The OC Weekly interviewed Alex Knost about Tomorrows Tulips and the hiatus of the Japanese Motors. Keep on reading.
Costa Mesa garage rockers Japanese Motors shocked the local scene when they informed OC Weekly last Tuesday that they were ditching their Jan. 20 gig with Vice label mates the Black Lips at Detroit Bar, canceling all upcoming shows including SXSW dates and going on "indefinite hiatus."
After playing a bit of phone tag, I got a hold of front man Alex Knost (he's also a pro surfer) this morning at his Costa Mesa home to discuss Tomorrows Tulips, the new duo he formed with girlfriend Christina Kee. I also asked him why Japanese Motors came to a screeching halt and if the band had a future. Knost offered fresh news concerning both projects.
OC Weekly (Wade Tatangelo): So, what prompted the formation of Tomorrows Tulips?
Alex Knost: Well, I really don't remember, exactly. I think Christina said something about hating to go to Paul Mitchell hair school and I asked her what she always wanted to do. She said she wanted to learn drums but thought that was ridiculous. We have similar taste in music and I showed her great songs that don't have complex drumming, played her Son of a Gun by the Vaselines, one of our favorite groups ... as soon a she put her ear to it and just concentrated on the beat, one hand on the snare drum, it gave her the confidence to just start whacking stuff.
Q: How long between when Christina started "whacking" the drums and the formation of Tomorrows Tulips?
A: By the next day we had three or four ideas for songs. Obviously, practice makes things a little perfect. I'd say maybe two or three months later we started playing around
Q: What's the story behind the name, Tomorrows Tulips?
A: It's kind of an inside joke. That's something for ourselves. We don't want to give it all away, y'know?
Q: Fair enough. The sound of Tomorrows Tulips is a lot dreamier and experimental leaning than Japanese Motors's. Would led you down this new musical path?
A: I still consider myself juvenile. I can barely play compared to most bands. You listen to 1960s music, it's not complicated, it's rock & roll. When you don't know how to do something very well it forces you to be creative and use trickery. The best thing about Christina being new on drums as she stumbles on all this creative stuff because it's first instinct. We're really trying to embody DIY aesthetic.
Q: Japanese Motors toured nationally and were signed to Vice. How serious are you about Tomorrows Tulips?
A: We're just gonan take it day by day. Obviously, we're passionate about it. We have this feeling of absolute fearlessness. We just recorded eight songs over at the Distillery [studio] on analog tape just like bands did in the 1960s and 70s. The [as-yet-untitled] EP will come out on the Papermade label that did the Dirt Dress series.
Q: Do you have a release date?
A: It will Take a little bit of time. We're only putting it out on cassette and vinyl. CDs are great to burn for friends but the lifespan is short. Tapes and vinyl last for a long time. We're doing that and writing new songs and talking to labels about a full-length we want to get done by the summer so we can hit road and start touring.
Q: Sound like between Tomorrows Tulips and surfing you have your hands full. Is Japanese Motors done?
A: Yeah, for the time being we all have decided to put in on shelf., we have full-length we never put out who knows what will happen in future after talking to [guitarist/bassist Nolan Hall] and hes' going to focus on photography. [Drummer Andrew Atkinson went back to his job. Nolan is working closely with Vans shoes and several magazines and looking to do showings of photographs and I'm excited for him. [Putting Japanese Motors on hiatus] was a mutual thing ... I'm really looking forward to Tomorrows Tulips. When you watch some like Christina make a song it really lights a fire in me creatively. It's been just the two of us but have been having people playing bass like Nolan and Matt McCluer of the Sweet Sweet Things. He's a very inspiring person to be around very with a profound work ethic.
Q: Do you plan to eventually grow Tomorrows Tulips from a twosome to a band?
A: We'll keep it as a two-piece as far as writing but it would be great to also play with talented musicians.
Q: Not to belabor this but Japanese Motors had a bunch of high profile dates coming up, opening for Black Lips playing SXSW, etc. Why stop now?
A: I think when you're passionate about something, obviously we worked hard to get where we were at, you don't want to sacrifice emotions. Having to keep playing due to pressure [to fulfill commitments] feels like a gimmick. We don't wanna do something we don't feel passionate about. We feel bad to the venues we left dry and fans but don't want be somewhere if our head is somewhere else. The future is unwritten, but as of right now, all feel strongly {about going on hiatus].
Tomorrows Tulips Feature
The Summers End
Its Labor Daybor. Well, its the night/ending of Labor Day. I sit here and realize that summer is over. So, I would like to take this time to recall how much has happened over the past 4 and a half months. In no particular order:
I had a birthday, I made new friends (in real life and on facebook), I lost some friends, two musical icons left us, watched Hema play shows, had an awesome Kool-Aid social to kick off the summer, had a tea party in the middle of the rain, had a BBQ with one of my new heroes, met Beardo, went to a show at the famous ROXY in downtown LA, got searched + questioned and still got out of Mexico with out a passport, watched Mason loose his money in Vegas, spent $10 on a hamburger, sold a text book for 50 bones, my brother got married, Sarah Morrison started following me on twtiter, discovered a lot of new music, found a new favorite pair of jeans, Chris came home from his mission, Joe started to mandrate, my best friend discovered a long lost brother, watched Mason buy home-made rap CDs from black dudes at Venice Beach, bought some TOMS/donated a pair of shoes to a child in need, I came to adore the Holladay Homegirls, got married on facebook, made black/white lifestyle tshirts, counted all the shirts I own, bought a new sailor necklace in Mexico, wrote/sang a song with Kelli and Hema and dedicated it to Mason, sat around a fire and ate popsicles, went swimming just about every day, visited over 5 American Apparels' in less than a week, saw Michael Jacksons star in Hollywood, bought a leather jacket, had more than one failed summer fling, watched TV seasons/series on DVD nightly, got more followers on twitter, created a new facebook group, became a proud owner of a domain, had the best road trip of my life, got caught up in some drama, attempted to clean my room multiple times, sat on the curb while Kelli sang a song that she wrote for me/about me, skated with Kyle, had dinner with a friend from high school, went camping, made an official business card, had some come to Jesus talks with Justin + Katie, saw a rival from high school and made amends, hung out with my favorite aunt Vangie, started wearing rosaries for some reason, talked with an intern at a record label for hours, made little Asian girls mad at a concert, failed my eye test to renew my license, started to wear fake Buddy Holly glasses for a half second, went to a lame dollar movie with Stu, tried to keep up on my blog, made fun of Cooper for buying his Baby Boo Camero, almost peed in a Dairy Queen cup with dried up ice cream in Masons car, made a list of all the reasons why me and Annie are friends, played a joke on Jodi, surfed across a swimming pool, played some hopscotch at an elementary school, got a parking ticket and made Cooper pay half of it, went to Paper Heart with Annie, saw Taking Back Sunday in concert, Norma cut my hair a couple of times, ate too many quesadillas, met Tony Potato, thought I met my soul mate, watched a kid poop his pants and laugh at himself, received a gift card for $40, wasted hrs at a time on video ichat, sat in sky chairs with Kelli, purchased some new Sperry sailor shoes, bought a new fedora, went to Idaho a couple of times, started some propaganda against Obamas Youth, spent $10 in late fees for a RedBox movie I got for free with a code, wore the same pair of jeans almost every day, witnessed a homeless guy get escorted out of a hotel pool, went and got free fries at Tonyburgers, convinced people that Ben was stuck in Mexico, drank a lot of blackberry lemonade, sat in my car for over 2 hours in a rain storm with Aliska, Joe invited us over to swim and have a BBQ at the lodge, had the best churros I've ever had, had Chili's for every meal for about a week, started mixing RedBull with Margarita mix for my new favorite drink, broke Annies blender, read Heath Ledgers boring bio, saw 500 Days of Summer with Kelli, walked around downtown Salt Lake with Hema + Stu one afternoon, rode public transportation for fun, went to one of the lamest dance parties ever, attended the SLCC Murder Mystery dinner, almost witnessed a break up of a solid relationship/couple, had a photo shoot with Annie for fun.... and I'm sure this list could go on, but summer is now over and alls I have to show for it is my fading tan and the memories.
Now, with the memories of summer out of the way, bring on whats next. Fall, you are my favorite time of year. FAVORITE. I don't quite understand why you are my favorite, but you are. I mean, I hate the responsibility that comes along with the Fall, like school and such. What a serious drag school is. Then you have Christmas, the happiest time of the year, minus the crappy weather. But you get to watch HOME ALONE for hours. I'm getting too far ahead of myself. First things first, lets do this, Fall, you have your work cut out for you, don't screw up under all the pressure from what summer has provided.
That is all I got for now, LUBS + a kick in the face.
BLACK LIPS & SHRED STICKS
I have officially been made. Well, this HOUSE out does my room by far. This goes to show, mom, dad, friends, anyone who says I have too much junk, back off, this dude here has a serious plethora of skates and surf boards and just all around shred sticks. I can only wish to be like him. honestly.
Pictures of BROPHY's casa, the lead singer for the PRICKS.
skeet skeet/goff gough
WARPED TOUR:
First off... Why Ee Es. YES. Warped tour was dope. First things first.
The first band that I watched by choice would be The Color Fred. Man that dude is old, but none the less... Next was none other than Shwayze.. Awesome performance and everything about it was just as good as you could ask for. After the Shwayze set I went on over to his booth to get some pics and get the signing stuff done with. Man Cisco is such a radical dood. I never thought that I would get to meet him, shwayze or skeet, but guess what people, I did. 
After all that I checked out Cobra Starship, That set was just as good as the last time I saw them, wait actually it was better, A) because Metro Station wasn't there, and B) cause We The Kings weren't either... And there was a ton more people... And what made me even more stoked, the one song they have ft. Travy from Gym Class Heroes and William Beckett from The Academy Is; Bring It/Snakes on a Plane was epic. Both of them joined Cobra Starship and made the performance that much better.
During the last song of Cobra Starship, I headed over the the Skull Candy tent to watch the acoustic set of Shwayze, that was rad and Cisco called me out in between songs saying I looked like I was from Dogtown and I was Tony Alva's sisters friend... whatevs, compliment none the less. When the set was over I hung out and talked with them some more and got to talk one on one with Cisco and Skeet. Skeet ended up hooking me up with a pair of Shwayze/Skull Candy headphones and Cisco gave me his Banana Beats pick. I almost got the blue and white RVCA hat from Shwayze but no bueno on that one becky.
When all the fun from that died out I checked out KATY PERRY. She is so fine. Her music live is a lot more hard core than I thought it would be, which made things even better. She is pretty sassy on stage and said it how it was. I liked that. During the middle of her set Cisco and Shwayze came out to perform with her and I'm glad I saw it. Awesomenesssss!!.
That about wraps up the day of fun filled music and meeting people that I rock out to on a daily basis and some of my life goals have been completed.
Brokeback-Death
I don't wanna ever cross paths with these people. they will probably hate me because they just can. Whatevs homie. Whateves
Dead
Skip from the movie Lords of Dogtown kicked the can... total loss of a great character.
Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger was found dead in a New York apartment late Tuesday afternoon. The star of such critically acclaimed films as "Brokeback Mountain," "Monsters Ball" and the upcoming Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight," Ledger was 28.
An NYPD spokesman told MTV News that the body was found at approximately 3:30 p.m. As yet, there is no official cause of death, although CNN reported that the NYPD suspects a possible drug overdose. "Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed," police spokesman Paul Browne told CNN. "This is being looked at as a possible overdose, but that is not confirmed yet." The pills appeared to be over-the-counter sleeping medication, police spokeswoman Barbara Chen said. Ledger was unresponsive when he was found by a housekeeper who had gone to wake him for an appointment with a masseuse, according to Browne. The New York Times reported that an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the office of the city's chief medical examiner.
"This is an unimaginable tragedy. Heath was a true artist, a deeply sensitive man, an explorer, gifted and wise beyond his years," said Todd Haynes, who directed Ledger in the recent Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There." "There is no finer person on this Earth."
