Boy in the Hood
Meet the leader of
exploding L.A.
Every day has a ‘pinch me’ moment,” Jesse Rutherford,
frontman for the Neighbourhood, said by phone during a recent shoe-shopping
trip.
Formed in 2011, the Los Angeles-based alternative-rock band
has a surprisingly sentimental side beneath their thuggish appearance. After
releasing two EPs, “I’m Sorry” and “Thank You,” the monochromatic quintet was
signed to Columbia Records and dropped its debut full-length, “I Love You,” in
April.
“It set the standard for us,” Rutherford
said of the provocative tune, which climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative
Songs chart. “We knew we wanted to build on that, because it was catchy and had
solid parts. You can hear on the album how our sound got more developed as time
went on.”
Despite dark lyrics and edgy instrumentation, the Neighbourhood
swiftly seduced radio listeners, resulting in a slew of sold-out shows across
the United States
this summer (and Friday’s non-sold-out stop at the Varsity). Already veteran
performers of South by Southwest and Coachella, the band also landed gigs opening
for top-40 rockers Imagine Dragons on their current tour.
The seemingly instantaneous success of the Neighbourhood
hasn’t inflated Rutherford ’s ego.
“A couple of nights ago, there was a 5- or 6-year-old in the
audience,” said the grateful-sounding Rutherford ,
effusively recounting a recent “pinch me” moment. “She was singing every word —
not just reciting. Maybe this sounds ridiculous, but she meant it. It felt so
good to me. It reminded me of being a boy, because when I was growing up, I
always felt different — not like ‘Whoa, I’m an alien,’ but older. I understood
emotions and vibes. That little girl reminded me of how a song could affect
me.”
The Neighbourhood, whose members are in their early 20s,
also appeals to a more mature audience, as evidenced by placement in a
(nudity-free!) Playboy app.
“People end up seeing sexual animosity in our music a lot
and I don’t necessarily write songs that way,” Rutherford
said. “It just sort of comes out like that.”
Perhaps that’s due to an excess of testosterone? There are
five guys in the band, after all.
“No,” Rutherford said, unequivocally,
when that theory was floated.
But what about the tat sleeves and the inked torso? Doesn’t
that scream “tough guy”?
“I just got tattoos because I always wanted them as a little
boy,” Rutherford explained. “I have my meanings for them
but I don’t care to be known as ‘that guy,’ you know, who’s all, ‘Damn man, I’m
tatted up!’ I don’t brag about it.”
And don’t you dare compare Rutherford
to Adam Levine of Maroon 5, though they may share a similar reaction from
female fans.
“Yeah, there was a bra [thrown onstage] the other night. It
was pretty funny. I grabbed it and threw it back at [drummer] Bryan [Sammis],” Rutherford
said with a chuckle. “Sometimes we jam after a show and it’s incredible, people
are really sweet. They make posters and art and stuff. It’s really cool to
make people feel that strongly. It’s an inner moment. I feel this childish kind
of vibe from getting that reaction.”
Bra flinging aside, there’s no cliché rock-star behavior in
the Neighbourhood. The grapefruit-flavored demand on their tour rider is all
the proof you need.
“Fresca,” Rutherford said, naming one
of his band’s touring essentials. “And some kind of alcohol. I don’t drink so I
don’t pay attention to that. I think it’s Bombay ?
But Fresca, yeah. We joke that we should change it to something more normal
like Sprite. That’s why I don’t feel like there’s too much testosterone in the
band. We have Fresca.”
Originally published on Vita.mn in July 2013.
Originally published on Vita.mn in July 2013.
