A new musical project emerged in the desert this year—a mix of fuzzed-out garage rock and pop. Beverly Bomber crafts unique and catchy pop melodies, then drenches them in fuzz, reverb and punk energy. Nick Spalding and Emmita Johnson have only been releasing music under the Beverly Bomber name since early this year, but they have already found a home in a washy groove filled with fuzzy pop. For more information, visit www.instagram.com/beverlybomber. Spalding, the lead singer and guitarist, is the latest to take The Lucky 13.
What was the first concert you attended?
My first concert was the Backstreet Boys, live in Indianapolis, in 2000. I was 9 years old, and like most people, I aspired to be a member of a boy band.
What was the first album you owned?
My very first album was Middle of Nowhere by Hanson, another boy band. (No surprises here.) This was in 1997. My first rock album was Reinventing Axl Rose by Against Me! This was in 2002.
What bands are you listening to right now?
I’m currently cycling between Shannon and the Clams, The Spaceshits, Dirty Fences, Upchuck, and Snooper.
What artist, genre, or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
Reggaeton. The songs sound the same. The singers sound bored.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
Ramones, duh! (In ’77 or ’78.)
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
When I think guilty pleasure, I think Top 40 pop. I want to say Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey, but I am not ashamed of liking these artists. I don’t dislike things because of their popularity anymore. I like pop music. I write pop music!
What’s your favorite music venue?
Pappy and Harriet’s, the outdoor stage.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
“This world, it owes you nothing,” from “Nothing” by The Groovie Ghoulies.
What band or artist changed your life? How?
The Mummies! In case the reader isn’t familiar with The Mummies, they are ’90s Bay Area garage-rock legends—not to be mistaken with Here Come the Mummies. I think this band single-handedly redirected my life’s entire trajectory. In middle school, I listened to pop punk. In high school, I listened to emo. When I was 19, a friend turned me on to The Mummies, and all of a sudden, I only wanted to party and play rock ’n’ roll. For many years, that’s exactly what I did!
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
I’d ask Robert Johnson if he really met the devil down at the crossroads.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Good question. It would have to be a tear-jerking folk song, either “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver, or “I’ll Be Here in the Morning” by Townes Van Zandt. I hope that someone would slip in a track like “Hell” from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard for some comedic relief.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Static Age by Misfits.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
Go listen to “Pleasant Place” by Beverly Bomber! It’s my wife’s favorite track off of our recently released debut, The Lungs EP.
