Interviews (245)

• July 19, 2024
• Colleen Johnson
• 325
• 0

(photo credit: Paige Sara)

As this weekend hits Boston, it seems like the kick-off weekend for some wild tours that are hitting Boston. And while the outdoor shows are always a hit in the summer when we finally have some decent weather, the club shows tend to be the ones I hit most. And one that can’t be missed is LA’s Winnetka Bowling League! The band hits Sonia’s in Cambridge this Sunday, and it should be the perfect venue to highlight the band’s longtime anticipated debut full-length, Sha-La-La. According to frontman Matthew Koma, it reads as a retrospective of his twenties. And one I think all in attendance will be very much there for, I think I can speak for many when I saw we all probably had some journeys in our twenties.

I chatted with Koma a few days ago as he and his band were pulling up to one of the shows on their headlining run. That night the band happened to be in Atlanta, and as aforementioned, the band will make their way to this part of town come Sunday. Koma chatted about the full-length album, the band’s “re-start,” and what’s to come for the band! You can find our chat below, and I hope to see you at the gig on Sunday. Doors are at 6:30 pm with Akira Galaxy and Darryl Rahn will be playing in the support slots. Very slim tickets are still available here!

New England Sounds: I know you’ve done a headlining tour before, but you’ve been on this one since, I believe, June 28th. Considering the album with “Sha-La-La,” it’s your first full-length. How do you feel these headlining shows have been going for the band? 

Matthew Koma: The shows have been great! It feels very different to be touring an album versus putting out EPs and singles. It’s a bigger body of work for people to dig their teeth into. It definitely does feel like a different chapter. We started the band shortly before COVID happened, so the whole rhythm of being a band and putting out music sort of got a bit disrupted as it did to most things to most people, to most artists, most bands. But it feels like this is sort of almost the first body of work we’re putting out. And the first record/tour, the one we’re doing with this album. 

NES: Yeah, obviously, as you said, the band did start right before Covid. And a lot of bands that started right before Covid aren’t here anymore. But you had already been a songwriter on your own, right? I know this was your first major band. Maybe how does it feel to be in that full album-cycle as the world has returned to touring? Are there things you didn’t expect? I know you’ve toured before, but having a full album under your belt that you’re touring. 

Honestly, it feels like a re-start. Starting a new band in a lot of ways because I feel like not much time passes, and obviously, an event like that, it does feel like you have to re-introduce yourself to people. And to your fanbase. I’d say that it’s been interesting. At some shows, there have been some people that are more in tune with the older songs. And then there are some shows where it’s very obvious that people are just discovering us from this record within the last six months or so. 

NES: Then Sha-La-La came out last month, and like I keep saying, that was your first full-length. When did that record start coming together for the band? When did that become something you wanted to try? Considering that we are in such a singles market, as you said. When did the process of this album start? 

 It felt like the only move to have a true re-start. Putting out EPs is sort of a small commitment. Especially because we were touring so much at the beginning of this band, it would be sort of,  put a few songs out and tour them. Go into the studio in short periods, record the songs we had written in that period,  and put those out. The album just felt like it had a little bit more intention, a little bit more purpose, just a stock in it; it was a good year; pretty much the majority of 2023. Of this band making this record, I think it was important for us, sonically, to figure out what direction we wanted to go in. To figure out what felt the most natural and real to us. And put it out there without too much other stuff, putting the music first. It just sort of felt like the right move or the only move in a lot of ways. It kind of started a new chapter. 

NES: From listening to the album, I know it’s  filled with quite a few 90s references. But this was kind of a look into your twenties. Was that the original intent and idea going into the studio, or did that naturally happen when you started putting together these songs?

It was definitely not the intention going in. I think a lot of the time when you’re sitting down to write a record, it’s not until you’re about eighty percent of the way through, at least for me, I know it’s different for everybody. But for me, I feel like doing it live and putting all the songs together shows itself later in the process. So that’s when you start to figure out what you’re exactly writing about. And I think it was just sort of obvious that it was a retrospective piece. And I thought a lot about that period, certain circumstances, and the person I was. And just being able to see it in a different light. I feel like when you’re experiencing something and you’re putting a lot of emotion into it and putting a lot of context into it, to add to it. You have to sort of remove yourself into the background and kind of see it for what it is. I feel like this writing experience was that. 

NES: Perfect, then you’ve been a songwriter, obviously, for so long. But is there something you still hold on to in your writing process from your early days? Or maybe something new that you’ve tried recently. Like something you’ve kept all these years or maybe something new you’ve tried, maybe in particular with “This is Life.” 

I’m not sure to be honest. I think a lot of it is just kind of following a feeling. And I don’t think that changes. Even when you’re trying to go about it a different way, or you’re approaching a finish line from a different angle, you’re still following your gut instinct. So it’s almost like that’s what always goes into the room with you. That always gets to be part of the process. It’s just sort of the thing that tells if something’s good or not by your metrics. 

So, I feel like I’m always trying to find a new way to go about something. Whether that’s using the guitar writing a song, or using a piece of music and writing from that. You’re always looking for something to inspire something that doesn’t feel tired. You sort of have to carry this North Star with you a little bit. It kind of leads everything.

NES: Then I know you have the tour with Mother Mother this fall. Your tour wraps up on July 23rd, but you played some shows with Waterparks and Loveless prior. Maybe when it comes to curating those sets, maybe those opening slots. It’s very different bands. How do you kind of plan the curation of these sets when it comes to the opening slots versus the headlining positions like people will see when you come to Cambridge?

 Yeah! I think you have the benefit of when you’re headlining that people are coming to see you. You’re showing up to your job. So I think when we’re putting together a set where we’re opening, it’s a lot more about what’s the most compelling to win over a fanbase. Or win over people who may have never heard of us. Or maybe who are only familiar with a song or two. When it’s our show and our tour, we get to have the benefit of knowing that the people who are coming in, the people are coming to see the songs. And have a deeper knowledge of what the band’s about. So it’s a pretty different experience. I think we really enjoy being able to do headline tours and play shows where we’re playing for people who are super familiar with us. But I think it’s also really exciting to be onstage. There’s a prospect of earning a lot of other people. 

NES: Perfect, to end it out, we know what you’re doing in the fall with Mother Mother. But maybe hopes or goals for the band over these next few months, or maybe even next year? I know you may not be able to say much, but considering you have been touring steadily, the album is still so new. 

Yeah, I think we’re looking at a lot more touring. And we’re sort of just getting started. It’s exciting. It feels like we’re just starting this record cycle, but in the meantime, we’re already very much writing and working on the next body of work, a body of music. So, I think this is definitely where we’re at now. Touring this record, touring this music live, but very soon, I’m sure we’ll be back with new music.

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Winnetka Bowling League’s Remaining 2024 Tour Dates:

7/19 – Songbyrd Music House – Washington, DC (SOLD OUT)

7/21 – Sonia – Cambridge, MA

7/23 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY (LOW TICKETS)

9/12 – Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA *

9/13 – Revolution Concert House and Event Center – Boise, ID *

9/14 – The Wilma – Missoula, MT *

9/17 – The Fillmore Minneapolis – Minneapolis, MN *

9/18 – Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA *

9/20 – Steelhouse Omaha – Omaha, NE *

9/21 – The Factory at The District – St. Louis, MO *

9/22 – The Sylvee – Madison, WI *

9/24 – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN *

9/25 – House of Blues Cleveland – Cleveland, OH *

9/26 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH *

9/28 – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom – Hampton, NH *

9/30 – Toad’s Place – New Haven, CT *

10/3 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC *

10/4 – The Fillmore Charlotte – Charlotte, NC *

* = support for MOTHER MOTHER