Los Angeles indie rock four piece Arms Akimbo – comprised of Peter Schrupp, Christopher Kalil, Colin Boppell, and Matt Sutton – found each other as college students in southern California. With one self-release under their belt – their debut EP Vignette was released mere months after they formed – they’re back to capture your attention with their new single “Michigan”.
A tranquil transition in with gorgeous guitar cords sincerely brings this song to life. The lyrics are honest, with an insane depth to the vocals present in “Michigan”. It’s a song about loneliness, love – both for yourself and for the people around you – and a bittersweet anthem to adolescence. It’s got that end-of-summer punch to it as well, giving us adrenaline for days.
We’re not sure how these four guys found each other, but we are so glad that they did.
We got to ask the guys a few questions, and we think you’ll like them more after checking out their answers.
Where did the name “Arms Akimbo” come from? Can you explain that?
COLIN: We got the name from a character in a cartoon called Freakazoid. Also, Arms Akimbo is the term for standing with your hands on your hips, so we’re big fans of posture.
Have you had to overcome any challenges since coming together as a band?
COLIN: The only real challenges that we’ve come across is just the occasional clashing with creative minds, which is super natural for any band to go through. In a way, though, it’s a really good thing. You want every member of the band to be passionate about our work and our sound. A band without friction lacks that constant desire to challenge and push each other.
What was your favorite part of creating your track “Michigan?”
CHRIS: As much fun as tracking and studio time can be, I think the best part of the process of creating “Michigan” was seeing the whole track come together and getting to hear the final master after a month of hard work. Our producer, Stephen Gomez, is great to work with and made all of the hours we spent in the studio a perfect creative environment to push the song to its full potential.
How would you describe your music?
MATT: That’s a tough question. To make it as accurate and brief as possible, I would say that we are an upbeat, harmony-packed indie rock band with a side of pop.
What’s your favorite part of performing live?
CHRIS: We love to go crazy on stage, and I think that translates into a great energy for the crowd to take part in. We like to try and knock each other over during musical breaks, and Peter and I have wrestling matches pretty much every time we play “Seven Mirrors.” Its all out of love though. It’s also always really humbling and amazing when the crowd knows all the words to our songs and sings along with us. It definitely means a lot to us that our fans feel connected to our music in that way.
Do you have any preshow rituals that you guys do?
MATT: Yeah we do the same super top secret ritual before every show. I could tell you what it is, but I’d have to kill you afterwards.
Who is your favorite super villain and why?
PETER: Probably The Red Hood (Jason Todd version). He’s the perfect foil to my favorite hero, Dick Grayson or Robin/Nightwing. He’s not necessarily a super villain, and he could easily be considered an anti-hero, but he’s definitely not a good guy. He’s tainted. He’s the consequence of Batman’s failures (so sick). I’m also a big Kraven the Hunter fan – a dude who hunts Spider-Man just because he can makes for fun, fun stuff.
What’s up next for Arms Akimbo?
PETER: We had a really fun couple of weeks with festivals (Echo Park Rising and Love Circle 2016) and some Southern California shows. Aside from that, we have a new single in post-production right now. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements with that song! We’re really excited about putting out this tune. It’s a completely different vibe from our last single but it’s still got the same sort of flavor…it’s a fun one.
