If LA band the Ceremonies had a hashtag for their sound, it would be #newnostalgia. Their 1980s New Wave meets alt rock tunes are reminiscent of the Cure, the Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen. These are big synths to fill, especially when you realize that the oldest person in the five-piece — brothers Matthew, Mark, and Michael Cook, and the rest of the band Kane Ritchotte and Jackson White — is Matthew at 21. He says their work transcends their influences; he also cites poets William Blake and William Wordsworth, and novelist Aldous Huxley as major inspirations. In fact, Huxley wrote the mantra for their upcoming album, Imagination Isn’t Dead. The theme of most of our work thus far is keeping the spirit of the child alive, Matthew says. “One of our favorite authors and biggest inspirations, Aldous Huxley said it best: ‘The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.’
Hometown and homebase: The San Fernando valley in the greater Los Angeles area.
Why are you called The Ceremonies?
We know “ceremonies” to be gatherings in the name of collective emotion; a mood ranging from the sadness of a funeral to the celebratory nature of a wedding. We find that duality important. People need ceremonies because they create a sense of belonging: a feeling of community, an appreciation for perspective. Ceremonies give us purpose, they fuel creativity, keep us genuine, and remind us that a human is always a child at heart.
What made you want to form a band together as brothers?
We have always played music together, singing at benefit shows and high school gigs. I had bands throughout high school and Mark and Michael would fill in when band members couldn’t make it. When I started writing original material, it occurred to us we should be doing it together and from there we began developing a concept for the band.
Did you grow up in a musical household?
Our parents introduced us to the Beatles and Michael Jackson so we pretty much grew up on those two artists. And then any discovery since then would probably be attributed to two things: the internet, and word of mouth. For example, I remember the first time I heard Talking Heads, I was in high school and got into my friends car and he was playing Psycho Killer from Stop Making Sense; I remember thinking to myself, this might be the coolest thing ever.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
This is a really tough one because there are so many and they all rub off onto our sound in different ways. Echo and the Bunnymen have been a pretty consistently big inspiration for us, and then other 80s post punk bands like The Cure and the Smiths; a lot of harmony inspiration from 60s bands like Beach Boys, Zombies, obviously Beatles and then we’ve got some of our all-time favorites from the 90s: Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, and Nirvana.
Describe your music to someone who's never heard you before.
The thing we’ve begun to resort to is just listing our inspirations. Whenever we start using these outdated genre terms like “alternative” or “pop” no one ever has any clue what anyone is talking about and there’s no reference point. It’s kind of like the word “love": everyone might generally think of it as the same thing, but the actual way the feeling is perceived completely varies from person to person.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
David Byrne. He’s a huge inspiration for us, not only as a musical icon with the Talking Heads and all his solo work, but also as an author, director, actor, and all-around artist. He does everything we aspire to do, and does them incredibly well. He’s like a renaissance man in the field of creativity.
Why are you influenced by '80s bands when you weren't even born before the new wave era?
Perhaps the production nuances of Michael Jackson and growing up listening to him not-stop left us hungry for more of that genre. Not quite sure to be honest, but we have always gravitated to that era. I think it also has to do with the attitude. Post-punk was about quitting the tough-guy ruse. Playing aggressive music, experimental music, and pop music all in one because you enjoy all of it and think they aren't mutually exclusive. The point is not to fit a mold, it's to break it just by being your genuine self.
What do you do for fun?
For us writing music is a lot of fun, albeit emotionally draining-- we feel like the goal should be to spend every day doing what brings you the most joy in the long run. We all love to paint, read, and write poetry. One of our favorite things is Halloween Horror Nights, we can’t wait for it every year. We also have been fight fans for a long time and always get together with friends to watch the UFC matches. Jiujitsu and MMA are incredible arts in their own right. We also love going to swap meets and flea markets to hunt for treasure.
What are your fans like?
Our fans have been incredible. One theme has been them making us things--like bracelets, poetry, books, paintings, treats, in the spirit of keeping imagination alive. It means the world to us to see other people embracing our work and being inspired to make some of their own.
Do you have a crazy concert story so far?
Our craziest experience on tour was one night after a show in Philadelphia at the airport. Everyone was frantic to unload the bus because we were illegally parked, and minutes away from missing our flight. Somehow, Michael managed to stay in a quiet slumber in his bunk. Not until we had our ID’s out and were checking into our flight did we realize Michael was still asleep on the bus, headed to Tennessee with the bus driver (unbeknownst to both of them). We called him in a panic, luckily he answered his phone! He immediately ran to the front of the bus and it scared the bejeezus out of the driver. Despite being dazed and confused he managed to hail a cab back to the airport and jump on the plane with us. This night was the cherry on top to a nightmare week, during which the same bus driver got into 3 different accidents; the first of which involved hitting the Fratellis’s tour bus in New York before we had even been introduced to each other, the second of which involved completely plugging up a tunnel in Chicago, ripping the A/C unit off and tearing a giant hole in the roof of the bus (it was also raining, and required a police escort to unplug the hundreds of cars), and the third which involved completely leveling a light pole (and making a MAJOR divot in the vehicle) in the parking lot of a radio station in Cleveland. That one is pretty tough to beat.
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