LA-based garage-rock trio Teenage Wrist have gone from making a racket at school, to releasing their debut through Epitaph. “We wanted to be a loud alternative rock band. It was that simple,” explains bassist/vocalist Kamtin Mohager.
Hey Kamtin, how did you lot meet, then?
Marshall [Gallagher, guitar] and I went to high school together in Colorado. We were familiar with one another then, but our friendship didn’t really blossom until after we both graduated. We spent our later teen years playing in different local bands around town, and ended up on many of the same bills. From there, we had always kept in touch, then later sharing the same circle of friends after we had both moved out to Los Angeles. Anthony [Mohager, drums] came into the picture from him and Marshall playing music together out here in LA. Now we are a big happy family.
What was the process like for nailing down the Teenage Wrist sound?
It took a while for us to figure out just exactly what Teenage Wrist was going to be. Honestly, we didn’t know at first. The only thing that we were certain of was that we wanted to be a loud alternative rock band. It was that simple. But it definitely took a few months for us to hone in on what exactly that was going to be. However, once we did “crack the code,” it all ended up flowing naturally. It was quite easy for us at that point.
Can you remember what your first few songs together were about?
It all came together once we wrote ‘Slide Away’. It was so obvious that we wanted that sound to represent us as a band. It was emotional and vulnerable, yet somehow very strong and confident. It struck a chord in all of us, where we could look at one another and say “Guys, I think we are onto something.” In that moment, we knew that we were working with sound that felt special to us. It allowed the remainder of the writing process for the ‘Dazed’ EP to be very inspiring and free-spirited. Those songs gave us this bigger picture of we wanted to write about. Growing up, failures of life and love. Subjects that we knew would resonate with people.
How does that compare to your current output?
I feel that we are doing that exact same thing, but doing it better than we ever have. It feels good for us to write these songs. It’s therapy. We are improving ourselves with every song written, on a personal and musical level.
What is it about 90s / shoegaze that resonates with you?
To me, there’s beauty in vulnerability. The Shoegaze sound has always had a special place in my heart. And there are so many different variations of the genre. You have the heavenly, more gentle sounds of bands like the Cocteau Twins, to the more aggressive side of things with Swervedriver or My Vitriol. It’s beautiful that we all share the same love for the genre. We have managed to find a lot of inspiration in music from those times. Marshall and I are a little older, so we have a fond memory of alternative music from the early to mid-90s.
With that being said, we don’t walk into the room asking ourselves how we can make something sound like it’s from a different era. We just like to do what makes us happy. And if that guitar sounds like something James Iha would do, then so be it.
How did you find recording your debut, ‘Chrome Neon Jesus’?
Absolutely fantastic. Looking back on it now, it does seem like a bit of a blur. I’m not saying that we felt much pressure from anyone to deliver. But there were a couple of moments during the writing process where we had to reassure ourselves that what we were doing was good. Epitaph signed us after hearing the demos for ‘Stoned, Alone’, ‘Dweeb’, and ‘Swallow’. We basically had a couple of months to write the remainder of the album, and as a band, we knew we wanted to write something that would be noticed. So maybe we put a little bit of pressure on ourselves. At the end of the day, it all worked out.
Did you come up against any unexpected challenges during its creation?
No challenges per se. But in a way, it taught us how to be a band. It taught us how to truly work together and collaborate to solve any problems.
What’s your favourite thing about the finished record?
The fact that we have a finished record. I wish I had a better answer, but I don’t.
Did working on the album help to crystallise what you want Teenage Wrist to be at all?
100%. This album is everything we wanted it to be. It’s what we have done in the past, but just better.
Are you taking it on the road this year? Any festivals?
Definitely. We want to bring our show everywhere this year. We’ll definitely be hitting the UK and Europe at some point. Hopefully sooner than later. As of now, we just have North American dates booked, including the Shaky Knees Festival.
Recommend us some more new bands?
Gleemer and Endless Heights. That’s all my brain can think of right now.
Taken from the April issue of Upset – order a copy or subscribe below. Teenage Wrist’s debut album ‘Chrome Neon Jesus’ is out now.
