getting to know greer: an essential addition to your list of favorites
Interview by Amy Tang
Coming together in late 2018, Greer has already made impressive strides towards making their names known across the indie music scene. The Orange County-based band consists of Corbin (guitar), Josiah (vocals), Lucas (drums), and Seth (bass), and together, they’ve gained large traction within the past year despite having only two songs — "Song for You” and “Bittersweet” — officially released, earning the dynamic group a total of 10 million global streams. With such a growing online presence and small, but compelling musical output, the world is clearly ready to hear more Greer. Using Zoom to the best of its ability, I got the opportunity to virtually catch up with the band on their new song, future goals, and quarantine film go-tos.
Ease Up: So you guys recently dropped your third single, “Aeroplane,” can you tell us a little more about it?
Lucas: I came to Seth with the original verse riff, and honestly I don’t even know how I made it. It was just one of those things that I randomly stumbled on, and just played over and over again. It just stuck with me, and I just waited to use it for something bigger and better ‘cause I knew there was something to it you know? Then I met Seth and we immediately clicked. He built on it and added a pre-chorus. And as for my inspiration for the verse, well, I was really into 60s influenced music, so Lemon Twigs was a big one for me.
Seth: I literally found whatever came naturally cause I also listened to it a bunch, and later on I added the bridge, and it fit pretty well. Then we brought Josiah in! When we met him, the band wasn’t actually around yet but we tried writing the melody a bunch of times and we’d actually written a couple different melodies for it.
Josiah: The first melody was really bad.
Seth: Yeah, it was really bad––err, good, sorry!
Josiah: But then I learned it, and the melody and lyrics came really naturally because I was really sad about some girl and I don’t know, the song just kinda came together. It was our first song that we wrote, but we decided to put out “Song for Me” and “Bittersweet” first ‘cause we wanted to save it until we had the budget to do strings and a bunch of other shit, and that’s where Corbin comes in too.
Seth: Yeah, Corbin did arrangements, and we wanted to wait ‘til we had access to an actual studio. Also, at the time [the band] wasn’t tight at all, and it really took us a long time to get there. It wasn’t until tour where we started to get the hang of things, and it was a really smart decision for us to wait ‘til after that, because we had grown and the song evolved. It was actually two minutes longer than it is now, so a lot has changed since then!
Corbin: I mean I didn’t add much to the song, it was kind of already there but I just went for something more textual versus something that was super grandiose. I just wanted to add to the overall ‘lush-ness’ of the song, and it was a lot of fun ‘cause I like strings. It turned out really great.
EU: What do you hope your fans/people will take away from your new song?
J: I would say whatever applies to them.
L: I’m always scared to give interpretations to our songs, but I would definitely say whatever anyone takes away from it––
J: It’s just kinda a personal thing, or I don’t know you can take it a million different ways so in general we just hope that people enjoy the song and like listening to it, and also maybe they can apply it to something that speaks to them and helps them in one way or another.
L: Exactly.
S: I think it really captures a certain feeling of longing or angst really well, and people can take that interpretation into whatever they want, like what we were saying, it’s whatever applies to them. Just as long as it touches that emotion that they’re feeling or whatever they were going through and can feel it from the song.
C: Yeah, I think that apart from the emotions and interpretations, we wanted people to see that we were a little more mature releasing that song and that we put a lot more effort into our song crafting and production value. It wasn’t something that we recorded in 4 hours at a friend’s studio you know? It was a big step up for us, and hopefully, people see some of that.
EU: Has it been more difficult to find the inspiration to make new music within these past couple months being in quarantine?
L: Uhhh for me, yeah. I think half of it is not jamming and then half of it is not experiencing things to feel inspired to write, at least for me personally, because when we’re together we write and we actually pump it out. But we haven’t been together in...months.
J: Writing on your own is hard, but you’re still experiencing emotions and that’s the only place I think that most of us write from. Like if you feel something, write about it. Umm, but it’s mostly sad songs, for me, because quarantine has been like, sad! I miss my friends, I just miss f*cking normal life, but I guess yeah, it’s just gotten a little more difficult.
S: At first, it was really really hard to write and even play, but as soon as we started hanging out it got better. But overtime that inspiration still kind of comes back to you when you sit on it for awhile. Personally, I find that when I don't write for a long time and then I start writing again, it’s super refreshing and it feels so much better. Sometimes, when you focus so much on writing a song, your thought process gets so congested, that it’s hard to find something creative or new. Or even something that sounds good. Sometimes, you’re just pumping out random crap songs. So yeah, it took some stepping back to do.
EU: Speaking of new music, what can fans expect to hear next from Greer? And congratulations on being signed to Epitaph Records this year by the way!
Greer: Thank you!
J: Umm, more music (laughs).
S: We can’t really say much, but we have more music for sure.
EU: So, you guys were originally set to begin your first headlining tour this summer, what were you looking forward to the most?
J: The fans.
S: Yeah, probably the fans and just the shows dude.
J: Performing! I miss being on a stage.
L: Dude, the freakin’ van I miss you with all of my heart, and being crammed in there with all of you guys.
C: [The van] was horrible, but we loved it.
L: I would say seeing you guys every single day, it was really fun.
J: At times it got annoying, but looking back on it...I want it back.
L: It was a good kind of annoying, you know?
S: We’re a little monster family.
EU: How do you plan on spending your time now that it's’ been rescheduled for (hopefully) later this fall and into 2021?
C: Writing.
J: Yeah, writing the album.
L: This is the prime time you know?
J: This is such a good time to write and to prepare, since everyone has been put on hold.
L: ‘Cause once this quarantine is over who knows how long we’re gonna have. I bet it’s gonna be touring, then the studio going back to back.
J: And rehearsal, and more writing.
C: Yeah, we want to get super tight and write new material.
EU: Also, I saw that you guys have started a weekly series called Greercast, who was behind the idea for that? Or did you all collectively decide on it?
S: It was a collective thing.
L: Yeah, we just wanted something as a way to connect with the fans during quarantine because like––
S: We didn’t have any content (laughs).
L: We didn’t have any content or anything really.
S: We have all of our fan guests on there, ‘cause we have a lot of friends who are into that kind of stuff or they’re just doing nothing right now too.
J: We’re releasing one today! It’s so exciting, it’s with Dylan Minnette.
EU: Do you have any binge-worthy show/movie recommendations for the rest of this quarantine?
L: Oh I know mine exactly.
J: What’s yours?
L: 90 Day Fiancé. There’s like 40 sub-sections of it and it just never ends, I can watch it all day. It’s like, amazing!
S: I mean I have a couple, not to be basic but––
J: The Morning Show.
S: The Morning Show is actually pretty good! But my family and I have been watching Parks and Rec, it’s super fun and kind of innocent but it’s really been bringing my family together which is really cool. Other than that, uhh I’ve rewatched Fooly Cooly like 4 times. It’s this 6 episode anime which has really cool music, it’s all by one band, so anyone who likes that kind of stuff should check it out!
J: Hmmm, what’s mine...maybe Mad Men? I just started Mad Men again and I love it, or RuPaul’s Drag Race––
L: Or Facebook online.
J: No, no, not Facebook online, oh wait there’s one more...It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I’ve rewatched it so many times. I can’t just pick one, but those are my babies.
EU: You guys have managed to accomplish so much in the past couple years with having only a few songs out, what else do you hope to achieve this year as a band?
J: Probably a Grammy.
S: No not yet, we don’t deserve that yet. Just to release a successful...uhh––
J: Good music, and to keep making the shit we’ve been making.
L: Just getting better and stronger.
C: And always stepping it up yeah.
EU: Lastly, if you could describe yourself as a color what would that color be?
L: I’m green like grass ‘cause I grow everyday. I’m a grower and expander.
S: Well, I was going to say green because it’s my favorite color but I’ll say blue ‘cause I wear a lot of blue, but also I feel like it describes me pretty well, like a good turquoise blue. I don’t know, there’s so many blues to choose from.
L: Josiah’s orange.
J: No, yeah I feel like I am orange, not even just ‘cause of the beanie. Orange is kind of bright but also “I’m just here,”––
L: Also gross, and ugly.
J: And just kinda chillin’ out, and not too pretty but like, “he’s here, he’s okay,” you know what I mean? I’m an orange, or brown, just earth tones.
C: What am I?
J: You’re like a purple.
C: Purple? That’s what I was thinking, like a magenta.
L: Define purple.
J: A deep purple.
C: Yeah, I’m purple I guess.
S: I see you as being cool and collective, like how purple is cool and collective.
Greer’s single “Aeroplane,” as well as “Bye Bye Baby,” another track from their upcoming EP, is now available for streaming on all services. Make sure to be on the lookout for their new EP Lullaby For You on July 17!