Photo by Armen Djerrahian
Melancholy has never looked so good, and we mean that in the best way. Having been described as atmospheric dark pop, one look at their videos or album art and it’s easy to see why that description couldn’t be a better fit. The introspective lyrics of The Neighbourhood pull you in and may have you yearning for a doomed relationship you’ve never had or even missing someone you’ve never met—they’re that powerful. Though The Neighbourhood is just about two years old, they have some heavy-hitter bragging rights under their belt from signing with Columbia Records, to playing SXSW and Coachella.Their music video for their single “Sweater Weather” has already hit over 2 million views in just two months. Just two weeks ago they sold out the Fonda Theatre in 20 minutes; a testament to their fans’—the ‘hoodlums’— loyalty.
Califournia natives Jesse Rutherford (vocals), Bryan Sammis (drums), Zach Abels (guitar), Jeremy Freedman (guitar), and Mikey Margott (bass) hope to share their black and white vision with the world. We had a chance to chat with drummer Bryan Sammis about that vision at their sold out show at The Observatory in Santa Ana this past Friday.
Her Campus: I’ve heard in different interviews you guys have done that you hope to be better understood in the future. What do you guys mean by that? What do you think fans aren’t getting right now?
Bryan Sammis: I don’t think it’s fans, necessarily. I think it’s more so we’ve had times where because of the whole black and white thing that we do, certain people won’t… If someone’s like “Hey, we want to film you for this.” And we go, “Okay, can you put it I black and white?” And they’ll say no. So, it’s q little bit of a bummer because we’re not trying to be arrogant about it. It’s part of who we are; we’re an entity that puts out content, not just music. So, that’s more what we mean. That we hope people understand it a little better and not think we’re trying to be like “Well, then screw you if you don’t put it in black and white.” We’re more so, “c’mon, that’s kind of our thing.”
HC: That’s what you’re putting out right now.
BS: Yeah, exactly. That’s the content we put out; it’s black and white
HC: What was with the whole solidarity movement with the buzzed heads in the band?
BS: Oh, the buzzed heads? It’s just that we looked a lot like other people, other bands, and other musicians and stuff. Obviously our haircuts looked good, that’s why we had them. But I don’t know, we just wanted to be a little different, which is ironic because in doing it we looked a little more like each other. But I think that that’s cool, you know what I mean, because we are best friends who live together every single day on the road. It was just fun, in the heat of the moment and we had a reason. I’m glad we did. I think it’s cool. Now we get to start from square one, try something new.
HC: I mean, it looks good. Alright, so nothing you guys do seems like an accident. Everything is thought out, from your stylistic choices—the way you guys look— to your sound. So, do you feel like The Neighbourhood is bringing about like a Black and White revolution?
BS: Definitely! I mean, I hope so. I don’t want to say we have or that we will for sure but I think that’s something we definitely strive for, you know what I mean? Like you said, everything we do is thought out and it’s not only about writing good songs and putting it out. That’s the basis; that’s where we start. We start by writing these songs that we like and we put them out, but it’s about how we do it. All the art is done by Jesse [Rutherford], our singer. All of our videos are done by our best friends [ENDS]; we chose them for a reason. Our tour manager is one of our best friends. Everyone in our crew is handpicked because…
HC: What they bring to the table.
BS: Yeah, what they bring to the table and they’re with it, you know what I mean? They believe in what we’re trying to do. We’re not just a band. I don’t even really like calling us a band. We’re more of a group. People think The Neighbourhood is just five guys and it’s not. It’s a lot more than that.
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Picture: Bryan Sammis’ Twitter – @_olivver
HC: Personally, what’s your favorite Neighbourhood song?
BS: Ooh… On record or live?
HC: Both!
BS: Both? Okay, I think live it might be ‘Afraid’ which is ironic because since the first show we ever played, that’s been my favorite, and we played it way before it was ever released. But it’s just got such a good vibe and such good energy to it. And then, on record, I think ‘W.D.Y.W.F.M?’
HC: Oh, I love that song.
BS: That song’s great. The intro is nasty.
HC: If I’m right, you left school to be in the band, right?
BS: I did, yes.
HC: What was that like for you? Was it easy? If so, what was the deciding factor that made you think ‘Ok, I’m going to do this,”?
BS: It definitely wasn’t easy. The thing is, I know these guys and we had written music before. The first EP was mainly Jesse, Jeremy [Freedman], and Zack [Abels]. But I had helped. Me and Jeremy, and Jesse a long time ago had written a song that turned into ‘Baby Came Home’ and I had just tried [music] for so long—I’m a little bit older than the other guys— and I had kind of given up, which is sad, in a way, you know what I mean? Because it’s what I love and it’s what I want to do. And so when they came to me [and said] “We want you to be a part of this,” I was supposed be from the beginning, and I was like “I can’t. I’m going to go to school and finish, in New Orleans…
HC: Oh, what school?
BS: Loyola. It wasn’t easy at all. They asked me and I had to think about it, and I wanted them to wait ‘till I finished. They said we had to make a move on it now. I think it was ultimately my support system. These are my friends and they supported it. My parents were down for it. Even the dean of the school. I went and talked to him; I laid everything out on the table. He said, “Listen, it sounds like a great opportunity. If all [else] fails, come back here. Come talk to me and you can start again.
**HC Fun Fact: The first Music Spotlight interview featured another artist from Loyola! Rapper G-Eazy. Interview here**
HC: Oh, nice! You guys have gotten so much attention in the past year since the band was officially formed. What do you think was the turning point that made people take notice?
BS: I think it was just the more content we released. Because, initially, you release one thing and it’s vague. We could be anybody doing anything. But the more content we released, the more videos started coming out, the album art came out, the songs came out—people got more of an idea of who we are. I think that what we are doing is something a little different, something a little special. And I think the people, once they got a little more content to hold on to they started realizing that. And so people started getting excited about it as we are. We’re pumped on this.
HC: EDM music is really taking over right now and there are a lot of crossover songs, mainstream is getting mixed in. So why do you think people are latching onto your sound so well? What do you think is pulling people in?
BS: It could be that a lot of that is being oversaturated? ‘Cause, don’t get me wrong, I like my fair share of electronic music. I think that those genres and bands are great. I saw TNGHT at Coachella, and they’re not really EDM. It’s more like hip-hop, trap beats that they make, but it’s my favorite thing that I saw at Coachella. I just think that there’s so much of it, and I think that when you’re getting a lot of something it’s hard to appreciate each individual one. We set out to do something different that we’ve always had this vision for in our minds and we finally brought it to fruition. For people to see that as well is awesome.
HC: What’s been your favorite experience with the band so far?
BS: Probably Coachella. Either Coachella or Australia. Which Australia, it wasn’t necessarily playing [there] because we were playing really early at this festival, but being there for music was just insane. We stepped off the plane and it hit me. I was like “We’re in Australia right now, for music.” But Coachella was always a goal for us to play since we started the band, so to play that was pretty cool.
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HC: Well, since I write for Her Campus, an online magazine tailored for female collegiates, and with that in mind, who’s more of a ladies man in the band?
BS: Ooh, in what sense? In like relationship sense or like a fling?
HC: Like, who can charm the ladies the best?
BS: Well, Mikey’s been in a relationship for three years, so he’s obviously doing something right. He found the right person and they’re super happy together, so I think that’s definitely admirable. Umm, I don’t know.
HC: You guys all fare pretty well?
BS: Well, no, I mean it might be me only because –it sounds super pompous—but only because I’m really the only one who drinks. Like, sometimes the other guys might have a sip of something, but for the most part it’s pretty tame whereas I like to go out after shows. I like to be sociable. We played San Diego last night and after the show I went to a bar right down the street with the opening band Lovelife. So, I mean maybe [me] but that’s just because I’m not really trying to. I just like to go out with my friends and do things and meet people, and when that happens it just naturally evolves that just sometimes I meet [women].
HC: And my last question: If The Neighbourhood were its own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, what would it be?
BS: Oh wow! Umm…
Bryan yells to bandmate Jeremy Freedman who is playing Frisbee with the rest of the band.
BS: Yo, Jer! If we were a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor what would we be, bud?
Zach Abels: Double vanilla!
Jeremy Freedman: Mystery flavor!
Mikey Margott: Cookies and cream! Black and white.
BS: You wanna go with something that already exists, though, Mike?
JF: MYSTERY FLAVOR!
MM: It’s great! It’s us, and it’s black and white!
ZA: Cookies and cream all day, bro.
BS: Laughs. But we’re not calling it cookies and cream, though.
HC: What would you call it, then? It has to have a creative name. It’s Ben & Jerry’s!
BS: It IS Ben & Jerry’s; they DO have good names. Ahh! Okay hold on…Uh, shit. Oh god. I don’t know! I’m not good at this. Maybe black and white…
HC: Well, it’s cookies and cream, right?
BS: Yeah, cookies and cream, but maybe call it…
HC: Cookies in the ‘hood! It could work.
BS: Cookies in the ‘hood? Wow. I’m down.
HC: Right?
BS: Super down! But you thought of it, not me. So, if anybody asks, I totally thought of that. Laughs. Just kidding.
Connect with The Neighbourhood:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNeighbourhood?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenbhd
Youtube:
- VEVO: http://www.youtube.com/feed/UCJRqaM_C1asb8fq-zeSps0w
- http://www.youtube.com/feed/UCDAXusYwRJpiSP2CHnXnVnw
Website: TheNBHD.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/theneighbourhood