Biography
The Willowz, a garage punk trio from Anaheim, California, formed in 2002 with singer/guitarist Richie James Follin, bassist/vocalist Jessica Reynoza, and drummer Alex Nowicki—all still in their late teens—drawing on '70s and early-'80s punk alongside '60s garage rock, blues-rock, and soul, sources that predated the members by roughly double their ages at the time. Follin instructed Reynoza, who also paints, on bass technique, and while spending that summer in New York City he cut several tracks with producer Paul Kostabi. Follin and Reynoza encountered Nowicki at a party shortly afterward. The group issued a 7" on the German label Wanker, followed by another on Posh Boy, and a self-titled full-length that Dionysus released in 2004. They also performed constantly, sharing bills with the Epoxies, Dance Disaster Movement, the Mutes, the Dirtbombs, and the Weirdos. Later that year the Willowz supplied a song to the soundtrack of Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Gondry helmed the clip for "Meet Your Demise." They additionally released a split 7" alongside the Distraction and traveled through the U.K. during the summer.
The band's Sympathy for the Record Industry debut, Are Coming, arrived in 2005 and contained reworked versions of several songs from The Willowz; later the same year they issued the more expansive Talk in Circles. The DVD Seeinsquares followed in 2006. In early 2007 the Willowz returned with Chautauqua, tracked with new drummer Loren Humphrey and put out on Dim Mak. They recorded a further Dim Mak album, Everyone, in 2009, after which the members opted to pause activities. Follin performed with his sister Madeline's group Cults, and he and Humphrey launched Guards in 2010, issuing singles before the 2013 album In Guards We Trust. Follin subsequently joined Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi in CRX, whose first album, New Skin, appeared in late 2016. Humphrey served as tour drummer for Last Shadow Puppets while Reynoza co-founded the psych rock band BIRDS. Once their separate schedules allowed, the original trio reconvened the Willowz and completed a fifth album. Follin produced the record and Humphrey handled mixing, restoring the group's garage punk foundation with added refinement. Thrill Me Records released Fifth in September 2017.
The band's Sympathy for the Record Industry debut, Are Coming, arrived in 2005 and contained reworked versions of several songs from The Willowz; later the same year they issued the more expansive Talk in Circles. The DVD Seeinsquares followed in 2006. In early 2007 the Willowz returned with Chautauqua, tracked with new drummer Loren Humphrey and put out on Dim Mak. They recorded a further Dim Mak album, Everyone, in 2009, after which the members opted to pause activities. Follin performed with his sister Madeline's group Cults, and he and Humphrey launched Guards in 2010, issuing singles before the 2013 album In Guards We Trust. Follin subsequently joined Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi in CRX, whose first album, New Skin, appeared in late 2016. Humphrey served as tour drummer for Last Shadow Puppets while Reynoza co-founded the psych rock band BIRDS. Once their separate schedules allowed, the original trio reconvened the Willowz and completed a fifth album. Follin produced the record and Humphrey handled mixing, restoring the group's garage punk foundation with added refinement. Thrill Me Records released Fifth in September 2017.
Albums
Singles
