White Arrows Can’t Ever Die

Mickey Church is the frontman of the psych-pop group, White Arrows. During most of Mickey’s life, he never considered being in a band. It wasn’t something he thought was possible for him, nor did he know much about music. It all began one day, when he wrote one simple song. A song which immediately grew in popularity around the web. Seeing the massive wave of interest from his listeners sparked an idea. Eventually, this idea evolved into the band he thought he’d never have. Based out of Los Angeles, California, Mickey and his crew successfully create their own nostalgic sound, taking bits and pieces from the artists they’re influenced by, along with appropriately pairing dated visuals to match their theme. Laser beams, floating keyboards, and summery gradients sum up the bands latest music video titled, “We Can’t Ever Die.” This track is a very catchy tune! However, I find it strange that the women in this video are seen promoting some type of e-cigarette?Want to see something weirder?! Visit the band’s website…

White Arrows – “We Can’t Ever Die”

The group will be stopping into Minneapolis on February 15th, 2015. They will be playing the small and intimate 7th Street Entry venue. If you’d like to see these guys play for a reasonable price and most likely have a chance to meet them, this would be the show to attend! (Interview below.)

Zeke: Hello guys! Thank you for taking the time with Music In Minnesota to answer some questions. What are some of your strongest influences?

Mickey: 70s movies, surrealist art, and music.  I’ve loved Velvet Underground, Van Morrison, and Devo forever.

Zeke: How long did it take you to write “In Bardo” and was your writing process any different from “Dry Land Is Not a Myth?

Mickey: It took us about 6-9 months.  Way different.  Dry Land was written in short breaks between tours over the course of 2 and a half years.  It was also recorded all at home.  In Bardo was one continuous amount of time to write and record, and was written mostly at home, but then we brought it into The Tube, which is a studio owned by our producer Jimmy Messer. In Bardo is like a time capsule of one place and one time, so it has cohesive themes and flows.

Zeke: Why did you choose to call the new album “in Bardo”?

Mickey: Andrew thought it would be an appropriate title because he had been reading a lot from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which is where In Bardo comes from.  This album being the cohesive thing that it was he felt as though we were moving through our transitional, or liminal state to get to where we are now.  A lot of the lyrical content on the album has to do with death in a circle of life kind of way, and so In Bardo seemed to be a befitting title for it.

Zeke: Who did the artwork for the album “Dry Land Is Not A Myth”?

Mickey: Leif Podhajsky

Zeke: Why did you choose this piece of art? Does it mean anything?

Mickey: One my of favorite artists out there.  There isn’t a piece that I’ve seen that I haven’t liked.  Sometimes there are just other people on the planet that are in line perfectly with your taste… I also feel that way about In Bardo’s album art, and my good friend who made it, SUS BOY.

Zeke: Whats your favorite clothing brand?

Mickey: Cabelas.. where fashion meets function ;;)

Zeke: If there was 1 person you could meet, who would it be?

Mickey: Putin, and ask him why he keeps taking his shirt off and riding on mechanical kids toys.

Zeke: Choose 5 albums everyone should own on Vinyl?

1. Fleetwood Mac “Tusk”

2. CAN “Tago Mago”

3. Spiritualized “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space”

4. Devo “Are we not men? We are Devo”

5. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Pronounced ‘Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’”

Zeke: Do you have nicknames for each other?

Mickey: Yes. John Paul is Juice.

Zeke: Best place to see live music and grab a bite to eat in Los Angeles?

Mickey: Music: Henry Fonda Music Box is one of my favorite venues.  Sound is excellent, and they have Hieronymous Bosche art on the walls.  Eat: Escuela Taqueria

Zeke: Do you surf?

Mickey: yeah.

Zeke: Favorite film on Netflix currently?

Mickey: Boogie Nights

Zeke: Who cuts your hair on the road?

Mickey: No one

Zeke: Favorite theme song to a television show?

Mickey: The Simpsons

Zeke: Do you have any tips for picking out socks?

Mickey: Get sponsored by Huf, they give us the best socks.

Zeke: And finally…whats your favorite color?

Mickey: Black.