Adam Roth, Sebastian Fritze, Fredrik Eriksson, Brendan James and Bill Delia make up Grizfolk, an alternative rock band that’s anything but ordinary.
From Florida to Sweden, and now Los Angeles, the group members hail from all over the world. The worldly influence comes through in Grizfolk’s music, which combines rock, pop and folk. After the band’s Voodoo Music and Arts Experience set, The Daily Reveille caught up with Grizfolk to talk New Orleans, what it’s like performing at a big festival and how five guys come together to make their own blended sound.
The Daily Reveille: How was your set?
Adam Roth: It was fun, it was really cool.
TDR: Have you ever been to New Orleans before?
Roth: I was born here. I was born here and I grew up three hours away in Pensacola. My whole family’s down here.
TDR: So what are you going to do while you’re here?
Brendan James: We’ll probably do some carnival rides and we have another set at 6 p.m. We’ve already been here a couple days, so we’ve been out to Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street. We’ve been up all night. Actually we haven’t slept yet since Wednesday. It’s a good time.
TDR: So what’s coming up for you guys as far as the music?
Sebastian Fritze: We play in Chicago on Sunday at the Halftime Show for the Chicago Bears against the Minnesota Vikings. It’s going to be a cool one. Then we head out on tour with X Ambassadors in Canada.
TDR: So festivals vs. your own live concerts, what do you prefer?
Fritze: I mean festivals are always fun because it’s a way you can hang out with other artists and have a good time. All shows are fun.
James: I think we probably all have a different feeling, but there’s a feeling at a festival that’s like, I mean this one actually has carnival rides, but it feels like you’re at something really festive. A show on tour, they’re really fun because there are fans that are coming to see you, but at a festival you have this huge cross section of different bands, and people discover you. It’s this big discovery.
Roth: It’s a discovery music orgy.
TDR: How do you try to draw in new fans while you’re at a festival?
Roth: We just try to turn it up to 11.
TDR: So you go as hard as you can?
Roth: We just do what we do every time. We play our hearts out and have a great time. We enjoy the city, we love New Orleans and we have fun with playing music.
TDR: What would you say is your favorite part of performing live?
Roth: I love looking out and seeing people singing our songs. It’s always a very humbling experience when you’re in some other part of the country and there’s people singing your songs. It makes it worth showing up and flying across the country to do the show.
James: I like to watch people’s faces to see what songs and what parts of songs get them. Because some people like different things, so when a chorus comes in and somebody’s singing it, then they haven’t heard the verse and they don’t know it so they just kind of chill, then the chorus comes on and they sing it again. I like watching that stuff.
TDR: There’s five of you, so how do you incorporate everyone’s opinions?
Fritze: We all come from different musical backgrounds and we try to incorporate everyone’s little touch. I think that’s what makes our sound.
TDR: What do you think your sound is?
 
Fritze: North meets South. Fredrik and I are from Sweden and Adam’s from this part of the States, so it’s a mashup of different backgrounds and different upbringings. It’s really hard to put a name on it, that’s why I say North meets South.
TDR: Are you ever in disagreement with your genre classification?
Fritze: No, there’s so many influences in our music. Some people call it rock, some people call it electronic. Whatever people want to call it we’re fine with it.
TDR: How do you incorporate those influences into your music?
Fritze: It comes naturally. I come from a hip-hop background so I like making beats. So I’ll make a beat and I’ll send it around and if any of the guys like it they’ll put their stuff on it. Fredrik will put some guitar on there, Adam will sing in a melody. It all just puzzles together. It’s like playing Tetris.