Interview: Greer On New EP "Lullaby for You"
After cultivating an impressive internet presence with two compelling singles, Greer signed to Epitaph Records in early January. A few hours before the release of their debut EP Lullaby for You, the Southern California band hopped on a Zoom call with KXSC’s Ana Cruz. Band members Josiah (vocals), Lucas (drums), Corbin (guitar) and Seth (bass) shared their creative process and reflections on their musical journeys.
Ana Cruz: How would you describe what Greer is to someone who has never listened to you?
Lucas: We’re like an upcoming alternative indie band. We’re still new, you know?
Seth: Yeah we're still figuring ourselves out, but we have this alternative-indie sound going for us.
Josiah: Yeah, we just make the music we like making.
AC: What was the overall vision you had for Lullaby for You?
Seth: The vision for the EP was just discovering our sound – taking these songs we had written a year and a half ago, and putting them in a studio setting and seeing where they wanted to go.
We had no idea what we were until we got in the studio and started recording [music]. So I think the goal was about not only to get out these songs... but adding parts. Like for ‘Aeroplane’, that was the first song we wrote, and like ever since we wrote it we just wanted to put it in a refined setting to do it justice.
Josiah: I think the goal was, like, finding our sound, and also having these songs that we only played live, we wanted to get them refined and as perfect as possible.
Seth: But also establishing ourselves as songwriters, apart from the two singles released beforehand.
AC: Did you feel the process of playing the songs live helped?
Seth: Oh yeah, that was like the defining factor. Like that just changed... like...
Lucas: It didn’t change the songs though?
Seth: No, it made them better.
Josiah: It made us tighter and it let us try new stuff on the songs. Cause we were playing shows every night, so touring with the set that we had, which was all the songs on the EP, was great, honestly. [Because] it helped us get really tight on them and get to the point where we knew what we wanted to do and then do that in the studio.
AC: What's your favorite song off of the EP?
Corbin: I'm at a point of creative dissatisfaction with my work that I put in. But that's a little natural. I think the most refreshing song on there for me is "Stay Clear", just [cause] it was the last song that we wrote before we went into the sessions with Rob. It's the freshest in my mind and the most reflective of where we were a couple [of] months ago.
Josiah: And it's more reflective of our future – of what our sound is gonna be.
Seth: Yeah, it's closest to the songs we've been working on for sure. I was gonna say "Stay Clear" as well.
Lucas: I would say “Aeroplane” – it's just our first song we ever wrote. And it has strings in it. It will always hold a sacred place in my heart, like, I'm so glad that we did this. Even if I look back and I don't think it's the best, I would still be so proud of that song no matter what, because it felt like the finished vision of what we wanted. And that is such a satisfactory feeling.
Josiah: As of right now, cause we had [the songs] for months before the release and you get sick of them and we also toured on them, but "Stay Clear," we didn’t tour with – so like Corbin said, it's kinda the freshest in my mind. But I’m really happy with how Aeroplane turned out as well… even though I’m sick of that song.
AC: What would you say has been your quarantine theme song?
Josiah: Mine is "Hi High" by LOONA, which is not like our music at all, but I kind of found K-Pop to be interesting throughout this quarantine; that whole industry and genre. But LOONA really cracked the code with that one for me. It's just fun and it makes me feel like I'm almost having a stroke or a heart attack. So you're getting the thrill of it but no consequence.
Lucas: I would say mine is "Lovely City" by Calum Bowen. It's a really random song – it's on the soundtrack for this really old game. I drive around in my car and it just gets you so hype.
Seth: "One Life" by the pillows. I’ve been listening to it over and over again. It’s a soundtrack to this really short anime I used to watch. And it's been getting me through some shit.
Corbin: I've been listening to a lot of classical music. I’m gonna do a horrible pronunciation but "Pavane Pour Une Enfante Défunte” It's basically a piano piece and it's really pretty. And it's by Ravel.
AC: Within music, there’s often this period where you're working for it, whether that's practicing your instrument or researching an artist that you love – but what would you say was that point where you felt music started working for you?
Lucas: I would say since day one, it was the other way around. It started for me as therapy. Like, through sound I could make something physical that is how I feel. But as I started getting into it, it started getting more technical.
Josiah: The technical stuff definitely came after for me. I have been singing my whole life. I didn't know shit about it, but I was like, this is fun. And it's something that genuinely comes from your body. It's always really been a good outlet, before it was a technical thing.
Seth: I've been playing bass for most of my life, almost half of it. My whole life I've been practicing the technicalities of playing bass and learning to play songs – never really writing. I never wrote music and never knew I could harness the power of music, per se.
The second I started playing with Greer, that completely changed. There was so much emotion that I had and I finally realized I could capture that in song. And also the first time I picked up guitar, that changed my life, even if I could only ever play bar chords. Being with other people who felt the same way and had the same influences just changed my life. And that's when I felt I could manipulate music and make something of my own that just came solely from me, or solely from our collective whole.
Corbin: I think in the beginning –
[Lucas’s phone cut off. Josiah’s phone chimes in.]
Josiah: You mentioned, “slaving away whether you wanted to or not…”
Corbin: That sounds dramatic, but yeah, I worked really hard at the more technical aspects of it because I wanted to improve, and didn't think it was gonna be rewarding. Everyone always tells you it's not quite an appealing career choice. But like Seth was saying, once I surrounded myself with people who really share similar thoughts, end goals and aspirations, is when I felt like music started to feel more rewarding for me. And it still has its ups and downs, but I’ve been getting more moments of reward than not as of recently.
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Lullaby for You is filled with catchy harmonies and hyper-aware lyrics. The 5-track project manages to encapsulate adolescence, all while delivering snappy guitar-riffs and 2000s nostalgia sounds.
After almost two years of working towards the EP, the things to come for the band can be best summarized by the hashtag used on their release day Instagram post: “#WereGreerWereHereThisIsOurYear"
“Lullaby for You” is available now on all streaming platforms.
-- Ana Cruz, Co-Design Director