Alt-rock band arriving at USC Thursday with Vacationland Tour
Most bands have a lead singer, and maybe a few back singers; The Mowgli’s have seven singers. Every member of the Southern California alt-rock band contribute to the vocals, leading to a unified, anthem sound. The band came from humble origins, beginning as a musical pastime between a few childhood friends. Dave Appelbaum, Michael Vincze, Andy Warren, Spencer Trent, and Katie Earl grew up around San Fernando Valley and began performing as The Mowgli’s before members Josh Hogan and Colin Dieden later joined the band.
When The Mowgli’s are not performing songs that feature themes of spreading hope and love, they can be found sponsoring philanthropic actions such as Charity: Water, U R Awesome and Relay for Life. The band also created a program called “Be A Mowgli” which promotes altruism by asking their fans to post pictures of good deeds being performed on their website and Instagram account.
“People spend a lot of time Instagram-ing their shoes, or cats, or food — I know I am guilty of posting pictures of my dog. And we just wanted to create this vibe of sharing selfless positive things. If you work at charity shelter one week, which a lot of people do, share it because it is positive,” said Katie Earl, the band’s percussionist.
As the only female in a band with six men, Earl said she finds that every moment is an adventure, but admittedly misses female interaction after long tours with the band.
“One thing that is great about boys are their ideas always become adventures like climbing a mountain or rolling down a hill,” Earl said. “But I do love when we get to tour with chicks or when I am home with my girlfriends.”
Earl said she found her passion for the arts through theater and choir in school, but did not originally see a career in music.
“I was actually turning towards comedy through improv and stand-up but all of my friends were playing music,” Earl said. “So since I had a musical background, I began to sing on a few of their songs. Then it just kind of took over and I did it full time.”
Earl said she was inspired early on by female doo-wop groups from the 1960s. Now, she tries to incorporate the unified sound in her music with The Mowgli’s.
“I always loved the sound of backup singers and the idea of lots of people singing which is one thing The Mowgli’s definitely have but we see it less as just back up singing and more of just everybody singing at once.”
In 2013, the band found commercial success after their song “San Francisco” reached No. 13 on Billboard’s alternative chart. Since, the Mowgli’s have been featured in numerous festivals, concerts and late-night shows. Earl said that the fame has created many surreal moments, such as performing on the Tonight Show, playing at Lollapalooza, and having Bill Nye the Science Guy star in a music video for their song, “Say it, Just Say it.”
“It’s just being with these people who we have grown up watching and encountering with them on a professional level that makes it so trippy and unreal,” Earl said.
This Thursday will mark the first stop of the Sperry Top-Sider Vacationland Tour, and The Mowgli’s are ready to bring their sound to the college set.
“College shows are fun because it just feels like these students really work for their weekend. They just have this mentality of we are going to seize this moment and have a great time no matter the consequences which really pushes us to perform our best,” Earl said.