When and where did The Reflectors form?
The Reflectors are James Carman, Nick Faciane, Johnny Reyes, and Ryan Miranda. The band came to life around 2018 when James and Johnny started playing a handful of songs that James wrote on guitar over the years. Essentially, the 4 of us have been playing together since 2004, but we were mostly known as IMAGES playing as a 3 piece from around 2010-2018. The songwriting in IMAGES was more challenging, as James was drumming and singing, but also writing a handful of songs for the band on guitar. When the idea of The Reflectors started taking shape, the whole process came full circle as we kept our core and chemistry intact with James moving over to guitar and lead vocals and Johnny retaining the drumming duties. We have definitely come a long way and we look forward to where this journey will take us next.
To me, your sound takes on elements from the poppiest of the 77′ punk bands aswell as American power-pop classics like Paul Collin’s Beat and The Nerves. What bands prove to be the biggest influences on the band, and what are some current groups you feel at home being lumped in a group with?(Bad sports come to mind personally)
We definitely grew up listening to a lot of the same music. I feel like this has helped us shape our sound to where it is today. Bands like Buzzcocks and The Nerves are definitely at the top of our list, while also being influenced by the massive catalog of punk and new wave bands from the late ’70s and early ’80s. In regards to current groups that are kindred, bands such as The Speedways and Radio Days are definitive for the new power-pop sound.
What’s the punk scene like in LA, what sort of shows do you tend to play?(also which bands, and if there is a distinct power pop scene)
The scene out here in LA goes in many directions, but we try to pave our own path since we play a bit more poppier tunes than most. Not so much a powerpop scene out here, but bands such as Prima Donna, Mogg, Seven and Six, The Pretty Flowers, Juvenile Wrecks, The Crazy Squeeze, and The Exploding Flowers are definitely bands we’d recommend checking out.
How did you guys get linked up with Time For Action records from Germany? What do you see as the main differences between power-pop/punk and Mod Revival bands? Do you have a favourite label mate band?
Michael from TFA reached out to us earlier in 2019 to release one of our singles “Teenage Hearts” which then in turn led us to release “First Impression” shortly after. The differences between power-pop and Mod revival artists really just depend on their sound (AND CLOTHES!). The Purple Hearts song “Millions Like Us” sounds very punk although they’re deemed a mod-revival band, so it really just depends if the band is leaning heavy on the 60’s R&B influence or if they have punk/pop influences. Dirt Royal on TFA are the best and would highly recommend their album “Great Expectations”.
What are your top 5 bands these days – both current, and past?
James: Band that will always be #1 for me: Buzzcocks
Currently can’t stop listening to: Manic Street Preachers, Tommy Keene
Always on my playlists: Shoes, 20/20
Have you guys gigged very far afield? Where is on your hitlist? Any interest in playing up in Canada?
As The Reflectors, we haven’t travelled very far and the Covid restrictions haven’t made that any easier for us. When things start to ease up, we’d like to hit all of Europe, Canada, Japan, and honestly everywhere else!
Tell us about your brand new LP, “Faster Action” that’s just come out – what’s it all about ,and where can we get it?
The “Faster Action” LP is really close to us emotionally. We recorded this album during the pandemic, and there were so many other things going on in each of our lives that we were struggling with. To get into the studio to record this album was something that we wanted done, but proved to be trivial with all of the obstacles. We listen back to it now and we are so proud, but you can definitely hear the emotion in our songs and lyrics. Some of these songs were written during the pandemic/quarantine, and we hope the listener can tap along but also dive deep and hear what kind of emotions we endured during that difficult time. The album is out now in Europe on Time For Action, SNAP!!, and Beluga Records. Additionally, we will be releasing the US version on Neon Nile records in the coming months.
Cheers for the interview buddy – any final comments?
Thank you for having us. We hope everyone is continuing to be well and healthy. We are already pushing to record our 3rd LP with all new songs, so please stay tuned as we continue to announce updates on our current releases as well as future releases and shows. Cheers!
