The Colourist are an indie pop band from Orange County… They’re into Phil Collins and ghosts… They’ve only recorded two songs, but Interview and FILTER are already fans… Their debut 7″ dropped earlier this month… They’re about to kick off a string of summer dates, starting with a July 2nd stop at the Troubadour in Hollywood… I recently chatted with guitarist Kollin Johannsen and drummer Maya Tuttle… They’re quite amusing… (They also all dress really well… Dontcha think?)
Izzy Cihak: So you have very little music out, but have already received some very cool critical acclaim. Do you have any particular favorite assessments of your sounds, or any critics who you feel like best “get you?”
Kollin Johannsen: I’d say they are hitting part of the nail on the head saying we have a “CaliforniaTropical Beach” sound or whatever. We love tropical cultures and subcultures. We daydream about exotic islands and coconuts in the van. There’s also a darker side that not many have mentioned: we are all avid hunters of the paranormal so, if I had to put us in a category, I’d say we are a Paranormal California Tropic Rock band.
Maya Tuttle: We’re starting to own up to the California-ness of our sound (Even though we’re still trying to figure out what it means!) Someone called our music “fun sh*t with heart” once and I thought that was spot-on. Paranormal California Tropic Rock works, too.
IC: What would you consider to be your biggest influences and inspirations, whether musical or not?
KJ: Ghosts/EMF detectors, Jet skis, X-Games, Mai Tais, Art Bell, Maui, Horror
MT: Art Bell and all things paranormal, for sure. Haunted house exploration is a fun tour pastime. Also, Phil Collins has been a recurring inspiration. We love him — but, also, we practice above a sushi restaurant that plays “In The Air Tonight” every single hour on the hour. Phil has definitely been an unconscious influence on our music.
IC: For that matter, what are your favorite and least favorite things currently going on in pop culture? As a band, you’re a pretty interesting cultural amalgamation.
KJ: We really love all the bands taking out the vowels in their name.
MT: We added an extra vowel to our name: The ColoUrist. I bet there are other bands that have answered this question with, “It annoys us when bands from Southern California spell words the British way.” Oops. On another note, I, personally, am totally down with cat beards. Love it.
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IC: You have a handful of upcoming live dates. What can be expected of the live experience?
KJ: A lot of guitar pedal testing and bare male torsos, depending on the crowd’s demand. If the crowd is great and having fun, we will be smiling. If the crowd is subpar, we will find a way to make them jealous by eating/drinking/using something they can’t have, on stage, to make them jealous, like a piña colada in a real coconut or something…
MT: We’ll likely all be using our voices, plus every limb, to make some sort of pleasant sound (hopefully). We accomplish a bunch for a four-piece. There will probably be nervous banter because we’re all varying degrees of introverts, but the Colourist’s shows are always full of good vibes and fun surprises.
IC: What are your biggest plans and hopes for the rest of 2013?
KJ: We would love to play Maui. That’s the goal.
MT: …and we’re working on several more tours for the late summer and fall, hoping to hit as many cities as we can. We just finished our first long tour and the four of us were wide-eyed the whole time. This continent is so vast and beautiful. So, yeah, biggest hope: to play Maui and/or to meet Phil Collins.
