WHAT A TEMPER!: THE GARDEN

Thursday, July 30, 2015

THE GARDEN - LARIMER LOUNGE

July 13, 2015: another fabulous show at the Larimer Lounge! When I arrived The Garden’s van was parked out front with its California plates. The first of two warm up bands was playing inside. The twins, Wyatt and Fletcher frequently attended the merch table all night long, giving me an opportunity to talk to them in an effort to peer into their different world as a band that has been touring the US and Europe. They fooled me at first because they swapped hair colors! I related to them my experience this past year and how our paths crossed by chance in LA and the promise that we will meet at future shows. They were recently in Paris doing a modeling gig. What do you like better, being in a band or modeling? The band, hands down is more fun. Are they going to be at the Beach Goth festival in October? No, they will be touring in Europe again at that time. How are they being received in Europe? They seem to be accepted by European audiences, although the crowds in some of the smaller venues have difficulty figuring them out. What do your parents think of their sons careers? Their dad is totally supportive, while their mom is accepting of their modeling gigs but has been struggling to accept the band thing and all the touring. How do they schedule these shows? They have a band manager that sets it up for them, never having heard of the Larimer Lounge before this night. I told them that was a great choice for their introduction to Colorado. Where to next? Back to CA, the two of them and their driver taking turns on the ride home. How’s it working out overall? They are doing well, making enough money to be comfortable on the tour (they were staying in a hotel over night and then drive straight back to LA). That’s how it went all night, trying to avoid pestering them. I wish I had brought cash to buy and have them autograph their vinyl album.

When the bass guitar and drums get going the energy fills the air and it’s hard not to move to the beat, as many in the audience found out. They are also entertaining to watch with their moves and facial expressions. Like Broncho, their songs are so fast paced that they burn through their set of 10 or more songs for the evening in 35 minutes. They packed up and were back on the road sometime after midnight, waving them off and thanking them one last time. I’m hoping there will be another opportunity to see them perform in the not too distant future.

MTV Hive writes:

The Garden is a neo-punk duo from Orange, Calif. that features identical twin brothers Fletcher and Wyatt Shears. They write songs that are fifteen seconds long, they wear women’s clothing, they speak in a secret lingo, and fashion powerhouse Saint Laurent Paris paid big bucks to fly them out to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week even though neither of them had ever modeled before.

“We walk quickly. We dress quickly. We work quickly. We record quickly,” says Wyatt commenting on both the catwalk and the Garden’s vinyl debut, The Life and Times of a Paperclip.

Read it all here:
http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/07/22/the-garden-the-best-neo-punk-band-moonlighting-as-models-right-now/