Alternative rock five-piece band Grizfolk share insight about playing shows at SXSW, their various musical influences and the experience releasing their debut album.
Music Connection: What plans do you have for this SXSW?
Adam Roth: Yesterday we played the StubHub event at Bangers, which was a bangin’ good time. (laughs) And then we also played the Clive Bar for The Showtime Roadies event, which was amazing. We’re playing the Windish party tomorrow, we just did the Universal Music party, we’re doing the Pandora party, Waterloo Records…
Bill Delia: Jam in the Van.
Roth: I want to go to bed.
MC: How did you prepare for SXSW?
Roth: Well, the day before we drink all day.
Sebastian Fritze & Brendan James: “Hydrating.”
Fritze: Lots of liquids.
Delia: Really, if you’ve seen any training montage, like Rocky, or people getting ready, that’s what we were doing.
Roth: We carry around one of those little punching bags, the little mini ones that you can keep in your duffle or gym bag.
Delia: ‘80’s training montage.
Roth: Just hang it from the ceiling lamp.
Fritze: As soon as we see staircases, we run up the stairs.
Fredrik Eriksson: And, we listen to “Eye of the Tiger” all day. It’s on repeat, every hour on the hour.
James: but the German version.
MC: Why did you decide to do SXSW?
Roth: We just thought it’d be a good idea to be exposed. There are so many different people from all over the world, different companies and stuff like that. And we’re always trying to spread ourselves out as much as possible. Also, we’re here to see other bands too, see some of our favorite bands. I’m going to see NOFX tonight. I’ve been a huge fan for like, my whole life.
James: Honestly, we all just really love wristbands. We came here to collect a bunch of really colorful wristbands. So far, pretty good!
MC: What was the experience like releasing your debut album?
Fritze: Well, it’s a great, great feeling. It’s our first full-length album. And we’ve been working on it for about three years, so, we’ve just been waiting and waiting, and now, finally the day came. It’s been fun. We just finished a headline tour, and it was great, sold out shows. It’s a cool experience to see all these fans sing along, and it’s been fun.
MC: What can fans expect from your live shows?
Fritze: Hopefully everyone is just ready to party, ‘cause we like to party. And just have a great time.
MC: What sets your apart from other alternative rock bands?
Roth: A lot of bands come from the same background, but we have two Swedes in the band. I’m from the South, and he’s from L.A., so we’re kind of like this melting pot, which is kind of why it’s hard to describe our sound, because we have so many different influences and so many different backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds. So I don’t know, I think we’re kind of like a melting pot.
MC: Do your different backgrounds influence your music writing process at all?
Eriksson: Yeah, I think so.
Fritze: I mean, we come from different genres. I started off producing hip-hop beats, from rock, to electronic to Americana. Everyone has their ground influence, where they come from. And I think it’s natural if you put the five us in a room and try to make a song, everyone is going to splash their little paint on the canvas.
MC: Do you have any advice for new bands looking to do SXSW?
Roth: For us, we waited. We were going to do it last year, we were going to do it the year before, but we kind of waited until we could do it right. And now I feel like we did it the right way. We’re playing all the best parties. And people are expecting a good show, and people are looking forward to seeing us as much as we’re looking forward to playing these great parties. And it wouldn’t have been that way last year or the year before, I think.
I think it’s timing, if you don’t have anything going on and you come here, you’re just going to be schlucking your equipment across the city and sweating and maybe playing for a couple of people, and spending a lot of money that you don’t have.
MC: What do you have planned for the rest of 2016?
Roth: We’re looking forward to going to Europe, we’re making new videos, we’re writing right now. We’re going to make a new record right now. We’re going to try to put something out this summer hopefully.
Delia: We’ve got some festivals coming up this summer. We’re going to do some more touring too.
James: We just want to say, thanks for listening to our new record and our music, and for coming to the shows, and definitely for our fans, we love you, and it’s so awesome to see you guys out every time, so, thank you.
Portrait photos by Jody Domingue
Live photos by Siri Svay
