Interview: NJ-based rockers NGHTCRWLRS stream new LP Raging Hot

It’s a unique joy for music listeners of all stripes to get an album sent to you from a band you’ve never heard of and to be immediately hooked from the jump. Such was the case when the fiery new LP, Raging Hot, from NJ-based rockers NGHTCRWLRS made its way to the Groundsounds inbox.

To go along with a stream of the album, we sent over some interview questions to the band to learn more on how it came to be. Listen to Raging Hot below and be sure to snag your copy here.

Hi, NGHTCRWLRS! Congrats on Raging Hot. Tell us a little more on how these tracks came to be.

Brian Goglia: With Raging Hot, for me, it was just trying to get us as a band, now that we’ve played together for a while, to think outside the box and really push ourselves musically. To not play it safe and try to play new, exciting, fun stuff and not just keep ourselves in a tiny, little corner of the music world that we knew we were comfortable in and really try and expand and grow.

Max Rauch: Just the idea of being committed to something, all four of us committing to meeting up every week to make it happen. If we didn’t put that time and effort in, it wouldn’t have happened.

Frank Defranco: And the organic nature of writing songs out of jamming, in itself, creates a more bonded, unified experience in writing together.

Eric Goldberg: Plus, specifically, we were exploring the groove a bit more. Our first album grooves but we embraced it even more on this album.

Brian: [sings] We want the funk, gotta have that funk.

You all used to be a part of other bands. How did you initially get together?

Brian: All of our bands used to play together and we knew each other from playing shows. We were in the same bands before at one point so we would just be like which one of our friends plays this that would want to do something new? And we’re like “Yea, this dude plays guitar, this guy plays drums and we respected each other’s other music.”

Max: New Brunswick, the New Brunswick scene, played a huge part. It’s funny it’s called the Hub City, because it’s the hub for us. That’s how we all met each other. If it wasn’t for playing basement shows in New Brunswick, I wouldn’t know any of you guys, probably.

Eric: Even the beginning of our band mostly took place in New Brunswick. We played the Court Tavern like four times one summer and I just associate the beginning of the band with the Court Tavern and New Brunswick.

Frank: And just having played with one another and having the practice space in Clifton, it was just a very organic experience for us to fall in to doing this together.

Max: Even LKFFCT [Max’s other band], played the Court Tavern with Zoo [Frank’s older band Holy City Zoo], and then you asked us to join the practice space.

Frank: Yea, we desperately needed someone because our rent was getting ridiculous. [laughs]

Max: Exactly, at that point, we needed a spot, and you needed someone. New Brunswick is the common factor that brought it all together.

Eric: When you start jamming with different people, it’s really, it’s almost luck in a way. I mean there’s no guarantee it’s gonna work out. And we just happened to fit really well musically together, having come from disparate areas but we all have a center that we can glue on to and that kind of makes our sound.

Brian: Can we all just say that NGHTCRWLRS approve of Michelle Obama big time?

Max: Big Michelle Obama fans.

Eric: Great arms. [Everyone laughs]

What’s your songwriting process like?

Brian: I think somebody starts playing something and if it’s cool we let it ride and if it’s sus we say na, that shit aint gonna work [Everyone laughs]

Max: Yea, it’s really natural. Somebody plays something whether it’s a riff or bass line or vocal idea and we all just build off it. It’s really natural.

Brian: And it’s a community thing. It’s together. We don’t really have whole songs and everyone else just plays their part. Everybody contributes and takes the song in whatever direction.

Max: One thing I’ve always noticed is how we always have three mics set up so we all bounce ideas off each other. And it’s really cool because you create a song by each throwing in a vocal idea, whoever steps up to the mic. It’s a really cool way of doing it rather than just having one person say “Alright, I got this song. This is how the song goes. You guys help me fill it out.” We all fill it out together and the shared vocal duties is one of the things I love about the way we write.

Eric: Writing songs by jamming can be extremely rewarding and extremely frustrating because the songs will take shape in all kinds of really cool and different ways. We form our own sound based on the four of us. If someone wasn’t in the band or there was a different person, it wouldn’t sound the same because it is literally the four of us. That’s what makes the NGHTCRWLRS sound. It could also be incredibly frustrating when we don’t know where to go but then it’s also amazing when it works out.

Max: When we all hit on something.

Frank: And I think it’s interesting too about how a lot of people when they associate songwriting, they associate a guitar riff or bass line being the defining thing that’s going to define the direction of the song and how the song is going to go. But I actually think the drums play a very large role in the way our songs are written. Whatever Max plays on drums based on somebody’s idea is the direction that we end up going with it. And that is a very cool way of creating songs. Where the drums are very much the driving factor in the process of the writing of the song itself.

Max: I’d say that just about the rhythm in general, the bass too, the way we groove over your guitar playing. You guys have a really distinct style of guitar and we have a distinct style of groove and then you guys come in with these interesting guitar parts.

Eric: Yea, you lean towards groove, which is what’s awesome.

Frank: Yea, hip-hop grooves with guitar sounds over them.

What are some of the larger themes at play on the LP?

Brian: For me, the songs that I write are about being an adult but never wanting to grow up and just being like, “Fuck the way people think you should live and the path that’s been set before you by your parents and all those kinds of people.” Just make your own path and say fuck off. And if on the outside it looks like I’m doing it wrong, it doesn’t matter to me what you think about it. A lot of it is the frustration of a ridiculous, complicated confusing, corrupt world and trying to be a good person who just believes in being themselves and doing the right thing even though that can mean getting the short end of the stick.

Eric: Every song is about something kind of different but they’re all about what it’s like to be a person.

Max: I also think that we sort of all see playing music as our emotional salvation and a lot of that plays in to the themes of our songs. Even when the songs are playful and not so serious, I think part of that is we look at playing music, and getting together and writing songs as a fun kind of thing. Even if we get playful with the themes, it’s because we don’t see any reason not to. We’re able to tackle heavy subject matter but also be lighthearted at the same time because we’re just having a good time doing it.

Brian: It helps us not lose our minds.

Eric: Yea, that’s what I like about it. We can have something that is a complete criticism of Capitalism and our modern partisan news networks in a way with “Fear and Greed” and then at the same time have songs about coffee and weed and quarter inch cables. But I feel that even those songs kind of have a message in a fun way.

Frank: Yea I mean “Quarter Inch Cable” is really our free love song. It may sound silly but at the end of the day there is some message and value in that.

Eric: I think it’s a taunt at the older generation in some ways as far as our generation being super sexuality can be anything. And I feel like it’s more of a taunt at the binaries of our parents in a one-minute stupid ass song. [laughs]

Your video for “Coffee And Weed” features a photo of Donald Trump taking a face full of piss. If you could say one thing to our now President-elect, what would it be?

Eric: Be gentle with me.

Brian: “C’mon man, do you really gotta do all this? We get it “you won”, stop fueling hate and divide. We’ve come so far don’t take us backwards. Why is everything such a competition for you? Don’t you have enough already?  Modern life sucks because of people like you.”

Who do you cite as chief influences?

Max: Yea I think we’re Gogz and I are both influenced by that kind of stuff like funk, hip-hop.

Brian: I spend most of my time listening to blues, soul, jazz and hip-hop.

Eric: And I listen to only ‘90s butt rock.

Brian: Pretty accurate. [Everyone laughs]

Brian: For me as a bassist – G-Funk era west coast hip hop and Thelonious Monk’s creative imagination. I’ve also always wanted to be in the Cramps, and their songwriting, dark themes and delivery are rad as hell to me.

Eric: Fugazi, Talking Heads, David Bowie, The Clash, John Frusciante, and New Order at least for this album. I’ve rediscovered my love of funk and groove lately. Sonic Youth is always an influence, a dash of Prince, even some Duran Duran. We started to embrace some of the ‘80s new wave funk sound on this album, mixing it with our punk/indie rock influences.

If you could collaborate with any three living artists right now, who would they be?

Eric: Annie Clark, Ty Segall, and Kurt Vile

Brian: Charles Bradley, Alicia Keys and Tom Waits – all on one amazingly dark soulful track.

You’re based out of New Jersey. Any new bands/venues/purveyors of the arts you could turn us onto?

Eric: Some of my favorite local artists are YJY, the Subcultures, C.R. and the Degenerates, Dollys and Whiner. We all put out albums in different bands as well. Max put out an album with LKFFCT called Flower Investment Pawn. Frank put out an album with Holy City Zoo called No Bunting. I put out two others this year, one with All Sensory Void called Chasing Transcendence and a solo one as Delicate Flowers called Happy Accidents.

Brian: Ken DePoto put out my favorite record of the year, LKFFCT [Max’s other band] put on one of the best live shows in the state. Will Wood and the Tapeworms are doing something completely wild and outrageous and awesome. My buddy, Klando does incredible graphic design, painting – art in general. He’s sick and him, Ken and my friend Kevin have a sweet new clothing/lifestyle brand called the Lonely Boys Club that everyone should check out for sure.

Frank and Eric, you also run the Sniffling Indie Kids label. What are you looking for there in regards to future releases?

Eric: New albums from Spowder, C.R. and the Degenerates, Adam and the Plants, and my own next album/EP as Delicate Flowers.

Any upcoming shows?

Eric: We’re going to spend most of December working on new material. Everything winds down during the Holidays so it’s usually a good time to write. I’m sure we’ll be playing plenty of shows in 2017 so keep checking in if you dig our sound.