer stuff is way more upbeat and all we kind of wanna play , so at our shows your hearing music that’s not even out yet, but we know people will wanna hear songs that we’ve released , so, we play them . Not enough time to play them all haha.
How does the band go about writing compositions? “Letterbomb” and “Through The Walls” are sonically different. Were those two songs written differently?
When we write it’s pretty much the same as most bands I think …I’ll write/ go in with a song to show the lads , we’ll play it and if it goes smoothly and instantly sounds great then we’ll build on it , everyone will put their ideas in and it will evolve into what you hear, it’s easy mate , there’s no arguments or debates about what sounds good or bad..we’re all pretty chilled out about writing together, it’s easy.
“Letterbomb” and “Through The Walls “ are very different songs, but you got to remember there are no rules ..and especially with streaming sites..nobody is listening to albums from start to finish, I’m not saying that’s good or a bad thing, it’s just means you can put whatever you want out .
We just put out whatever we’ve recorded and like at that time, whether it’s rock and roll, synth music, that horrible jazz that sounds like someone has thrown all their instruments down the stairs ..or someone snoring with a delay on it, anything, that’s the benefit of streaming, you just pick your favourite song.
Speak a little bout your latest anthemic single “We Know Too Much”. With it’s hook, “I’ll do what right by me, I’ll do what’s best for me”, it sound like a really personal song.
Yeah, it’s pretty personal , it’s really about going back to the place / person you’re familiar with, and after being away for while you notice how nothing has changed..just you..for better or worse.
I think most people can relate to those towns they grew up in where all the same people are still there, sat around the same pub table …all the popular kids from school still think they’re the shit. But at the same time not everyone is lucky enough to escape that situation..and get out in the world …life’s expensive these days, so I see both sides.
What can we expect for your upcoming EP which you are planning to release this summer? Is there a title yet, and is it more of concept album or just a collection of what you feel are the best songs you’ve written since the self-titled debut EP?
The record is called “Ode To Escape”, we wrote and recorded a ton of songs for the record, but we kept a lot of songs back, maybe we’ll release them, who knows, we just wanted to release something as like I said we write a lot .. so from the time we started recording the record, by the end of it we had a whole other album or two written .
It’s not really a concept album, maybe in the way the whole record is about escaping … staying in a dream, escaping a town/ city, leaving a bad situation or saying goodbye someone close to you … all relatable …. I guarantee anyone reading this wants to leave something behind .
So maybe it is a concept album (laughing) … who knows!
To quote Alan Watts’ Let It Happen “it’s all about the journey” , that sums it all up really.
I say just put it on, turn it up, have a drink and dance, cry or daydream to it. And enjoy the journey. ✌️
Their next headlining gig in Los Angeles is May 28th at the Bootleg Theater. They will also be performing a special gig for Autism Awareness April 25 at The Sayers Club. Blurred Culture co-signs this band and what they’re doing. We suggest you give them a listen and co-sign them too.
Follow Veers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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