Alternative-rock band Weathers is certainly not a band whose rise to fame you want to miss. The LA four-piece consists of lead singer Cameron Boyer, guitarist Cameron Olsen, bassist Brennen Bates and drummer Cole Carson. The band’s journey kicked off in 2016 with the release of their hit single “Happy Pills,” an undeniably catchy song that shows off the band’s unique sound and extreme talent. The song managed to garner a surplus of fourteen-million views on YouTube all the while landing Weathers countless fans, their collective following exceeding sixty-thousand across various social media platforms. Since their launch, Weathers has released “Kids in the Night,” their 2018 debut album that features various sanguine songs that focus on significant issues such as mental health. The band’s most recent single “Dirty Money” debuted early 2019. “Dirty Money” captures the precise route in which the band is headed now, a lively track that makes you want to get up and dance. If you’re a fan of bands such as Panic! At the Disco or Fall Out Boy, you will definitely want to add this new Weathers track to your playlist.
As the band continues working to release new music while also on tour, lead singer Cameron Boyer took the time to speak with Affinity about the band’s journey and their ascent toward fame.
Photograph via Weathers Official Instagram
Kaycee Wilson: Tell me about the band’s formation. How did Weathers come to be?
Cameron Boyer: I met Brennen first. I didn’t know any bass players, so I made a “bass player auditions” page on Facebook and Brennen was the only one that responded. After that, I met [Cameron] Olsen at a battle of the bands. He was the singer of a different band and I asked him if he wanted to play in my band for a while. We worked really well together and started writing songs. It just made sense. When I began looking for a drummer, my dad chimed in and mentioned that his friend’s son was a drummer. Eventually, Cole moved out to California and joined the band.
Where did the idea for the band name originate?
Honestly, out of all the names we came up with, it just sounded the coolest. It also resonated with us all, but we aren’t exactly sure why. I think it may be because we’ve all known each other since high school. We’ve kind of grown up together, and we’ve seen each other go through a lot of changes. Like the weather.
If you could describe your sound to someone who has never heard you, what would you describe it as?
Imperfect, emotional, and easy to listen to while you’re in the car.
Which musicians and artists influence the band’s sound the most?
We take lots of inspiration from The Cure, The Police, Pixies, Sir Sly, and The Killers.
Your recently released single “Dirty Money” is amazing and extremely catchy. Where did the inspiration for this song stem? Would you describe the songwriting process as being easy or was it hard?
The songwriting process for that one was pretty easy — probably only took about an hour. We wanted to write a song about battling egos while being young and in a band. Sometimes it’s hard to keep your ego at bay, and we wanted to be honest about that.
“Kids in the Night,” your debut album is jam-packed with unorthodox beats, groovy guitars and unforgettable lyrics. What was the creative process like for that album and do you have a favourite track from it?
After “Happy Pills,” we wanted to take some time to figure out the future of the band. We were changing as people and wanted the music to change with us. So, we took as much time as we needed to do the album right. We wanted it to be an accurate representation of who we are right now. I feel like we are living out our own John Hughes movie in a way. Like we’re still figuring out life and stumbling along the way. So … we wrote a shit ton of songs. All very different from each other. We wanted to figure out where we were headed and what we gravitated towards and why. Eventually, we narrowed it down to our favourite twelve songs. Eleven of those became “Kids In The Night” and the twelfth is “Dirty Money.” I don’t have a favourite to be honest — every song serves its own purpose and will be the song you want to listen to based on what mood you’re in. But “Carry Us Home,” “Problems” and “Casual Monday’s” are some of my favourites to play live.
Photograph via Weathers Official Instagram
Your single “Happy Pills” became an automatic hit in 2016. With a surplus of seven-million views three years later for the music video, the song is still tremendously enjoyed by countless fans. What is the meaning behind “Happy Pills” and where did the idea for the song originate?
The song is kind of a social commentary on the vices we take that control our lives. It doesn’t have to just be pills. It can be anything that that is keeping you from taking control of your life.
A few of your songs — “I’m Not Ok” and “Poser” for instance — seem to have an underlying theme of mental health and self-development issues. How would you say your knowledge of and experiences with mental health disorders have impacted the band’s music?
Definitely. I’ve dealt with mental health a lot in my life and I’ve seen it in people who are close to me. “Secret’s Safe With Me” is the most personal song to me on the album. It deals with my mom who struggles with Bipolar 1 and schizophrenia. Growing up with her was tough. Life for her, in general, has been tough — and still is. Mental health was never really part of the dialogue when we were writing and recording the album, other than “Secret’s Safe With Me” but it’s affected me and the band so much that it kind of naturally flowed out in the music. Not to mention a lot of fans picked up on that when we didn’t and that’s rad. The fans are showing us things in our music that we didn’t even totally notice. I love that the issue of mental health has come up so much in our music. Not just because it’s been so prominent in my life, but also because it’s something that I believe is overlooked a lot. I love that our music is helping kids with their struggles and also spreading awareness. It’s kind of a happy accident that has now become a focus.
If the band could collaborate with any musician, who would it be?
There are so many. But right now, we feel like K.Flay would be rad. Along with Jack Antonoff.
What is the number one thing you want people to take away from your music?
We want people to feel like they have an emotional experience with our music. Whatever that means to them. But that’s what we want. Go crazy. Cry. Drive.
What’s next for Weathers? Perhaps another album for fans to look forward to?
Always new music. Always. Definitely some fun new sounds coming soon along with a tour with Palaye Royal and a few festivals. We will be doing lots and lots of touring this year accompanied by new music. We can’t wait for our fans to come out and hear us play, and we can’t wait to make more.
If you haven’t listened to the band’s new single “Dirty Money,” be sure to give it a listen here. Want to see Weathers perform their hit songs live? Check out their tour dates and make sure to follow the band on Instagram to keep up with them on their journey to fame.
Featured Image via the Weathers Band Instagram
