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INTERVIEW: Drug Cabin’s new album ‘Yard Work’ a labor of love

Jon Berrien
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LA based band Drug Cabin just put together a nice collection of harmonious deep groove dream-pop tracks, which you can now jam to on there fresh new albumYard Work.

Drug Cabin initially started out as a solo project from the mind of Nathan Thelen (Pretty Girls Make Graves & Moonrats) but has bloomed into a very laid back collaborative effort featuring Marcus Congleton (Ambulance Ltd.) Brandon “Eugene” Owens (bass), Sheridan Riley (drums) and Frankie Palmer (pedal steel).

GroundSounds recently caught up with Marcus to talk about the groups new tracks, musical inspirations and next album, check out the exclusive interview below.

 

For those just discovering Drug Cabin, can you tell us about the formation of the band? How did you guys come together and start making music?

I met Nathan, joined Drug Cabin in 2012 as he was doing shows to promote the self-titled e.p.  I didn’t play on the e.p., just played guitar at some gigs. From there we started writing and working on songs together, and put together a band to perform and record them.

What made you guys decide on the moniker Drug Cabin?

I’m pretty sure Nathan thought the words “Drug Cabin” sounded funny side by side.  That’s why I like it.

th_6743302dfba9c80b3a4605e299b318d9_1423594407yardworkfront-1You guys will be releasing your latest album Yard Work via 410k Music Inc. very soon, can you tell us about bringing this album to fruition?

We wrote and demoed the songs for Yard Work over a year or so, in Nathan’s basement practice space.  We recorded several of them piece by piece in Pro-Tools, but we thought the songs sounded much better live when we played them at shows.  So, we recorded them again to 8-track tape in a studio downtown with a live band.  We made the album fast and loose, and were surprised with how much we liked the result.

Can you tell us about the creative and writing process for “Baywatch?”

I started writing the music for “Baywatch” over a reggae instrumental in NYC just before I moved to LA.  When I started playing with Nathan here, I put words over it, he put harmonies.  Frankie’s pedal steel made it  especially nice.

You guys have definitely created some chill folk-ish indie pop vibes, what is it about this sound that attracts you guys to it?

We definitely didn’t set out to make it sound  that particular way.  I think it’s combination of the music we like, the musicians who played on the record, and the casual quick way we recorded it made it sound that way.

What musicians/bands are you guys currently listening to?

I listen to lot’s of dub and reggae from 60’s-80’s.  We love William Onyeabor. Pink Floyd, Greatful Dead, Paul Simon, Bee Gees and Talking Heads are the most common reference points we use in putting together our songs.

We are definitely diggin’ the track “Dogs”, can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?

I wrote “Dogs” a long time ago, as my old band Ambulance ltd was winding down, nearing it’s end.  The lyrics are vaguely to do with that- ending one thing, starting something new.  Drug Cabin wasn’t going to record it, but when Frankie played pedal steel over it, it seemed funny and fun.  We like to end our shows with Dogs.

What do you guys enjoy most about LA?

What I like about LA is the weather.  Even though I don’t like being in the sun, I hate the cold.  NYC winters are brutal.

After the album drops, what’s next for Drug Cabin? What can fans look forward to?

After Yard Work, we’re going to drop another, 12 song album “Wiggle Room”.  We were so happy with Yard Work, we went back to the same studio, ‘Guacho Electronics’ a few weeks later with the same people, made another album.

drugcabin.com