ACL Interview: Fidlar

A rough life you live when you're lamenting the ways in which touring's obstructing your ability to hang out.

"That's kind of the bummer, and the thing that most people don't understand about touring bands," says Fidlar bassist Brandon Schwartzel. "We actually have to get to other places and do it all over again every day. A lot of people at shows will invite us out to house parties or other bars. It sounds awesome, but, like, we have to get up and drive eight hours and play another show."

The raucous L.A. foursome, eight months removed from a debut LP that reminded kids how fun it could be to get drunk and go skating without a helmet, has spent the whole year in band vans, cruising around the country for rowdy club gigs and festival slots that kick off too early.

"It's definitely a weird adjustment," Schwartzel admits. "We like to drink a lot before our shows, and it's a little harder to do that at 10:30am. I usually stick to the routine and pass out around 5."

Fidlar beats on, determined to maintain that mean streak, and, eventually, get back to doing what they do best: getting just faded enough to write a song about getting so faded they can't find their way home.

A new album's in the works for next summer. In between, Schwartzel and crew hit the road with Chicago juveniles the Orwells, another ACL band comprised of skate punks and guitar antiheroes.

"We've been talking about how they'll probably be hitting us up for drinks a lot," Schwartzel says of the Orwells, who don't boast a single player over 20. "Like, how are we going to work this? Are we going to give them a secret stash every night?"

Check out part two of our Fidlar interview.