“Love Overrides Beauty” EP Release
interview+photography by Jorge Perezchica
In Indio, California, a unique musical journey has unfolded between two high school friends who formed the band Town Troubles. Bolin Jue, the band’s frontman and guitarist collaborated with Bryan Garcia on drums, evolving from casual jam sessions into a dedicated musical endeavor that captivates listeners with their distinct sound. Deeply connected to their hometown of Indio, both band members draw inspiration from the vast desert landscapes, diverse social circles, and cultural influences that have shaped their artistic direction.
The musical influences that resonate with Town Troubles encompass a wide spectrum, ranging from timeless classics like The Beatles to the electrifying rock sounds of White Stripes and Queens of The Stone Age. These artists, along with others from the early 2010s bands have left an indelible mark on their musical style, contributing to their own sound.
The release of their EP, “Love Overrides Beauty,” marks a significant milestone in their artistic evolution, inviting listeners to join them on an exhilarating musical adventure. Bolin Jue describes the process of crafting the tracks for the EP served as a “guinea pig,” a precursor to an album they plan to record in the future. The songs were carefully composed to establish a cohesive and harmonious collection. They recorded the EP at Sun Lips Studios, owned by their friend Luciano Avalos, immersing themselves in a four-day creative burst.
Listening to Town Troubles’ live performances, it becomes evident that the duo’s sound transcends any preconceptions of a two-piece band. Bolin Jue’s guitar work and vocals, paired with Bryan Garcia’s dynamic drumming, create a rich and energetic musical experience. Their music pulsates with an effervescent rhythm, seamlessly blending elements of rock, punk, and funk. Town Troubles’ passion for music shines through their live performances, captivating audiences with their infectious energy and stage presence.
I had the pleasure of joining Town Troubles on Friday, June 30th at Flat Black Art Shop in Palm Desert, where they were hosting their EP release party presented by Palmas City Productions. Amidst the bustling preparations, the air filled with anticipation. Meanwhile enthusiastic fans streamed through the door.
During our conversation with Bolin Jue, the band’s frontman, we delved into their music, explore their diverse influences, and the creative process behind their latest EP.
Coachella Magazine: Can you introduce yourself?
Bolin Jue: My name is Bolin Jue. I play guitar, and I sing, and I write the songs.
CM: Where did you grow up?
BJ: We’re both from Indio, California. We’ve always been based out of Indio.
CM: Tell us about your music journey, how you formed together as a band, and what have been some of your your influences?
BJ: We were high school buddies. We were high school friends and we just sort of played music together casually, and then casually turned into not so casually, and then we just sort of kept going, you know.
Influences, we’re influenced by so many different types of music. We’re also influenced by the desert. We’re influenced by the different social circles and cultural influences. They’re all within the desert. We’re influenced by all the politics, and the sort of things that are in the desert that I feel like are only revealed when you look at things with a critical eye.
As far as music goes, we’re we’re influenced by White Stripes, Queens of The Stone Age, The Beatles, you know, the classics and those sort of early 2010 bands.
CM: How you guys been playing together as a band?
BJ: We’ve been playing since 2010. So what is that, 13 years, 10 years, something like that.
CM: Let’s talk about the EP release. What’s the creative process behind your tracks and some of the themes that you’re exploring in the music?
BJ: Well, to be quite honest, this EP was made as a guinea pig to figure out how we wanted to record an album that we still plan on recording in the future. And so it’s kind of funny how this has become like a spectacle when it was, this is really just like a preliminary stage for something that we have in sight for the future.
So the creative process, I sort of just felt like I needed to just come up with six songs that I felt like had a beginning and an end — as far as like a family of songs go. And I wrote them all acoustically. I wrote the drums. Bryan then sort of learned and interpreted those drum parts. I turned my acoustic guitars into electric guitars and put some effects on there. And we demoed all the songs once in Bryan’s room during a summer. And then once we were comfortable playing them, we took them into the studio. Our friend Luciano (Avalos) has a studio called Sun Lips Studios in Indio. And so we took the songs there and knocked them out in four days.
CM: Did you collaborate together, as far as the songwriting?
BJ: I usually write all the songs. And then Bryan will sort of figure out what I’m trying to do as far as the drums go. I play drums also. I was a drummer before I was in this band. And so it’s easy for us to talk about drums, you know? So he usually sees what I’m playing and then sort of interprets those drum parts.
CM: Did you bring any outside artists or just kept it just between you two?
BJ: We usually have outside guests. For this one, it was just Bryan and I, and then our friend Luciano, who recorded us, he put some synthesizers in the background, really minimal stuff, you know. But basically it was just us.
CM: And this is your first EP?
BJ: This is our first EP on record, on vinyl record. We have two other EPs that are online, that we did a long time ago. But this is like our first sort of physical EP release that was actually mastered. Our other EPs weren’t mastered or like professionally mixed, and this one was. So this is the record release that we’ve put the most love into, you know.
CM: What’s the main thing you learned throughout this whole recording process?
BJ: It’s way more simple than I thought it is. But, you know, what I learned the most out of this whole thing is how important music is to me. I didn’t realize it until I actually was like, going through these steps at a professional level, and having to talk to people, and emailing the guy who mastered the last Jack White album. I had to do things that we’ve never really done before, but it made me realize like, “Oh man, this isn’t just something that we’ve been doing casually.” This is a huge part of my life. It’s sort of a weird thing to realize that after doing it for this long, but it took this for me to figure out — music is a good thing to have in my life, you know?
CM: How would you describe your sound?
BJ: We’re desert dance, rock desert, dance rock.
CM: How is your music different than other artists in Coachella Valley music scene?
BJ: It’s different because we did not form this band to form a band. We were friends first, and I feel like we have some good energy. We have a unique setup because there’s only two of us. We don’t have a bass player, so my guitar signal gets cut into two different frequencies. I run it through a bass amp. And I haven’t seen a whole lot of people do that in the desert.
I feel like, we sort of don’t let our unpopularity bother us. We kind of just do it cuz we love to do it and it’s fun. And I think we do exude a certain vibe and energy that is a not as common when we play live.
CM: Do you have some live shows booked to promote the EP?
BJ: It’s been tough. It’s slim pickings out here in the desert, but yeah, we have a show July 8th in downtown Indio (Second Saturdays). We have a show July 21st at Coachella Bar. We have a show July 28th at Club 5, and we have a show like the second Thursday of July 13 at Bart (Lounge), but I’m still trying to find another bands to play with.
CM: Is it tough finding venues to play in the Coachella Valley?
BJ: It depends on who you ask. If you ask me. I think that’s been a reoccurring issue in the desert, is always finding not just a place to play, but a music venue with a stage — a place that’s made for music. I mean, there was like, The Date Shed, and there’s been a few other places that have come and gone. But I kind of like the struggle of always being thrown into places where you’re not really supposed to be playing. You know, I kind of like that about the desert, but it’s also frustrating sometimes.
CM: What are some of the challenges that you experienced as far as putting the EP together
BJ: Bryan and I both do things outside of music. Bryan goes to school, I teach, and so it takes up a lot of time, you know, so just finding the time to get together and, and practice is not something that we’ve been very good at these days. As far as putting the actual EP together, I didn’t really find any challenges that were like, unpleasant to deal with, you know?
CM: What about in the recording and producing process?
BJ: There was all sorts of funny things that happened. Everything went well the day that we got there. Our engineer, our mixer, his equipment was not turning on, so there was some funny little occurrences, but overall, everything went well. Looking back on it, I felt like it was a dream and everything just sort of fell into place.
CM: How would you describe the local music scene and how have you been navigating that?
BJ: I feel like I’m always an outsider looking in on the music scene. I always feel like Bryan and I have not always been the most accepted or popular of the bands out here, but I also think that the people who like us and the people who follow us and our fans, they really do enjoy our music, regardless of like, the relationship to us personally. So that’s something that I really strive for. Like, we’ll just perform, we’ll just make it about the music, you know? And that’s all I can really hope for, you know?
Playing my best regardless of what else is happening in the desert as far as trends, like genre trends, or as far as like, which bands blowing up. We’ve seen a lot of bands come and go. We’ve seen a lot of bands sort of experience booms and dips and falls. And I think in the midst of it, we just have to stand true to why are we here? Why are we doing this? And if those values are always clear to me, none of that other stuff matters. Like, it doesn’t matter if we play to just the bartender, if we have a packed house. As long as I’m doing what I want to do and I know why I want to do that, everything’s, everything’s cool.
CM: What are you most excited about the EP release?
BJ: It’s been tough to even think about or process because I’ve been doing so much organizing for this. And I put everything together. I’m doing all the promotion, and we’re having all of the songs off of this EP are gonna have lyric videos and music videos. And so I’ve been making all that stuff too. And so I haven’t even really had a chance to sit down and just accept the fact that it’s done already — and then it’s out into the world. I’m not even there yet, but we’ll see.
CM: What’s next after EP release? What are your future plans after that?
BJ: So, last year after we recorded this EP, I recorded three solo songs with the same guy who recorded us, and I recorded all the instruments. Those songs are on the shelf. I’m thinking about releasing those. And then, and I wanna write and record three more to those songs and release my own EP. But honestly, I’m really eager to get to the album that we’re supposed to be writing after this EP. So maybe next year we’ll start doing that, start demoing things and getting ready to write the album, you know? So I would say, yeah, those two things for sure.
CM: What do you love most about being an artist/musician?
BJ: I just feel like, I’m just being me, you know? I’m just being me. <Laugh>, I feel like a lot of people don’t get to be themselves, unfortunately. Like, because of jobs or because of social obligations or because of, you know, just own hiccups within themselves. And I really enjoy getting to be me.
CM: Do you ever get stage fright?
BJ: All the time. I’m super scared right now. Very <laugh>.
CM: What’s the main thing you get nervous about?
BJ: I wanna do a good job. It’s scary thinking that you might not, and I want to do the best that I can, you know?
CM: Do you have any ritual that you do before you hit that stage?
BJ: I usually try and take a minute by myself and just breathe a little bit and appreciate the moment. Appreciate that I get to do this, you know? And then, just let everything else fall on muscle memory.
CM: Anything you wanna add?
BJ: I really want to thank you, man. This is really cool that you’re doing this. Thank you.
“Love Overrides Beauty” by Town Troubles
Out now at local record stores.
Available on streaming platforms on July 28, 2023.
WEB: TOWN TROUBLES