The future's looking bright for The Fluorescents
Teen punk band discusses subverting expectations, working with legendary record label Kill Rock Stars, and making their parents cry (in a good way)
If The Fluorescents are nervous, they certainly aren’t showing it.
Which is kind of incredible considering that they are less than an hour away from playing their first 21-and-up show at Soda Bar. It’s not often that a group of teenagers hovering around the age of 16 get to play a real bar, and while I’m not trying to downplay the importance of DIY and all-ages venues, getting an invite to play somewhere where you’re otherwise legally not allowed...it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. And even if a Sunday night show during a pandemic is not the type of performance that will make or break a band’s career, there must be some internalized pressure to prove your musical prowess in the grown-up scene, right?
But The Fluorescents seem cool, collected. They roam the sidewalk in front of Soda like a gang straight out of an ‘80s movie—excitedly greeting fans waiting to get in and asking anyone how they can put more people on the guest list. Earlier in the evening, they had snuck a group photo from inside Soda Bar’s bathroom, posting it on Instagram Stories with the caption “We’re in a bar.” Apparently (and unbeknownst to me) underage bands can play in bars, but it’s sort of like a minor walking through a Vegas casino. The Fluorescents have to enter and exit through Soda Bar’s side door, and can only be inside during their performance.
But when the band kicks into the first song, it’s like they belong there. In fact, they fucking own the Soda Bar. I’ve seen plenty of bands perform on the same stage and deliver unenthusiastic sets, but these kids play with a skill and polish well beyond their years. Their signature pop-punk/emo is not only catchy, but it’s dynamic—weaving between loud exuberance, and quiet heartbreak. All four members showcase their respective strengths: lead singer/rhythm guitarist Tuesday Denekas commands the stage while lead guitar player Charlee Berlin rips through shimmery riffs and bassist Sasha A’Hearn moves through her parts with effortless dexterity. And they’re all backed by Milla Merlini, one of the loudest and hardest hitting drummers I’ve seen.
What’s most surprising—at least from this over-the-hedge emo fan’s point of view—is how niche and retro The Fluorescents sound. I mean, their songs remind me of the exact same stuff I was listening to in high school: Pretty Girls Make Graves, Get Up Kids, Motion City Soundtrack and blink 182, just to name a few. How do kids even know how to make this type of music? I wonder. What are they even listening to? I just thought teens listened to EDM and Soundcloud rappers these days.
Before I know it, The Fluorescents’ set is over. The sizable crowd cheers. The band seems stoked with their performance, and you can tell they want to indulge requests of “one more song!” shouted from the audience.
“Thank you,” singer Tuesday says. “We’re The Fluorescents. If you want us, we’ll be hanging out outside.”
****
It’s not lost on me that The Fluorescent’s Soda Bar show might as well encapsulate the band’s many MOs: pushing boundaries, subverting expectations, and infiltrating places where they quote unquote “don’t belong,” only to leave them more rocked than when the band arrived.
It’s this drive and determination that sets the band apart from their bands their age, and perhaps which explains why they consider themselves “outsiders” in their scene.
“I think we are somewhat different from a lot of the bands here,” says lead guitarist Charlee. I’m trying to keep up with the band while they explain to me what their music scene is like, often finishing each other’s sentences and showing merciful patience to my rambling questions.
“I think that the scene here is very interesting because there's this indie-pop math-rock-inspired section that uses the same chord progressions, and all the girls love the guys who do that,” says Tuesday. “And then there's like also the punk scene—”
“Where they play at skate parks all the time,” adds drummer Milla.
“I think that both of those things are not us, which is kind of hard for us to find our group in San Diego,” Tuesday says.
“I think going to shows here—it's more about having fun. It's less about the music and more about the people and experience,” says bassist Sasha. I think it's less about ‘I want to get down to some really awesome music’ and more about ‘I want to have a good time.’”
And while everyone in the band agrees that there’s nothing wrong with the social aspect of concert-going, it’s still dismaying when it feels like the crowd couldn’t care less about the music.
“Even if we do seem like more popular on social media or whatever, we really don't get many like shows,” Charlee says. “I don't know if that's because we're all girls and non binary or...I don't know...”
“I think that’s interesting,” says Tuesday, who uses the pronouns they/them. “When we play shows, every time somebody yells at us during the show. It’s like ‘All, girls!’ First of all: not all girls. And second of all, why is that the biggest part of it? It never even crossed my mind that we all are female-presenting until it was something that we had to put on our bio.”
While it’s cool to be an inspiration for other girls or non-binary folks to form their own bands, the band thinks it kinda sucks that that fact alone makes them inspirational.
“Ah yes, female-presenting people playing music in a group? Revolutionary!” jokes Tuesday.
Although they all knew each other through San Diego’s School of Rock, they didn’t form The Fluorescents until Tuesday—who comes from a musical family (their mom is musician Tamar Berk)—wanted to record a solo EP in her garage with Milla filling in on drums. However, the plans got bigger, and so did the band.
“At first it was just gonna be like, ‘You’re going to be playing drums on an EP,’ which I was writing myself,” Tuesday says. “But then I grabbed Sasha and was like ‘Oh my God, wait. Sasha can play bass. That would be pretty cool.’ And then I met Charlee through school, and Charlee told me that she owned a guitar.”
“I couldn't play it,” Charlee adds.
“Yeah, she owned a guitar, and I was like, ‘Okay, you're gonna play lead guitar in my band.’”
When asked what music influences they all share, they all simultaneously pull out their phones and scroll through their Spotify lists. I’ve never felt older than when they call out their favorite bands—naming bands I’ve never even heard of, including Beach Bunny and Wallows. They all kind of stare at me when I try to tell them about the bands I liked in high school.
In 2020, The Fluorescents released their self-titled EP, which they recorded in Tuesday’s family’s garage. It’s a confident and emotional record that deals heavily in anxieties and vulnerability. It’s a little like stumbling upon an open diary, which, I’d argue, is the magic of this kind of music. It’s rare that adults can make art as emotionally honest as teens. For a mainline of raw emotion, look no further than emo-pop-punk made by young people.
Earlier this year, and with a little more experience under their collective belt, the band entered San Diego’s Singing Serpent Studio and enlisted the help of producer/engineer Ben Moore (Hot Snakes, Angels and Airwaves) to record their first full-length. Although the album won’t be released until 2022, it has already caught the attention of legendary indie label, Kill Rock Stars, home to such acts as Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney. The label recently asked The Fluorescents to record a cover of Bratmobile’s “Cool Schmool” which will appear on an upcoming compilation. And the band says that they’re in talks about signing with the label.
It’s no surprise that the new album is getting such favorable attention. Sonically, it’s bold—more abrasive than The Fluorescents’ EP, but prettier, more dynamic and complex. It has challenged each member technically and creatively.
“I wanted to think more about what I was saying, and not just have the lyrics that would fit in the melody” Tuesday says. “I tried to have a theme for this album of moving on and being hung up on stuff. You know, being hung up on people that you shouldn't be hung up on.”
“I’m trying to be the hardest hitter,” Milla says. “Like, play the hardest things, but also make it seem cool and fun.”
Both Charlee and Sasha talk about being more involved with the songwriting—a process that involved listening to voice memos from Tuesday, and building their respective guitar and bass parts from those.
“A lot of the songs on the EP don't have any bass parts written on them,” Sasha says. “Like on “New Years,” I don't do anything interesting. I pretty much just play the root notes the entire time. So on the album, I challenged myself to write stuff for everywhere that I thought that it was fit. I wanted to make sure that I didn't leave any stones unturned.”
“Sometimes when I listened to the songs it just didn’t click in my brain,” Charlee says. “On
‘So Much of Nothing,’ I literally couldn't write anything on it for months. I guess it kind of feels like I have a block in my brain, which is really annoying, so I just need to sit there and try and try until it works.”
It also pushed the band into darker places, often revealing big emotions and deep personal issues.
“I have recently started going on medication to fix what's happening in my brain,” Tuesday says when I bring up the album’s vulnerabilities. “Especially with anxiety because I'm constantly filled with anxiety.”
The album’s centerpiece, “Tomorrow Night” (which could be considered a pop-punk epic at nearly seven minutes) focuses on Tuesday’s romantic interest in Charlee, and the realization that those feelings would never be reciprocated.
“Was that awkward writing that song?” Milla asks.
“Yes,” Tuesday says, laughing. They apparently have moved past it, but still. “I’m so sorry, Charlee.”
“It’s okay,” Charlee says.
Whether or not The Fluorescents land on a record label—or even if they survive after high school—one thing is clear: they’ve produced a timeless and powerful piece of art.
“When we recorded the demos of the album, my mom was mixing ‘Tomorrow Night,’” Tuesday says. “I walked into the room and she was sobbing. ‘I was like, are you okay?’ And she was like, ‘Tuesday... this song.’”
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THE WEEKLY GOODS
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Ah, education. The pursuit of higher knowledge and deeper understanding. Truly a noble endeavor for students of all ages. To celebrate this momentous and very dignified occasion, I wrote about five of the most ridiculous back-to-school movies for PACIFIC Magazine. This is one of the most fun film round-ups I’ve written, and even super problematic films like The Substitute proved too bonkers to take seriously. All of these movies are going to be a good time.
Go to this
Hey, you know that really awesome band you just read about, The Fluorescents? You can catch them this Saturday! Do it. DO IT. It’s gonna be a cash-at-the-door sort of thing, so hit the ATM before heading over.
Watch this (All horror picks until October 31)
Barbara Crampton gained instant ‘80s Scream Queen status for her roles in Re-Animator, From Beyond and Chopping Mall. And although her roles weren’t as memorable in the ‘90s and ‘00s, she’s been killing it (often literally, as required by her roles) for the past ten years. Earlier this year, she produced and starred in what might be my new favorite Crampton movie, Jakob’s Wife. The story follows a repressed wife of a minister, who—whilst testing the waters of an extramarital affair—gets bitten by a vampire, which may have just been the thing that saves her marriage. The film is very funny, but more importantly, scary—which is something that most modern horror-comedies forget how to do. Crampton and co-star Larry Fassenden (another B-movie icon) have great chemistry, but Crampton steals the show. Honestly, it’s her best role to date.
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Julia Dixon Evans edited this post. Thanks, Julia. Go follow her on Twitter.