The Willowz

For other uses, seeThe Willows (disambiguation).

The Willowz
Origin	Anaheim, California
Genres	Garage rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Wanker Records,Posh Boy Records,Artmonkey Records, Dionysus Records,Sympathy for the Record Industry,Acid Bird Records, LeGrand Bag Records,Dim Mak Records
Members	Richie James Follin Jessica Reynoza Loren (Ted) Humphrey
Past members	Aric Bohn Alex Nowicki Daniel Bush Will McLaren
Website	thewillowz

The Willowzare an Americangaragepunk rockband fromAnaheim, California.The band was formed in 2002 whenRichie James Follin(guitar and lead vocals) and Jessica Reynoza (bass and vocals) were both 18 years old and attending the same college. They have toured the world and released four studio albums. Their influences range from rock n’ roll to folk to punk rock to soul to power pop to garage rock.

History

Their first release was a 7-inch on the legendary punk rock labelPosh Boy Recordsin 2002. They followed it up with a full-length self-titled record on Dionysus records in 2003 produced byPaul Kostabiand Richie James Follin. The album blends energetic, brash punk rock with soulful garage rock.

Their debut album caught the ear of the iconic French film makerMichel Gondry,who placed their song “Something” in his Oscar-winning filmEternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindasKirsten Dunstdances in her underwear withMark Ruffalo,as well as "Keep On Looking". Gondry put another song on the soundtrack that did not appear in the film, entitled “I Wonder”. At Gondry's expense, he flew the band out to New York to shoot the video for the song, which he also directed. Shortly following the release of the video, Gondry introduced The Willowz's music to Ben Beardsworth, the head of A&R atXL Records.XL flew the band out for a tour of the United Kingdom and released a 7-inch for “I Wonder” and “Meet Your Demise” onRex Records(an XL Records subsidiary).

The Willowz released their second album,Talk In Circles,in 2005 onSympathy for the Record Industry.The album was a massive undertaking of 20 songs recorded in Follin’s studio garage in Anaheim. The album features a wide array of music styles. It extends on the energetic garage rock sounds of the first album while blending a more labored-over dream punk sound. This album saw Paul Kostabi and Richie James Follin teaming up again to produce. They introduced more instruments into the band’s sound, including a prominently featuredFenderRhodes piano, organ, horns, and woodwinds. It also contains audio samples of animals, church bells, and public chatter. The band said they were trying to make their own little suburbanPet Sounds.Sympathy also at the same time re-released their debut album with a few extra songs and re-titled itAre Coming.Talk In Circleswas met with critical acclaim.Rolling Stonenamed it one of the “best albums of 2005".The song “Equation #6” was featured inThe Science of Sleep,another Michel Gondry film and soundtrack. Gondry said he wants “to be theWarholto theirVelvet Underground”.The band released an accompanying DVD of 20 music videos forTalk In CirclesentitledSee In Squares.The band was featured in a documentary about the founder of Sympathy for the Record Industry entitledThe Treasures of Long Gone John.

The band released their third album,Chautauqua,in 2007 onSteve Aoki’sDim Mak Records.It was recorded in Piermont, New York at Paul Kostabi’s Thunderdome studios. The album introduced a much heavier guitar sound for the band. It is much more riff oriented and the songs are generally medium tempo.Spinmagazinedescribed “Evil Son” (the first single off the album) as “enlivened with lush orchestral arrangements and a pregnant guitar solo straight out of a 1960s acid trip.” Spin also went on to say, “Other tracks such as 'Jubilee' evoke blues, folk and even country influences, showcasing the Willowz’ carefully honed stylistic prowess."Michel Gondry's son, Paul Gondry, directed a music video for the song on the album entitled "Take A Look Around", collaborating with artists Valerie Pirson, Will Robertson, Owen Levelle, Shoko Komori, Ivan Abel, Christi Bertelsen, Yota Bertrang, and Paul Barman.

The Willowz released their fourth album,Everyone,in 2009 on Dim Mak. The band went to Dallas, Texas to record with producerStuart Sikes.The record focuses on a more power pop sound and sees the band getting back to their garage rock roots.ATiny Mix Tapesreview states, “Unlike their three previous full-length efforts, Everyone sees The Willowz complete their transformation from just-fucking-around California punks into a well-oiled, hit-producing machine."The title track was featured in anHBOSpring 2011 commercial spot entitled “Here We Come”(a lyric from the song) for their upcoming season of shows. Another song from the album, “Repetition”, was featured in aMountain Dew Kickstartcommercial that aired during theSuper Bowland a Mead notebook commercial. The band was featured in theNetflixSteve Aoki documentaryI'll Sleep When I'm Dead.

The band’s fifth studio album, entitledFifth,was release September 2017 on Thrill Me Records.

Band members

• Richie James Follin (lead vocals,guitar)
• Aric Bohn (guitar, vocals)
• Jessica Reynoza (bass,vocals)
• Loren (Ted) Humphrey (drums)
• Alex Nowicki (drums)
• Daniel Bush (guitar)

Discography

Studio albums

• The Willowz(2004) Dionysus Records
• Are Coming(2004)Sympathy for the Record Industry
• Talk In Circles(2005) Sympathy for the Record Industry
• Chautauqua(2007) Dim Mak Records
• Unveil(2007) LeGrand Bag Records
• Everyone(2009) Dim Mak Records
• Fifth(2017) Thrill Me Records

Live albums

• Willowz With A Z(2003) Artmonkey Records

Singles

• The Willowz(5 "MCD onWanker Records,Germany 2002)
• The Willowz(2003) (7-inch "That Willowz Feelin'"b/w" Think Again ")Posh Boy Records
• "Scarling" (split 7-inch, Sympathy for the Record Industry (2005)
• "Equation No. 6" b/w "Questionnaire" (2005) Acid Bird Records 7-inch

Videos

• The Willowz at Grrrnd Zero(France, Lyon 2008)

External links

• The Willowz official website
• Lazy-i Interview: August 2005
• The Willowz Artist Commentary
• Rolling Stone December 2005
• Thunderdome Studios