Warm Soda

Even at four in the morning, Californian foursome Warm Soda is kind enough to talk ideals with us. According to the glammy garage rockers we’d never have to wear clothes or those awful looking toe shoes in an ideal world. Maybe that’s why their soda is warm: to keep us comfortably snug in their future funtopia

 

Interview by Gerlin Heestermans. Photos shot by Keko Jackson in San Fransisco, USA

 

‘If we like something, we don’t mind attaching ourselves to it. And if there’s money involved that’s nice’

 

 

Do you follow the news? I kind of stopped watching it a year and a half ago. Sometimes I feel guilty about not knowing what’s going on in the world, but in general I don’t really regret it, to be honest.

‘I listen to NPR (online radio station) every day but that’s about it. Do you know Terry Gross? She’s a first-class newscaster, she’s awesome. I still read The New York Times. Warm Soda is concerned with the world. Everyone’s laughing now, but that’s ’cause it’s 4am here. It’s true though, we wanna save the world.’

 

You wanna save the world?

‘Eventually. With love. Ultimately love.’

 

Complete the sentence: in an ideal world…

‘…Rob would still have his army surplus jacket. Tonight we had something very unfortunate happen: our lead guitarist Rob had his wonderful jacket stolen at a place called The Blue Lagoon in Santa Cruz, California. There’s some crack dude probably running around wearing it right now.’

 

Was it expensive?

‘It was pretty expensive actually. But money’s not the object here, it had sentimental value. But all things must pass. In an ideal world we wouldn’t have clothing. We’d be in an utopia. Unless it was really cold.’

 

 

What does your ideal world look like? Is it California, where you all reside?

‘Yeah, it is. Aside from Rob we’re all from other places in the US and we all moved here, because we wanted to live in a place that was more progressive and pretty. I feel like we’re here ’cause we’re all living in the moment and that’s where the ideal world is. It’s not a place, it’s a state of mind. It’s a frame, like a movie frame.’

 

What’s the one thing about humanity / society that you can’t (under)stand?

‘I really hate those people that wear those toe shoes where each individual toe is like wrapped around. You can’t trust people who wear shoes like that. Luckily they’re rare. It’s always this dude wearing them, camping around a youth hostel. I also don’t understand smartphones. Just everybody staring at them all the time. And you get them at shows too. Nobody watching the band, but looking at their phones instead.’

 

Then again, we are doing this interview through Skype on your iPhone…

‘Yeah, but I have like two apps and I’ve just had to download this one to talk to you! I’m gonna delete it after this interview too. After that we’re gonna smash this iPhone. You showed us the way.’

 

How does it work on tour though? I guess you have to talk to each other face-to-face a lot.

‘Oh, we just text, we don’t talk. I’ll be like, “Dude slow down u r driving 2 fast”.’

 

‘Warm Soda is concerned with the world. Everyone’s laughing now, but that’s ’cause it’s 4am here. It’s true though, we wanna save the world’

 

 

Do you drive yourselves?

‘Oh yeah, in the US it’s the only way to go. We’re like Chuck Berry: he didn’t trust anyone but himself. Every tour he drove a Cadillac. Driving’s a pleasure over here, ’cause there’s so much open space and the countryside is beautiful.’

 

Doesn’t it get tiring though? There’s so much distance you need to bridge.

‘We’re tough, you know. We’re basically like a gang. We’re tough but tender.’

 

Would you play anywhere for cash?

‘Sure, I have no standards whatsoever. Though we’re split on this one… I would say: ethical standards, but to an extent. I definitely would not play a McDonald’s grand opening for hundreds of thousands of dollars. We’re not in it for the money. That’s an honest answer. We just wanna do shit that’s cool. If we like something, we don’t mind attaching ourselves to it. And if there’s money involved that’s nice. We’d like to ultimately play music and do just that, not have shitty day jobs.’

 

Do you care about the environment at all?

‘Personally, I’m definitely concerned about the environment. One topic I’m especially concerned with is genetically modified food. That’s serious shit. Fucking up the Earth creating these super weeds, it’s fucked up. I’m rolling in the organic department. I also wanna say, we’re against fracking. We’d also would like to grow our own vegetables at home, but we’re sort of between tours, which means we’re pretty much homeless, so not at the moment.’

 

 

 

 

 

Warm Soda’s garage glam is on display at De Nieuwe Anita with local healing pop heroes Nouveau Vélo on 13 July, and it’s free for members!

You can also catch them:
7 July – Metropolis Festival – Zuiderpark, Rotterdam
7 July – Metropolis Festival After Party – Rotown, Rotterdam
10 July – Vera, Gronignen
11 July – 013, Tilburg