Four years ago, on a warm Los Angeles night, musician Danny Bobbe was jolted awake by a thundering guitar note coming from the apartment room below his. Bobbe, itching to yell at the noisy offender, made his way toward the loud room. But by the time he arrived, he was not angry, but captivated by the bellowing riffs.
Bobbe ended up bonding with the fellow musician, Jon Perry, and the two began practicing together. Along the way, the emerging band recruited drummer Harlow Rodriguez, who discovered Bobbe and Perry through Craigslist and sought them out. UCLA alumnus Greg Katz also joined the group on bass after spotting a flyer ad for the opening. Together they became the indie-rock ensemble known as LA Font.
Today, LA Font has gone from four miscellaneous musicians from around L.A. to a cohesive unit. After putting out their first LP in 2010, they are now ready to release their follow-up record, “Diving Man,” sometime in the next couple of months.
Katz describes their sound as gritty, guitar-heavy rock with a polished vocal finish. Added to that, LA Font has been compared to rock bands like Pavement or Black Lips, who share a similar ‘90s sound.
“I think it’s pretty much raw garage rock ‘n’ roll,” said lead guitarist Perry. “People often comment that it has some ‘90s influence, which I’m sure is just because it’s when we grew up.”
Katz also added that the sound of the upcoming LP “Diving Man” was inspired by the crass melodies of fellow Californian pop-rock band Wavves.
“We had gotten hooked on the Wavves’ EP ‘Life Sux’,” Katz said. “The way it sounded with its fried guitars and distorted vocals, yet the way the pop sound kept the emotions intact … We needed to know who recorded it.”
Eventually the band traced the source to Eric Palmquist, the producer behind Wavves and other indie-rock acts like Fool’s Gold. Palmquist was also a local, living only a couple of miles away in the same town of Echo Park.
Katz said the collaboration with Palmquist on their upcoming LP resulted in a one-of-a-kind recording experience.
“We did the whole album on 2-inch tape, which is really unusual but gives a thick and neat sound which makes it feel really solid,” Katz said. “When you put it on, it feels good when it hits your ears.”
This feel-good sound, along with the in-your-face instrumentals, also comes coupled with a certain lyrical ingenuity. “Diving Man” opts against an overarching album theme between songs. Instead, the group’s songwriter Bobbe elaborates on the inspiration from small moments that add detail to times of intense feeling.
“There are some moments that cause you great sorrow or joy. I like to remind myself of those moments and emotions,” Bobbe said. “Not just what I was feeling but what was happening around me. As in, you were in a fight with someone, and remember what was on the television. Whatever trivial details were around, I grab from them.”
This lyrical detail plays out in songs like “Lipsmack” from the previous digital album “Sharks.”
“Your lips smack/ Behind my back,” sings Bobbe. “Keeping them so glossed it’s hard to watch you talk.”
LA Font went on making songs with this focused scope until they had enough songs to be ready for this upcoming album. Perry commented that the recording process was much easier this time around.
“This recording process was really different from the last one,” Perry said. “The last one was in a day by accident. We thought we were doing a performance video. The video was bad but the audio was good, so we turned it into a record. This time we were in the studio for days and recorded it live, which is how we like to do things.”
And now, with production finally finished on “Diving Man,” Bobbe also says that the band is anticipating its future. Whatever the results may look like, the LA Font members feel as if they have something to be proud of in their upcoming release.
“We’ve been playing together for about four years and we couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out,” Bobbe said. “We’re working well as a unit. We’re in our stride right now. We’re on a writing spree and it feels good. When that happens it’s the best. We’re really excited for what’s to come.”