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Written By: Camila Molina | Interview By: Camila Molina | Photos By: Ishan Ghoshal
From working together at Guitar Center to living their dream touring across the United States, this alternative band has remained close in their friendship while still exploring their unique individual sounds. Balancing themes of universal sadness and deeply personal struggles, Bay Area pop-punk band Grumpster challenges themselves and the music industry by releasing music that delves into even their darkest moments in their recent self-titled album, “Grumpster.” The band discusses what inspires them to push musical boundaries and how touring with Joyce Manor, the alternative and pop-punk band behind the critically acclaimed album “Never Hungover Again,” improved their songwriting methods, leading to their latest album release. Grumpster’s lineup — Alex Hernandez on guitar and vocals, Donnie Walsh on bass and vocals, Noel Agtane on drums, and Lalo Gonzalez Deetz on guitar — melds a dynamic blend of Northern California roots and East Coast influences. Their strong friendship and authentic lyrics shine through in their latest self-titled album, “Grumpster,” showcasing an unparalleled level of growth, collaboration, and creativity compared to prior projects.
The new self-titled album “Grumpster” was crafted during a transformative period for the band, both emotionally and creatively. During the Jawbreaker tour with Joyce Manor, Grumpster realized that their live, authentic sound was not being accurately reflected in their recordings. This realization marked a pivotal moment, prompting them to release songs that truly aligned with their current selves. Looking back on this process, “It was really time too, because our live sound was so much different than any of the previous two periods,” said Deetz. “We were playing shows, but then people would buy a record or something or look us up on the way home, and it [wasn’t] representative of what you're going to see at a show.” Further evolving their process, the band adopted new methods that worked for them, such as writing songs together in “real time” as soon as an idea was born, rather than initially perfecting it before revealing it to the rest of the band. Agtane describes this approach as “very democratic.”
Even when it’s with your best friends and you’re going through exciting changes, tour life is debilitating. However, the challenges of life on the road did not stand in the way of this tight-knit band making light of even the most uncomfortable situations. When asked about having a favorite live performance-related memory, Deetz recalled their Orlando show for the Jawbreaker tour and how Alex barely made it to the stage. As soon as the word "Orlando," left Deetz 'mouth, the band burst into laughter and explained the series of unfortunate events that occurred before the show. Despite everything, they delivered a performance they were proud of, and the fans adored it.
“We had a really, really, really rough day leading into that show, like our wheel almost fell off our van. We had to get a U-Haul. We abandoned our van in another state,” says Deetz. After deciding the only way to still make the show was to just switch vehicles rapidly and move forward, the consequences of standing in the extreme heat started to get to their vocalist and guitarist, Hernandez. Due to complications accessing water once the band arrived at the venue, Hernandez’s condition seemed as though it would not improve in time for the show. Deetz, who plays guitar, recalls feeling overwhelmed with what to do next after realizing Hernandez wasn’t even able to do a soundcheck with the band, and everyone was considering calling 911.
“Alex gets like a beer, a cigarette, and a shower, and then comes out of the shower, and we play my favorite set of the whole tour. Apparently, it was great,” says Deetz.
The members of Grumpster have done more than just overcome complications on the road; they have faced more ongoing challenges. The band is passionate about being honest about their personal struggles in their music, taking that vulnerability to new lengths by having whoever writes a song on the album be the person who does vocals for it as well. Despite frequently exploring mental health-related topics, many band members are still trying to find a way to create a balance they are comfortable with when discussing these hardships. “I myself have a lot of problems. I never know how open to be with those. I never know [what the line is]. Or like what the actual appropriate thing to say when talking about mental health. Because, especially if it reaches an audience, I don't want to say the wrong thing,” says the band’s drummer, Agtane. “If I was candid, you know, I would be like, ‘oh yeah, you know, like, even though we're doing all this every day, it's still, like, incredibly difficult to do anything. It's super, super hard.’ And I don't want to discourage other people, you know? From pursuing something that makes you feel good.” Walsh, who is on bass and vocals, agrees, stating, “Sh*t is hard to do on a human level, and that's like what the songs are about.”
Continuing to embrace and explore how they can be honest with their fan base, members of Grumpster continue to put even the most difficult-to-share parts of their life out there through music.
You can connect with the band during their current tour featuring other emerging punk, rock, and alternative bands, including Heart to Gold, Growing Pains, Descendents, and more. You can also stream “Grumpster” on all major streaming platforms.
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