Capitol Hill Block Party had an incredible lineup of artists this year. From Pop to Rap to Rock, there was something for everyone in attendance. I occupied most of my time at the Coke Studio Stage witnessing some electrifying acts like Joey Valence & Brae and Flyanna Boss. An act I was excited to see again on this stage was the Bay Area-based band Chokecherry.
Recently releasing “Afterglow” and “No Other Place” from their upcoming album, the trio is showing off their music prowess with this new sound. Hear both live during their upcoming tour with Destroy Boys.
Thank you so much for interviewing with me. How do you feel after your Capitol Hill Block Party set?
Scarlett Levinson: This set was incredible. The crowd is really fun.
Izzie Clark: I feel pretty good. I was really nervous about the show. And then it was just like, we’ve done this a million times. It’s cool to open for Chappell Roan, Annie DiRusso, and Alice Longu Gao, she’s fucking awesome. It’s cool to be able to play a festival with a bunch of really sick artists because this kind of setting was where I fell in love with music. Festivals have always been my favorite place in the world. Besides sushi restaurants, Thai food places.
Scarlett Levinson: It’s an incredibly special thing that we got to play Capitol Hill Block Party. We were all just over the moon for the past few weeks. I think we were way more nervous than usual because this was such an exciting show for us, we’re so grateful to be here.
It was cool hearing “Afterglow” live after releasing that single and the music video.
Izzie Clark: Another one coming out in like two weeks. And we have another music video coming out as well.
Scarlett Levinson: Gorgeous, gorgeous couture clothes, smoking cigarettes, and being generally cool. Our friend Brea Lynn directs all of our videos and she’s fabulous. We shot by a lake at night which is why we’re covered in mosquito bites. But it’s cool and those singles are all for the upcoming EP coming out on October 25. This next track highlights our heavier stuff because I feel like if you’ve seen us live you know that we oscillate between the light and the heavy. But on the internet so far we’ve only sort of released one of the lighter shoegaze things, and I think the breakdown in “Afterglow” was a lovely taste of what’s to come.
You’ve had a busy year touring with Destroy Boys on the East Coast and releasing your new single and music video. And now you’re doing two festivals in one weekend. How are you feeling?
Izzie Clark: Glass House in Pomona was where I saw my first shows when I was in high school. I saw Glass Animals there when I was 14. I always love playing shows in SoCal because I’m from there, it feels like a homecoming. And Viva! Music Festival has an insane lineup and friends are playing. They have a lot of the new shoegaze acts on there like Quannnic, Late Night Drive Home, and Mind’s Eye.
Scarlett Levinson: We played with Mind’s Eye in San Francisco, which was fabulous. We played Bottom of the Hill with them, that might’ve been one of the first sold-out before-doors shows that we played. It was an exciting show. That was a Halloween show too. We dressed up as rats.
With “Afterglow,” what was the process like creating the music video? And how did you come up with the concept?
Izzie Clark: Our great friend Breanna, who’s a creative director and directed the video, came up with the whole treatment idea. We went up to Camp Scatico in upstate New York where our stylist Rachel Waxenberg, who’s amazing, she used to go to camp there, and she was like, “Oh, this is a perfect location.” We drove an old truck around and ran through the fields and went into the lake, it was really fun. This next video that we are releasing ties into the themes of nature and mystical water. This EP has a visual story that ties together which I’m really excited for everybody to see.
Scarlett Levinson: Something that we were talking about with the music videos, the songs that we’re releasing on this EP, are very different from the music that we’ve released in the past. The videos also fall in line with the singles in that they’re all a descent into the darker, scarier energy. It’s visually following the sonic story of us getting stranger, going from pretty classic shoegaze and turning more nightmarish.
Izzie Clark: Shit gets crazy. Explosions and flying cars flying off cliffs. But we need to secure more funding first.
Your stage performances, music videos, and your photos feature that iconic red lipstick. Is the red based on the color of the fruit your band’s name is from?
Izzie Clark: Absolutely.
Scarlett Levinson: We did a custom lipstick.
Izzie Clark: The one Scarlett made us was inspired by a bitten berry. We were like, “Oh my god choke cherry juice would be so cool.” That deep wine.
Scarlett Levinson: We both love a bold lip, like a dark glamour color. We always love to glam it up and experiment with different looks. We each made a lipstick that was based on the “Lisa” song. t. “Lisa I miss you/Lisa, I’m sorry” are the names of lipsticks that were on the giveaway with our label Fearless Records.
Your audience has grown quickly since the release of your first single. How has it felt amassing as many fans as you have so quickly in the last year?
Izzie Clark: Not real.
All: Yeah.
Abri Crocitto: Getting used to it. This morning we looked at some numbers and were like, “Wow, this is real.”
Izzie Clark: We have 290,000 listeners on Spotify. It’s difficult to fathom numbers on a screen as they pertain to your music. I feel like when you’re in a room playing to people that are fucking with you, talking to people. They’re like, I love your music. You’re like, oh my god. But the following that we’ve amassed in such a quick time takes a lot to settle into, just recognizing it. I think we’re starting to settle into and be like, okay, like this is happening.
Scarlett Levinson: I couldn’t respond. We’ve all played in other bands for very long periods of time. And we all met each other through the SF DIY scene. We played shows to people, we played shows to absolutely no one. This is a surreal experience. Everyone we’ve met has been sweet. And people have been really encouraging, it’s a lovely experience, but we’re trying to get used to it.
Abri Crocitto: It’s pretty fucking crazy. Thank you to the fans. We love you.
Scarlett Levinson: Thank you for being a part of our lives and listening to our music. We love you very much.
