Hello Rockstars! Today’s Artist of the Week is Rock band The Crotches! Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy!
All Photo’s courtesy of the amazing Tiffany Salerno! 🙂
VMS:
When did you start writing and performing your music?
What’s your backstory and current lineup?
The Crotches:
Alonzo – Frontman
Amitkes – Guitar
Moose – Drums
Jaker – Bass
Brian Moy – Agent
Moose: Well. The band began as a joke between three brothers – young ‘Sha-Sheh’ who played drums, middle brother ‘Amitkes’ on guitar, and eldest brother ‘Alonzo’ on tambourine & screams. The name they came up with was a pun on their last name ‘Korach’ and not a result of their dad being a Gynecologist. But yeah he is.Moving on, the first writing sessions happened in 2009 for the dramatic western song ‘Ruthi’. Their debut album ‘One, Two, Mom, Dad’ was released in July of 2014 on NaNa Disc Records, a legendary Tel-Avivian record label from the 1980s.
The band became an absolute hit in the underground Tel Aviv-Jaffa scene. Everyone wanted to get a taste of The Crotches, including their musical heroes, and the band went on to perform A LOT. Around 2016 young Sha-Sheh moved to Amsterdam to become a cool-cat jazz drummer and the band changed its lineup to include ‘Nimshi’ on Bass and ‘God’ on drums.
Years of activity pass by, blah blah blah, it’s 2024 and The Crotches decide to move the band to the states in search of the American dream. To achieve this they knew they needed a badass local drummer. So they called me – Moose. And I brought my friend Jakey to play Bass. Mind you, the first time I heard The Crotches was in July of 2014, I was 10 years old skating in Tel Aviv Jaffa. I recall them singing a song called ‘California’ which starts with the lyrics ‘this song is not about California’. I loved that. 10 years later, it’s July 2024, I’m learning this song to join the band, in California.
VMS:
What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.
The Crotches:
Amitkes: Off the top of my head and in no particular order – Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Poison Ivy, Hashakranim (The Liars), Ra’ash (Noise), Jacques Brel, Carambolage, Dicks, Bad Brains, The Top Hat Carriers, Libertines, The Creation, The Shadows, Vashti Bunyan, Bill Withers, Led Zeppelin, The Flaming Lips, Marry Poppins, BJM, Takeshi Teraushi, Venedikt Yerofeyev, David Tartakover, Jean Michel Basquiat, David Cronenberg, Mitch Hedberg, Nick Hornby, Sarah Silverman, Charlie Megira, Monotonix, Thee Oh Sees, Nina Simone and I also remember a pivotal moment, in 2007, Alonzo and I were at a Black Lips concert and we both kind of changed.
VMS:
What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics?
The Crotches:
Alonzo: A lot of our lyrics are political. Some are just about our own personal experiences and relationships. But regardless of the topic, we consider all of our songs love songs. Regarding the process, sometimes Amitkes sends me a riff and sometimes I send him lyrics, that’s usually where we start off.
VMS:
I love your songs “Balada La Shakranit“, and your 2024 and 2023 singles (I’m sorry, I don’t know the translation for those songs, I do apologize)
What is the inspiration or story behind these songs?
The Crotches:
Amitkes: ‘Balada La Shakranit‘ means ‘A Ballad for a Liar’. It sounds like a song about heartbreak, and in a way it is, but it’s actually about the place we come from and its indoctrinating nature. We wish more people didn’t buy into the lies. ‘ACAB‘ is a three song EP that was released in a very limited run of 13 10″ copies (look it up on discogs). The 1st song on it is ‘Prisoner of Zion‘ which is on our current live set, it’s about feeling trapped by the Israeli zionist narrative. The second song ‘ACAB‘ is about police brutality. The third is our version of ‘Lake of Fire’ by the Meat Puppets, we named our version ‘Shitheads (Bad Folks)‘. ‘Bullshit‘ is a song about an unfulfilled crush and it’s hook translates to ‘you and I, we’re never gonna be that girl and guy, and that’s fuckin’ bullshit’.
Alonzo: Our last single from 2024 is ‘Dancing on the Blood‘, this is a common Hebrew expression referring to Israeli leaders and politicians making political gain off of Palestinaian’s and Israelis bloodshed.
Listen to The Crotches on Spotify:
VMS:
Tell me about your 2017 Album: “Ein Ahot La Mifsaot“.
What was the inspiration and process of writing it?
The Crotches:
Amitkes: The name of this album is a pun. It means ‘The Crotches have no sister’, which is sadly just the truth about our brother band, but it is also a common expression you use when you wanna describe something that is unparalleled.
Alonzo: When we wrote this album we were more aware of our role as artists and therefore it features more social criticism. Maybe that’s how second albums are by nature.
Listen to The Crotches “Ein Ahot La Mifsaot” on Spotify:
VMS:
Which local artist would you like to work with and why?
The Crotches:
Alonzo: Ever heard of Hellvis?
VMS:
What’s your overall theme or message of your music?
The Crotches:
The band: Love now, hate never, gever.
VMS:
Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform?
The Crotches:
Amitkes: We love to perform our new album titled ‘Fuck The Crotches’ which is yet to be released and which we play in full at our upcoming concerts. It’s the first time we write songs in English, and we must say, nice language you got here.
VMS:
Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene?
The Crotches:
Jaker: I can’t remember shit…
VMS:
What does the future hold for The Crotches?
The Crotches:
Brian Moy, The Crotches’ Agent: As The Crotches agent, let me tell you, these motherfuckers are going far… If it were up to me (and it is) The Crotches will soon be everywhere. World tours. Festivals. Record breaking sales. Magazine Covers. Talk shows. Award ceremonies. A household name. I’ve got very, very big plans… Here’s my card, I also sell houses.
VMS:
What have been your personal pros and cons of being a band here in Las Vegas?
The Crotches:
Alonzo: We love Vegas and we love to perform here. This town is a total trip. We meet the best kind of weirdos here and I mean this in the best way as a weirdo myself. Also, people here are as kind as they are real. Another pro in the Vegas music scene is that everyone comes through here, from the most esoteric fabulous acts to the biggest and trashiest of stars, it’s a city you want to play in and you can always have a good time after a show if you choose to do so. The cons are, if you choose to do so, you might find yourself in jail for example, regretting at least some of your decisions…
VMS:
What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows?
The Crotches:
Alonzo: We want them to experience joy, we want them to feel involved and also, at least a bit, horny.
VMS Thoughts:
What I love about The Crotches is that you truly have no idea what direction they are going to go musically or lyrically. They walk the line between heartfelt, political, funny, and raunchy, but always unapologetically them. Musically (for me personally) they give me a 70’s indie rock vibe, very Iggy and Bowie (my two gods) with a psychedelic vibe, but they still sound incredibly unique, fresh and current. I don’t really want to pigeonhole them or their sound, which is something you can tell they try hard not to do as well.
Every song I hear they are always pushing themselves musically, always keeping the listener on their toes and always coming back for more. Their chemistry as a band is undeniable, and I love how they have created something truly special. They are a breath of fresh air in a world of typical stadium rock, and watered down soggy toast music that sometimes you hear on the radio, and lord knows this world (and the USA) needs more artists like The Crotches.
If you get a chance to see their live show, I promise they will not disappoint! Their music translates incredibly well into a one of a kind lightning in a bottle magnetism that they have live on stage as musicians and performers. They are rock n roll at it’s best: loud, raw, a big fuck you to the system, and electric sex. What you see is what you get with them, and I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for The Crotches, I know no matter what they choose to do, it’s gonna be one hell of a fucking ride.
——VMS xoxoxox