One of my absolute favorite sets of Lollapalooza was from one of our local bands, Post Animal, who came together on Friday afternoon to deliver a performance that made the American Eagle stage feel like a rowdy house party. This was an excellent way to help me prepare for the conversation I would go on to have later that day with the boys Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Wes Toledo, Javi Reyes, and Matt Williams.
In our chat we covered a range of topics that Lolla debut, their debut album When I Think Of You In A Castle, and mustaches.
The boys’ve got a handful of tour stops not too far from home here in Chicago, along with a couple local sets as well (tickets here). Check out our interview below.
*OO = Oscar Oliva = dude that interviewed Post Animal = dude that wrote this article
How’d you like your Lolla performance?
Dalton: It was really fun. There was a nice breeze on the stage.
Matt: What a great stage; with all those trees. A lot of it was sunny but the shade made it be a little more secluded in a good way; it got more personal.
Jake: There was the music element but then also (Matt speaking over him: “a magic element”), it was a special occasion for us.
OO: Dalton, you made a little comment, not really a dig, about the crowd that was checking you guys out from the comfort of the shade.
Dalton: Oh yeah, yeah. I was complimenting them for coming out and that they were chicken necking a little bit to be out here for us.
OO: That was cool though because that got people to trickle into the areas exposed to the sun and that soon led to circle pits.
Matt: That was tight. It was unexpected. It was sick.
OO: Stage right was live.
Matt: I definitely leaned towards stage right. I thought, “you guys were really rocking.” I was trying to get everyone involved but everything I said just felt like I was isolating the rest even more and digging myself a bigger hole.
Jake: We’re a (stage) right heavy band
What do you do differently to prepare for a big fest like Lolla?
Dalton: We put a lot of effort into it for sure.
Wes: We were all kind of dispersed for a while, just taking a break after our tour. Then we got together last week and did a bootcamp style every day, for like 4 hours at least.
Jake: Pushups and sit-ups. Two-a-days.
Matt: I think we wanted it to be special, too. We did a new intro, which was a cover of Justice (points to Jake wearing a Justice tee)
Jake: We did that especially for this.
Matt: It was a big part figuring out how to make it special with the time limit. I think we went a little bit over and got the stage manager mad and I apologize (collectively all say “yeah, sorry”). You got to keep it contained to 40-ish minutes; you want the familiar faces that you see to feel good about a newish set, and you want to impress the new people that maybe haven’t heard of you.
Jake: I feel like with these festivals, they’re a lot about showing your breadth. There are a lot of people just walking by and you never know what’s gonna catch their attention.
Your debut album came out in April. What has been the reception on the road for the new project so far?
Jake: It seems great, people have been so nice and positively critical. Hollering out songs for us to play that we wouldn’t think they’d want to hear.
Matt: (in joking/humorous tone, eyebrows dancing) We’re critically acclaimed.
Dalton: People in Chicago have known some of the songs for some time. But now when we tour, people have heard them on our album and it’s cool to hear what they like and the specific songs that they know.
Jake: To be fair, we have no idea how many people have heard the album and chucked it in the garbage can, but at least the ones that come to our shows seem to like it.
Matt: There’s a great consistency of crowds. We weren’t really selling out all the shows with lines around the block but the crowds do show up well.
How has Chicago influenced your sound and even your stage presence?
Matt: I think that’s the ticket right there. Everyone plays like they’re hungry.
Jake: Everyone performs like it’s their last chance to play a show.
Matt: Everybody wants to kick some ass.
Jake: I don’t know if we do that yet, but that’s what I was so attracted to coming here. Specifically Twin Peaks, I think the way they play, it’s like it doesn’t matter how many people show up, you bring it. Give it all the energy you’ve got, even if you’re tired or you’re road-worn. I think that’s part of Chicago’s mentality of being a working city. You’ve got a job to do.
OO: That’s why they call it the city of broad shoulders
Matt: That’s a great name.
The sound on the new record is a lot more adventurous, exploring Prog more, adding a Pop sensibility, and featuring a more colorful Psychedelic sound. How much of that was predetermined going into the recording sessions, and how much was inspired from being in that Michigan lake house (in which it was recorded)?
Wes: I think that this record was very organic and it kind of sprung about quickly. I don’t think we focused on being more Prog-y or being this or that. Everyone came in with interesting ideas for songs and they just pieced together in a way that was Prog-y. And we like that kind of music, but it wasn’t an intention to do that. We wanted to be more Rock & Roll, be a little more Pop Rock too.
I read in your interview with a buddy of mine for Anchr Magazine that you guys felt the lake house was haunted. Are there any remnants of that in the album?
Jake: There was something on the record. What would you call it? (to Dalton)
Dalton: Logistically, the computer probably just glitched. We didn’t affect it at all, but the cymbals came out recorded in reverse.
Wes: (imitates a backwards sound)
Jake: We just had some weird experiences. I wouldn’t say they were definitely supernatural, but they were absolutely preternatural. Just hard to explain; but nothing that was so wild. I’d like to think there were something creepy there.
Javi: We just do it for the plug (all laugh)
Wes: nightstand falling over, it’s all real lol
What can you tell us about Polyvinyl Records and signing to that label?
Javi: They’re a great label. The guy who founded it, with his wife, they’re from the same place that Matt and Dalton are from, Danville, IL, so there’s a connection right off the bat there. Nice Midwestern folk; very down to earth. It’s great.
With Joe Keery being part of Post Animal and Finn Wolfhard’s Calpurnia influenced & produced by your buddies of Twin Peaks, what is it about Chicago & Stranger Things?
Dalton: Joe was the connection. He’s not really in our band anymore, but him being in Post Animal helped make the connection between Twin Peaks and Finn. Finn was already a fan and had done a cover, so this helped bridge them together.
Matt: – I just like to think that Chicago has a dope music scene with a lot of cool bands that people should like.
You guys have some the most solid mustaches in the game. Who were your mustache idols/influences growing up?
*Javi strokes his mustache-less upper lip*
Jake: My brother is mine. He’s got the gnarliest one I’ve ever seen.
Wes: He’s got a good one. Kind of like a cornbread one. Very Midwestern.
Dalton: For me it was the Eagles. They made me want to get one. I don’t want it to be an aggro, masculinity thing. More so just for fun.
Jake: My face is a little too long so I have to break it up.
Matt: Jake came back from a summer internship looking svelte as ever and rocking a mean mustache and I thought, “who are you? It’s a pleasure.”
Dalton: It’s also a very Chicago thing.
