“I’d say our biggest influence is looking at pictures of dogs,” laughs Stepbrothers guitarist Taylor Tomita, discussing where the self-proclaimed ‘World’s Most Based Band’ draw inspiration from. It all adds to the tongue-in-cheek charm that exudes from the bands excellently titled 2015 album, ‘Why The Fuck Would Anything Nice Ever Happen?’ However, Tomita explains that the title started life as a bit of an in-joke for the band. “The more things were coming on with both recording, and life in general, it just started to seem more appropriate,” he says. “There isn’t really a central theme, but all the songs just seem to work together, because they are either bummed out or pissed off. We are just really grumpy and all the songs seem to reflect on past experiences, current views on life and music, loss, giving up, and getting old.”

Formed in Boise, Idaho in 2012, Stepbrothers started life as a three-piece. After the release of their debut album ‘Rapid Change//Breeds Growth’, and its follow up ‘Good Sons’, the band expanded to a four-piece, adding Tomita to the fold. “Patrick, Charlie, and Ralph all met through being in other bands,” he says, reflecting on how the band came to be. “I got fired from my job in 2014, so I moved to Boise and ended up joining the band shortly after that.”

Influenced by 90’s heroes such as Hum, Jawbreaker, Seaweed, and Braid, the quartet poured their collective spirits into ‘Why The Fuck Would Anything Nice Ever Happen?’, recruiting Ryan Morgan of Misery Signals for production duties. He brought the album to life, and it would appear Stepbrothers have formed quite the bond with him. “Working with Ryan definitely rocked,” enthuses Tomita of the recording experience. “Ryan is a good friend of ours, and since he produced the record, he definitely brought a lot of ideas to the recording process. We definitely plan on working with him again with whatever we do going forward.”

They also enlisted Matt Kupka, of recent Dog Knights signee’s Southtowne Lanes, to add his own unique touch to the track ‘I’m Not A Doctor.. That’s A Raisin’, and is someone who Stepbrothers hold in equally high regard. “Southtowne Lanes are probably the best band on the planet, and some of our best friends,” he says. “That being said, Matt being on the record means a lot. We weren’t really sure what to expect, because we just sent him a mix of the song and said, “Just do something here”, but he definitely killed it.”

Now, a year after the albums release, the band are about to head out on tour, playing select dates with darkwave enigma – and a fellow Idaho native son – Leafraker. “We are way too stoked to tour with Leafraker, because he is both an incredible musician, and the best person on the planet,” says Tomita, expressing his excitement of the upcoming tour. “I grew up in Idaho Falls, the same city as Leafraker, and saw him perform at The Wax House more times than I can count. His sets still continue to blow my mind, and we are pretty convinced he is not a real person.”

The tour will also see them take in the fifth-annual Treefort Festival in their hometown of Boise. “This will be our second year playing Treefort, and we are definitely looking forward to it,” he says. “The line-up for the show we are playing is really stacked. There’s Prawn, Weatherbox, Southtowne Lanes, Unconditional Arms, Blackcloud, Sheep Among Wolves, Bobby Meader Music, Enemies, Know Reaction, Denyde, and Evaleen. Not to mention there are like a million other bands playing. Treefort is usually pretty interesting, and this year seems like it is going to rock.”

This leads to a discussion about what the scene in Boise is like right now. You may know indie-rock band Built To Spill hail from the city, but it seems that Treefort Festival – essentially the Pacific Northwest’s answer to SXSW – helps both expose and solidify not just the music scene in the affectionately named ‘City Of Trees’, but the whole creative quarter. “Treefort is definitely a pretty huge thing that happens here, and could probably be called the central hub for music in Idaho,” says Tomita, expressing his fondness for the multi-venue festival. Spanning five days in March, Treefort features hundreds of bands from across the globe. From the queen of darkness Chelsea Wolfe to modern soul singer Charles Bradley, and everything in between.

“Treefort also showcases writing, filmmaking, and whatever else you can think of,” he continues. ”It basically has something for everybody, so it has a pretty big draw.” Much like any scene, Tomita admits that things aren’t the same as they used to be in Boise. “The overall scene has changed quite a bit over the last few years,” he says. “There is a pretty big lack of all ages spaces right now in Boise, but there seem to be new things coming soon and that’s exciting. It’s definitely not bad scene to be in. We get some cools shows coming through Boise pretty often, and most people are supportive of the shows that come through town. Overall, I would probably rate it a 6.9/10.”

Despite being quite prolific over the first four years of the band, it’s still early days for Stepbrothers; but the fire is only burning bigger inside of them. The band are eager to expand their reach as soon as possible, looking at further, wide scale touring. “We definitely want to play Canada so we can eat all of the Poutine,” says Tomita. “Personally I want to play Tennessee, because I have a friend there who I miss, and I really want to see him. We really just want to play places we have never gone before. We have some plans to get out further east this year. As far as touring overseas goes, I mean, that would definitely rock, too.”

As we look to the future of Stepbrothers, they have no plans of slowing down. In fact, the idea of world domination probably wouldn’t seem out of question for this passionate band. “We have a ton of new stuff written that we hope to start demoing soon,” says Tomita, detailing what’s to come from Stepbrothers in due course. “The new songs sound a lot darker than ‘Why The Fuck Would Anything Nice Ever Happen?’ If you are into some of the dark parts of that record, you’ll probably be into these new songs. If not, then you’re wrong.”

With an assured confidence about them, Stepbrothers make no secret of being proud of their output. “Well, we are already the best rock band of all time, so I don’t know…” laughs Tomita, when asked if Stepbrothers have any set agenda or game plan. Even though this is said jokingly, you can’t help but think they believe that, but then surely any band should aspire to be the best?

As we wrap things up, Tomita finally reveals Stepbrothers true manifesto: “Our main goal is to rock all of the gigs, pet all of the dogs, see all of the memes, and smash all of the cowards.”

With that kind of confidence – and the songs to back it up, Stepbrothers should have no problem achieving their goals.

Stepbrothers currently have all of their releases available for free from their Bandcamp page, and stateside readers can catch the band live at the end of the month.

MARCH
19 SEATTLE, WA The Kraken
20 EUGENE, OR Blair House
21 OLYMPIA, WA Le Voyeur
22 PORTLAND, OR Psychic Reader
25 BOISE, ID Treefort Fest (with Prawn, Weatherbox, Southtowne Lanes and more)
28 SALT LAKE CITY, UT The Underground
29 IDAHO FALLS, ID The Sickhouse

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