At first glance they seem like an ordinary indie rock trio, but after listening to some tracks you might discover that your presumptions are pretty far away from the psychedelic glam rock sounds of this West Coast band hailing from Los Angeles, California. Since their formation in 2009 by Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman and featuring Last Shadow Puppets’ Zach Dawes and keyboardist Tyler Parkford, Mini Mansions has gone on to record two albums, a single featuring Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner, and performing at Reading Festival twice as well as billing this year’s lineup. Along with this, they have a new album called A Guy Walks into a Bar… and an upcoming UK tour stopping at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton next weekend as well as Southampton later on in the month. So with a busy schedule on the horizon, we were lucky enough to speak with Tyler Parkford from the band to discuss the UK tour, what the new album has in store, and even Only Fools and Horses!
In one sentence, how would you sum up the music of your band?
Adult Contemporary / Dram-Com
Can you give us a taste of what’s to come from your new album?
I wish I could but it’s not a part of any food group!
What was the last TV show each of you watched?
High Maintenance + Pen15 + Only Fools and Horses.
You are playing at this year’s The Great Escape Festival in the UK, can you give us a sneak preview as to what you have got in store?
Pure uncut raw entertainment. And the one and only John Theodore.
How was the band formed?
We’re all long-time friends from Santa Cruz and LA who wanted to make something a bit left-field.
Who do you find are your biggest influencers?
Only YouTube influencers like Ice Poseidon, Rad Brad, and anyone on H3H3. No, I kid. Hard to say. Of recent maybe seeing Gaspar Noe’s Climax alone in theaters and reading any new Michael DeForge comic at a park in the sun. Oh ya and loads of records.
This month, you will be playing in Southampton for the first time – what exactly drew you to this part of the UK?
The weather! No, but honestly, we actually love touring the UK and we love the fans so we wanted to dive a bit deeper into it this time around.
Similar to the TV show question, could you name an artist who you have enjoyed listening to recently?
Drugdealer and Weyes Blood.
Finally, what would you want your fans to know most about you?
That I’m a licensed psychic.
A Guy Walks into a Bar…. will be released via Fiction Records on 26th July 2019. Click here for tickets to The Great Escape Festival (9th-11th May) and here for tickets to their gig at The Joiners on 12th May. Watch the music video for ‘GummyBear’ below.
