HEALTH at The Grammy Museum- Making It In The New Music Industry

HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong
HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong
HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong

So here I am for the first time at the Grammy Museum in Downtown Los Angeles to see HEALTH perform a half set in a small 200 person theater with seats, and to live premier their latest song collaboration- “Ashamed” featuring Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES. Prior to the performance was a less awkward than I imagined Q and A with Nic Harcourt and the band that focused heavily on the creation of the 2023 full length release of Rat Wars. Singer/Songwriter and HEALTH guitarist, Jake Dusik was much more chatty than I expected for someone with such a catalog of sad bastard, isolationist song credits. Dusik spoke in great detail about that despair, which peaked during the pandemic lock down. The birth of his child during this bleak time and the death of society conceived their most critically acclaimed HEALTH album, to date. HEALTH co-founder and ambassador John Famiglietti, always bringing levity to the band described a completely different lock down experience that didn’t always shelter in place and was echoed by HEALTH drummer BJ Miller. HEALTH were asked their thoughts on who was the quintessential Los Angeles band and the answer given was The Doors.  I found that to be a surprising, underrated and delightful answer. When asked what genre their music was in, Johnny Health, as he has become affectionately known answered: Cum Metal. With a sound that can’t be quite pigeon holed, the goth scene has claimed them as their own for a decade and a half. Synth pop, industrial, noise rock, post punk, dark wave and whatever the fuck HEALTH is- none of those were meant to fit together but that’s the great thing about the genre right now and the most logical explanation as to why HEALTH have been passed the torch as it’s elder statesmen. They are or at some point, have been all those genres and none of them.

related: Hardcore Disco- HEALTH at 1720

Lauren Mayberry w/ HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong
Lauren Mayberry w/ HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong
Jake Dusik of HEALTH at The Music Box- photo by Justin Wojdula
Jake Dusik of HEALTH at The Music Box- photo by Justin Wojdula

From the once mean streets of a now gentrified Echo Park, to the sensory overload of employment at guitar center in Hollywood, that’s where our heroes would meet. The journey of the Los Angeles band HEALTH is a case study for under gound, independent bands succeeding in the ruins of the old music industry. An industry rebuilt into the all but impenetrable ivory towers of the streaming industry. Guarded by investors and C-level executives, most of the profits are spoken for in the form of dividends and high level compensation packages. With what’s left, the industry only bets on sure things. It seems no one is there to develop bands or maybe they don’t know how to drive their new vehicle- TikTok. Now, it is virtually impossible for a band to start in a garage and become a worldwide, recognizable name. Today’s pop music is indicative of that. Through that reality, HEALTH have built their foundation by touring and key collaborations. Through attracting new fans from anime and gaming fandoms. Through connecting directly with their fans via their HEALTH hotline number that has been a direct channel to a cell phone that rests in Co-founding member, John Famiglieti’s pocket. And most importantly, by making consistently unique and engaging music that connects to the darkness in all of us that choose to engage that part of ourselves. HEALTH certainly aren’t a household name and I’m certain they never will be but the story of HEALTH is one that can give young bands a dream that seems attainable- like that of punk rockers, b-boys and other scenes that sprouted up organically through neighborhoods like those in Brooklyn, Orange County, Seattle and in the case of HEALTH, Echo Park in Los Angeles. In that spirit, HEALTH probably could and maybe already have solidified themselves with a 50 year legacy that will be whispered in the same cadence of those who invoke Kraftwerk, Johnny Thunders, MF Doom and other such musical delicacies. And while pop music is bleak and abyssmal at the moment, the independent music scene is thriving with new bands that aren’t motivated by getting signed to a major record label but instead, are fueled by the neighborhoods and the scenes they grew up in.

Nowhere is this more indicative than the supporting acts HEALTH choose to take on tour. Much like the early days when Crystal Castles would take HEALTH out on the road, HEALTH seem to bring an exciting new or criminally underrated band with them every year. Like clockwork, every April, HEALTH hit the Southern California leg of their tours. The last two years I’ve been traveling two hours south to the Music Box in San Diego for their tour stops. San Diego based goth promoters, Modern.wav always throw an extra act in the mix with the top shelf vibes. This past April, Modern.wav threw Panther Modern on the lineup along with one of my favorite new bands of the last two years, Pixel Grip, who joined HEALTH on the majority of the last tour. Once again, it was one of my favorite shows of the year. We also covered the L.A. leg at The Belasco.

related: HEALTH/Author and Punisher at The Music Box- Let the Ceremony Begin

Pixel Grip at Belasco- photo by Abraham Preciado
Pixel Grip at Belasco- photo by Abraham Preciado
Panther Modern at the Music Box- photo by Justin Wojdula
Panther Modern at the Music Box- photo by Justin Wojdula

There’s something about the legacy of HEALTH that I take personally. Maybe because it’s one of the only bands in the “new era” of the music business that has a lengthy legacy and widespread popularity and that I’ve witnessed from the origins of playing small clubs. Maybe it’s just because they write incredible music and continuously throw down pristine performances. It’s extremely difficult to “evolve” as a musician and artist without alienating the fan base that got you to that point. Yet in HEALTH’s journey from Noise band, to dark wave to Cum Metal, the recidivism rate for their original fan base is high. The formula is simple but the execution is complicated- authentic, emotional subject matter and melodies laid over musical arrangements that slap.

related: HEALTH at the Echo- First L.A. Show in 3 Years Delivers

So here is HEALTH, straddling the greatest heights of the global post punk/goth scene and penetrating pop culture by being the score and soundtrack in gaming and now, anime circles. Maturity looks good on the band and even more importantly, it STILL sounds good. These were the thoughts going through my head as I watched HEALTH performing to 200 people seated in a small theater that was named after music mogul, Clive Davis. In all the ways that HEALTH don’t belong anywhere near that setting are the same ways their inclusion and others like them could create legitimacy in the business of music, once again.

Lauren Mayberry and Jake Dusik at The Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong

HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong
HEALTH at the Grammy Museum- photo by Taylor Wong
HEALTH at The Music Box- photo by Justin Wojdula
HEALTH at The Music Box- photo by Justin Wojdula

related: Best Coast, HEALTH, Ty Segall Help Save THE SMELL

Words: Danny Baraz

Photos: Taylor Wong, Abraham Preciado, Justin Wojdula 

 

Los Angeles Born and Raised. Musician, writer and entrepreneur. Danny B. launched Janky Smooth to execute a vision that wasn't possible writing for other people's publications (OPP) He is constantly fighting an internal battle between the mainstream and MK Ultra. Twitter/IG: @jankysmooth

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