LSD and Cinnabon: The story of Being Dead
It is easy to get bored with mainstream music scenes in the modern age; a lack of personality or experimentation in sound creates a frankly banal sonic landscape void of any interesting characters. Almost as a direct answer to that issue, rising garage rockers Being Dead have managed to carve out their own sound, characterised by buzzsaw surf-rock riffs and a whimsical sense of humour.
Founded by friends and songwriting partners Falcon Bitch and Gumball, the Texas-based outfit burst onto the scene with their art pop effort ‘Perks of Death’ back in 2018. More recently, though, the band made waves last year with their long-awaited debut album, When Horses Would Run.
The trio, made up of Falcon Bitch, Gumball and Ricky Moto, have a penchant for embellishing the history of their group, often making up stories around their first meeting. They told Far Out, back in May last year, that they all met whilst working at a Cinnabon at LAX Airport, something which the band listed as their worst-ever job, “It’s actually where we met – as co-workers!) But for real, the line is nonstop y’all,” they said.
A feeling of the friendship that built Being Dead is inherent in their music. While sometimes sounding aggressive and punk-influenced, their tunes show a lot of love. Something that also comes across is the humour of the trio, which adds a really fun energy when listening to Horses Would Run.
Sonically, the band can draw parallels with everyone from SoCal punks like Slutever to the psychedelic eccentricity of Kevin Ayers. Their debut record features such versatility in sound, from the surf rock of the opening track ‘The Great American Picnic’ to the driving experimental noise of the closing song ‘Oaklahoma Nova Scotia’, hitting every branch on the indie rock tree on the way down the track-listing. While it would be an oversimplification to attribute the soundscape of the album to the influence of LSD or other psychedelics, the journey that Horses Would Run takes you on, as a listener, is a trip which suggests the trio might not be living straight-edge.
In terms of influences, Being Dead are clearly inspired by the indie rockers that have gone before them. The trio revealed to Far Out, though it should come as no real shock, that they are disciples of Cindy Lee, listing ‘Last Train’s Come and Gone’ or ‘One Second to Toe the Line’ as songs they wish they had written, before adding “honestly anything Pat Flegel has worked on”. Expanding on their influences while maintaining their endearingly sophomoric humour, the trio said that, if they were to recruit a new band member, they would pick “Kim Gordon! or Gordon Ramsey? For flare and sensation!”
Hot off the heels of their debut, the Texas trio continues to tour and record new material. After spending years establishing their sound, Being Dead form one of the most lovable parts of the current indie rock scene in America, making them perhaps the best thing to ever come out of an airport Cinnabon.
