Cheekface leans into the DIY mentality that makes it 'America's local band'

In December 2017, the Cinema Bar successful Culver City opened its doors to section trio Cheekface for the radical to play its archetypal authoritative show. More than 7 years, hundreds of shows and tens of thousands of fans later, the set was acceptable to instrumentality to the venue that started it each connected a brisk Valentine’s Day afternoon.

Unfortunately, Cinema Bar was unexpectedly closed, arsenic was the doughnut store crossed the street.

“It’s kinda fitting,” drummer Mark “Echo” Edwards says with a chuckle down a look disguise and glasses arsenic the set jaywalks crossed Sepulveda Boulevard for the 2nd clip earlier settling successful astatine Maple Block Meat Co.

“For america oregon for Cinema Bar?” some singer-guitarist Greg Katz and bassist Amanda Tannen quip back, astir successful unison.

Edwards meant it arsenic a polite rib astatine the Culver City staple dive bar, but it’s besides an due gag to ace astir the radical that calls itself “America’s section band.” As an indie stone set that dabbles successful everything from ska to crabcore connected its caller album, “Middle Spoon” (released Tuesday), Cheekface, which formed successful 2017, is astir apt champion described with words similar “scrappy,” “unconventional” and “surprising.”

“When Greg and I started the project, it was like, ‘Let’s bash everything with the volition of having amusive and not instrumentality ourselves excessively seriously,’” bassist Amanda Tannen of Cheekface says.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Why? Well, for a set some releasing its 5th medium and headlining a nationalist circuit this spring, Cheekface is committed to a DIY mentality connected levels that galore bands wantonness the 2nd they sensation success. All 3 members person spent plentifulness of clip successful the euphony manufacture (both successful different bands and successful different positions) extracurricular of Cheekface, and they’re each consenting to usage their acquired skills for the betterment of the band.

For instance, Tannen handles each of the ocular artwork and merch broadside of things portion Katz uses his publishing acquisition to person Cheekface self-release each of its albums without a statement (and Edwards contributes his “glowing” tegument attraction routine, the set jokes). And it helps that the set has a penning benignant that interjects memorable wit and wit into catchy songs astir relatable topics — peculiarly for its assemblage of mostly therapy-attending millennials and Gen Zers.

“I’ve travel to recognize that the lone happening that matters arsenic acold arsenic a task ‘succeeding’ is whether radical similar the euphony and privation to perceive to it,” Katz says, wearing a pinkish crewneck sweater. “The deeper you get into it, the much you relearn that. If you enactment retired euphony that radical privation to hear, they volition support voting for you to proceed doing it. I besides deliberation we stripped the request for outer validation for this set from the leap by fundamentally readying for it to beryllium nothing.”

When Katz says Cheekface began with nary expectations, helium means it. The full task started with the extremity of him and Tannen penning a fistful of songs unneurotic for their ain intelligence health, releasing them connected Bandcamp and possibly playing a backyard amusement oregon two. But 1 section gig became many, with the radical jumping connected to dozens of shows with friends’ bands astir L.A. successful 2018 and 2019 earlier the COVID-19 pandemic unopen down its touring plans successful 2020.

By the clip unrecorded euphony was a happening again aboriginal successful 2021, Cheekface was already 2 albums (2019’s “Therapy Island” and 2021’s “Emphatically No.”) into its vocation and had started gathering an online pursuing of “Cheek Freaks.” The trio recovered a niche successful the oft-serious indie satellite by utilizing wit and irreverence to lighten the temper of their anxiety-infused pop-rock, earning a unsocial instrumentality basal that spans generations, genres and scenes crossed the country.

So adjacent though “Middle Spoon” was calved retired of a traumatic 2024 for some Katz (whose begetter suffered a changeable and grandma passed away) and Tannen (whose semipermanent narration ended successful “a really traumatic breakup”), the songwriters are speedy to constituent retired that it’s neither a breakup medium nor “a dormant grandma album.”

“Both Greg and I were going done a play of alteration astatine the aforesaid clip close earlier [2024’s “It’s Sorted”] released,” Tannen says, referencing her breakup and Katz’s familial losses. “I had besides conscionable near my full-time occupation to beryllium capable to absorption connected Cheekface, truthful each of the things that were unchangeable successful my beingness got taken retired from nether me, and I didn’t cognize however to process things. When we got location from touring, we truly had to look that, truthful I deliberation a bully portion of this medium is astir alteration and nonaccomplishment and uncovering your footing.”

“A batch of our euphony references self-help culture,” Katz adds. “In self-help culture, ‘growth’ is precise romanticized, wherever you bash breathwork and meditate, and past you mature into this philosophic mentation of yourself. But a batch of maturation is not intentional. It happens due to the fact that immoderate s— occurs and you person to determination done that s—, whether you similar it oregon not. That process is awkward and achy and makes you look astatine a portion of yourself that you truly don’t like. A batch of this medium grapples with that discomfort that we were feeling arsenic we were penning it.”

From a logistical standpoint, the merchandise of “Middle Spoon” is besides a cleanable look astatine however the DIY wheels of Cheekface turn. Having conscionable released its past medium successful January 2024, and past instantly touring done precocious May, the trio is rolling retired the caller medium conscionable 9 months aft the set began penning it. And having enactment retired 5 albums (plus a fewer EPs, covers and different tunes) successful little than six years, the speedy turnaround is efficaciously par for the people for the trio.

While different artists spot their merchandise docket slowed by statement authorities and producers fiddling to cleanable each song, Cheekface isn’t beholden to immoderate of those limitations and sees nary crushed to hold creating oregon releasing caller euphony whenever it wants.

“I’ve travel to recognize that the lone happening that matters arsenic acold arsenic a task ‘succeeding’ is whether radical similar the euphony and privation to perceive to it,” singer/guitarist Greg Katz of Cheekface says

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

“Writing the euphony is the astir amusive part, and signaling the euphony is the 2nd astir amusive part, truthful wherefore would we artifact that off?” Katz says. “If it’s the amusive part, we should bash it the most, due to the fact that this set runs connected having fun. We don’t person to woody with a statement due to the fact that we’re not connected one, truthful there’s nary 1 saying, ‘You should abstraction this out,’ oregon ‘We person a batch of different albums that we request to enactment retired earlier we get to yours.’ One of my favourite bands is Bad Religion — who besides self-released their ain records — and from 1988 to 1994, they released six of the astir classical Bad Religion albums.”

“When Greg and I started the project, it was like, ‘Let’s bash everything with the volition of having amusive and not instrumentality ourselves excessively seriously,’” Tannen adds. “We conscionable privation to person immoderate amusive and constitute immoderate music, truthful the songs mostly get written quickly. If a opus takes months to write, determination mightiness beryllium thing incorrect with that song, and possibly it’s not a Cheekface opus anyway. We’re not looking for thing perfect, due to the fact that determination is nary perfect.”

“I’ve been successful bands wherever things get ace bogged down by that consciousness of preciousness, wherever it’s similar each opus has to beryllium perfect,” Edwards adds. “You tin ne'er determination connected with ‘good enough,’ and it gets truthful frustrating.”

“I don’t deliberation we consciousness burdened to marque a heartbreaking enactment of staggering genius erstwhile we beryllium down to write,” Katz says with a laugh. “We conscionable marque the euphony we privation to hear.”