How South Bay's contradictions shaped Joyce Manor's enduring pop-punk sound

One hr into cruising the streets successful a car adjacent the Pacific coastline of Long Beach, the set Joyce Manor’s sightseeing leads to the destination that, to their amusement, is present a pop-punk landmark: the Joyce Manor midcentury condominium disconnected Alamitos Avenue. With its Art Deco lettering and being a stone’s propulsion from Ocean Boulevard, this cozy condo analyzable feels similar a humble monument to SoCal Americana. You could representation Elvis walking retired of present successful 1 of his classical surfing movies.

This is so wherever Joyce Manor got its name, but it’s not rather crushed zero — that’s a fewer miles eastbound successful adjacent Torrance. Bassist Matt Ebert confirms it’s a instrumentality destination, wherever radical station connected societal media astir their pilgrimages.

“It doesn’t person that overmuch meaning to me,” says frontman Barry Johnson, who often walked past this gathering to a erstwhile time occupation during the band’s aboriginal days. “It’s my full identity, my life, but it’s conscionable 2 words, you know? I’ve ne'er been inside.”

Those 2 words, Joyce Manor, present embody a less-glitzy yet still-potent spirit of captious SoCal civilization — L.A.’s section punk scene.

After astir 2 decades unneurotic arsenic section heroes and captious darlings — 2014’s “Never Hungover Again” is connected Pitchfork’s database of the champion albums of the 2010s — the members of Joyce Manor person had an particularly disposable past fewer years: tours with spiritual mentors Weezer, their signature opus “Constant Headache” featured connected “The Bear,” and sold-out shows astatine the Hollywood Palladium (where Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 joined them onstage for their opus “Heart Tattoo”) headlining their section Long Beach Arena.

Later this month, they’ll merchandise their seventh workplace album, “I Used to Go to This Bar,” done longtime statement Epitaph. The songs are truthful bully that the label’s founder, Bad Religion guitarist and L.A. punk icon Brett Gurewitz, came retired of semiretirement to beryllium their producer.

“As a writer who has astir ever utilized excessively galore words successful his songs, I conscionable genuinely respect Barry’s elegance and system of words,” says Gurewitz, who compares Johnson’s songwriting to Ernest Hemingway and Tim Armstrong. (“Sort of similar the Springsteen of the punk movement, oregon the Dylan,” adds Gurewitz.)

Another instrumentality is John Mulaney. The comedian booked them for their unrecorded TV debut connected his Netflix speech amusement connected an occurrence dedicated to L.A. punk that had surviving members from Fear, X, the Germs, Minutemen, the Cramps and Gun Club.

“They were an implicit item of that week,” Mulaney wrote via email. “Ted Sarandos and others astatine the workplace were similar ‘Who were THOSE dudes?’ Those guys marque maine truly excited astir drums and guitars and the necessity of large ass music.”

“We got immoderate superior bent clip successful with Richard Kind,” says Johnson, grinning erstwhile I inquire astir performing that night.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Barry Johnson of Joyce Manor connected Jan. 12 successful Long Beach.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

For a set that arrived truthful self-assured — their 2011 self-titled debut is particularly a landmark of punk’s Four Loko-era, oregon arsenic guitarist Chase Knobbe calls it, “the MGMT times” — Joyce Manor present seems to beryllium having a moment. Call it the goodwill that comes from creating a catalog of coagulated and critically acclaimed albums, oregon a testament to the halfway trio of Johnson, Ebert and Knobbe inactive being unneurotic aft each these years. Johnson, 39, is the main songwriter and talker of the group, ever acceptable with a thorough reply regarding immoderate spot of Long Beach oregon Joyce Manor lore. Knobbe, 34, is much reserved yet conscionable arsenic knowledgeable astir the area’s past and scenes. Ebert, besides 39, is the politest, a benignant unit who, 17 years later, remains the caller feline aft Johnson and Knobbe formed the set a twelvemonth before.

But done each the success, the set remains successful the South Bay. So, I was excited to spot location done their eyes. I archetypal suggest we circuit the Torrance spots astir historical to Joyce Manor.

“There is not 1 euphony venue successful Torrance,” says Johnson, his code losing immoderate positivity. “There’s ne'er been immoderate benignant of happening that tin bring touring bands, past you tin unfastened up for bigger bands. They person that successful Orange County, but determination was nary ecosystem for that successful Torrance astatine all.” Ebert added that they haven’t played a amusement successful Torrance since 2010 astatine the now-gone Gable House Bowl, wherever Johnson and Ebert primitively met done a bowling league.

For our driving circuit of historical spots for the band, the members opt to enactment successful Long Beach, with Knobbe driving america astir to plentifulness of spots captious to their aboriginal days. One notable destination was the location known arsenic “The Hickey Underworld.” This is wherever Joyce Manor played aboriginal shows (“You’re playing a surviving country with your socks on,” adds Knobbe) and credits its escaped signifier abstraction and precocious nights drunkenly singing on to Saves the Day for making the set feasible. We besides stopped astatine Johnson’s apartment, wherever helium recorded the “Constant Headache” demos and lived until signing with Epitaph and releasing “Never Hungover Again.” Other sights included Knobbe’s archetypal Long Beach apartment, countless favourite and not-so-favorite bars and a state presumption wherever Johnson beams, “I utilized to bargain cigarettes there.” We besides talked overmuch astir the Torrance 3 bus, Johnson’s “mental workspace” where, to and from signifier successful Long Beach, helium wrote and workshopped galore songs, including “Constant Headache.”

Having moved to Long Beach astatine 20, Johnson feels much astatine location here, though helium acknowledges that Torrance is inactive the tone of Joyce Manor.

Guitarist Chase Knobbe, who formed Joyce Manor with Barry Johnson, with Matt Ebert joining a twelvemonth later.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

“I don’t person that overmuch emotion for Torrance,” helium says. “I similar things astir it. I deliberation it’s got a batch of problems … [it’s] haunted and weird.”

Knobbe shares Johnson’s mixed affection toward Torrance; helium moved to Long Beach a fewer years aft Johnson. (“I deliberation the archetypal clip I drove connected the freeway was giving Barry a thrust backmost to Long Beach.”) Ebert remains the accepted outsider, a longtime East L.A. nonmigratory with roots successful San Pedro. When I asked if moving to L.A. was ever an option, they said the set favored visiting the older, much established pop-punk scenes of Riverside.

“My precocious schoolhouse set tried to play a amusement astatine the Whisky a Go Go,” says Knobbe, “but it was similar a pay-to-play benignant of thing.”

We extremity our circuit grabbing Modelo beers (“A fewer tiny beers,” we joke) astatine the V Room. Though Johnson confirms the album’s titular barroom is an amalgamation of each the section bars they showed me, the V Room has go a go-to.

“I was truthful broke that I truly relied connected dollar brew night,” Johnson says. “Fern’s [now the Hideout] had dollar brew night. As a result, it had a younger crowd, assemblage kids with not a batch of money. That’s however I met a batch of people, immoderate I inactive cognize today.”

Since the caller medium is dedicated to Brian Wilson, who grew up successful adjacent Hawthorne, I wanted to research what Joyce Manor and Wilson whitethorn stock — oregon astatine slightest however the South Bay shaped them.

“The South Bay is the epicenter of the Southern California civilization that became truly fashionable successful the 1950s each implicit the world,” says Ebert. “Surfing and past skateboarding. It’s Americana distilled. But the South Bay is besides an highly complicated, lonely suburban place. It’s precise chopped disconnected from the remainder of the city. It’s surrounded by oil. You person the Port of L.A., which is 1 of the biggest ports successful the world. It’s benignant of a taste dormant zone, but it besides bred what a batch of radical astir the satellite cognize arsenic American culture. Brian knew however to distill that.”

Johnson points to the irony of murals dedicated to legendary punk bands the Descendents and Black Flag littering the now-expensive Hermosa Beach.

“It’s conscionable a beauteous heartless spot and ever has been,” says Ebert.

“I for years wanted to play a amusement successful Torrance, wherever we’re really from,” said Joyce Manor bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ebert. “But I conscionable don’t cognize however it ever could oregon would. So I’ve benignant of stopped reasoning astir it.”

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

This mindfulness of the American imagination versus economical world has ever been embedded successful Joyce Manor, which formed during the Great Recession.

“[We were] precise influenced by the feeling similar the aboriginal is not going to beryllium good,” says Johnson. “There’s nary fiscal information ever. I volition ne'er cognize it. So conscionable effort to bask yourself and enactment portion you can. You person to make your ain happiness due to the fact that historically what should supply information is conscionable gone.”

Those relatable feelings travel crossed close distant connected “I Used to Go to This Bar.” Just work its opening lyrics: “When you can’t spend thing anymore, archer maine however are you gonna aquatics to shore? When you can’t explicate the harm done to your brain, but it’s wide that it’s terrible and it’s present to stay.”

This month, Joyce Manor volition merchandise its seventh workplace album, “I Used to Go to This Bar,” done longtime statement Epitaph.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

The caller medium includes Smiths-like godforsaken state shuffles (“All My Friends Are So Depressed”), a bizarre (compliment) mesh of intricate classical creation and Cars-like synths (“Falling into It”), and the accustomed catchy, melodic pop-punk that makes Joyce Manor truthful great. Longtime fans volition admit “Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before?” arsenic an update connected “F— Koalacaust,” a opus predating Joyce Manor that present adds Knobbe connected harmonica. And past there’s “Grey Guitar,” which mightiness rival “Constant Headache” arsenic the band’s champion medium closer. Even the album’s hired drummer is notable: Joey Waronker spent past twelvemonth drumming for Oasis’ reunion tour. They besides worked with galore of Beck’s musicians connected this album.

“If you’re astir L.A. agelong enough, you get Beck’s guys,” joked Ebert.

Up adjacent for Joyce Manor: a outpouring U.S. circuit and Coachella. Johnson feels assured “Constant Headache” volition spell implicit good with the Coachella angiosperm crowd. I inquire what other is connected the L.A. bucket list.

“Let’s play the Forum,” says Johnson.

“I for years wanted to play a amusement successful Torrance, wherever we’re really from,” added Ebert. “But I conscionable don’t cognize however it ever could oregon would. So I’ve benignant of stopped reasoning astir it.”

Ebert’s words punctual maine of a lyric from the album’s rubric track: “There’s thing peculiar astir the place, thing excessively hard to recreate.” It’s the mixed blessing of inactive being adjacent to wherever you’re from, yet sung with a wisp of yearning. It’s a feeling Joyce Manor makes timeless yet intensely relatable. Wilson would person approved.