Meet Jonathan Horsley of Beach Bums in SGV / LBC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Horsley.

Jonathan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started the first wave of Beach Bums in the summer of 2013. I had took my influences from hardcore, punk, thrash, and garage rock to make an EP and a couple of demos which landed me on a local house party bill shortly after its release. Since it was a solo project, I had to look for members, so I asked my friend, Keanu, to join as a drummer. After a year of playing gigs, lineup changes, and making demos, Keanu and I decided to reform the idea of Beach Bums to make it larger than just a band. In December of 2014, we made the new BEACH BUMS, which would revolve around the concept of EVERYTHING, meaning we wouldn’t limit ourselves to styles of music and art, but rather just do whatever we wanted under the name.

From there, we created a whole new mix of sounds and aesthetics, blending whatever we drew inspiration from. Right around that time, the Inland Empire backyard scene had sprouted, and we became one of the leading groups for it, without really trying at all. Every weekend the crowd numbers grew, averaging from 200-300 kids per night in small backyards all over the IE.

On Christmas 2015, we dropped our debut mixtape, LUCID DREAM, This is when things started to really gain attention. The backyard scene had grown out of control, packing out multiple times a month all over the place. Shows started to get raided a lot. We weren’t able to play many slots anymore because by the time it would be our turn, the cops showed… we had to move on to venues. We started getting offers to play The Smell in DTLA with friends like The Red Pears and more. Next thing you know all of us are selling out shows at the Smell and venues alike.

From the summer of 2016 to summer 2017, we recorded EVERYTHING, the album that would truly define what we were about. Within that year we experienced yet another lineup change, due to internal drama. Though it was rough, we got through it and by September 2017, EVERYTHING was released. By this point, we had gained a very strong cult following in Southern California, Las Vegas, and Texas.

2018 was all about growing. On January 31st, Keanu’s birthday, we dropped THE GOAT PT. 1, a 4 track EP which showed off Keanu and I’s production and rapping skills, After that, we drew our attention towards an unexpected LP, I WANT TO SLEEP FOREVER, which drew inspiration from our genuine depression and mental health issues. We wanted it to be completely raw, most tracks consisting of 1 take. IWTSF helped us grow a lot due to its realness and rawness. A lot of people saw a side we didn’t share before, and it helped our cult following grow because fans felt what we expressed. By October, we dropped THE GOAT PT 2 which consisted of production from the notable SoundCloud producer NOIZE and our own production as well. In that same month, we did a Texas runs and threw our last local house show, which packed out to the brim. At the end of 2018, we saw another lineup change and from here, Keanu and I sought out to find a new guitarist.

Now, in 2019, we are focusing on moving out of the DIY while still keeping true to our roots. We got ourselves a publicist, agent, and have currently been working on our 4th LP, YEARS. We released two music videos from The Goat PT 2 for tracks, “Spell” & “IRememberYou”, both which gained a good amount of attention for our first campaign. Now the new lineup, consisting of all old friends, is helping is grow a lot faster.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. We’ve had to build from the dirt. When Keanu and I reformed in 2015, we were super broke and I was homeless for a point in time. We didn’t have much of a choice in what life gave us, so we just worked with what we had. We faced many lineup changes due to drama, members not being consistent, etc.

Please tell us about Beach Bums.
Beach Bums is an entity more than a band or group. It is just an umbrella name for the wide variety of art and music that we cover.

What sets us apart from others is that when you go to a show or listen to an artist, they are almost always set to a specific sound or aesthetic. When you see/listen to Beach Bums, you’ll never know what to expect. One minute your moshing, the other you’re slow dancing. It’s something we take seriously because none of us are totally alike. We all come from different backgrounds and want to display it in the most genuine way possible.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
We are different from every group around us. Our cult following gets it and latches onto it. It’s growing because we can relate to so many different scenes and people.

Contact Info:

• Website: beachxbums.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/beachxbums
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/beachxbums/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/beachxbums

Image Credit:
Press photo credits – Herbert Guevara, Pic with crowd surfer – Scott Free, show pic – Christian Burkhard

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