Taipei Houston is set to release their highly anticipated debut project ‘Once Bit Never Bored’ on November 4th via C3 Records. Comprised of brothers Myles and Layne Ulrich, the two may be the offspring of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, but have carved out their own sound and identity as a duo. During the pandemic, the Ulrich brothers went back to their childhood home in San Francisco for the solace and inspiration to create music. With 21-year-old Myles is primarily on drums and guitar, 24-year-old Layne handles bass and vocals, Taipei Houston has garnered early buzz with their recent single, “The Middle” that was released after their Lollapalooza performance earlier this summer. The duo describes the band as, “going against the grain in every aspect. We live in a time that is ripe with extremely difficult and confusing challenges. Technology grips the world more and more, politics have become so polarized, we are heading towards climate disaster. This music is born and bred out of the contemporary, buzzing digital anxiety we all experience, and how we can try to escape those feelings – even for a second.” Growing up in the Bay Area, the two were exposed to a variety of sounds while catching household names like Green Day and Muse early on, to the heavier sounds of The Sword and a variety of bands that embodied the early 60s/70s psychedelic sounds that San Francisco was known for. Myles stated, “I’m more of a 60s nerd and hung out at Golden Gate Park near Haight/Ashbury and had Grateful Dead patches on my jean jacket.” With all the influences of that surrounded them, Taipei Houston have created a garage rock vibe combined with grunge and psych rock that some have noted conjure up other iconic duos, such as The Kills, Death From Above 1979, and The White Stripes. Taipei Houston will celebrate the release of their debut album with a show in their hometown of San Francisco on November 2 at Brick and Mortar.
Taipei Houston met up with B-Sides host Pete Mar about performing at Austin City Limits 2022, how the San Francisco music scene influenced them growing up, their upcoming debut LP ‘Once Bit Never Bored’ and more.
