Cheer Up Club is here to serve you funky beats, funky looks and funky ways to help change the world. They are using their platform to raise awareness and raise money. Their latest single “In The Morning” is supporting the Woman’s Crisis and Bridge Housing Project. While a lot of things can wait till the morning, a lot of things can’t. The program not only helps get women off the street, but provides them with medical and mental health care, education, access to tampons and birth control, job support and so much more. I want to be a part of the Cheer Up club, especially if it means I’m supporting women because in every little way we can help, it brings us a little closer to changing the big things.
The groovy, psychedelic indie rock band hails from all over America but they’ve all ended up in LA. They bring 70’s mood altering vibes. They’re loud, sarcastic and here to talk about the things that most people avoid – mental health, sexuality, addiction, LA social hierarchy. We got to talk the happening band about cheering yourself up, thrifting and how they’re playing a part in making this world a better place.
Where are all of you from? What’s it like living in LA?
Ethan (Guitar/Vocals): I’m from Pasadena, CA. I spent a long time taking LA for granted, but I’ve really learned to love it. So much on offer – it’s like a Costco-sized thrift store; you’ve gotta do some digging to find the shit you really like, but once you find it, there’s nothing else like it. And there’s always more to find – assuming you’ve got the time and patience!
Will (Bass): I’m from Elko, NV – the one section of the US that Verizon doesn’t cover, and there are more cows than people. Life in LA is at a much faster pace, and there’s almost always something to do. Well, at least there was before Covid.
Chris: I was born and raised in Texas and moved to Connecticut when I was 8. I moved to LA after high school, which has been life changing. I’ve met so many like minded people here with very similar goals in mind.
How did the Cheer Up Club start? Where did the name come from and how do you know each other?
I’d been writing and recording a lot by myself for a while. We met in school and it all kinda fell together and grew pretty naturally from there.
As for the name, I think I subconsciously stole it from the opening line in Wilco’s Radio Cure (“Cheer up, honey I hope you can”). I like that Cheer Up implies that something’s wrong, but it’s not so bad that you can’t be silly or laugh it off – at least for a moment. As for the Club aspect – we’re all friends with shared interests, and we’re always looking to meet new people with a similar mindset. We want it to be fun and inviting and open to collaboration with friends. We’re all in this together, right?
What’s the process like when you write songs together?
It’s all very natural – we always leave room to jam or explore and see what happens. Someone will start playing something – a beat, a note, a couple chords, whatever, and we’ll all fumble around each other until it turns into something or falls apart entirely.
I always keep a notebook of insanity scribblings taken from conversations or the news or whatever ideas pop in throughout the day. If I feel like we’re onto something musically, I’ll crack that open, find a few words, flail around a melody, and we’re well on our way to a new song.
From there, it’s a matter of shaving it down to something that feels good and would work well live.
What inspired you to write “In The Morning”?
It’s easy to put all the uncomfortable topics in a box and set them aside for tomorrow. Turn off the lights, cry yourself to sleep, and feel refreshed in the morning. You’ll definitely deal with it once you’ve had a hot shower and your organic, free trade cold brew, right? Procrastination is lovely, but the longer you ignore a problem, the worse it gets. Talking might not solve every issue, but it’s a great start, so this song kinda plays with those ideas.
All the money you’ll earn from this song will go to Women’s Crisis and Bridge Housing. This is so important right now. How did the collaboration come about?
There are so many important conversations happening right now – BLM, Me Too, healthcare, cost of living… All of them illustrate very serious issues that are part of a bigger picture. We couldn’t be comfortable with silence, and it’s hard to address them individually when each one feeds the other, so we tried to connect the dots to find the point where these issues converge.
On a personal level, someone really close to me actually went through this program we’re donating to, so I’ve seen first hand the change they’re making.
Big-picture ideological lobbies like The ACLU are super-important, but they often overshadow under-funded programs that aim to make immediate local change. This money isn’t going to lawyers or television ads; it’s going to women in crisis – women who need food, water, shelter, tampons, and toothbrushes right now. And with (last I checked) 36,000 people in Los Angeles at risk of being evicted and no sign of any additional government relief in sight, programs like the one we’re donating to need this money now more than ever.
We’re all struggling to get by and make sense of the moment, but a couple bucks from each person can go a very long way to helping those in need.
What do you do to cheer yourself up?
Ethan: My go-to is a manic blend of music making, mood stabilizers, and keeping so busy that my brain doesn’t have time to dwell on itself. When that becomes exhausting, I find that a stiff drink, phoning a friend, and cooking are a good way to bring me back to baseline. From there, the cycle repeats… Fuck, that sounds unhealthy – got any recs?
Will: I have a dog, and that never fails! I love music and can usually find something to take my mind off reality. The thing that helps the most though is probably yoga.
Chris: It sounds corny, but playing music is my real stress relief and the main contributing force in my happiness. I think all musicians would say something similar.
Ya’ll have a funky style. When you need a new outfit – where’s your go to place to shop?
Thanks! Playing dress up is fun, and before the apocalypse, we’d visit thrift shops, vintage stores, flea markets, and various friends that make clothes (check out @zigzag.goods !). Like everything else, that changed in 2020, aka “The Year of PJs and Sweatshorts.” On the upside, it’s a GREAT time to be a nudist, though we strongly recommend you put on pants before hopping on a Zoom call.
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photos / courtesy of artist
story / Vogue Giambri