THE GROWLERS ON THURSDAY DEC. 23RD AT THE DETROIT BAR, 843 WEST NINETEENTH STREET, COSTA MESA. 9:00PM/ $12/ 21+.

Detroit Bar was packed to see Girls. Hunx and His Punx opened with an innocent 50′s drive-in sound, punched up by Hunx’s over the top style (especially for Orange County) which he played for all it’s worth. The other opener, Smith Western, produced by Christopher Owens of Girls, were young, rough, and exciting.

To top off the evening, Girls’ set was fantastic. Their touring musicians were on point and the songs were brought to life beautifully. “Lust for Life” was a big sing along but to hear “Hellhole Ratrace” live is a heroic triumph that exploded every heart in the place.

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Download: The Veils “Three Sisters”

(from Sun Gangs out now on Rough Trade)

American rock critics, after their oft-coldblooded fashion, took note of the battered heart of frontman Finn Andrews—son of XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews—since The Runaway Found first blipped the indie radar back in 2004. The Veils have undergone significant line-up shifts, but the band’s impressive energy and Finn’s ever-maturing lyrics and magniloquent vocals pay off superbly on Sun Gang, their third album now out on Rough Trade. In this interview by Ron Garmon, Finn gives up a glimpse of characteristic romanticism while putting discreet end to some rumors.

You stayed for a spell in the Flaming Lips’ hometown of Norman, OK. Tell us about that.
Finn Andrews (singer/songwriter): We slept in a classic car garage most of the time. That town is strange. We were all pretty curious about the Bible Belt and that stuff and we met a lot of really interesting people. The police followed us and raided the place a couple of times. I think we stuck out a little. That was in an interesting period. We were literally swamped and didn’t know where we were at any point. We would return there in between touring and that was our first encounter with America, really. We literally did not know where we were after a while. We didn’t know if it was east or west or in the middle or down the bottom or near the top. I found it really interesting, for we knew we’d stick out a bit and people in England talk about the Bible Belt and all that. I didn’t know what to expect, but we had a lot of fun. It was about three months on and off and we’d leave and drive either to L.A. or New York to do a show and do more shows on the way back.
The crits are talking up Sun Gang as a difficult listen, but the melodies are certainly spare and sweet enough for popular consumption, with just the right amount of heart revealed in each one. This is rocket science?
Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? Everyone has a different palate.
‘Scarecrow’ implies an emotional transformation. Tell us about ‘not being made for these times.’
The record is still kind of coming into focus for me a little bit. There’s a lag time and I’ve begun to think on it and I still think I’m going through it. I just hate having spent the majority of my young life in a decade known as ‘the noughties.’ That makes me want to puke. That might be a kind of pretentious answer.
One gets an impression of a kind of record kept or a scrapbook of an interior state.
I love writing and it feels like everything all at once. I was never very good at keeping a diary and I’ve tried getting up at night to write my dreams down and you feel like a wanker. It’s kind of all those things all at once.
Since critics are scrabbling to get a handle on Sun Gang’s place in the Veils’ evolution, why not tell us its place yourself?
I think we’re probably in the ‘land invertebrates’ stage’—awaiting ‘social insects’ and mass extinction. It’s hard to predict what will happen next.
What was it like working with Graham Sutton as a producer?
It was good. That record kind of came at the end of a pretty relentless period. We’d been on the road for a very long time and finally fell off the road and into this weird little wooden chamber of a studio in West London. All my memories of that period are red. We kind of needed someone to pull us together and he was very encouraging.
I imagine at that point most of the band activity was comprised of staring off into space.
There was a lot of that, yeah. We always thought it was a real privilege to make records and that kind of slapped us around a bit. I was kind of hesitating going back into the studio until we could do it right and that time felt just perfect.
The album comes to a kind of ringing emotional climax with ‘Larkspur,’ the penultimate track. Did Sun Gang have a kind of formal structure going in or did the shape come later?
I always thought that song should be where it was on the track listing. That’s a strange song. We’d never played it before we recorded it and we did it in one take. That’s very precious to us. I’d only written one line lyrically before we went in. I kind of told everyone I’d had this song and wanted to play and record it once and that’s what happens. It is as it was.
Drummer Henning Dietz has left for good?
Yes, he just left after the show in Berlin two weeks ago and a new friend is filling that out.
Have you ever played Spaceland before?
Yeah. We played there on our first tour. I think that was the last show for our keyboard player as well.
One Veil comes off after another.
Yeah. It’s like revolving Doors.
Address the rumors you were being courted as a solo act.
I dunno what people are thinking. It’s nice to be talked about.
It’s not surprising, being the kind of offer that was dangled before, say, Jim Morrison.
No, I wouldn’t want to give this up at this point. We’re a band and I wouldn’t want to run away from that now.
How do you like the title ‘21st Century Romantic?’
As what?
As a title. Try it on for a while.
Whatever makes them smile.

THE VEILS WITH FOREIGN BORN AND OTHER GIRLS ON TUE., JULY 14, AT DETROIT BAR, 843 W. 19TH ST., COSTA MESA. 9 PM / $12 / 21+. DETROITBAR.COM. AND WITH LUKE TOP AND OTHER GIRLS ON WED., JULY 15, AT SPACELAND, 1717 SILVERLAKE BLVD., SILVERLAKE. 8:30 PM / $12-$14 / 21+. CLUBSPACELAND.COM. THE VEILS’ SUN GANG IS OUT NOW ON ROUGH TRADE. VISIT THE VEILS AT THEVEILS.COM OR MYSPACE.COM/THEVEILS.

Costa Mesa: even though psych-blues means nothing to you doesn’t mean you have to let loose all the underage stripper pump advertisements and walking Famous Stars and Straps catalogs just because the Crystal Antlers are playing Detroit Bar. Long Beach’s local heroes played three shows in one day before getting two hours of sleep and driving from New York in 72 hours to play last night’s homecoming show ‘neath a full July “antler moon.” Fresh off an all-night drive from Austin (SXSW déjà vu), the Antlers found themselves as the show’s impromptu headliners, playing songs off their recently-released EP and baffling the shit out of OC’s hip elite. Boys with sagging waistlines plugged their ears and walked out shaking their heads while two drunk girls—and one of every possible type of douchebag available—started an awkward skank pit in the unfortunately empty bar. And, in addition to the guy with a jacket tied around his head like a Karate Kid bandanna double-checking with me that they “really are from Alabama” before Googling more information from his cell phone, I walked in on a couple of Laguna Beach-types having sex in the pool table room. After the show, locals made $2 grilled cheeses on a portable griddle in the smoking area and the misunderstood Crystal Antlers slept in their own beds for the first time in a month-and-a-half. Welcome home!

– Sarah Bennett

DJ Cocoe Trainspotting Mix

Where are you from?
I was born in Athens, Greece, in the mid-‘70s and I moved to the states in 1981 when Michael Jackson was still black.
Where do you live now?
I live in the wonderful city of Garden Grove. Actually it’s not that wonderful. It’s actually pretty boring. That’s why I spend a lot of time Long Beach and Huntington Beach.
Are you digital or vinyl?
I’m a vinyl guy. I do play an occasional CDR since pressing an acetate these days is like trying to catch a date with Grace Jones. Shit just won’t happen.
What mixer are you using?
I have a KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artesian Series 5 Quart mixer. Great for all those dairy mash ups.
What needles are you using?
I stopped using needles. I’ve manage to rig my chin hair to the tone arm. Analog rules!
What are your turntables of choice?
Technics. I can’t afford to drop 10 G’s on a custom audiophile joint. I’m sure that will change soon though. I’m thinking of getting a night job as a strip-club jock. Do those dudes make good tips?
First time you ever DJed?
I believe my first real gig was my 6th grade dance. I was wearing a paisley shirt with a brooch, Girbeau Jeans and monkey boots. I played records and did the running man at the same time. I thought I was the next Paula Abdul.
Weirdest DJ gig?
I played a wedding one time that my boy handed down to me. Apparently the only people that showed up were the bride and groom. It was weird, but I acted like the shit was going off. Shit I even pinned a few dollars on the bride during the Money Dance.
What are you playing in your set right now?
I play a lot of classics because that’s what gets the party jumpin. I do manage to slide some obscure shit here and there. Disco, soul, hip-hop, house, techno, brokenbeat—shit I’ll even play some cholo funk for the homies. I can’t help it I started doing most of my gigs in the hood. Much respect!
What are you listening to in your car?
I listen to all kinds of stuff. Lately I’ve been listening to the Roots’ new album. Man, those cats are pissed off this time around! I’m still listening to Fat Freddy’s Drop too. I just can’t seem to put that shit down. You can’t deny good music. Oh yeah—I listen to the Cure a lot.
Last record you bought and where?
Honestly? Well…I just got Sha Na Na’s Greatest Hits because it had this poster I really wanted to get framed for the studio. I grew up on those guys.
Best record you scored for $1?
Well, I didn’t score anything for a dollar, but my man Josh One recently gave me a Kraftwerk 7” of ‘Pocket Calculator’ on yellow vinyl that was worth more than my car. Seriously!

For more shows check out: larecord.com/radio

DJ COCOE WILL BE PERFORMING SATURDAY MAY, 31ST FOR ABSTRACT WORKSHOPS 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY AT DETROIT BAR IN COSTA MESA.