With a name like Them Evils, you know they’re up to no good...but in a good way. Jordan Griffin and Jake Massanari, two childhood friends, felt a musical void in Vegas and made the move to Orange County, California where they found their missing puzzle piece, David Delaney.
The three meshed well, all inspired by Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Queens Of The Stone Age. Them Evils have been working hard to pay tribute to the music we all know and love and have now released 3 EP’s including their latest self-titled EP, Them Evils. Full of energy, attitude and drive, Them Evils are reviving Rock N’ Roll in California and now all across the U.S. hitting Louder than Life music festival and touring with Pretty Reckless. After passing around their personalized bottle of bourbon, we sat down and talked with Them Evils behind the scenes at Louder Than Life. The following day, the trio gave a headbanging performance to open up the day. Here’s what Jordan, Jake and David had to share...
For Cincinnatians who aren’t familiar with you yet, can you introduce yourselves?
We’re Them Evils from Orange County, California. We play rock n roll music and we love what we do. We party, we have fun and whoever watches us is going to have fun as well. I’m Jordan, I’m the guitar player and singer.
I’m Jake. I coordinate the parties and I play bass.
I’m David and I’m the drummer. (He beats the skin - Jordan)
How did the name Them Evils come about?
Jordan: Alright, funny story! So, my mom was texting and she was trying to spell the city Temecula. You know the city, right? Well, she spelled it wrong and her phone autocorrected it to them evils. She calls me and goes ‘I have a really cool band name for you...Them Evils. What do you think?’ And I’m like, ‘That’s brilliant. I’m going to use it.’ and that’s how it came about. So, my mom named the band.
How would you describe your new self-titled EP...
Jordan: Well, it’s full of groovy riffs. Full of fuzz and things you want to hear.
Jake: For people who don’t know what fuzz is it’s just f*ckin balls out rock n roll.
Jordan: It’s the rock n roll that you’ve been waiting for to come back.
For new listeners, what song of yours would you tell them to check out.
Jordan: Definitely ‘Untold’. That’s the single. That’s the song that has gotten us to where we are now. If it wasn’t for ‘Untold’, we wouldn’t be here. We wrote it and it was kind of the last song we put together. It just came out like a little piece of treasure.
Jake: Yeah, like a little piece of gold.
You've said that you're "pretty much" making your own scene? What do you mean by that and how does it reflect the current status of rock music?
Jake: Yeah, I think so at least where we’re from. When we started playing together in Vegas where we’re originally from, there was nothing going on there. No Rock n’ Roll. There’s DJ’s. So, we’re playing Rock n’ Roll there like ‘Well, this isn’t working out. Let’s move to California!’ Jordan and I move to California and met David. There’s a lot of well-known bands out in California and not to say we’re bigger or better than them but until we started playing, I feel like bands started to take it more seriously out there. Like, we were opening up for bands in Orange County and now they want to be on our shows. So, I feel like we’re kind of bringing the ‘Hey, if you want to do this, let’s fucking do this’ and bring back that attitude to musicianship and Rock N Roll.
How is living in Huntington Beach?
Jordan: We love it. Me and Jake live right by the beach and he (Dave) lives in Orange which is a little more inland. But, I’ll be living in the band RV when we get home, so if you want to party on the R.V on the beach. We can drink whiskey.
You like to drink beer, eat pizza and jam. What's your favorite beer and pizza topping?
Jake: Dude, last night! That pizza was good!
Jordan: Chicken and waffles pizza!
Is Chicken and Waffles a thing in California because it is a THING here.
Jake: It is in like certain places. I was in Oakland one time for a music festival and the rapper Mac Dre, I went to his favorite Chicken and Waffles shop. There was a framed picture of him in the window. It was authentic as shit. SO good. It’s such an odd combo but it’s amazing! There’s actually a place in Huntington that specializes in that, Bruxie.
What about beer?
Jordan: I love Stella.I mean, that’s not what I’m drinking now but…
Jake: Rolling Rock, the official beer of Panterra.
Jordan: I work at a beer focused bar, so I love beer. Any kind of beer. I’m not a fan Belgians but I really like IPAs.
Jake: He’s basically the Bartender for the band
Jordan: I drink mostly whiskey. It makes me feel the weirdest.
So, this is the perfect festival for you guys….
Jake: That’s what we were saying earlier! We couldn’t have picked a better festival to be at. Rock n’ Roll and Bourbon. Ok, cool.
Inspired by LED Zeppelin - if you could perform with them, what song would you choose?
Jake: I really like ‘Out on the Tiles’. That’s one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs.
Jordan: What is and what should never be…
Jake: Lemon song is great too. They’re a band that just has every song.
Jordan: Yeah, it’s kind of hard pick.
You guys hit the stage tomorrow. Are you ready?
Jordan: Yeah. Always! We’ve been building up to this moment.
Have you played any other festivals?
Jake: We played one in St. Bernadino, the Lost Highway Festival with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Eagles of Death Metal, FogrHat and (in unison) CHEVY METAL. This is the biggest festival we’ve played, for sure. We’re humbled and stoked. Grateful. We’re going to bring everything we’ve got to give the best show we possibly we can.
Jordan: Extremely grateful.
Is there anyone you want to see perform?
Jordan: I want to see Slipknot
Jake: Slipknot. The Cult. I want to see Pierce the Veil. I f*ckin love them. We recorded our EP with Jesse Barrera during Warped Tour. They’re a killer band. Oh, and Slayer! They’ve seen them a bunch of times, but I’ve never seen Slayer.
Jordan: I haven’t seen them without Jeff Hanneman though. It’s one of those bittersweet things.
Jake: We’re stoked nonetheless. I’m not even going to be side stage. I’m going to be in the pit getting muddy, cutting a pentagram into my chest.
