The Happy Hollows Interview: SXSW 2010

In October 2009, Los Angeles-based power trio the Happy Hollows self-released their first full-length album, 'Spells.' Known for their eclectic, dissonant sound, Sarah Negahdari (vocals/guitar), Charlie Mahoney (bass/vocals) and Chris Hernandez (drums) have garnered a strong local following in L.A. since 2006. During the past year, the Happy Hollows have attracted the attention of national media, rereleased their album under a local label and have appeared in a television commercial for Samsung. Spinner recently spoke with Negahdari and Mahoney about the origins of the group, UFO sightings and their third appearance at SXSW.

How would you describe your sound?

Charlie Mahoney: I think it's fairly aggressive and minimal but also melodic and sort of nonlinear with respect to the structure of the songs. And it's got female-fronted vocals -- sort of high, ethereal vocals with crunchy guitar riffs.

How did the three of you come together?

Sarah Negahdari: I was living in L.A. for about a year playing under the name the Happy Hollows by myself, looking for a band. Charlie and Chris had known each other in D.C., and they had moved out to L.A. but not knowing that the other had moved out to L.A. They bumped into each other at a bar and they were like, "Oh, let's play music together." And they put an ad on Craigslist for a guitar player, and I looked at their ad, and every single influence that they had had a female in the band. So I thought that was really cool. I answered their ad, and when I went to the audition, immediately I really loved them, and we really hit it off.

CM: We were looking to start a band, but Sarah made us her backing musicians. She said we were in her band now, and she already had a name and shows set up.

What are your musical influences?

CM: It ranges quite a lot; we have a lot of different influences. I like a lot of electronic music, like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.

SN: I like Fleetwood Mac, and a lot of old stuff. It's just all over the board . . . anything I've ever heard, really. We have a lot of different influences, but [our music] ends up sounding like a cross between Deerhoof and the Pixies.

How did you come up with the name the Happy Hollows?

SN: I got the name from a petting zoo where I grew up in California, which was like a really psycho petting zoo. I liked the alliteration of it -- the double "H" sound -- so I was like, "Whatever; I'll call myself that."

Which musicians or groups are you really into?

CM: I like John Entwistle from the Who, the bass player. He's definitely one of my favorite bassists or musicians ever. I've been recently listening to this German band called Can; they're kind of like experimental avant-garde psychedelic band from the late '60s/early '70s. I'm just amazed at how far ahead of their time they were in terms of everything they were doing.

SN: I really love so many people. I love David Bowie. I love Pete Townshend ... Even speaking of Dire Straits, I love Mark Knopfler, the way he played with his fingernails. I really love guitar players who created their own way of playing; I really look toward [them] because I created my own way of playing, so it's nice to have these pioneers who created great pop songs by playing guitar in a more intricate and unique way ... really technical players who are still able to make really great melodic pop songs. I love the guitar players in Deerhoof -- they're my favorite.

Where do your lyrics come from?

CM: The lyrics always come after the song, so we'll write all the music first. Whatever sort of comes to our heads -- it's not free-association, but it will be sort of like, "What are we feeling?" or "What sort of images are popping into our heads, based on these sounds?" We'll try to take that and turn it into some sort of a narrative, although the songs don't really have much of a narrative to them as feelings or images.

SN: If I'm going through something, I'll try to write a song about it to communicate what I'm going through in a creative way. Or sometimes I'll rent a movie that's interesting visually, and I'll mute the sound and write a soundtrack to the movie. Out of that, I get a lot of songs, and sometimes the songs will be influenced by the vibe of the movies. I'm working on 'The Dark Crystal' right now, which is very cool visually, very magical.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

CM: I think I saw a UFO while we were driving in New Mexico last year, for SXSW. I saw this metallic object in the sky, sort of circular, rotating in a very odd way. I just tell myself that it was a UFO because I like to tell myself that they really exist. So that's why we're driving back through New Mexico this year, so we can see if we can relive the experience and get abducted.

How are you preparing for your third trip to SXSW?

CM: We don't prepare, really; it's like a vacation for us. We get to go on this little trip and we look for UFOs and eat really good food and just have a good time. Hopefully, someone important sees you and can help you out down the road on a tour or funding a record, but you can't go in with the mindset "this has got to be the event of my life." It's important, but it's not going to make or break anybody at the end of the day.


Brandy Keller is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.