The first American group to sign with Deaf Rock Records, the duo Crocodiles released Love Is Here (The End Is Near), their seventh album this year. Electrically charged with time, the album expresses heartbreak and anxiety on a global scale. But with 20 years of friendship and music backing them,Charlie Rowell and Brandon Welchez (creators of Crocodiles) know how to take on adversity: by persevering and banding together to create 10 songs like lightning bolts in a stormy sky.
For those who missed the beginning, and also for those who have nothing to lose by hearing the story again, Brandon Welchez and Charlie Rowell went on tour for the first time about 20 years ago. They left San Diego together in a van with the motor smoking. The van broke down in Arizona where they found another and continued on into the Northwest of the United States. The second van broke down as well, but Brandon and Charlie finished the tour. When they returned to San Diego, they agreed that they enjoyed the experience and were ready to get on the road again.
Around ten years before, the two met each other in San Diego during an anti-Nazi protest and connected over their interests in DIY Punk. Brandon and Charlie were playing in separate bands that would often go on tour, but without a foreseeable future. The two artists craved music and tour life, wanting to travel and make a career for themselves. The duo created Crocodiles in 2008, first to play garage-rock with a cheap synthesiser, but especially to find the music within themselves. “It’s lucky that we met, because neither of us wanted to play music just for a few years, then find a job and settle down. If you want to be an artist, you have to do it 100 percent. Life can be hard, you can be broke and deal with tough times, but at least you know you’re alive.”
This is a standing show.
