Brooklyn-based Little Racer makes their LPR debut on August 20th, with a bill featuring some of our favorite local surf rock acts. While their sound draws comparisons to Surfer Blood, Vampire Weekend, and Wild Nothing, it’s clear that their west coast vibes mixed with ‘80s Brit warble and trash brings about a totally different sound.
Were any of you in bands prior to Little Racer?
Yes, all of us have been in and out of bands through our lives.
How does everyone stay busy when you’re not working together?
Working separately. Day jobs, night jobs, freelance, all the things we need to do to keep afloat in New York.
You play a lot of shows around the city. Are there benefits to staying local rather than venturing out of NYC for shows often?
We’re starting to head out of home a bit more these days. We’re lucky to be in a city where the music scene is so vast so it’s easy to play consistently and to new audiences and be able to sleep in your own bed the same night. We loved our few trips out of state this past year and are absolutely planning to do more of that on the horizon, but right now it makes more sense to keep things relatively local while we continue to write.
NYC is obviously heavily saturated with music, with new bands seemingly popping up daily. What is the greatest challenge to being on the rise in the area?
It’s a blessing and a curse to be surrounded by so much new music. It’s kind of obvious but it’s still important to remember, at any given moment you’re one of a thousand bands trying to play the best shows and catch the most eyes and ears. Still, we like our music, and we think it’s worth people’s attention and that keeps the sea from being too daunting.
Having previously been a three-piece, were you able to smoothly transition when Ali joined the band as the fourth member?
For the three of us it’s all about a vibe that works in a car, in the space, on stage, etc. Plugging Ali into the mix wasn’t hard at all – in fact he first started with us on the road after a couple practices, sleeping in $40 motel rooms that reek of bleach and stale tobacco for a few days straight really fast tracked the “getting-to-know-you” part.
Are you recording with the same team that worked on Foreign Tongues?
That team was us. Elliot mixed both of our previous EPs, we’d spend a lot of late nights and mornings on his floor listening and tweaking levels and reverb. We’re not sure where this record will take us but so far the process has been the same.
Will you be sharing any new music with us at LPR on August 20?!
Yeah, we’ve been sneaking out new material at our recent shows, and plan to keep it up. It’s good to terrify yourself every now and again and play material you’ve never seen anyone react to before.
Little Racer plays at LPR on August 20 with Coastgaard, Surf Rock is Dead, and Dentist as part of our On The Rise series. Tickets for that show are available for sale now.
