Coachella Band Preview: Turnover

Greetings from Mexico! It’s funny writing that because I’m currently not in Mexico, but when this is posted I will be. Told ya I’d make sure I have a weekly band preview, which means you should be prepping daily for one of the best music festivals of the year. This week I’m previewing a band I found out about on my flight to California in 2017 when I was headed out to work my first Coachella. I’ll tell you the story, but first, Turnover.

Turnover is a band based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The band is comprised of brothers Austin and Casey Getz and Danny Dempsey. Formed in 2009, the band has gone through several lineup changes through the years, but the Getz brothers and Dempsey have been a part since the beginning. The band signed to indie record label Run For Cover Records in 2012.

The band released their first self-titled EP in 2011 and their first album Magnolia in 2013. They’ve toured with the likes of several well-known bands in their pop punk/alternative music scene such as New Found Glory, I Am the Avalanche, The Swellers, Major League, Citizen, and fellow Coachella 2019 performer Turnstile. Their second EP Blue Dream was released in 2014 followed by their second full length album Peripheral Vision in 2015. Their latest album Good Nature was released in 2017.

Much like other bands from their scene, Turnover’s musical style has gone through a progression over the years. As the band members grew up from their teens to their 20’s, they went from emo and pop-punk to indie rock. The difference is striking from their first EP and first album to their latest.

As I said I found out about Turnover in spring 2017 on my flight to Coachella. I definitely wouldn’t have known about them otherwise either because I don’t often listen to bands in their scene any more. My friend Chelsea and I booked the same flight to California from Baltimore. She was headed out to Coachella for the first time. I was headed out for the second time, but for my first work experience at the festival. It was also the first time I was flying alone. It didn’t turn out that way because we ended up sitting next to each other and catching up after having not seen each other in years. We discussed life. We discussed music. We discussed Coachella. We discussed music at Coachella. She introduced me to Future Islands who were playing the festival that year and then she also brought up the band Turnover. She told me they were a much chiller version of Title Fight, which is a band we both grew up knowing and listening to from her hometown and a town 15 minutes away from mine. We streamed Turnover on the flight (miraculously!) and I definitely agreed. They were really good. I downloaded one of their songs shortly after I returned from my two week stay in Southern California and another a few months later.

When the Coachella lineup was released Wednesday night, Chelsea was one of the first people I texted. Since attending Coachella in 2017, it’s become a yearly thing for her. She loves it as much as me. We discussed the lineup and our excitement about it. Then she realized that Turnover was on the bill. I didn’t see it either until she mentioned it. It increased our hype even more.

Turnover plays Saturday at Coachella. As for stage and timing, I’d guess earlier in the day to mid-afternoon at either Gobi or Mojave, but they could easily play an early day set on the Main or Outdoor Stage. It’s definitely up in the air until the schedule comes out in April. I hope I get the chance to see their set or at least some of it. If you’re looking to see some indie rock at Coachella and grew up in that same pop-punk scene that I did, I definitely recommend checking out Turnover. Their set is sure to be great and super chill. So now all you need to do is get ready to see them. I know I have some listening to do because up until earlier today, my familiarity with their music was restricted to two songs. I’ve spent the past hour listening though and here’s what I like so far:

1. Cutting My Fingers Off
2. Super Natural
3. Dizzy On the Comedown
4. Sunshine Type
5. I Would Hate You If I Could
6. Humming
7. Pure Devotion
8. New Scream
9. Butterfly Dream
10. Hello Euphoria

Coachella Band Preview: Empire of the Sun

The first weekend of Coachella is 3 weeks away. Yes three weeks is what separates us from the hot sunny Indio Desert, the greens of the Empire Polo Fields swarming with festival-goers, palm trees swaying to the cool breeze and rad tunes, epic sunsets over the mountains, and the sweet sounds of music from incredible artists entering our ears. I only have a few band previews left before the annual festival begins and time is of the essence so I better get to it.

Empire of the Sun is an electronic/alternative rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band formed in 2007 as a collaboration between Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore. Both had worked together on music for each other’s bands before forming Empire of the Sun. Those bands each performed different styles of music. Steele brought the alternative rock genre to their new band and Littlemore brought the electronic dance music. Their first album, Walking on a Dream, was released in 2008 with the first single of the same name debuting about a month before the album’s release. Both the single and album were charted in the top ten of the ARIA charts. Although their only intention was to create a studio album, they decided to do live performances in response to the album’s success. However the live shows did not include Littlemore, who decided to opt out of touring early on. By the end of 2009, the band received 7 ARIA Awards for the album including Album of the Year.

2010 was the year the band embarked on the festival circuit playing Glastonbury and Lollapalooza for the first time and by the end of the year Littlemore and Steele discussed creating a new album for the band. Production on the album began in 2011 and Littlemore stated he would go out and tour in support of this one. 2011 also involved a North American tour for the band, which included a stop at Coachella.

The duo released their second album, Ice on the Dune, in June 2013. The new album brought more touring throughout 2013 and into 2014. The band made their second stop at Coachella in 2014 and headlined the Sahara Tent. Their music was also featured in the film Dumb and Dumber To, which came out in late 2014.

The band continued to tour into 2015 while simultaneously working on their third album. Their third and latest album was just released this past October. 2016 also marked the first time that the band broke on to the Billboard charts. It was their 2008 hit “Walking on a Dream” that earned the band the number 3 spot on the Alternative Music charts after it was used in a U.S. Honda commercial in early 2016.

Their music, as I said, is a combination of alternative rock and electronic music. It can’t be described much better than that, although some may say the band fits genres like synthpop or glam rock. I feel like their sound has stayed consistent over the course of three albums so if you love the song “Walking on a Dream” or only know music from that album, you’re bound to dig some of their more recent stuff.

I discovered Empire of the Sun in 2011. There’s no significant story of how so I’m guessing it was through a recommendation from Youtube or Pandora because I listened to similar music on either channel. Of course the first song I heard was “Walking on a Dream”. Throughout the past few years I’ve heard their other stuff here and there and I’ve liked it. I’ve also heard the song “Walking on a Dream” multiple times in various circumstances throughout the same time period. It’s no surprise it’s their biggest hit. I never got into them as a band though. Nor have I been dying to see them live, but I’ll tell you why I would definitely check them out at Coachella.

Music festivals give you an opportunity to see bands live who you might like but not like enough to buy a ticket for a touring show making Coachella the perfect time for someone like me to check them out. Empire of the Sun does some pretty cool live performances too. The performances are as much of a visual art as they are a musical art. They wear elaborate costumes, have dancers or other performers, and display mesmerizing visuals often seen as part of electronic shows. They play Friday at Coachella. They’ve already headlined the Sahara Tent at the festival once before so that might happen again. As long as their set doesn’t overlap with some other great performers, it’ll definitely be a spectacle worth seeing. Here’s a few songs to know if you go:

1. Walking on a Dream
2. Alive
3. High and Low
4. We Are the People
5. Standing on the Shore
6. DNA
7. Two Vines
8. Concert Pitch
9. To Her Door
10. Friends