Fake Dad (aka Andrea de Verona & Josh Ford) are a dynamic indie rock meets synth pop duo, known for crafting uniquely compelling songs that keenly meander through the in-betweens of genre and complex human experiences. Originally materialized in The Big Apple, Fake Dad has made their defining leap to the Southland. Their latest project "Yerba Mala", bathed in synthesizers, guitars, and infectious melodies, is a culmination of self growth and clarifying realizations.
Created throughout the process of leaving everything they've known and built in NYC, Fake Dad has been steadily blazing a new and exciting trail for themselves in Los Angeles. Clearing the weeds and allowing space for more fruitful endeavors, Yerba Mala brilliantly illuminates sensitivities and liabilities through sonic juxtaposition and thoughtful lyrical wit.
Fake Dad spoke with Pookie over Zoom to share about their origin story, the meaning behind "Yerba Mala", their inspirations, and their wishes for 2024. Read the interview below.
"...we just really both understood
what the other person was going
for with music in a way that felt
like it was always hard to
explain to someone else."
So tell me about the beginning. What sparked this artistic partnership, how did you guys meet?
J: We met in college at NYU when one of my best friends from high school invited me to his best friend’s housewarming party, and that best friend was Andrea. So we met at the party, we really hit it off, and we started dating really quickly after that. We were just spending lot of time together, sharing music with each other, and just exploring each other's taste. You know that thing when you first start dating it's like a love language to share music with each other.
A: At this point we were both just making music separately and hadn't really collaborated [closely with anyone]. We didn't start making music together right away; it was closer into a year of being together. But music was always something that was at the center of our relationship and [that we had] in common of course from the first day we met. A lot of our early dates were going to shows and hanging out and listening to music and sharing playlists with each other.
J: And we just really both understood what the other person was going for with music in a way that felt like it was always hard to explain to someone else. And so it just felt natural, like we never decided to start working together. It was just Andrea would show me something because I was around, and vice versa, and we'd go like, “Oh I totally know what you're going for, what if you did this?” And it just kinda happened that way.
For those who haven't had the pleasure of listening to your music before, how would you describe your sound?
J: It’s constantly changing. There's this backbone of indie rock, but the palette really comes down to a couple important things, which is that we’re always going to be drawing from whatever is fascinating to us at the time. I'm always going to be bringing this desire to synthesize a bunch of things I like into something new, and Andrea is always going to be bringing this ability to be entirely singular in her melody construction and lyrical ideas. And so we’re lucky that we have this security where we get to play with so many different sounds because they'll always sound like us and that's because of Andrea.
A: I think it's because of both [laughing], I think it's because of our shared input. I think it's because the way [Josh] synthesizes the sounds, I feel like our production even when we're wearing the hat of whatever genre we are working with in said song, there's still something consistent about it. What elements get highlighted over others.
J: I’m obsessed with symmetry.
A: In terms of arrangement and production, even when we're [working on] the newer music, what we're working on now is even more guitar leaning. There's always something, since the beginning Fake Dad has always had [specific] elements in it. There's always like one or two things on a track where you're like, 'Wait that's a little weird, why is that in there?'. But still ultimately it's an accessible track, still kinda indie pop leaning, but always has at least a couple weird elements that don't necessarily traditionally fit the genre. So we try to maintain that.
J: [A friend once described it to me] as every song reminds him of something that he's really intimately familiar, with but he can never place what it is.
Yeah I 100% agree with that right there.
A: It's a fresh take on that, something familiar but still feels like something new we haven't quite met before.
You said that often your music is inspired by what you find fascinating. What are you guys fascinated by right now?
A: A couple things. Do you know the band Geese? Been really into Geese. Their song "Cowboy Nudes" I think came out last year, that's been on a loop for me. But also like Rolling Stones. I never really dove into [them] as a kid, my dad was always a big OG rock dad, and he showed me the Rolling Stones but he was way more The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac. [Also] revisiting Mick Jagger's whole performance style and energy, I’ve just been really fascinated and inspired by.
Yerba Mala is your second EP. Every song is fantastic. What's this project about?
A: It’s about growth, removing things in your life that are no longer serving you. The bad weeds if you will. Which is what yerba mala translates to in English. Removing those things that are no longer serving you in order to make room for more positive fruitful things to grow.
J: We made this EP entirely when we were either packing up to move from New York to LA or in the months following moving to LA. Moving to LA was a hard choice for us to make, we love New York. We met there, we fell in love there, we built our whole lives there. But it felt like we had gotten everything that we were gonna get out of it. We knew that there were better opportunities for us here. Not just professionally, although [it's] true we've had a lot of great opportunities here since we moved. But also personally you get stuck in who you are when you stay in one place, especially when it's the place you first moved as a kid. So getting to make this hard, scary, and painful decision was one of the biggest life experiences that led to this larger project about the painful and necessary process of removing things so that you can grow.
A: That move is what inspired us to even make this ep. Before that we were releasing singles, but it just felt right and this collection of songs all had that common thread.
What's your favorite track on yerba mala?
J: I’m proudest of "So Dramatic!" because every time we show up to make a song, we hope that we make something that just connects with everybody the way that song did. But that's a very impersonal answer. So I think my favorite is "Momento", it's not what everyone loves, it's what we love. There's that combination of Bootsy Collins funk bass line over this Cocteau Twins guitar. Those things, I don't know if they really go together, maybe if i was making the perfect palatable song we wouldn't have done that but we did because we just love those things and we love them together.
A: It's hard to pick one because each of them has been my favorite at one point. When you're a creator of a project, a collection of songs, EP or an album, your relationship with each track changes over time. "Souvenir Store" I think might still be my favorite, it's very personal and it's different, sonically it goes into territory we hadn’t really explored yet.
J: I'd say that that is the song that most fits on the project we're making right now.
A: "Souvenir Store" was essential in us getting to the next step of where the Fake Dad sound is currently at.
Originally you were operating in NY. Now you're based in LA, how do you feel like the music community is different here than New York? How do you feel like the West Coast is influencing your sound?
A: We’re actually coming up on a year of being in LA, especially the past three to five months, we've gotten more locked in to the indie music community here. There's something about it in certain aspects way more supportive. A lot of our friends and favorite people are still over there but something about the culture there, maybe just the New York grind, it can be very competitive. Like cutthroat. LA, the music scene, at least people are more open to connect.
J: People are a little more protective of what they have in New York, it's natural its not a personal indictment, it's a product of the kind of resources and opportunities that are available in the New York music world right now, versus the resources and opportunities that are valuable in the LA music world right now. I don't think that's gonna be true about one versus the other forever, it's just where we're at in the moment. But as a result [in LA] it feels like people aren't quite as covetous of their time, strategies, connections, knowledge.
Apart from music, where else do you find inspiration?
A: Lots of TV and movies.
J: That’s true. And poetry for you.
A: And poetry for me, yeah. Poetry, books, feels like recently I’ve gotten more into reading novels.
J: Aside from music, I guess just like the culture [laughs]. Thats such a weird thing to say, but it's true. I feel like we’re inspired by the movement of the pop culture world we see around us, and the things people seem excited by. This sort of invisible hand of the way culture reverberates back and forth. Things are created and rejected and remembered, it's always funny to see that cyclical nature. We definitely draw from that in the energy that we try to bring. It's not a primary thing, but I know it's in the room.
A: Same with TV shows that are currently being discussed a lot. For example our new song has a moment that's influenced by The Bear. [Laughs]. It’s like a surface level thing.
J: It’s a subtle thing, it's not like we say “Like Carmie from The Bear” [chuckle].
A: It’s more so the character of the song is influenced by that. We do that alot. With Fashion Girl, I remember while I was writing that I was rewatching Gossip Girl. It's never like a direct shout out, it’s there in the voice of the character of the song.
What are your spirit animals?
A: For me I feel like it's my cat Ellie. She’s my familiar.
J: I haven't thought about what my spirit animal is in a long time. I used to say that it was some kind of bird.
A: Yes, a bowerbird, the ones that build the little houses.
J: Oh my god, was I saying that so recently? [Laughs] I can’t believe you remember that. I used to say it was a satin bowerbird because it's this bluebird with these crazy eyes that finds random stuff in the woods and makes little forts out of them.
It’s a thrifter!
J: Yeah, I've always liked birds.
We’re still fresh into the new year, what are your plans and what are your wishes for the 2024?
J: Our hope for this year is to release a big project and reach new people. We're really trying to make this the biggest year we’ve ever had. [We want to] capitalize on the success that we had last year and the connections that we've been building up and the audience that we've been generating. Bring some new people onto the team, develop the infrastructure of Fake Dad more so that we can start to really live this all the time the way that we want to.
A: And really just continue to build the Fake Dad community and connect with as many new friends and fans as we can. And definitely play more shows than we did last year. And to play cities that we’ve never played before.
Fake Dad is gearing up for their performance at The Resident tonight in DTLA. Pull up for a fantastic experience. Get tickets here.
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