Quick hits: Summer Twins

Personnel: We are two sisters and we always have at least two friends in our band. I (Chelsea Brown) play guitar & sing, my sister (Justine Brown) plays drums & sings with me, Marcio Rivera plays guitar, and Danny Delgado plays bass.

Origin: We’re from Riverside! Justine and I have lived here our whole lives and we started playing music together in different bands about 7 years ago, in our early teens. (In those days our parents would take us to all of our gigs because none of us were old enough to drive or get in!)

Pehr Monday debut:
Tomorrow—January 3rd—with Real Noriegas, Vietnambla and Mock Duck.

The Summer Twins are a real band that rocks!

Hey, Chelsea, when did you and your sister Justine start Summer Twins?
When our previous band broke up, we (both knew that we would keep playing together, so we spent some time jamming in our basement. Once we realized we had some material, we formed an official band in 2008.

What was your first practice like?
We never really had a first practice! We just started jamming and I spent a lot of time alone, writing songs in our basement, so that’s where our current set came from.

How would you describe your sound?
Someone at one of our shows once told me that we were dream pop, so I like to stick to that. We do have a very pop sound with lots of harmonies, but our sound is also rooted in rock ‘n roll.

Is there a band you measure your music against?
I don’t think there’s really one band or sound that we’ve tried to strive for. We love the Kinks, Buddy Holly, Buffalo Springfield, Radiohead, and Deerhunter, and I think everything we listen has influenced our sound, so we mix things up a bit. We have a new batch of songs ready to record and I think there’s a little ’50s rock ‘n roll, ’60s garage, ’60s country rock, ’60s pop, and contemporary indie all mixed in there.

What the simplest song you have? And which one is the most nuanced and complex?
I just wrote a new song called “Worryhead” that we’re currently working into our set. This is the first song that I actually made an effort to keep stripped down and simplified. It’s funny, but it’s harder for me to write simpler songs! I’m always afraid of a song being boring and always feel like I need to add things. But when you listen to some of the greatest songs in rock ‘n roll, they’re so simple! It’s easy to get carried away.

The most complex one we’ve had was “Snake vs. Snow.” We no longer play it, but it’s on our first EP, The Good Things. It’s got all kinds of weird time changes and mood changes. That was us sort of experimenting and trying to figure out our sound, which I feel we’re still doing.

Watch the Summer Twins “The Good Things” video

How can folks get your music?
People can download our EP for free at summertwins.bandcamp.com!

What’s Summer Twins’ New Year’s resolution?
To get out there! Plays more shows, release more music, make more videos, and get more people involved. We’ve been trying to get out of our hometown and play more in L.A. And I have so many ideas for new projects! I want Summer Twins to be a little more than a band. I’m planning on projects like short films, collaborations with other bands, fun merch, and we’re going to launch an online vintage store, “The Good Things Shop” through Etsy. So much to do! I’m really excited though and ready to make this my number one priority. Turbo mode!

Don’t miss Summer Twins Monday debut: