Psychedelic jam band to light up The Casbah

Logan Broyles | Downtown News

“We love playing at the Casbah, it’s a cool little intimate venue and there’s nowhere to hide, you’ve got to hang out and party with the crowd,” said Brooks Nielsen, lead singer of The Growlers, a band that is coming to town for two nights of mayhem, jamming and very likely some heavy drinking later this month.

“We’ve played three shows at the Casbah and the last two sold out, so this time around we’re doing two nights in a row and then after this we’re probably jumping into a bigger venue like the Bellyup.”

The Growlers have a style of music that can be hard to describe, but there are elements of so many different styles, it draws the listener in.

Known for their unique blend of folk and psychedelic music, The Growlers also have a bit of Californian 60’s beach-style thrown in. Nielsen describes it as “nostalgic, there’s little bits of old style music that we love. It’s good music to get drunk to and kind of trippy.”

The group got together back in 2006 in Dana Point, Calif. before moving to Costa Mesa near Orange County. In addition to Nielsen, Matt Taylor is on lead guitar, Scott Montoya on drums, Anthony Braun Perry on bass, and Kyle Straka alternating between keyboards and backup guitar.

Their first album, Are You in or Out, came out in 2009, followed by their second the next year, Hot Tropics. After being delayed for more than a year, their latest album, Hung At Heart, will be released at the beginning of the New Year.

“Our new album will be out January 22, we’re stoked to have it finally, it’s been a long time coming,” Nielsen said. “We’ll have the vinyl and cassette tapes and CDs for sale on this December tour, so anyone that comes to see us at the Casbah will get a chance to buy it before it comes out in stores.”

In March The Growlers will head to Europe, return to the US shortly after to tour until the fall, and then head back to Europe for their second tour in less than a year.

Starting on Dec. 14 they will be playing a two-night stand at The Casbah, with opening acts TRMRS and Barbarian, followed by a second show on Dec. 15 with Tomorrow’s Tulips and the Wild Wild Wets. Both events are 21 and up and tickets are only $14 dollars.

Contributing writer Logan Broyles is the former managing editor of Pacific San Diego Magazine and editor-in-chief of Construction Digital magazine. He likes to write about music and news, and can be reached at [email protected].