In the midst of an underground skatepunk resurgence, with bands like Cerebral Ballzy and Trash Talk garnering Internet attention, FIDLAR were formed in Los Angeles.
Influenced by SoCal punk rockers like Offspring and blink-182 as well as older bands from the area (which they learned about from their dad's record collection; he was the guitarist of T.S.O.L.), Max Kuehn (drums) and his brother Elvis (guitar/vocals) were playing punk shows by their teens. By the time they were out of high school, guitarist/vocalist Zac Carper and bassist Brandon Schwartzel joined up. Later the group went the D.I.Y. route and started a homespun label to record material, while embracing the reaches of the Internet and making several videos to promote their music, and as motivation to film their drunken antics. Mom & Pop signed them in 2012 for their debut album, FIDLAR, which was released in early 2013. The album blew up, debuting at number five on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, number two on the Alternative News Artist Chart, and was the number one most added release at CMJ. After touring the world with bands like the Pixies, the Hives, Black Lips, and Wavves, the band ended up back home in need of a break. After starting a new album, but finding the songs and self-produced sound too FIDLAR-y for their liking, Carper headed out on a road trip, wrote a new batch of songs inspired by the music of his youth -- Elvis Kuehn and Schwartzel wrote some too -- and the band headed to Nashville to try again with producer Jay Joyce. The resulting album, 2015's Too, featured a more mature outlook and some musical muscle. ~ Jason Lymangrover