Hi, everyone! This week, I've been speaking with Charlie Anastasis, the bassist for the LA-based punk band Liily. Other than Charlie, the band consists of Maxx Morando (drums), Sam De La Torre, (guitarist) and Dylan Nash (vocals) Each member is young, hungry, and under-21, providing a fresh new outlook on the punk genre. They released debut EP, I Can Fool Anybody in This Town back in March, and have been receiving high praise. As a result, their music has been featured on Spotify playlists like "Totally Alt" and "Rock This". I've been a huge fan of their music, and really like their sound! Although I got an opportunity to cover these guys when they stop in Cleveland with Bad Suns in the coming weeks, I was unable to make the show due to my schedule. However, I'm glad their publicist could put me in touch with them!
(Apologies that the interview is shorter than usual, I didn't have all that much time to talk with the band because of their preparations for their big tour)
bazzreviews: Which artists or albums inspired you guys to start a music career?
Charlie Anastasis: I think we were all influenced across the board by different artists. I know for me, it was ranging from like Bad Brains and The Fall to Portishead and Talking Heads. I also really liked some of the bands from the LA music scene like Rage Against the Machine, Jane’s Addiction and Black Flag.
br: How did you all first meet each other?
C.A.: I met Maxx at an all-boys catholic school. He was playing in a Fleetwood Mac cover band with Sam and needed a bass player. We’re all Valley boys, so it wasn’t long before we started playing with Dylan and writing songs together.
br: You guys have experienced a lot of popularity and growth in recent times, what would you say have been the best things and worst things to come about the newfound success?
C.A.: Besides the fact that it has given us an opportunity to continue to make music full time, it has been all of the travelling. In the last year, we have gone to places that had never been more than ideas to us. I’m talking places like the Czech Republic, Amsterdam, and Spain. It’s been surreal.
br: You guys are about to start a tour with the veteran indie rockers Bad Suns, how did you guys first come into contact with them?
C.A.: Like us, they grew up in the Valley, and we have run into them from time to time. The head of our label, Andrew Shack, knows their manager from way back in the Priority Records days- so it just worked out perfectly.
br: I’ve heard you’re known for having some cool live shows, would you say that you prefer performing live over working in the studio?
C.A.: No, not at all, they are two completely different outlets of self-expression. Live performances are totally physical, while working in the studio is intuitive and cerebral. We don't really prefer one over the other. We are currently working on our first LP and its just as challenging and stimulating as our most intense live performances.
br: Can you describe your process for making a song?
C.A.: There’s not really much to it. Maxx and I come up with ideas and then show the other guys. From there we work it out a little bit, record, and then it’s a finished product.
br: When you’re making a song, what’s more important to you- lyricism, or production value and instrumentation?
C.A.: Both are important, honestly. We think of it as all being additive as opposed to the other way around. When we make a song, nothing should be holding anything else back. All elements of a song should have equal importance.
br: What music goals do you have for the future?
C.A.: I think we definitely want to keep working more on this album and keep releasing music as the future progresses. Touring with cool bands and going to more places would be amazing too, but I think the most important goal is to pretty much to not go broke.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
Name one album you find as overrated and one you find as underrated.
Underrated- Script of the Bridge by the Chameleons and Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Speak Nothing by Discharge. I don’t have one for overrated.
What was the first album you ever bought?
Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Who are your non-musical heroes?
Hunter S. Thomson, Charles Bukowski, HP Lovecraft
Who was the first artist each you saw live?
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Which artists and songs have you been listening to recently?
Ride, Discharge, Nick Cave, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Tropical Fuck Storm
I'd like to thank Charlie again for giving me his time, and the awesome staff at Big Hassle Publicity for giving me the chance to talk with him! For those of you who are into fresh and high-energy punk music, give these guys a listen! Thanks again for checking this article out, and more awesome stuff is coming your way real soon!
To buy tickets to Liily’s shows in a city near you, go to https://www.liilytheband.com
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