l_9a83fe64ee89beb7bf7c2724a0aee129.jpg

The Happy Hollows are one of those bands that you see when you’re at a friend’s show and they open or close the night and you don’t know who they are, but as soon as they start playing you want to stay and see the whole set. The lead singer and guitar player Sarah Negahdari is one of the spunkiest people you’ll ever meet, and it really comes through in the music. She’ll roll around on the floor, flail her head around, and even does finger tapping. She does get a break from singing sometimes and bassist Charlie Mahoney takes the mic for a song or three. They have a fast borderline punk sound similar to that of The Pixies, and Sarah sounds a tiny bit like Kim Gordon if she were excited, except Kim is scary and stares at you from the edge of your bed while you sleep at night.

The Happy Hollows recently finished a residency at The Echo for the month of September and for two dates, October 19th and 20th, opened up for the Silversun Pickups. They are quickly going places and I’ve seen this band nearly the most above all other LA bands because they just keep playing shows and keep getting their name out there. It helps that they are good and have a good live show too. I found Sarah maybe online or perhaps in a fountain filled with lemon juice and honey (I’ll let you decide) and asked her a few questions. Bing:

Indie Schmarm: How did the band form?

Sarah: Chris and Charlie knew each other from DC. They happened to move to L.A. at the same time for different reasons. I answered an ad in CraigsList for guitarist and the rest is history.

Indie Schmarm: You guys just recently opened up for the Silversun Pickups at The Fillmore and The Wiltern which I bet was so fun. How did you guys get on those bills?

Sarah: Brian and Christopher from SSPU happened to see us play at the Silverlake Lounge about a year ago. Since then they’ve been staying in touch with us and we’ve seen them around town at shows when they are not touring the world. They had some open slots on their shows at The Fillmore and The Wiltern and asked us to open. How could we say no : )

Indie Schmarm: Where did you guys get your name?

Sarah: I was thinking about how difficult it is to be a happy artist becuase the very thing that makes you happy is making a great song, and most of the time a great song is made becuase it comes out of your own pain. So I thought Happy Hollows would be fitting. It is like, wow, us songwriter people, we are happy to be hollow, ya know? It addresses my biggest struggle in life, which is, can I ever just be happy? Or do I have to have experiences that cause a sense of emptiness or pain in order to have the desire to create because then that creation makes me happy??

Indie Schmarm: How do you guys approach songs? Do you sarah come in with a song written or is it more of a collaborative effort?

Sarah: Most of the time I come in with the song fully written, and they put all their own bass and drum parts to it. Sometimes we jam out songs while playing together. All of the songs get fully formed together, its very democratic, and we all help shape the final version of every song.

Indie Schmarm: What’s the plan for The Happy Hollows in the next 6 months?

Sarah: We are going to look into the origins of the Dharma Initiative and also travel to Bolivia to inquire about the formula for Coca-Cola. We have a hunch the two issues are closely related.

Also, we are going to finish mixing our record and see if we can get is released somehow.

Indie Schmarm: What’s been inspiring you musically as of late?

Sarah: Anchors For Architects, Kaki King, The Who, Tigers Can Bite You, Tokyo Police Club, Celebration, Bark Bark Bark

Indie Schmarm: What are you going to be for Holloween?

Sarah: I am going to be a cat and Charlie is going to be The Kirin Dragon, I dont know what Chris is going to be yet.

End Scene,
Dan Tana