Growing up along the coast near the beaches of New Jersey, you’re naturally imbued with a particular shade of wistfulness, longing and desire. House shows in Long Branch or New Brunswick, late night dutch coffees at the Inkwell, long drives blasting music with no destinations; these experiences spread out across four seasons influence every artist born and raised in the area in varied ways.
One of the more promising upstarts out of central NJ, Lunch Ladies, package these sentiments with a hazy, dreamy, jangle-pop sound that evokes the golden age of Creation Records. Having made a name for themselves in all of the tri-state DIY circles, Lunch Ladies are now readying the release of their debut full-length, Down on Sunset Strip, out March 10th, 2017 via Good Eye Records.
Consisting of Matt Whitley (vox, guitar), Cynthia Rittenbach (vox, bass), Matt Ramiz (vox, guitar) and Peter Gargano (drums), Lunch Ladies foster a creative dynamic that embraces harmony, in its many forms, with the three vocalists trading lead and support duties across the album’s seven tracks.
Check out Pick Yourself Up below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about the upcoming album, latest single, fans and more!
How has the release of Pick Yourself Up gone so far?
So far so good! We’ve gotten back a ton of positive feedback and people seem to love the song just as much as we love it, which is an amazing thing to experience.
How pumped are you to be releasing your debut album in March?
We couldn’t be any more excited. We’ve honestly put blood, sweat, and tears into making this album and constructing it, while playing a bunch of shows at the same time. We are also stoked on our album release show! March 10th at the J House in New Brunswick.
Tell us a little bit about ‘Down on Sunset Strip’. What is your favourite song from the release?
Well the whole concept behind ‘Down on Sunset Strip’ is going through the motions of falling in love and being happy for a while and then falling out of love, trying to find meaning within ourselves and our own lives, and generally just trying to find comfort in existence. There’s not one specific theme, we like to think everything is up for interpretation and the listener can view the lyrics and instrumentals however they want. We think it’s cool to let the listener make the song their own that they can relate and listen to in their own way.
Personally, I’d have to say my favorite song is Love Is Overrated.
If you could work with any artist/band on a new song, who would it be and why?
If I could work with any band right now, well the first band that comes to mind is either Furnsss from Connecticut, or Hoops from Indiana. They’re both solid bands dominating their own sound and doing cool things.
How much does your fans mean to you guys?
To us, the fans mean everything. Without the support we’ve received we’d be absolutely nowhere and it means the world to us when people give support us, because this is our art and this is what we love to do.
What has been your proudest moment to date?
I think our proudest moment was when we played with The Frights and they were all super into us, which is cool because we all fucking love The Frights. Also, recording our album at Retromedia Sound Studios was an amazing moment because for Peter, Matt R, and I it was our first time in an actual studio. Cynthia has recorded before with her last band.
How helpful are the guys at Good Eye Records?
Good Eye Records has been nothing short of amazing and we are excited to be working with them. They’ve been extremely supportive and have helped us a ton.
Lunch Ladies tour dates:
1/28 – Blackburn Hall – Watchung, NJ
2/7 – The Meatlocker – Montclair, NJ
2/15 – Shea Stadium – Brooklyn, NY
3/10 – The J House – New Brunswick, NJ (release show)
4/14 – Brighton Bar – Long Branch, NJ