LILY LIVERS

 

LILY LIVERS

I first heard of you guys when Matt (OUTLOUD! Records) put out your

cd with the carnivorous plants on the cover. That artwork alone was

enough to get me stoked! When I heard the tunes I knew I was in for a

traditional old school pop punk treat. How did you guys form and

settle on playing "our" kind of music?

The age old Fish and Juju met in Jr. High and have been jamming ever since, with multiple lineup and name changes haha..

Tyler came along being a good friend since our incarnation as "Lily Livers."

We settled on Pop Punk earlier on in our history... But plan to branch and experiment a bit more as time goes on.. Lots of plans!

I'm relatively new to the Lily Livers so I'm not sure about

membership and roles besides Tyler being the new bass player (Hi

Tyler). Who writes the songs? How does the band dynamic function with

regard to making decisions about the songs, lyrics, vibes, imagery,

etc?

Fish Usually writes the songs, but Juju and Tyler (Hi, Grim!) Chime in and make quirks and changes along the way, making it a group effort! We try to keep everyone on their toes in the creative front, but lately we've been writing together.

I'm 40 so I'm always interested to know how people born after 1990

were first introduced to this style of music. Which albums were first

to grab your attention and when did you begin creating your own songs?

Tyler- For me it was Green Day Dookie my folks played all the time when I was little then in my early teens discovering American Idiot on my own and getting into their back catalog which lead me down the Lookout rabbit hole to all those classic bands Queers, Weasel, MTX etc a little later Teenage Bottlerocket's They Came From The Shawdows coming out on fat cemented my love even further I didnt start writing till I joined this band.

Juju-  when i was younger i played a lot of Tony Hawk games with my sister who would eventually go on to introduce me to bands like Green Day and Blink 182 which i quickly became obsessed with. That lead me to playing guitar with Fish where we would start a number of garage bands with our buddies. I learned about the Decendents album Milo Goes To Collage which eventually gave me the drive to start drumming. After years of playing in bands I started making my own music in many forms and genres like electronic and pop songs of which bands like the Talking Heads and Pink Floyd are big influences of. Though many of the current pop punk bands keep me involved like Flamingo Nosebleed, The Putz and others.

Fish- I began writing music as a young lad... About 10 years old but never took it seriously until i met Juju and found a sense of direction in what songwriting was. The biggest band that influenced me was Green Day, but eventually I travelled deeper into Lookout! records...! But what drove me to write music personally were 2 bands from Macedonia called "Noviot Pochetok" and "Fonija" they play Melodic Punk and drive home with a California Drive... Recently I've been diving into WEEN.

All of Our biggest influences music wise are Mean Jeans, Ramones, the Smurfs and the Dead Milkmen.

I know Tyler is a super pop punk fan with a lot of knowledge of

obscure stuff. Does the rest of the band share the obsession? How deep

into the pop punk style of music are you guys? What other styles of

music do you listen to?

Juju and Fish Could go ALLLL NIGHT on this question... Quite the diverse taste. Tyler Keeps us grounded to Pop Punk normally...! Haha, but Juju and Fish like Weird Paul, Jan Terri, Ween, Butthole Surfers, The Dead Milkmen and all sorts of goofy music hahaha. But Pop Punk definitely runs deep throughout ALL of our veins!

The Lily Livers strike me as having a blend of "party" and "fuck

you" vibes. Mean Jeans meets The Queers. Is that accurate? How would

you describe your sound to the discerning punk ear?

You Nailed it.

You guys seem to go for a very honest and raw production, which I

like. Are you picky about that aesthetic or do you just go with the

flow? What are some of your favorite sounding punk albums

production-wise?

We like to stay raw... But we try to know what production sounds best with what. Fish typically writes all the songs on Keyboard before turning them into more of a punk style... We're going through a bit of a "Sound" Change write now, of which will start to be heard more AFTER this next release we have planned, But as for "Punk" album productions currently we'd have to say "Eat Your Paisley" Dead Milkmen "Suburbia" the Wonder Years "Dork Rock Cork Rod" by the Ergs (like I said we have diverse tastes in music that span across the board, so who knows what the answer will be in a Month HAH.)

Tell me more about the Detroit scene? I know Dougie Tangent is from

that area and I know The Dewtons but that'a about it. Is there a

community there for this kind of music? How gnarly is the city really?

It has quite a rep.

Pop Punk is a Rare Gem in Detroit nowadays, but we have the Dewtons as you said and the Randy Bastards (which Juju and Fish are in) along S.U.B. and Bathroom of The Future. Its a tight nit community here.. And i haven't listed nearly all of them But its quant and nice!

Have you guys ever heard of/seen the movie Detropia? It made

Detroit look fascinating and terrifying at the same time. What's your

take on the culture and community of Detroit? It seems like there are

a lot of artists, musicians, and other creative types there to take

advantage of the cheaper living costs and vibrant art scenes.

Never heard of Detropia, but Very true, Detroit has a great music scene but there's also a lot of Gentrification and, because of that, a lot of clubs are going away...  But Precovid Detroit was a bustling with local acts! It was nice too see an active town

Hope it happens again soon! Haha

You guys are part of the OUTLOUD! roster - has that increased your

community in the pop punk "bubble"? What other bands are you friendly

with, and how do you view the pop punk scene in general?

We're tight with the Sheckies and Dougies bands, Flamingo Nosebleed and Nifty Skullet from Indiana as well... Nick Rorick is our dude though, he's mostly opened our opportunities up the most in the past and has offered to help us out more along he road. Sweet Guy.

What are your next plans? Future goals? How do you stay on track

to meet your band goals - do you have a disciplined approach despite

the carefree style that you play?

Practice Every Sunday at Noon(ish) and we're currently working on a BRAND NEW RECORD... We like to keep it fresh most of all so our natural rhythms and functions change constantly!

Regarding lyrics - do you guys put a lot of thought into titles

and concepts for the songs? How loose are your policies for what flies

and what doesn't? Do you aim for a certain level of wit or cleverness?

n a way we do strive for a certain level of wit... But like I said we are an Open book. Things change CONSTANTLY and so do our concepts with songs. When I (Fish) write alone, i usually start with the music and try to stay within the lines of what the song calls for, but when it comes to performance and the Melody, or Vocal Rhythm, it's nice to spice it up a bit with flare, or rasp. I DEFINITELY overthink (it).

It's a weird time to do this interview because we are in the middle of a bit of a change in lyrical content and musical direction... But the future is unwritten as of now!

Finally, what are some of your favorite current pop punk bands?

Fish-  Mean Jeans, the Putz, Dark Thoughts, The Grow Ops, Covert Flops, Nifty Skullet, Bathroom of the Future, You Dirty Rat!

Juju- Flamingo Nosebleed, Mean Jeans, The Cavemen, The Sneakers, Suicide Machines, Frenzal Rhomb, Smash The Jukebox, Fat Heaven, Paranormal Paratroopers, Bathroom Of The Future, Remember Sports

Tyler- Capitalist Kids, Dark Thoughts, Saturday Night Karaoke, Smash The Jukebox, Randy Bastards, Jagger Holly, Nite Sobs, Teenage Bubblegums, So-Cho Pistons.

Any final words? HAILS

We gearing up to record a BRAND NEW RECORD soon... So stay Posted on the Lily Livers Facebook and Instagram!

Thanks for readin' our DUMB words! Cheers and Beers, Folks! 

Lily Livers are...

Fish Tantrum - Vox/Guitar

Tyler Anxeity - Vox/Bass

King Juju Bones - Vox/Drums