How did you come up with the name of the band?
Our original drummer was walking the Mission one day and the name hit him (and it was the only one we all agreed on after being The Robbers for a brief moment in time).
How would you describe your sound?
It started out with a sound once described as a sharp-dressed man holding a knife, whatever that means. While it used to be big guitars with driving beats and sweet vocal harmonies, we’ve morphed into something, well, more nuanced and pulling from different genres. But don’t worry—not all the time.
When did you first become interested in playing music?
5 years old and every minute since.
What’s the strangest or funniest thing that’s ever happened to you at a show?
We toured Japan early on, and I casually mentioned to the promoter after a show how my voice wasn’t used to all the smoke (you couldn’t see the other side of the room from the stage). The next night, we showed up to sound check and he’d put signs up around the venue asking the audience not to smoke due to the American singer’s health. I was mortified. What a great way to have an audience turn on you before you’ve played a note. But they couldn’t have been kinder to use. Not a wisp of smoke all night, and they were the most enthusiastic audience of the tour. We brought those printed signs home with us.
What are you listening to these days?
I just saw the Bob Dylan biopic, which spurred me into listening to other people’s covers of his songs. Is it heresy to say I like them better? That, plus the new Kim Deal, Father John Misty, Chuck Prophet, and his Cumbia Shoes record. And a whole bunch of new stuff (to me) swiped from end-of-year “Best of” lists that I missed the first time around.
What does music mean to you?
Not to sound trite, but music is life. It is what keeps me going.
How’d you guys first get together to play music?
We were all friends first. Some of us had played together in The Swamis, an SF surf band. When we started Recliner, we ditched the instruments we could play and started on new ones. Thankfully, we’ve been a band a while, so you could say we got better.
San Francisco is full of music history. Who are some San Francisco musicians who inspired you?
I grew up in awe of bands like Primus, Faith No More, the Dead Kennedys and later American Music Club. Then I got older and even met some of them through my peer group, in shared practice spaces, etc. I’m digging the new(ish) records by Chuck Prophet and Kelley Stoltz. I’ve always rooted for the local guys.
What’s the biggest challenge in becoming a musician today?
Being a musician isn’t the challenge; it’s being successful by someone else’s standards. As a DIY band, Recliner has flirted with success for 24 years. For us, the challenge is finding a way to get people out to shows in a scene where cover bands dominate the landscape. Though if we were out there solely relying on being musicians to live, I’m pretty certain we wouldn’t be doing it.
What are some of your favorite Bay Area music venues?
We’ve had the good fortune to play quite a few places in San Francisco, and I love any time we’ve been able to play Bimbo’s 365. Great American Music Hall is lovely, and the Make Out Room has been kind to us. We’re playing our new record release show there on Feb. 1, 2025.
Where do you like to get creative in San Francisco?
I think there’s so many places to be inspired in this city. How can you not? I surf Ocean Beach and that is the best place to clear my head and do my best creative thinking.
What’s one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you?
I was flown out to England to try out for Jason Bonham’s band (son of my drumming hero, John Bonham from Led Zeppelin). That’s a story.
Is there anything you’d like to plug?
We have a new album coming out on Jan. 31, 2025 called Meanders. It started as me wanting to write an old country record. The way it came out is a result of my bandmates not wanting to write an old country record. So yeah, it’s not an old country record, by a stretch. But I think that’s what makes it so unique, all of us bringing something different and creating something that honestly feels pretty unique. As I mentioned earlier, our record release is at the Make Out Room on Feb. 1st.
