Crystal Antlers

Last autumn saw the release of Crystal Antlers’ third album, Nothing is Real, which made the Californian three-piece even harder to classify. Having dropped the acid and the bongos and ended up with a more ‘rock’ feel, the only consistency is singer Johnny Bell’s dynamic voice. Notorious for their uncompromising energy onstage, we spoke to Bell about feeding off the energy of the audience, maintaining his voice and getting into arguments.

 

Phone interview by Brenda Bosma, photos shot by Suzanna Zak in Long Beach, USA

 

“There’s always that guy who comes up onstage and 
pours beer all over us. I feel like that’s okay”

 

 

At your shows there are a lot of fist-pumps and ‘I’m-over-you’ vibes. Very physical stuff. If you were inclined, you could say your music is an act of compassion in a sense, facilitating that. What do you think about this way of looking at your music?

I think comparing our music to an act of compassion sounds pretty accurate. I like that. People are entitled to respond however they feel they naturally should. For some people that means just standing there with their eyes closed and moving slowly; for others it’s running around in circles bumping into people. There’s also some more excessive behaviour sometimes. I would never want anyone to be violent, but it does happen. I don’t necessarily feel that it’s the music; most of the time it’s because someone’s engaging in drug or alcohol use. There’s always that guy who comes up onstage and pours beer all over us. I feel like that’s okay.

 

No point getting worked up about that?

As long as no one is being hurt, it’s all good fun.

 

Can you describe what it’s like for you on a stage, playing for people?

I feel like when we’re playing, we have a pretty good sense of who we are and what we’re there to do; we can focus on what we’re doing. We really feed off the energy of the audience. There’s a really unique experience for everyone when that exchange of energy happens. It doesn’t necessarily mean well-attended shows are better for that. Some of the shows we felt most excited about were shows for just five or six people. It’s really about how people react to the music. Five excited people is nicer than 500 disinterested people.

 

What about five excited people throwing beer all over you?

If it’s only five of them, then it’s still defined as fun in my book.

 

Onstage you sound like an angry dog. What do you do to keep your voice that way?

Well, I guess I must be rabid, so I make sure not to treat my rabies.

 

Is there a recurring thing you like to sing about?

Oh, every song is about something different. For the most part it’s my experiences and observations about things and the people that I know. I’ve written about lots of stuff. I even did a children’s song about not eating bacon.

 

How does that work with the rabid dog voice?

I can turn it down a little bit. Don’t want to scare the kids…

 

“I’ve written about lots of stuff. I even did
a children’s song about not eating bacon”

 

 

Ever curse or shout profanities onstage?

Generally that’s not something that I do, but I’m not against it. There’s a new song we’re working on which contains the line ‘Not giving a fuck’. It’s our first curse word in a song. We’re still polishing it up a bit.

You think people should grow a pair more often and get over it? We do tend to be sensitive and take things personally.

Or you could just not listen to it. If somebody is offended by that statement, I don’t really care about them.

 

Do you get into arguments a lot?

You know, I guess I do get into arguments quite a lot. Mostly it’s about music. I’ve been working in studios with other bands as a producer. I ended up in these soft passive-aggressive arguments. Actually, I had an argument with my neighbour this morning, so there you go. The neighbourhood where I live is in transition, to put it nicely. The other day I found a crack pipe in my tree. I contacted the building owner and also got into an argument with him!

 

But what can he do about it?

He probably should do background checks on the people who he rented the apartment to.

 

Would you say the best part about arguing is kissing and making up? 

I like it when things have a positive resolution. Most of the time I make an effort to end on a positive note. I’m not to sure about kissing my landlord, though…

 

 

Crystal Antlers play on 5th March at OT301 in Amsterdam, and 6th March at EKKO in Utrecht. Both shows are free for Subbacultcha! members. For more Crystal Antlers, check out their website.