Seven-piece garage-rockers Sweet Bump It have but one mission: to have fun. Turn up the volume on their music—their songs practically demand it—and it's clear they're succeeding at their goal while managing to keep it real at the same time. Their energetic songs come alive with help from electric chords, charged rhythms and singer Paco Nicole's soaring vocals that range from a croon to a howl. Their songs might as well be a rally call for life. With lyrics that never shy away from sexuality, they've come to find their music featured ever so appropriately on the Cinemax show Banshee. After releasing a duo of EPs, the SoCal band released their self-titled debut album this spring and is gearing up to present it on vinyl later this year. 

Hometown/Current City: Los Angeles

Seven members! How did you all come together?

Paco: Yeah, it's a big band! The short version is we came together through friends, friends of friends and music.

The long version is a bit of following the bouncing ball, but here it goes. Jenna (bass) and I (guitar and vocals) have been playing more consistently than not since 2002. We started what would become Sweet Bump It at the end of 2012. Jenna met Jay (drums) at a party at the beginning of 2013. They drank too much and talked about playing music together. He came over for practice shortly after and we all clicked right away. Marlaine (background vocals) used to be my roommate and Francesca (background vocals) went to the same high school as Jenna and I, but she was 2 grades younger. They both were hanging around during our first few practices, we would all go out after rehearsals and I thought it would be cool to add some background vocals, so we asked them to join. Lisa (background vocals) has known Marlaine since they were kids; they used to sing together too. Lisa started hanging around as well and became our stylist for photoshoots and shows; eventually we asked her to sing in the band. Andrew plays drums in Rumpsringa and Jenna and I had been fans of the band for years. We started playing shows with Rumspringa became friends with Andrew and eventually asked him to play guitar with us. 

What's your mission with your music?

Paco: It's pretty simple; we want have assloads of fun and create a fun environment for more fun to be had. Did I mention fun? We also just have a compulsion to play music; so the mission is the act, I guess. It's definitely a platform that allows us to explore all the various aspects of music - writing, performing live, recording, making music videos, albums, touring, photoshoots and collaborating with other artists in other fields.

Can you explain more about the theme and inspiration behind your song "Revolution?"

Paco: "Revolution" was actually inspired by our band mate, Marlaine. She was exploring same-sex relationships a little bit later in life and I got to observe that with complete hindsight about my own experience. It's about discovering sex and how once you do, you're forever changed. It's a love song, but told from the point in time where you're mostly afraid and haven't yet given in and let go.

Let's talk about the lyric "whiskey is Jesus" from "Animal." Where did that come from and what are your favorite whiskey drinks?

Paco: So this song was inspired by an old boss/mentor. He was "all in" and totally committed to the benefits and trappings of the traditional 9 to 5 life, an Orthodox Jew who can drink whisky like water. So the "whisky is Jesus" has a double meaning. It might be important to note, I wrote this when I was abstaining from alcohol. So on the one hand, I observed using alcohol a lot like how people use religion - to escape the banality of everyday life or to cope with one's life choices. But on the other hand, the Jews don't believe that Jesus is the Messiah, so drinking is like being committed to a false god. Man, trying to explain lyrics using prose makes me really appreciate the poetic licensing given to lyrics. For the second half of the question, I'm going to let Marlaine elaborate.

Marlaine: Our favorite whiskey drinks are whiskey; sometimes on ice.

What influence do you think being in LA has on your creativity and output?

Paco: LA is largely influential. It's still a city where you can afford to put in a lot of time, effort and energy into your art and still survive, so there is no excuse not to work hard at it. NY and SF aren't as suitable for struggling artists anymore because of the increased cost of living, so many artists have transplanted to LA. So you have a lot of people doing creative shit for the sake of being creative. It's inspiring, it pushes us to want to be respected by our peers and there isn't a shortage of collaborators. 

You've has some of your songs have appeared in the background of TV shows like Banshee on Cinemax. If you could soundtrack any show or movie, what would it be and why?

Jenna: Buffy the Vampire Slayer or 90210 because they had sweet venues and live acts: The Bronze and the Peach Pit After Dark.

You have such a garage-rock sound. If you could play a garage anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Paco: Definitely the garage of Diddy's (aka Puff Daddy aka Sean Combs) Miami house because I'm sure they know how to throw an awesome party and it goes without saying that it'd make a great story.

What's next on the horizon for Sweet Bump It?

Paco: Our self-titled album is going to be pressed to vinyl for Feedbands, which is a really interesting platform for independent artists. It will be available through them this November. We're also currently working on new material; we've been in and out of the studio cutting some sweet new tracks for a new record. And we're playing in LA pretty often.