Break Out Your Medieval Armour With the Electro Punk Twins From The Garden

Break Out Your Medieval Armor With Californian Electropunk Twins The Garden

The Beijingers | Sep 11, 2018 3:59 pm | Add a comment | 2784 reads

What screams “punk” more than creating music in the framework of a made-up genre? Orange County, California twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears of The Garden have tossed the genre rulebook out the window, setting out instead to create one of their own, even coining the term vada vada. Used to describe difficult-to-categorize music, vada vada also stands for the fluidity of genres and the lack of boundaries that set them apart from others in the scene.

While The Garden certainly draws inspiration from familiar punk rhythms and guitar riffs, the generous pour of electro, dance beats, rock, and even occasional jungle shines through. Wyatt and Fletcher explore the prosaic through an entertainer's lens, basing their music on hyper-familiar daily actions rather than profound mysteries of the universe. Their lyrics talk about waking up, pondering the pressures of life and responsibility, and, most importantly, vada vada.

For their previous albums, The Garden went as far as to adopt jester masks and borderline-creepy make-up to allow them to wax poetic about goofy topics in grotesque settings, claiming to "just be having fun." It's in this context that we could say that the rules have not only been relaxed but fully erased from The Garden's vision of the music industry.

We had a chance to chat with the Shears brothers about their expectations for the China tour and upcoming Sep 13 date at School Bar as well as how they draw inspiration from simple stories.

Let’s talk about your name, The Garden. You mentioned previously that it relates to growth and progress. Is it like the saying "process is more important than the result”?
Wyatt Shears: I think the process and the result both go hand in hand. You work in order to make sure the result is what you want it to be, but you should also have fun making it in the process.
Fletcher Shears: Agreed.

There are a few continuing elements in your work, especially videos: jester-like makeup, playing cards, dice, and “vada vada” philosophy. How did you these evolve?
W: The elements come and go I guess, but the reasoning for the Jester was based on personality and aesthetic. We think that it works for us and it reflects our personalities on stage.
F: We entertain, just like jesters did way back when it represents us is a lot of ways.

It seems like freedom of expression is the central axis of your music. Do you subscribe to any genre or keep it fluid?
W: I subscribe to all genres because I like all music. As long as it has a good melody, then I’m in.
F: Same. Music, whether we’re making it or not, is what it is. I love to listen to it, and I love to play it. I subscribe to all the music.

Your videos and lyrics often take an everyday picture and ridicule it, twisting it into an alternative one with grotesque elements (hint, the creepy jester makeup and such). Tell us more about that.
W: It’s all about creating your own bubble and sticking with it. Our hometown has nowhere very interesting to shoot in, so we just have to make the most of it. Like throwing paint on a white canvas I guess.
F: Our music comes from everyday life. It’s like a diary, really. Although to most people, it can come off as abstract or nonsensical at times, it all reads as pretty straightforward to us. We express ourselves this way through music and this is just how it comes out genuinely.

What’s the most rewarding part of the music business for you? Is shooting videos, playing live shows, or maybe working in the studio?
W: It all ties together. I enjoy listening to my own songs the most and remembering why or how I made them and relating the past to it. Like a tattoo.
F: Yeah, for me I enjoy it most after the party is over. You work hard to make the music and the imagery how you want it. Then you have it forever, and you look back in awe. Playing it live is also very rewarding, and blood pumping.

This time, you are not only visiting Beijing but touring around Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and other cities. It’s not your first time playing in China, so what expectations and ideas are you coming back with? Anything that surprised you the first time?
W: I’m really interested in playing local shows within the cities, I hope they’re accessible to the youth, so I can get an idea of what the culture is like for the people that come to the show.
F: I’ve traveled a lot in China, but only have ever played two shows. I’m looking forward to playing more and seeing how every city differs from one another. I’ve heard a lot of good things.

What do Beijingers have to come armed with to your show on Thursday?
W: Medieval knight armor, and a long feather.
F: Knight's armor, any medieval outfit.