Froth is still a relative unknown band in Europe, but their garage-rock sound has been charming the Los Angeles D.I.Y. scene for years now. They have shared stage with bands like the Growlers and the Cosmonauts, played festivals like Beach Goth and Burgerama and have won the back support of LOLIPOP and Burger Records, which released their first LP “Patterns” in 2013. We caught up with the band while on tour in Europe, just in time for their upcoming London gig at the Shacklewell Arms on March 6, 2015.

The band consists of Joo-Joo Ashworth on guitar and vocals, Cole Devine on guitar, Jeremy Katz on bass and Cameron Allen on drums.

Hello guys! You are on tour in Europe at the moment; tell us how is it going? Is it your first time here? Best show you had so far and any anecdotes?

Jeremy: Hey! Tour has been amazing so far. A few of us have visited a few cities in Europe before but this is the first European tour. It’s hard to say which show has been the best because they have all been really fun. Berlin, Paris, and Rennes have been really good!

Tell us how you got Froth started. You were the first “fake” band to record a vinyl that spins 20 minutes with no sound, what´s that all about? It sounds like a great art project.

Joojoo : Well a few friends of mine and I had always wanted to be in a band, but none of us played any music, so we started this fake band called Froth. We went to shows all the time and told people we were in a band called Froth. Eventually I actually started playing guitar and writing songs, so it seemed like an appropriate outlet for that.

You grew up in a city of the South Bay called “El Segundo,” how’s it like in there? Was there much music in the area that influenced you or would you mostly go to L.A. for shows?

Joojoo – Well, my neighbour was in a band when I was in high school and I would go to a lot of their shows throughout L.A. and found out about a bunch of bands all around when I was pretty young, but there wasn’t really a good music scene in the area. Just a really cool independent radio station called Kxlu that I listened to all the time.

How did you all meet? And what were your influences then?

Jeremy – Joojoo and I met at a Mr. Elevator and the Brain Hotel show. They are a friend’s band in L.A. Through them we met our drummer, Cameron, and our new guitar player Cole has been a friend for a while. We played with his band Black Sea all the time before he joined. Our influences when we met were pretty much the same as they are now; we’ve always listened to the Velvet Underground a lot.

So you “accidentally” got a band together, which also sounded pretty good, where and when did you play your first show and how did it go?

Joojoo – We threw a backyard show in El Segundo one year because there were never shows there and one off the bands dropped out so we practiced some songs a few times and played in a backyard to some of our friends for our first show. It was a disaster. Something happened to my guitar and I couldn’t figure it out so played the rest of the set with an acoustic guitar, Haha. It sounded so weird.

You self-released your first EP, Gas Money, were you happy with the results?

Jeremy – At the time we were really excited for those demos. We didn’t really know what we were doing. Listening back now it seems kind of amateur but, that’s how bands work sometimes. Joojoo and I hadn’t played in bands before this one, so it felt good just to make songs.

After that Lolipop records took Froth under their wings and helped you release your full length, Patterns, and you would also be joining Burger Records. It seems like a rollercoaster from here. How were you all feeling at this point? Did you get to hang out with bands you never thought you would, any good memories on this?

Jeremy – We’re really happy to be involved with LOLIPOP and Burger. They have both supported us pretty much since we started the band so it feels good. And yes we get to hang out/record with Joel Jerome who’s pretty much a legend, so that’s always cool

One of your songs from that LP, General Education, would also feature in Saint Laurent Men’s Fall 2014 line, how did that come together?

Jeremy – Hedi (Hedi Slimane) saw us play at Beach Goth 2 and liked that song and asked us to extend it to 20 minutes. It was fun to take an old song and add new parts to it.

What’s the inspiration behind your lyrics? What’s your favourite song of the album and why?

Joojoo – Most of the songs are about girls, haha… Some of the songs are about being young and feeling weird and all that stuff, but mostly girls. I think my favourite song is “Afternoon,” because it’s like the romantic one on the record that I always wanted

Do you have any plans for a new album release? If so, where can we expect it and, in terms of sound, how will it change from your latest LP?

Jeremy – Our new record, Bleak, just came out today in Europe! [It’s] On an independent French Label called Azbin Records. It comes out on Burger Records 5/5/15. It’s a lot different from the first one, more layered-noisy guitars and more punky tempos. We’re really happy with the result.

What are you guys listening at the moment, any new bands we should be aware of?

– Today in the van we listened to Broadcast “Tender Buttons.” A few of our favourite new bands we’ve been listening to are Holy Wave, Melted Toys, and Pure x

We are looking forward to the show in London, what we should expect from Froth in three words…

-Not surf rock

Interview conducted by: Neus Ruiz 

 

Froth’s new album ‘Bleak’ is now available on LP/CD/CASS.

Get tickets for their London show!