Abe Vigoda are at the forefront of the increasingly more hyped L.A. scene centered at all-ages venue The Smell. Unlike many of their contemporaries, though, Abe Vigoda are a band determined to explore as many different directions as possible. We caught up with frontman Michael Vidal to ask about the new EP Reviver and Abe Vigoda’s plans to be the pioneers of the “apocalyptic boogie” movement.
Hi Michael, where are we talking to you from today?
Well, I am sitting in my bedroom in the beautiful Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. The weather is perfect.
Location seems to be such a big part of your identity as a band, with the community you’ve been a part of at the Smell alongside No Age, Mika Miko and others. Can you tell us how the Smell came to be and what impact it has had on your art?
Location certainly does play a big role. Context has a lot to do with the appreciation of art or music. We are truly blessed to have come in contact with such a supportive space, and network of people. The Smell was around for five or six years before we started playing there, and was something I definitely grew up into. I was probably 15 or 16 the first time I went to a show there, and it really blew my mind. I didn’t really know that spaces like that existed. We got to know Jim Smith, the owner, and just started playing shows and it seems like we have played there just about every month since. It’s definitely the birthplace of our music, and it continues to shape it today.
Has the Smell changed much with the relative success of so many of its charter bands?
Not really. It is more or less the same place it has always been.
Last year, you toured extensively with both No Age and Diplo, and with your latest EP Reviver, it seems like some of their traits have rubbed off on your sound. Did the touring provoke this change or were you consciously moving towards a different sound than Skeleton before the tour even started?
We had written all the songs for Reviver before we left on those tours, so I don’t think that’s it. I think these songs came out differently, because they were written with a different mentality in a different place. We had written nearly all the songs for Skeleton when we were still living under our parents’ roofs in the suburbs. I think moving out, living in the city, growing older, it all kinda had its own way of changing our sound. The band has always been one to change.
When I listened to the EP, I heard a lot of similarities to some of the peak ’80s hardcore groups, like Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr., who were also tied together as a result of the community surrounding SST Records. Was the SST roster a big influence?
We definitely listen to a lot more older music than anything really modern. I really love Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr., I think we share a similar approach. We are kind of old school in that we do not use any electronics, or computers. But, I really feel like we have taken more cues from ’80s and ’90s shoegaze and goth.
Reviver also seems to have a different production aesthetic than Skeleton: everything is a little clearer and your vocals are more prominent. What kind of albums were you basing the production off of going in?
These songs, they way they are performed and sung, kind of lent themselves to that kind of production. I don’t believe we really had any specific albums in mind. We wanted it to be more direct. I have learned that vocals can really anchor a song, and I feel more comfortable with them being heavy in the mix. We just did what we thought best fit the songs.
With Skeleton, the band was tagged with the description of “tropical punk rock,” what unrelated string of words are you predicting will get hoisted on you with Reviver?
Apocalyptic Boogie.
How far along are you with your next full-length?
We have written a few new songs with our brand new drummer Dane Chadwick. I am really into what is going on now. I guess it’s more in line with Reviver rather than Skeleton. My friend Marcus said they are the most dramatic we have done, but they are all really fast songs. They are definitely the building blocks for a new album, or outlook.
Will the album continue what you’ve started with Reviver or is Reviver a brief break from your overarching sound?
Reviver will definitely stand on its own, I feel. It is an isolated mini-album, which has a lot to offer in its own right. Who knows what will happen with this new album. I think we are prepared to work harder than we ever have before.
by Morgan Davis
