Oakland, California-based R&B, soul, and alt-country fusion outfit Idiot Grins recently released their fifth album, Hounds of Mess Around, an upbeat collection of songs projecting a ‘devil may care’ attitude.
Idiot Grins have been known to take creative risks, for example collaborating on 2017’s State of Health with the Byrd Sisters. State Of Health featured the Top 10 digital radio hit “Get Busy Dying” and Top 20 digital radio hit “Take it Back.” Their biggest departure, perhaps, was Thoughts & Prayers, released on November 6, 2020. The record was a daring reinterpretation of the Louvin Brothers’ controversial 1959 country-gospel album Satan is Real.
Now they are back with a fully evolved signature sound with danceable rhythms and a compelling tapestry of complementary instrumentation.
Tattoo.com spoke with drummer Michael Melgoza and guitarist Randy Strauss of to discover more about Idiot Grins and Hounds of Mess Around.
How would you describe your own music?
Michael: Basement alt-country rock musings.
Randy: A little bit of everything.
Tell us more about ‘Hounds of Mess Around.’ What was your experience of making it?
Michael: We pooled our resources to create a common sonic panoply kinda in the vein of collective bargaining but without the friction.
Randy: I think of this as our Covid Album. Our previous album, ‘Thoughts & Prayers,’ came out at the end of 2019. We all know what happened in March of 2020. I started writing new songs while on lockdown. It was a while before we could all get together and begin rehearsing. At the very first session, we all gave each other COVID, so that delayed things for a while. I think I stayed positive the longest, which is fitting.
What is the story behind the name Idiot Grins?
Michael: Invoking the fifth…
Randy: On our first album, ‘Quarry,’ there’s a song called ‘Raspberry.’ John came up with a line “This idiot grins.” I said, “That’s it” and nobody seemed to mind.
Where and when did Idiot Grins get together?
Michael: Nomadically over a period of time during the heyday of the East Bay alt-country scene.
Randy: We’ve all been friends for literally decades, playing in the club scene centered in Berkeley, Oakland, and SF in various bands. Around 2010, we looked around and realized we were the last of our circle still standing, so we got together.
For years albums and, generally, all new music dropped on Tuesdays. Now, it’s typically Fridays. What are your thoughts on the change?
Michael: Remote work scheduling…
Randy: Never knew that. We turn them in, and they come out. The only difference is this time, there’s no physical product.
‘Hounds of Mess Around’ encompasses 11 tracks. Is there one track that’s more personal to you, that carries more meaning, than the others?
Michael: ‘Peaches,’ the first track laid down relatively in its entirety, seemingly more effortlessly.
Randy: Not really. There’s a story behind each of them.
With ‘Hounds of Mess Around,’ what was your main focus? What did you really want to try and achieve with this record?
Michael: A yacht rock call to arms and/or treatise.
Randy: I think this is our most organic record, meaning we didn’t approach it with any preconceptions. We just wrote it and recorded it and let the songs dictate the direction.
Now, I do want to ask as well, what’s been the highlight of your career so far? Maybe touring or who you’ve played with, something that’s really stood out.
Michael: Surviving the sophomore slump.
Randy: The highlight by far is being able to make music with really good friends. There’s a special feeling about half-writing a song, knowing that the guys will make it sound good and help finish it off.
Do you prefer the intimacy of a smaller venue or the spectacle of a larger venue? What’s your preference for that?
Michael: The community college gymnasium down the street has a strict curfew that hasn’t worked for our needs so a couple of modest rooms to ply our trade has been more than adequate for our purposes.
Randy: Not that we’ve played a lot of large venues, but I think the smaller the better. You have more control over the sound. Large usually means chaotic.
In my for what it’s worth opinion, much of contemporary music doesn’t follow the traditional song structure: intro, verse — chorus — verse — chorus —bridge — chorus — outro. Yet your songs do follow more of a traditional structure. How do you explain that? Is that the way you were taught, or did it just come naturally?
Michael: It’s ingrained into our DNA like American Top 40 recordings of yore.
Randy: I learned to talk listening to my parents. We learned to play listening to the Beatles. It’s as simple as that.
Which do you enjoy the most: writing, recording, practicing, or playing live?
Michael: Recording live in search of a groove, a vibe, the prevailing zeitgeist.
Randy: Recording new songs with my friends.
What’s next for you?
Michael: Exorcising or excoriating vestiges of unresolved teenage angst and all other remaining inner turmoil.
Randy: Already started writing the next one.