First Person: Best Coast

Beachy rockers Best Coast deliver reverb-drenched guitar, Laurel Canyon strums, and subtle country edge to KCET's Studio A.

Discover more about Best Coast in their own words.

On the Band's Origins

Bethany Cosentino: I was going to college in New York, and I've always been a musician. My dad is a musician, my mom is a fashion designer. Both my parents are artists. But I moved away to go to school and then quickly realized that I wanted to be playing music again, not going to college. So I left college and I came back to L.A., and I started writing music. And my partner Bobb [Bruno], he was just a friend of mine through other people in L.A. that I knew that played music. And so I wrote him and asked him: "Hey would you want to play on some of these songs that I've been writing?" And he was like "Yeah, just send them to me." So I sent him a couple of songs and he really liked them. Then the name Best Coast was just one of those things where it was like I thought "oh, maybe Best Coast? Maybe that would be a good name." And I asked Bobb and he was like "that's perfect." So there was really no other choice. We just knew that was the right one.

I don't think [New York is] the worst coast. I mean I love New York and I love the East Coast but for me personally I feel like I just survive better here. I feel like it was really hard for me. New York is a very intense place and I feel like California and the West Coast is a bit more laid back and you can kind of be a little bit more chill, which is sort of my vibe. So I just feel like I survive better here.

On the Progression of Albums

BC: The first record we did is called "Crazy for You." And that record was recorded in 2010. It's been a very long time. But we recorded that record in two weeks at a studio in Silver Lake here in L.A. and it was just a really easy breezy process. There was no stress. You know, we were like "Well whatever, we're just making this record to make it." And we had put out some singles before and people were really anticipating the record. So we knew that there was anticipation behind it but we weren't really feeling pressured by it, so we just kind of made the record the way we wanted to. And it's very lo-fi sounding and a lot of that is because of the fact that I was still very self-conscious about my singing and my writing and I hadn't really fully developed a style yet. Literally the band had just started and then suddenly we were making this full length record. And so I was kind of like "Okay, let's just dump a bunch of effects and stuff on it so that no one can really hear what's going on but they can still enjoy the songs."

You could hear the melodies and the lyrics and stuff, but I didn't want it to just be so out there. Just like, here it is. I wanted it to be kind of layered and hidden under some stuff. And then that record came out and it did insanely well and it was a shock to us. We did not expect any of the success that we gained from that record. Then we toured that record for probably two and a half years, which was really intense and kind of took its toll on me and the way I felt about a lot of different things in the world. And kind of just music in general. I was kind of like "Is this something I want to do? Am I prepared for how crazy this can be? Then we went in to do our second record "The Only Place." And we did "The Only Place" at Capitol Records in Hollywood with John Brion, and spent six months on our record as opposed to two weeks doing things so freely and loosely we spent this crazy hectic amount of time in a studio making this album. Everyone was like "oh it's your second album and it's the follow up to the first one so it has to be even better." And there was so much pressure behind it that I feel like I just kind of lost myself and was just sort of like "Ok, I just want to get this done. I just want to do this." And I love the record, I'm totally proud of it and happy with it but I feel like there was a lot of me that was just kind of floating through space and was just kind of like "Ok, I want to get this over with" because I'm so used to doing things very quickly. And then that album, we stepped it up probably 10 notches from the first album and didn't really use any of the effects that we used on the first record because we wanted to try something different, and we wanted to use the tools that Capitol had for us. We didn't want to go in and make a record that sounded exactly like the first one, or make a record that sounded dirty and lo fi and like we made it in our bedroom when we were actually making it in this prolific, insane studio. So we tried to make a record that sounded different and had a different production vibe.

On the Lyrics

BC: I feel like the one thing that regardless of what the production quality of a Best Coast song sounds like, I feel like the one thing that makes it a Best Coast song is just how simple and straight-forward it is. I don't write very detailed, extremely metaphorical songs. I just write what I'm feeling and what I know. And I'm not some virtuouso on the guitar. I just play power chords and so I write what I can write. And people either really like or really dislike that formula. For me, I feel like it's worked really well and I have no intention of changing it. I don't want to make a new record that has like a prog rock record or something. I don't plan on doing that I plan on just kind of sticking to this formula and making it, you know keep on making records that have that sort of line, that connection of simplicity and just honesty and relatability in the lyrics. And then sonically each record that we do I feel like grows or we change things a little bit. And then the EP that we just did "Fade Away," that was kind of almost a combination of "Crazy For You" and "The Only Place" sonically. We were like "Ok, we don't want to make it too produced but we don't want to make it too lo-fi" and at this point in time my confidence has shot up. I'm still an awkward weirdo and I still am very humble, but my confidence as far as being a performer and singing. Especially as a singer I feel like my confidence, it came out of no where. I think that it was probably because of the fact that I've been playing on stage almost every single night for the last four and a half years. If you don't grow confidence from that, then you're probably doing something wrong. So I feel like this EP has a lot of that same kind of idea as the first record where it's very simple, very poppy, very upbeat. And then the second record was kind of a bit more of a downer and there were a lot more slow songs. And the EP is kind of like a combination of that. We wanted to make something that almost blended those two things and put them together.

On Song Writing

BC: When I write, I'm not necessarily consciously thinking "Ok, what am I writing about?" I'm not sitting down with a pen and a paper saying "I'm going to write a song about a guy that I want to be my boyfriend." I just write, and then I look back at the song and I say "Ok, that's what this is about and that's what inspired it." And the way that I write lyrics is I just sing, I play my guitar, and I come up with a melody. I just start singing and then I start typing on my computer like, lyrics and then I'm like, "Ok, that sounds good. That makes sense." I start piecing things together. So I've never really been one to be like "Ok, how can I grow as a lyricist and how can I look at this first song I ever wrote and the last song I've written and how can I compare the two?"

I feel like the songs on the EP, I think they're a little bit more lyrically mature than the songs on the first record and the second record. It's not like I have lost anybody. It's not like I've started writing things where people are like "What is she talking about?" It's still like, life is so confusing. That's the number one constant thing that I'm always thinking. So that's just what I'm writing about.

On Working with Bobb Bruno

BC: The process between Bobb and I is honestly one of the most seamless and delightful processes that I've ever been involved in. We always joke that we have this secret language where it's like, I'll write a song, I'll record it in my room, I'll record it on GarageBand, I'll put it in an E-Mail, I'll send it to him, and I'll say "Here's the last song I wrote. It was inspired by the Go-Go's, or it was inspired by The Beach Boys, or it was inspired by my cat." Or something. Just whatever I feel inspires the song. And then I'll say "I think it should have an upbeat vibe, I think the drums should maybe sound like this, I think there should be a high guitar part that kind of has this vibe. And I'll just kind of give him these nonsensical instructions where it's like if anybody else read them they would be like "What does this mean? I don't understand what this girl is talking about." And Bobb has this way of reading these crazy things that I write and just taking them and just developing them into exactly what I heard in my head. When we go into the studio to record, it's sometimes the first time I've ever heard what Bobb is going to play on one of my songs. So I'll sit down and I'll kind of be like "Ok, I'm nervous. He's about to play his part, I haven't heard it yet." And he'll play it and I'm just like "That's perfect." There really has never been a point in a Best Coast recording session where one of us has said "That doesn't work." We just have this relationship that, it's almost like, it's very meant to be. I think that we were really meant to be in a band together and work together as collaborators because I've worked with other people, I've written with other people before and it can be really tricky. Peoples feelings get hurt, and people don't agree, and it's just not fun sometimes. And with Bobb I never worry about it. I send Bobb a song and I'm like, "Ok, if the song doesn't really have a shape yet" I know that Bobb is going to create that shape and he's going to make it, you know, what it ends up sounding like on the record. And I think that if you heard my demos the way that they are when it's just me in comparison to the way that they sound once Bobb has played on them and once they're recorded in the studio. You would be like, "Oh how is that even the same song?" So I feel like it is really important to make sure that Bobb is just as important to this band as I am.

On Bruno's Collaboration

BC: I always say that there's no ego involved in Best Coast at all. And when I say that I'm not just saying that, I genuinely mean it. We feel so lucky that this happened to us.

Bobb knows his role, I know my role. No one is ever trying to be "Hey, I'm more important than you." You know because I'm the only woman in the band and I'm the frontwoman and I'm the songwriter, people tend to pay a lot of attention to me. And people will sometimes be like "Who's Bobb? What's going on?" And I'm like "No, Bobb is so important." But Bobb doesn't take offense to that at all, and there's a lot of people that would. There's a lot of people that would be like, "Hey why am I not getting the center of attention? Why am I not on the cover of that magazine? Why am I not being asked to be the star of the music video?" Bobb is just like "I want to play music, I want to write my parts to your songs, I want to go on tour, and the rest you can take care of." And so I feel like we've really worked it out, in a way that there's no drama and it's really awesome.

On the Southern California Influence

BC: I grew up in LA. I've lived here my entire life with the exception of the year that I lived in New York. And I've always been just kind of fascinated by Los Angeles and California. I feel like it's such a magical place, it has such a special vibe that I feel like a lot of other places don't have. So when I write music, even if I'm writing a song about a boyfriend or a friend that I'm no longer friends with or whatever I'm writing about I feel like I'm not straightforwardly being like "Ok, this song is about Los Angeles." There's a vibe and an energy behind the songs that carry this Los Angeles energy, you know? And people are constantly saying that to me. They'll be like "Oh, I listen to your music in the dead of winter because it makes me feel like I'm on a beach in Southern California." And I'm like "Well that's exactly what I wanted to do." So I feel like when I hear that I'm like "Ok, cool I've done my job."

When I was living in New York I was listening to The Mamas and the Papas and I was listening to the Beach Boys and I was surrounded by snow and walking to the subway and tripping and falling on snow and just being like, "I hate this, I want to be in the warmth." And so I would listen to those songs and I would close my eyes and I would just be Okay. For a second I'm at the beach, or I'm in Venice, or I'm in Santa Monica, or I'm in Glendale, or where ever because L.A. is so spread out and there's just so many different places. But when people say that to me "Your music, even the songs that aren't about California still make me feel like I'm in California." I'm like "Ok, cool. I've done my job right."

On Nostalgia

BC: I am a super nostalgic person, to be honest. I'm constantly thinking about the past. I'm constantly thinking what could I have done to keep that one special moment the way that it was. Or why did I not go to that one dinner, you know? I'm always in my head. I'm a very in my head kind of person. And I'm constantly thinking about the past and I look at old pictures all the time and I'm like "Oh, I miss being 13" even though it sucked to be 13. But I feel like my music is kind of lyrically and kind of melodically is nostalgic and I think that it's because I grew up in a house where classic pop music was constantly being played.

My parents listened to The Beatles, they listened to Fleetwood Mac, they listened to Steely Dan, and The Beach Boys. All this music that now I listen to and I remember being seven years old watching my mom vacuum the living room listening to "Rumors." And so I want to kind of make music that has that same sort of vibe. And then lyrically I feel like maybe I just haven't matured past the age of 16. I'm 27 but I'm still in the mind of a 16 year old girl.I write relatable lyrics because I know there are other people out there that will hear those songs and be like "Oh, I feel exactly the same way" or "Wow there's somebody else out there that got broken up with by her boyfriend and she felt really bad about it and she wrote a song about it." I've met young girls at shows that say "You inspired me to start a band. You inspired me to write a song about my break up." And I'm like, "Well that's awesome." I mean, that's all I've ever wanted to do is just inspire other people to do things. And I think that it's really cool that by doing something so simple, and by doing something relatable there are so many people out there that can just put on a Best Coast record and be like "Ok, this is my life. This is exactly how I feel."

People say to me: "it's like you read my diary or something." And I'm like "yeah, I'm just being honest about feelings that a lot of people aren't honest about, you know?"

On Releasing Music on Their Own Label

BC: We were with a label called Mexican Summer since we started. And our time with Mexican Summer just came to an end. It was totally mutual. It was like "Ok, it's time to move on and do something new." And I was given the option of starting my own record label instead of signing to a new label to release this EP. My manager was like "Well what if you started your own label?" And I was like, "That's a really good idea. Maybe I'll do that." And I didn't really know what it took to start a record label.

When I was 16, if you would have told me "Hey, when you're 27 you're going to run a record label" I would be like "No, that's not going to happen, you know? I'm going to work at a bookstore for the rest of my life or something." So yeah, I mean, it's really cool. It's very interesting to be in charge, and to be the one that gets to make all the creative decisions, and the one that gets to say "These are my goals for this release, and these are the things that I want to do, and these are the places that I want to go." And there's nobody sitting there being like "You can't really do that" or "No, you're going to do it this way." You're like "No, this is what I'm going to do." And that is a very kind of empowering feeling to be "Oh, I am running a business. I'm doing this all on my own." Of course, I have the help of a distribution company, which is helping me do so much. But I figured out everything for this record. I was like "Ok, here's the name, here's what I want the artwork to be." And normally when we worked with Mexican Summer, people would come to us and be like, "Here are some options for artwork for the record. Here are options for music videos. Here are options for whatever." And I would have to sit there and be like "Ok, you know, let me pick the best one." But this go around it was like "No, this is what I want to do." And it was like "Ok, let's make that happen." And that's a really special feeling when you're just completely in control of what you're doing creatively.

On the EP

BC: Personally I feel like these are some of the strongest songs that I've written and musically I feel like a lot of the stuff that's being played on them, a lot of the solos that Bobb's doing, a lot of the stuff that's going on production-wise. For me, it's personally my favorite thing we've done. And I don't know if I'm biased because it's kind of like my baby. I'm putting this thing out. I'm funding it, I'm doing everything myself. But wholeheartedly, I do feel like it is some of my favorite stuff. I do feel like it is like I wanted to make a record that I wanted to make. I didn't want to make something that somebody else wanted me to make. And that's what we did with this EP is we went into the studio, we paid for it ourselves, we picked the guy that we were going to record it with, we sat there every day for three weeks, we recorded it and when it was done we were like "Ok. It's done now, we'll figure out what we're going to do with it." Whereas when you're on a record label it's kind of like people are coming into the studio. They're like "What does it sound like? What's the single? What are we going to do?" And for this it was "No, we're just going to make it and then, you know, see what happens." And it was cool because I got to choose the single, I got to choose the director for the video, I got to make up the concept for the video. It's just been a really incredible experience. And now I'm wondering if I'm going to be spoiled forever and never want to not release my own music again.

On the song "I Don't Know How"

BC: Well I feel like when I wrote, "I Don't Know How," I wanted to make a song that was jarring almost in a way where it was very beautiful and melodic in the beginning and then out of nowhere it just turned into this crazy fast kind of like punk song. We had a song like that on the first record called "I Want To." That has the same sort of idea, it starts out slow then it gets fast. And I really like that idea I like doing that in songs. I don't do it all the time, but I was ready to do another one like that. I just kind of sat down and I guess I was in a way I was talking to myself. I was just kind of sitting down thinking "Ok. What am I going to sing about? What am I going to say?" And these words just came out. And when I looked back, like I said, I write everything down on the computer and then I look back and I kind of edit things and be like "Ok, that works. That doesn't work." When I looked back I was just like "This is just a song that's so real because it's just." I feel like the sentence I don't know how is something that I say so often that it just made so much sense to make a song about it. And I mean, I'm saying that in a million different contexts. Everyday I feel like I say that in some way. And maybe it's not that. Maybe I'm second guessing myself and I actually do know how to do these things. But I feel like that's a very common feeling to be like, "I don't know how." I don't know how to tell someone that I love them or I don't know how to change a lightbulb or I don't know how to cook myself dinner. It's kind of like this common feeling of like, do I know how to do this, how am I going to do this?