December 9, 2011 http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/ontheverge/story/2011-12-06/on-the-verge-with-indie-rock-group-grouplove/51765840/1?loc=interstitialskip
Grouplove grew out of friendship By Korina Lopez, USA TODAY
Group love, indeed: This Los Angeles-based quintet certainly lives up to its name. "We never planned to be a band. We were friends first and we just love being together," says lead singer Christian Zucconi. "Grouplove grew organically from that love." Their debut album, with the tongue-in-cheek title Never Trust a Happy Song, is quickly spreading the love, too. Their sweet and savory mix of jangly, upbeat melodies, Zucconi's anguished howl and keyboardist Hannah Hooper's coquettish backup vocals have been making the rounds in indie rock circles and on the charts. Joyful, noisy single Colours peaked at No. 12 on USA TODAY's alternative chart. Another track, Tongue Tied, lassoed the new iPod Touch commercial, which ran during the Grammy nominations concert and has continued since Thanksgiving. Add Grouplove's lock as the opening band for Young the Giant's tour in March and April, and it's no wonder they're so lovey-dovey. Happy accidents: Zucconi wasn't always this upbeat. "Before Grouplove, I was in other bands, but the timing never seemed right," he says. "I'd wake up every day depressed, I spent so many years miserable doing music. But it's wonderful now how we overcame everything together. It's funny that Grouplove is such a happy band." The band members met each other in 2008 at an artist commune in Crete. "Hannah's never been in a band. She's an artist who was invited by the older brother of (guitarist) Andrew (Wessen)," says Zucconi. "She and I had met in New York earlier that week. She'd seen me play, fell in love with my music, we met and really hit it off, so she invited me to Greece." Once there, the rest of the pieces fell into place. "Ryan (Rabin), who is our producer and drummer, grew up with Andrew, and Sean (Gadd, bassist) is from London," says Zucconi. "We fell in love with each other, sharing music while sitting around fires on the beach. It was very idyllic." But it wasn't until a year later that the band officially formed. "We decided to get together in Los Angeles. Ryan suggested that we record a song," says Zucconi. "One song turned to eight. Ryan's parents' basement turned into our studio. We moved into a group house together."
Disparate beginnings: Coming from very different backgrounds enhances their approach to music. "We treat each song uniquely, so there are a lot of emotional ranges on Colours, but it all comes back to how we came together in Greece. We were strangers that came together, and now we grow together. It's very organic in that sense." Zucconi worked as a truck driver and bartender in New York City during his years as a struggling musician. "I grew up in Westchester County in New York. It was a very blue-collar town," he says. "We all bring our different life experiences to our music. For me, it's growing up with divorced parents, hopping around from Mom to Dad." But Zucconi also credits his creative openness to his mother. "She's an amazing artist, and she always encouraged me to explore that world. She got me playing guitar." Hooper, who hails fromSan Francisco, brings an interesting flair to the group. "She'd never been in a band before, but I think she's a secret musician. She brings such life and light to our music," says Zucconi. "Rabin has a pop background and magical ears. He always makes whatever we're doing work."
Savoring success: Before the band sets off on tour with Young the Giant on March 6 in Burlington, Vt., they're staying busy with a lot of radio shows with bands like Mumford & Sons, Foster the People and Cage the Elephant. Then it's off to Australia for New Year's for a quick two-week tour, and then to England for a few shows. "It's so interesting how I'd struggled for so long in New York, but once I relaxed and let go, stopped trying so hard, that everything just fell into my lap," says Zucconi.
AUGUST 26, 2011
AUGUST 8, 2011
http://www.spin.com/gallery/10-best-sets-lollapalooza-2011?page=1
The 10 Best Sets of Lollapalooza 2011
2 of 11
No. 10: GROUPLOVE
As their name implies, this Los Angeles pop quintet's sound is like a musical anti- depressant, and early-bird concertgoers were rewarded with a hefty dose Friday afternoon at the Sony Stage. Especially noteworthy was the bubbly "Itching on a Photograph," on which vocalists Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper "didn't just sound as if they were longing for someone. They sounded as if they were experiencing longing for the very first time,"wrote SPIN's David Marchese.
PHOTO BY KYLE DEAN REINFORD
October 11, 2011
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/06/141135010/grouplove-tiny-desk-concert
Grouplove: Tiny Desk Concert By: Bob Boilen
Grouplove knows how to write the kind of songs that keep me awake at night, that sing in my head over and over, that have me pounding the steering wheel to the beat, and that are worth rolling down the car windows and sharing with pedestrians whether they want to hear them or not. These aren't the greatest singers or guitarists we've had play in the NPR Music offices — the early-day warmup for the three songs here seemed about the length of a full concert — that craft will strengthen as they play. Grouplove has been together for less than two years, but its knack for pop songwriting is priceless. You can hear it best on the band's debut album, Never Trust a Happy Song.
Singer Hannah Hooper and songwriter, singer and guitarist Christian Zucconi met the other members of Grouplove — Sean Gadd, Ryan Rabin and Andrew Wessen — far from their homes at an artists' retreat on the Isle of Crete. They vowed to work on music together and recorded an EP in the garage of drummer Rabin's parents; Rabin's dad is Trevor Rabin, guitarist for the prog-rock band Yes in the early '80s and '90s.
When it came time to work on Never Trust a Happy Song, Grouplove moved from the garage to Ryan Rabin's apartment, where he did his first major album production. The band is a collaborative unit, and though songs may start with Christian Zucconi, everyone chips in. Judging from the music, there's a lot of fun and sparks flying in those rehearsal sessions.
Grouplove's name is emblematic of its spirit; it's also emblazoned as a tattoo on many of the band members. So, honestly, how could they ever break up? In the meantime, I look forward to hearing Grouplove grow.
November 30, 2011 http://mplayer.pastemagazine.com/issues/week-20/articles#article=/issues/week-20/articles/grouplove-the-best-of- whats-next
By Adam Vitcavage, Photo by Autumn de Wilde
Hometown: Los Angeles Members: Christian Zucconi (vocals/guitars), Hannah Hooper (vocals/keyboards), Andrew Wessen (guitars), Sean Gadd (bass), Ryan Rabin (drums) Album: Never Trust a Happy Song For Fans Of: Givers, Wolf Gang, Viva Brother
The men and woman of Grouplove just want to have fun. While preparing to record a private session for Paste’s film crew at the DeLuna Fest in Pensacola Beach, Fla., they looked longingly at the water as we walked down the beach. They cracked jokes at each other’s expense, offered me a glob of sunscreen and expressed an immediate desire to go swimming.
That desire proves overwhelming as they decide to leave the safety of the sand and play acoustically in the water. Not the part of the shore where the tide would graze the bottom of their feet, but in the ocean. The crew filmed as the Los Angeles-based band sang and danced, splashing about like it was their first time on the beach.
“It’s important that we give like a million percent in shows,” singer Hannah Hooper says as we sit in the shade underneath the pier, “regardless if there are five people or five hundred.”
They certainly gave everything they had in the gulf. If they weren’t already exhausted, they certainly are by the time we huddled together on a few complimentary towels from their hotel, but it’s a blissful relaxation after another adventure together. The vibe is a lot like the summer of 2009 when Hannah Hooper and her newfound friend, singer/guitarist Christian Zucconi, were at an artists’ residency on the island of Crete. They barely knew each other but Hooper had “[fallen] madly in
November 30, 2011 -continued- http://mplayer.pastemagazine.com/issues/week-20/articles#article=/issues/week-20/articles/grouplove-the-best-of- whats-next
love with him; in a totally not creepy way.” Zucconi and Hooper ended up meeting the rest of the band, who were also on Crete for various reasons, because the couple had the best shower at the campsite.
Guitarist Andrew Wessen previously knew drummer Ryan Rabin, but bassist Sean Gadd was a complete stranger to them all. Bonding happened quickly and naturally and by the time they left the island, they had written “Don’t Say Oh Well” (which appears on the EP) on the night of a lunar eclipse. The bonds they forged remained strong even after the five dispersed back to their own lives before reuniting in Los Angeles to record the EP.
“We never thought we were going to start a band,” Rabin revealed, brushing sand off of himself. “We recorded in my home studio and then parted ways again.”
As the sun begins its descent and our patch of shade begins to disappear, we discuss whether having their hit “Colours” appear on the soundtrack for the FIFA 12 video game was a big deal to them.
“Whaaaaat?!” Gadd jokes like he hadn’t yet heard the news before Rabin says it wasn’t a make-or-break moment for the band. Zucconi, who’s been relatively quiet, notes that their rise had been slow burning and it had been a lot of work, including European and American tour dates opening for Florence + The Machine the with two back-to-back sold-out shows at the Wiltern in L.A. Since then, people have started to take notice of the twentysomethings in a big way.
They take their leave to shower and change out of their salt-water-battered clothes before the evening’s set. It’s the final day of the festival, and they’re the final act to play the Grooveshark stage, far from the main stage, where headliners Mutemath have canceled. Still, a large crowd has gathered a half-hour early.
Over the course of an hour-long set Zucconi transforms from the introverted young man underneath the pier to an energetic frontman with a knack for theatrics and his bandmates follow suit. The energy is raw, and the crowd is compelled to sing and dance along as frantically as musicians on stage. When Rabin jumps from his drum set after the last song and crawls into the crowd, there’s no turning back. Fans won’t let him rejoin his mates, take a bow and curtsy. He’s only released when the other musicians go around to the barricade and meet with fans and sign autographs. Their manager tries to round them up to load their van, but the band is more interested in giving fans Sharpie “GROUP” tattoos like the ones inside all their forearms.
The conference room where dinner is being served to the festival’s musicians is nearly dead as most of the bands have already left town, but I join the band for what feels like a family meal. The topic is first concert experiences, and Wessen talks about seeing The Smashing Pumpkins as a pre-teen and being offered pot for the first time. Everyone agrees that the early 1990s were such an influential time, though they were almost too young to fully appreciate the music of the era. None of them can imagine what the landscape of the industry would be if bubblegum pop didn’t takeover the airwaves after grunge died along with Kurt Cobain.
But Zucconi can’t see it the other way around either. “I can’t imagine [Kurt Cobain] tweeting how much he hates things right now,” he reveals between bites, “That’s what’s so mystical about it; we’ll never know. Maybe it’s good to die a legend.”
Silence takes over the table, and I think about Cobain smoking on the beach somewhere playing Angry Birds. It’s finally broken by Hooper, who has a very different idea for her own band. “We want to grey together.”
And the Grouplove family looks to have every opportunity to grow old. Their album Never Trust a Happy Song showcases tightly knit musicians, a fact that’s only underscored by their camaraderie as they head to the hotel Jacuzzi to drink beers and just spend time together. The band name and lyrics about togetherness are more than just words; they’re an expression of how they live their lives.
September 1, 2011
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/08/26/139979415/songs-of-the-summer-writers-picks?sc=nl&cc=mn- 20110901
Songs Of The Summer: Writers' Picks
Music writers from New Orleans to New Jersey wrote about everyone from King Louie to William DeVaughn to Beyonce.
This week on The Record, we're looking at some of the songs that captured our attention (or held us hostage) this summer, and asking what they tell us about our standards, our anxieties and the places we want our music to take us when it's hot out.We made a Spotify playlist for as many of the songs we've been talking about as we could. Listen here.
In the past week and a half we've asked a handful of music writers from across the country to tell us what's been their summer jam this year — a track they've found unavoidable or one they themselves have worn out, a song they listened to all summer long or one that soundtracked a single perfect summer moment.
Bob Boilen, host of All Songs Considered Washington, D.C. "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove
As a kid, the best part of summer music was the shared experience. I grew up with summer songs like "California Girls," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "Wild Thing," "Where Did Our Love Go?" — songs heard by everybody at our community pool in Queens and by most every teenager on their transistor radio. Now our music culture is in fragments, shared by friends but hardly by a giant demographic. I was thinking about this as I read Ann Powers on Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks." She's written that it's a big song this summer (big on the charts, big in the social media hivemind) because its tension matches up with the uncomfortable mood of this summer, but I remember that song from last summer, when one of our interns picked it as her favorite on the All Songs Considered blog.
And to further confuse the listening experience, my summer pick this year, the song that defines the season for me, ison an album that doesn't come out till next week. It's called "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove, from Never Trust A Happy Song. We featured the song on All Songs Considered at the top of August, and it found its way into high rotation on a car drive to the Newport Folk Festival, the defining summer event for me. Summer songs are best when they burst at the seams, when they're exuberant. It's always a bonus when the musicians are singing about having fun together, going to a best friend's house in this case or the beach or a car ride. And if my summer song was only shared by 3 people in a car, it will still always define Summer 2011 for me. And who knows, someone may discover its full joy in June of 2012.
Fall 2011
December 7, 2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cliff-chenfeld/the-best-music-of-2011_b_1134189.html
Grouplove: Never Trust A Happy Song. The irony of course is that these are mostly happy, big-chorus songs, one that is already in an Apple commercial and some that remind of the Edward Sharpe record from last year ... which is fine with me. I like large groups of 21st century hippies blissfully grooving to catchy pop songs.
December 20, 2010 http://www.npr.org/2010/12/20/132205154/grouplove-the-return-of-rock-n-roll&sc=nl&cc=sod-20101220
Grouplove: The Return Of Rock 'n' Roll by KEVIN O'DONNELL
'Colours' by Grouplove [4 min 15 sec]
Courtesy of the artist In "Colours," the L.A. rock band Grouplove makes wild, thrilling and above all joyful noise.
Grouplove may be a band of twentysomething musicians, but their sound hearkens back to a
time when they were still in diapers: the lo-fi, acidic noise of classic early-'90s alternative rock.
On its raucous debut single "Colours," the Los Angeles band builds on the quiet-loud-quiet
dynamic pioneered by bands like Pixies. The track kicks off as a lo-fi folk-infused ditty —
complete with acoustic guitar and unassuming boy-girl vocal harmonies — before blooming
into a hot electric anthem, with a booming backbeat worthy of Dave Grohl and an unhinged
guitar riff reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis.
Singer Christian Zucconi even seems to pay direct homage to Kurt Cobain, recalling an eerie, surrealistic nightmare about a man who commits suicide because "he couldn't face the truth." But there's a bright side to his miserable tale, and
Zucconi seems wise enough to know that self-inflicted death isn't the only way out. "It's the colors you have," he howls.
"No need to be sad / It really ain't that bad."
This has been a fairly bleak year for rock bands, with the charts largely dominated by pop stars like Ke$ha, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. But Grouplove demonstrates with "Colours" that the genre isn't dead — and that plenty of aspiring musicians still make wild, thrilling and above all joyful noise with little more than a guitar and a fuzzbox.