LA rock band Fuz Lip are working their way up the ranks both in the studio and on the stage. Their energetic take on heavy rock for the people is accompanied by a twist of blues rock and original songwriting, and as it turns out, the band are also keen ultra-marathon runners – another injection of energy raising the bar where other modern rock bands may fall short.
We caught an interview with brothers Max and Miles to find out more about the origins of the Fuz Lip sound and style. Here’s how it went.
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Hi Max and Miles, it’s a real pleasure to connect with you. To set the scene, where are you right now, and what have you been working on this past week?
Over the last week we have been rehearsing and preparing for our upcoming show at the world-famous Whiskey in Hollywood on October 21st.
We also released a single called “Two Weeks to the Day” that we had worked on when we were in between drummers. It’s part of a larger collection of songs that we did in which Max handled the percussion duties. The songs are a bit avant-garde for us and somewhat of a departure from our normal riff-rock songs. I played keyboard on many of the songs which was a fun challenge for me.
Fuz Lip first got together back in 2018 – what was the inspiration or catalyst for this, and why this band name?
Growing up, my brother and I always had different bands that were basically our own creations. In high school we had a band, which fell apart when we went to college, in college we had a band that fell apart when we graduated.
Around 2013 my brother had challenged me to play live and do acoustic folk and blues songs with the harmonica neck rack and acoustic guitar. So, I hustled some shows playing this way. It was a fun challenge and a great way to cut my teeth playing in front of people with no backing band, but we always felt we were best as a power trio with me on bass and vocals and him on guitar. We decided to make this happen in 2018 when we both were living in Los Angeles. Luckily, we had two pieces to the puzzle already and just needed a drummer.
As far as the name goes, our first drummer would tell you it is because our sound is “fuzzy” and “lippy” (Max does play with his fuzz pedal a lot, and I’ve been told we have attitude). While a good story, it’s not entirely true. The fact of the matter is that from 2015 to 2017 I had grown a fairly thin and pathetic moustache. I just couldn’t get the thickness on it!
One day I was walking around my parent’s house and my dad said to me: “Hey Fuz Lip, come over here!” and it clicked inside my head that ‘Fuz Lip’ would make a great band name. So, the moral of the story here is: ‘listen to your old man!!’
Huge sound, heavy distortion and slow, grungy grooves with gentle vocals adding a clear twist of character that’s crucially recognisable. Who writes the songs, and how do you start and decide which direction to take a song in?
Max and I both write the songs. Most of the time it starts with a guitar riff and I come in with words and melody, however, there have been a few riffs that I have contributed and also many cases where Max has come up with words and melody such as one of the new songs “Is the Lady Gone?” and “Hitchhiker.”
Are you guys musically trained or self-taught?
For the most part we are self-taught. Max started playing guitar at 15 years old when a friend in his Spanish class encouraged him to dust off an old acoustic sitting in the attic at his house. Max wasn’t that good initially, but he had such passion for it that I knew he would get to be very good. I decided not to compete with him on guitar.
Originally, I wanted to play drums because I wanted to be in the background. I really don’t enjoy being the center of attention. However, my parents did not like the idea of a drum kit in the house due to how noisy it is when you practice.
I soon picked up the bass. I became the singer because I was better at playing and singing simultaneously than Max was. I think what we lacked in skill we made up for over the years with discipline and passion.
At age 17 I bought some chord charts and decided to teach myself to play piano. Shortly thereafter, I picked up harmonica and started to work on playing with the neck rack so I could play acoustic guitar and harmonica together. I know Max took a music fundamentals course when he was in college and that is where he learned some basic music theory.
How important is live performance for you as a real music act, and do you get much chance to get on stage in your local area – if so, how different is that experience compared to the digital release cycles of the modern realm?
To us, live performance is incredibly important. Almost anyone now-a-days can sound good in a studio with all the technology, but playing live on the stage is the ultimate proving ground.
We definitely get nervous every time we play but have learned to enjoy the emotions. To me, a live show really feels like a blur; maybe even an out of body experience. I blink and it’s over and there I am standing in a pool of sweat. It really makes it worthwhile when the audience connects with the performance.
As twin brothers, were you always connected in creativity and music, or was this a conscious shift as you grew older?
Yeah, I would say ever since Max picked up a guitar at age 15, we had aspirations to play in a band together like so many of our musical heroes. Many people don’t know, but Max was in a special visual arts academy in High School so he paints and draws. Pretty much all of our album artwork is either a photo he took or a painting or drawing from him.
Given how close you must be, do you disagree creatively on occasion, and if so, how do you overcome this?
Definitely there are creative disagreements on occasion. In general, we think similarly on things. That’s the best part about a band is sometimes you don’t get your way on a song, and it turns out better than you expected, perhaps better than it would have if you got your way. I think it is important to keep an open mind with songwriting.
It is also important to filter things, when I write lyrics Max will read them and cross off things, maybe reword them. Having him as filter helps. We do the same process when he writes lyrics – it then becomes my turn to critique and try and find the right words to convey the message contained in the song.
You’ve amassed thousands of monthly listeners, with sensational blues rock anthems like Bad Business and softer, evocative listens like Hitchhiker clearly connecting for their evocative poetry and intimate, honest contemplations. What’s your biggest ambition right now, and do you schedule songwriting sessions and reach out to venues for opportunities, or just roll with the punches?
We just spent a fair amount of time writing some strange songs and playing all the instruments on the album. Luckily, we recently found a great drummer in Konstantin “The Machine” Moyseyev…So at this juncture, we are focused more on playing some shows. We feel we have a catalogue right now that is deep enough between 3 albums, 2 EPs and another album which will be coming out soon.
What are your thoughts on the rise of AI generated music and how can real musicians and bands, and music fans for that matter, adjust their protocol to help combat this?
I don’t think people like AI music because the whole point is to hear the humanity and possibly imperfections created by the artist. AI has no humanity. Obviously, it cannot replicate a live performance either. I think artists should just keep moving forward and trying to make the best songs they can.
Which lyrics from your current repertoire stands out as one you’re the proudest of, and why?
That’s a tough one for me. Many of the songs have cryptic meanings that people wouldn’t know from the outside. At times, it’s almost like a big inside joke to us and a few people around us. I think recently Max did a great job on the lyrics for “Is the Lady gone?”. I feel pretty strongly about the ones I did for “Two weeks to the day”. I really liked my lyrics for “The Satisfier” which I wrote about a wild night at a disco club in Guadalajara years ago.
Some of the lyrics on the rock songs like “Bad Business” “Couldn’t take the Train” are more straight-forward rock but still hit the mark to me. “Wolf Pack” is cryptic; “El Lechero” from our first EP is an ambiguous one but you might be able to figure it out…
What’s something about you that might shock fans of your music?
My brother and I both have quite a few interests outside of music. We both enjoy surfing, skiing, ping pong, pickleball and most sports in general. We both played hockey in our youth. He is a much better runner than me and has completed several ultra-marathons but I managed to do my first 50k this year. I enjoy reading a lot and typically read a few books every month.
Is there anything else we should know?
Yes, come see us live if you live in Los Angeles. You can keep up with us on Instagram.
