Interview: Richie Follin and Guards’ tales of San Francisco
Richie Follin and Guards, courtesy.
Richie Follin – founder of punk rock band the Willowz, former member of Cults, and now singer in New York ‘60s and ‘70s revivalists Guards – lived near Cow Hollow in San Francisco for six years, up through the sixth grade, and attended St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School. A self-described hooligan, he “got in trouble all over” town, and eventually landed at the Salesian Boys and Girls Club, meant to right the course of young delinquents.
The Joy Formidable, Guards, Fort Lean
9 p.m., March 22
Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View
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“I feel like pretty much everyone who ever went there – it’s only a matter of time before they ended up in jail,” Follin said, a couple of weeks before Guards were to return to the City to open for The Joy Formidable at the Fillmore on Friday. “Luckily, I got out.”
The singer-guitarist has many fond memories of San Francisco, such as playing with the Willowz at the Warfield, or the Fillmore with Cults, the band he helped his sister, Madeline, launch.
But his top priority upon arriving in his home neighborhood is always to purchase a sandwich from Marina Submarine on Union Street.
“There’s this old Asian man who is the best sandwich maker I’ve ever met, and I feel like at any moment he could die,” he said. “He’s so old. So I have to go and get a sandwich before he expires.
“I just get a salami sandwich. It’s what I grew up getting every day.”
San Francisco also played a vital role in Follin’s domestic life, the creation of Guards, and the lead single off the band’s debut album, In Guards We Trust. About five years ago, he and drummer Loren “Ted” Humphrey were preparing to move the Willowz from Los Angeles to a new home base in New York, in Follin’s 16-passanger van. But before they did, they decided to fill the van with friends and make a road trip to the Bay.
Guards member Kaylie Church, who Follin knew “through a friend of a friend,” happened to come along.
After parking the van on a steep hill in San Francisco, everyone was afraid to take the wheel to exit the parking spot – which involved slamming on the gas pedal to prevent rolling forward.
“No one would back it off this cliff-like hill, and Kaylie jumped in there and did it,” Follin said. “That’s when I knew I liked her. None of the guys did it, but the girl jumped in and did it. My and Kaylie’s relationship basically started there.”
Church and Follin are now married. The two, and Humphrey, are the core of Guards. The first single of the debut album, “Ready to Go,” makes direct mention of the start of the band and the relationship between the couple.
“The first line in that first verse is, ‘You’re the only one that drives my car,’” Follin said.
Follin’s first musical success came with the Willowz, the SoCal punk band he started in 2001. The band produced two songs on the soundtrack of the Michel Gondry film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But he may best known for Cults, his sister Madeline’s band.
Q&A: Guards’ Richie Follin loves his sister but had to leave Cults to start his own band
Where are you right now?
We’re in Los Angeles for the week before South-By. We’re actually doing recording. We actually have 20 songs for the new record. Right now, we’re recording a track for a little side project, where Kaylie (Church), the girl in the band, sings.
Are you officially out of Cults? Why did you leave?
I’ll go and play a couple songs with them, but I’m not in the band anymore. It was kind of just something I wanted to do with my sister (Madeline Follin) as (Cults) came up because I knew it would never happen again. The band only happens once. It was something special for me and my sister to get to share. I also wanted to look out for her, you know, because she’d never done it before, and she was pretty young, and I didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her. But, it was never going to be my only thing.
Everyone refers to you as Madeline’s brother. So this implies she’s bestowed some advice, skill or strategy to you. What have you learned from her; or is it the other way around?
If you ask her, she will tell you that she wouldn’t be doing what she’s doing without me. But it doesn’t really matter to me. Obviously, it’s part of the story. I was in that band, It’s just another way to introduce people to this band.
Tell me what each of the other band members did before Guards.
Kaylie worked in film. She worked on a couple of Woody Allen movies and some other stuff. She went to school for film, too. She made a music video for my old band. She’s obviously made a couple music videos for Guards. Loren scores a lot of surf and skate videos. At the moment we are pretty swamped with Guards stuff. We have tour dates until January.
While waiting between Cults’ records, Follin and Humphrey, who also drummed in the band, demoed some new songs. The new songs blended California ‘60s surf rock with ‘70s shimmering psychedelia.
They were meant for Madeline, but after a year and a half of waiting, he ended up singing them himself. After posting the songs online, he started getting immediate attention. That’s why he and Humphrey left Cults.
Those songs became the music of Guards. The live band, which includes John Fredericks on guitar and keyboard, bassist Andy Breihan, quickly came together as Guards were being offered shows.
“When I put out the (Guards) EP, it got all this attention,” Follin said. “I was having to turn down all these (opportunities) for almost a year, and then it became apparent that it didn’t make sense to not snap up all those opportunities.”
Those plans now include touring through the end of the year. Guards should roll back through the area in September with a headlining gig, Follin said. Additionally, he and his band mates already have 20 songs recorded for a follow-up.
On the current tour, the band will be wearing leather jackets each one designed for clothes maker Veda. Fans will be able to buy the jackets online. Follin, who has never designed clothes before, took a simple approach to create his.
“Basically, I just brought in a picture of The Clash wearing leather jackets, and I said I want mine to be like this,” he said.
Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.