Photo by Brittany Woolsey.
Orange County ska band Hooray For Our Side is no stranger to Long Beach.
“I don’t think I can count how many times we have played DiPiazza’s,” said singer Evan Wohrman. “We have probably played in Long Beach more than any other city.”
However, despite their attachment to Long Beach, their upcoming show on August 30 at Harvelle’s takes the group to a new area of the city that they have yet to explore.
“The show is in a what is essentially a speakeasy built underneath another bar,” Wohrman said. “Consider my interest piqued.”
Hooray For Our Side formed in 2011 after Wohrman’s other project split up. While the music always had a ska/punk sound, the band didn’t actually incorporate a horn section until the beginning of 2013. Finding a horn section, Wohrman said, was the challenge of challenges.
“It took months upon months of Craigslist ads and flyers at rehearsal studios,” he said. “Our friend Matt from Stupid Flanders introduced us to Stefan Kehlenbach, who has now been our trumpet player for the better part of two years, and our trombonist Corey Simmons was the only sane person to reply to our Craigslist ad a few months later. Hooray definitely took a few years to ‘form’ but I like where we’re at now.”
Their debut EP, which was released last year, boasts help from some notable people in the local ska scene, including Vincent Walker and Brian Robertson of Suburban Legends and T-Bone Willy of Save Ferris.
Wohrman said the recording process took a lot longer than expected because each of the band members had day jobs.
“Since we all had jobs with weird schedules, we could only convene every so often, so it did take a few months longer than expected,” he said. “I think we started in September and finished in January. But Vince put 42 metric tons of effort into it and is the most patient man I’ve ever met. Totally worth it.”
Wohrman said the band’s songs usually deal with serious issues such as broken friendships, alcoholism, second chances, superheroes and “trying to become popular in Arizona.”
“Lyrically, I just try to put whatever fits with the song,” he said. “Lyrics come to me when I’m trying to fall asleep, usually.”
Wohrman said the band is looking forward to the Harvelle’s show because it will reunite them with Captain Squeegee, whom they last played with two years ago.
“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing those guys again,” he said. “They’re unabashedly weird and extremely talented. It’ll be our first time with Eclectic Tuba and Sixstep. We hope they’ll be gentle.”
Hooray For Our Side plays at Harvelle’s, located at 201 E. Broadway, on August 30 at 8PM. Tickets are $7 pre-sale and $10 at the door. For more information and to purchase advanced tickets, click here.
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