Q&A: GUPPY
Written by Bree Castillo
SILLY YET HONESTLY VULNERABLE – Starting as a group of talented friends who jammed in their garage together, Guppy has grown into a full fledged band creating their own genre of prom rock. Guppy is known for their compelling songs featuring their original lively melodies and playful lyrics. This spiky and energetic band consists of Julia Lebow on vocals and guitar, Michael Keehan on guitar, Marc Babcock on bass, and Gabi Cohen on drums and vocals, who says “GUPPY is literally just about being honest with yourself, having fun, and spending time with people you wanna put your arms around and scream and dance with.” Read on to learn about the message behind their silliness and their upcoming album, In Heat.
LUNA: For people who don’t know what prom rock is, how would you describe your sound?
J: I would describe our sound as something so incredibly stupid and silly but also vulnerable and honest plus it shreds.
LUNA: Your four-piece band is said to include friends, lovers, and acquaintances. How did Guppy come to be?
J: It was super organic, but we have many origin stories. We all went to college together, but Gabi and I have known each other since we were 11. We met at Jewish summer camp. Marc and Michael have been friends since the beginning of college and I didn’t exactly meet them until the very end of college/post grad. Marc and I were roommates, and Gabi and Michael would be over at our house all the time, and our jam sessions just kind of turned into something more concrete over time.
G: In the beginning, I feel like GUPPY was just a way for us to hang out. I had no idea how to play drums until Julia and I decided we wanted to jam in our garage, so we figured out how to jam together. We were playing songs that Julia had written solo and were just having so much fun building on it and adding parts and writing new stuff, so Marc joined to add more parts, and then Michael joined to add even MORE!
MB: Julia and I had been living together during our last semester at college and writing music separately. After graduating, we continued our roommate-ship and Michael and I had been friends and playing music together for years. Gabi and Michael were at the house all the time and one day Julia asked if I wanted to play bass in a band with them and Gabi. Since Michael and I had been playing a lot already he hopped right in the mix and recorded “In the Garage” and we were off to the races.
MK: I was sleeping on Marc and Julia’s couch for like a collective two or three months so they put me to work recording the first EP in their garage. Gabi was frequenty sleeping on that couch too so it was a natural fit you see. Legend has it Gabi can be often seen sleeping in that living room to this day.
LUNA: What is the story behind writing 'Corn on the Cobb’ and ‘Welcome to My Roast Beef’?
J: Both of those were some of the first songs I wrote for a full band. There was something incredibly vulnerable for me with sharing my feelings on a larger scale like that so I think my instinct was to write in code. A lot of my art has to do with food, and it just felt natural to use this as a way to describe my feelings in the moment without being too vulnerable. When I make it about something silly like corn or roast beef, some people just tend to read the silliness and miss the message. I kind of like that extra layer of protection. It means only people who want to read deeper into the silliness will know the feeling I’m trying to communicate and the people who don’t want to read past that don’t have to. It’s a sad clown kind of thing I guess.
LUNA: Where do you find inspiration? What bands or artists have influenced your sound?
J: Honestly, I’m all over the place. I love songwriters like Tiny Tim and Stephen Merrit and Harry Nilsson, but I also love bands like Devo and Garbage and Ween. These bands and songwriters are my origin influences, but I’m also constantly inspired and influenced by more current/upcoming bands in the scene like Palehound, Mannequin Pussy, Yucky Duster, Hunx & His Punx and so many more. I also find inspiration from watching knife and sword videos on Youtube. Any kind, you name it.
MB: When I was younger I listened to lots of heavier music from Rage Against the Machine to Velvet Revolver to Machine Head as well as a lot of hip hop and Parliament. As I got older I found folk music and got really into Father John Misty, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and most recently Brandi Carlile. Not to mention the slew of bands that continue to make playing in LA fun and have been great friends and inspirations throughout our time here. I feel like GUPPY allows me to put all of those sounds into one place one way or another. But the energy that comes from being on stage with this band makes me want to keep harnessing and putting out that electricity.
MK: A lively scene is the most inspiring thing to me. Bands & friends just playing a lot of shows and putting themselves out there with their own music and art really makes you feel like getting up on stage with them as often as you can. Whenever I see a dope live show it always pushes me to want more out of my own performances. It can feel competitive sometimes and I think a little bit of that is super healthy to keep progressing but the best part about being part of a good scene is having other bands as homies who are looking to put you on or vise versa, like there are so many bands that we play with in town and elsewhere that I want nothing for the best for them. Bands like Cheekface, Kamikaze Palm Tree, MAYYA, Lindsay B, Roger Greenfield, Tara and the Little Stars, Clarke & the Himselfs, the DIY SLUTS, Rosie Tucker…. I can go on forever but really all I want is for us all just do a massive tour or festival together because that would slap so hard.
G: I listened to a lot of pop punk growing up (lol), so the idea of emotionally thrashing around is very appealing because that’s what a lot of the music I like sounds like to me. I learn a lot from going to shows and watching other drummers play, so I feel like a lot of my biggest influences are our friends that Michael mentioned.
LUNA: Congrats on releasing another track! What is ‘Sentimental’ about?
J: It’s about being a very sensitive person, but having trouble communicating that to the people around you, and because of that coming across as cold or unaffected.
LUNA: What can you tell us about your upcoming album In Heat?
J: It’s literally insane. The singles are only a small slice of the beast that is this album.
MB: I think people are going to have a lot of fun listening to it. It has a lot of different vibes and is a great album to throw on while you’re driving.
MK: We’re coming in blazing hot with this album. It’s volcanic.
G: There’s a little bit of everything in there. We have grown a lot since our last releases, so it’s really exciting to be preparing stuff that sounds closer to who we are now.
J: In Heat has a lot of variety. I think there’s a song for everyone on this next album, so what I want is for every listener to find that song for them.
LUNA: What do you want your listeners to take away from your music?
MB: I just want people to have fun with this album and I hope when they get to the end of the album they have found something within it that resonates with them personally. We have so much fun and joy playing the music and I hope people feel that and see that when they come across us live or catch us through their earholes.
G: GUPPY is literally just about being honest with yourself, having fun, and spending time with people you wanna put your arms around and scream and dance with.
LUNA: What can we expect from Guppy next?
J: We have another single off our album we’ll be dropping next month (September) along with a music video and our album release show/party October 3rd at the Hi Hat in Los Angeles. After that, who knows? Maybe we’ll join the army?
MB: Once “In Heat” hits we are going off on the road for a tour up the west coast to play some cities we haven’t yet and roll out the album. After we get back we got some new stuff cooking up that I’m super pumped to keep writing and workshopping.
G: Big party
