STRAWBERRY FUZZ, MILLER'S GARAGE

Strawberry Fuzz have been a fixture of the Venice Beach music scene for the past five years, growing from scrappy garage punk beginnings into a band that thrives on high-energy explorations of rock and punk in all their forms. The five-piece, Colby Rodgers (vocals), Kris Miller (lead guitar), Alex Arias (rhythm guitar, backup vocals), Dashel Dupuy (bass, backup vocals), and Andy Warren (drums), keep everything close to home, with Alex producing, Colby designing, and the band handling everything DIY.

Over the years, Kris Miller's garage has served as the band's rehearsal space, their hangout, a space for late-night workshops and a backdrop for their circle of friends. And it’s where much of their music has come together. “He [Kris] pretty much lives in that garage,” Andy says. “It’s where we write a lot of our stuff. He’s got this old saloon piano, and guitars are everywhere. We pretty much go there every weekend, and there are always friends coming through.” Colby adds, “It’s the best ‘afters’ hangout in town.”

On their new album, Miller's Garage, the band looks to mirror that atmosphere with found recordings from the band’s tours, phone clips, random moments, and voices of friends spliced into songs like “House Party” and “Tour Song,” while the songs themselves are written about their world. “We try to be as authentic as possible,” Andy explains. “All the songs are talking about people we know, or crack heads in Venice, or weird part nights, or being depressed.”

Musically, the album is a fantastic blend of garage, hardcore, punk, and rock with a splash of surf. The band moves fast and loose, with bursts of raw energy and lots of memorable hooks. Combined with their unfiltered lyrics you feel like you've been invited into one of their late-night house parties. It’s one that I definitely want to attend.