Fencer is a versatile band that blends garage, hard, and pop rock into a unique sound. Despite their diverse musical style, which makes them hard to categorize, they've made a mark in the Southern California music scene. In this interview, they discuss their journey, challenges, and strategies for releasing new music. The band members talk about the evolution of their sound, their active engagement on social media, and what lies ahead for the trio as they share exciting details about their upcoming releases and the innovative techniques they've incorporated into their new music.

So, where are you guys from? And how did you meet?

FIELD We are from Los Angeles, California, for better or worse. I met Cameron in an old pop punk band that I joined on some band finder website. He was the drummer, and I joined as the bass player. Cameron and I were playing together for a bit, and we started writing independently because we weren't thrilled with being in a pop-punk band. And so we started breaking off and doing our own thing. Eventually, we needed a bass player, so Cameron's little brother Scott was filling in, and it came to a point where we were just like, ‘Let's just do this,’ and that was early February of 2017

What inspired the name Fencer? Does it have a particular meaning or story?

FIELD: We were trying to come up with a band name, but it seemed like every good name was already taken. We wanted a single-word name. My mom sent us pages of name ideas, and we went through a bunch of them. At one point, we were calling ourselves Birthday Shape. CAMERON: There was some weird stuff. Gift Wrap was in there. Fiberglass for, like, two weeks. FIELD: Yeah, and then we landed on Fencer. I used to fence a bit, but that wasn't necessarily the reason. It just sounds good, and it looks good.

How would you describe your music style to someone who's never heard it before? And what sets you guys apart from other bands in the scene?

FIELD: We are a rock band. We could be called garage rock. We could be called Hard Rock. Pop Rock. I think our mentality is that we like catchy hooks at its core, so we like to be heavy, nasty, and aggressive. When you hear something that's catchy, it makes your ears go, whew, and it feels nice, so we'd like to get as weird as we can. So, we write pop songs but through an angry lens.

What has been your most memorable live performance to date?

CAMERON: For me, it would be the album release show we did when we released our first album last February. We put on a sold-out show at Molly Malone’s and played it with many of our friends. I think it's the biggest show we've put on to date, and it's also my favorite because we did it ourselves. We did some cool lighting and had a cool intro; we had a production behind it. And I mean, at the end of the day, we played it to 200 people who came from all over Los Angeles to watch us play live, and that means so much. FIELD: Yeah, I can agree with that. It was a small room, but it was completely packed. It was just about us, our music, and our fans. That felt nice. Another memorable show was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when we were touring with Badflower. This was the biggest crowd we had ever played for, and we ended up crowd-surfing in our underwear in front of a few thousand people.

How has the Southern California music scene influenced your music and career? FIELD: One thing we've found challenging is trying to fit into a specific scene here in LA. You know, you have your punk scene, the indie stuff, surf rock, and the psychedelic stuff, and none of that has necessarily influenced us directly. Honestly, we felt like a bit of an outcast in many of these scenes. Our music touches on so many different genres, and it can be hard to appeal to one specific niche. We're not angry and raw enough to be considered a punk band, but we're way too heavy to be pop music. CAMERON: The local music scene has helped increase our band's visibility. I've noticed that the punk scene is now mainly centered in the valley, and we've had many early shows and interactions with bands in that area. Some of those bands, such as Sad Park, have gained a lot of attention and success. While their influence might not directly impact our songwriting, they have helped us gain more attention.

What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced while recording this new music or as a band? CAMERON: The hardest thing for me is staying consistent with the changes in the music industry. The industry has changed many times in the seven to eight years we've been around. We've tried to play the streaming game, focused solely on gaining a fanbase through live shows, and had to keep up with the industry and adapt to the impact of COVID-19. TikTok is a huge platform, and staying current with new content is difficult. FIELD: Learning to keep up with the current landscape took us forever. We were focused on being good at what we were doing for a long time, but now we understand the importance of learning and adapting. It took a lot of experience for us to reach this point, but now I feel we have a better grasp of it.

You've all been teasing the release of some new songs. Can we expect a new Fencer album soon?

FIELD: We will be releasing a new single every six weeks until January when the first EP will be released. The album will be released in two separate sections. Although this may sound far away, there will be consistent music released, so it's actually not that far off.

How do you plan to expand your fan base? Your social media has been more active with consistent posting of new content. Do you intend to use these platforms more to promote your music?

FIELD: We plan to post daily short-form content that we've been filming for a long time. The content will focus on promoting our first single, "She Burns Trees.” We intend to continue this pattern as we have been working on creating a large amount of content for our upcoming album or EP. We are committed to posting high-quality content daily across various platforms such as TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook. If you haven't seen it, you should check out the latest post – it's cool!

How do these songs differ from your previous work? Do you think your sound has evolved in any way?

FIELD: I believe that over the years, as we've continued to write music, we've reached a point where we feel like we have a clear understanding of how to create a Fencer song. It's a collaborative effort between the three of us, and it feels like we've developed a bit of a formula for it. As we move forward with our new material, we know it's cliché to say it's the best stuff we've ever made, but we genuinely feel that way. And, of course, we're excited about it as well. I think a lot of it is us pushing our sound a little bit further by adding new elements and sounds that we haven't experimented with before. It's cool to feel like I can listen to our latest stuff and say, "Yeah, it's heavier than we've been and poppier than we've been before." I like both of those things. Those are cool aspects to me, and there's just a lot of weird sound. As we've been messing with it, it feels like a more mature era.CAMERON: I think the main takeaway is that we need to strike a balance between pushing boundaries and maintaining a level of authenticity in our sound while also trying to find our place in the commercial/mainstream space. Our new songs achieve this balance well - catchy and edgy without being too chaotic. I believe the new material is well-balanced. FIELD: Having said all of that, the new material has a distinct Fencer sound. By listening to any of it, you'll recognize our brand and hopefully appreciate the different directions we take in each song.

Did you guys experiment with new instruments or incorporate new techniques during the recording process? SCOTT: Yes, we focused a lot on percussion for this song. We used a washboard for the first time. There was another instrument called a Vibraslap that I couldn't remember the name of during the whole recording process, so I just called it a cow jaw because the producer, Greg, said that's what they used to make it out of. FIELD: We had a multi-cowbell that we used for a few things. Percussion, I would say, is the main element; however, there is one single coming out in the next few months that sounds radically different from anything else we've ever put out before. It has a tremendous amount of instruments and sounds that have no business being a Fencer record; we have omni chords and, violins and synths and pianos and 808’s, and all sorts of random elements. SCOTT: Don’t forget about the kazoos. FIELD: Oh, yeah, wait, I totally forgot this, “She Burns Trees” has a massive kazoo solo at the end. They have a kazoo pickup you can buy online that you shove into the top of a kazoo, and it plugs into an amp, so I ran it through my pedal board and started playing this kazoo through crazy fuzzes and octave pedals, which resulted in this long, drawn-out, big band-like solo.

Are there any new songs you're particularly excited to perform, or do you have any favorites? CAMERON: I really like the song “She Burns Trees.” It's fun to play, really catchy, and pushes the boundaries of what can be considered mainstream and insanity. I also enjoy the song "SUV". I think it's very similar to "Velvet Jetski," not because they sound the same, but because they're both kind of joke songs. "SUV" was written about seven years ago at 4 am in Field's Kia Soul outside my house. It's a joke song with all these funny elements we thought of putting in there, and it turned out to be a pretty catchy song. FIELD: Our first single, "She Burns Trees," is set to be released on July 26th. The song conveys the feelings of being strung along and made to feel like a backup option by someone and the emotional impact it entails. It’s a high-energy song with some nasty riffs and some very cool sounds.

Do you have any live shows coming up to support these upcoming releases? FIELD: July 26th will be our single release show at Harvard and Stone with artists 20k Reo and Paradise Vultures. We're looking forward to that. We're also playing at The Roxy with Joyous Wolf, Love Ghost, and Satellite City on August 30th. We've somehow never played the Roxy before. I know we've been offered a few times, and I've said no, but this seems like the right time.

As Fencer continues to evolve and carve out their niche in the music industry, their commitment to authenticity and innovation remains steadfast. With a strategic approach to releasing new music and a solid social media presence, they are poised to reach new heights. Their blend of diverse influences and a drive to push boundaries ensures that fans can look forward to fresh and exciting sounds. Keep an eye on Fencer as they release their new singles and prepare for the highly anticipated EP, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for the band.