Winnetka Bowling League released their debut album ‘Sha La La’ via Local Weather/ MDDN Records May 31st to much anticipation. The album is a snapshot of when frontman Matthew Koma was in his twenties and in some regards, having a conversation with his younger self and reflecting on those experiences while extracting lessons learned. Koma stated the process was “indulging in the what ifs and allowing some of that unresolved discomfort to develop into ‘it didn’t matter’. I wouldn’t say I live in the past or even think about it much but what came out in this collection really is a revisiting of rehearsed truths. We make our own stories up along the way and I’m not sure this record is any more accurate than the perceived experience while it was happening, but the feeling I get listening to it is how I’d like to remember growing up…and I hope some of the songs, or the whole thing, or pieces of it or whatever, can make other people feel that same warmth. It’s also a record you could most definitely f*ck to. Except “Astrology & Context” ‘cause that one’s about Cancer.”
Comprised of singer and guitarist Matthew Koma, his brother Kris Mazzarisi on drums, and keyboardist Sam Beresford, Winnetka Bowling League made an impression starting in 2019 with songs like “CVS”, “On the 5” and “Slow Dances.” Having grown up listening to modern rock stalwarts Elvis Costello, Squeeze and influenced by the East Coast hardcore and punk scenes, the band has given Koma an outlet to create a different kind of music than the electronic-baed songs he had been successful at during the 2010s. “What I grew up valuing were these poets and the storytellers,” says Koma. “That’s what I was trying to channel with this project. I didn’t want to consider anyone else’s experience as much as I just wanted to tell the stories I wanted to tell… whether they’re universal or weird, esoteric experiences that only make sense to me.” The band is currently on tour in support of their debut LP.
Sam Bereford and Matthew Koma of Winnetka Bowling League joined B-Sides host Pete Mar prior to the release of ‘Sha La La’ to talk about the process of putting the material together, how Koma perceives his own music versus those who consume it and more.
