Don't let the name fool you. Matt Kollar and the Angry Mob are far from angry. Hailing from Huntington Beach, Kollar leads the mob with a guitar as opposed to pitchfork and songs that are steeped in fun rather than terror. Their debut album, Farewell Adventure! has attracted both local and international critical acclaim. Moreover, with 37 online videos including the promotional “Where's Elizabeth?” posted on YouTube, this particular mob is comprised of not only musical talent but comedic and theatrical performances, including Messick's own father. I recently sat down with band Kollar and band mate Elizabeth Messick [vocals] to discuss the story behind their name, Saturday's performance at the Haiti benefit show in Santa Ana, and a new EP She Changes Faces, among other things.
OC Weekly [Kathrin Tan]: Why the angry mob?
Elizabeth Messick: It's a very ironic name because we're very nice.
Matt Kollar: Originally it started with just me doing all the instruments and whatnot on the first record, and I would have friends come in who would sing and play accordions or drums or whatnot. I needed something that had my name and having something that could change. The “angry mob” was supposed to be a collection of different people coming in and out. But it evolved over the last couple years to our set group, so we're not always angry and not always changing.
How long have you been writing music?
Kollar: As a band, we have been together for about two years. Elizabeth's been playing music since she was really young and I've been writing songs with a friend of ours, Ryan Macleod, when we used to live in Paris. He played accordion and I'd play piano in our orphanage. They wouldn't be complete songs, but they would be little songs.
Do you feel growing up in Orange County has had any effect on your music?
Kollar: It's hard to relate to a lot of things in Orange County. The music is great but if you are into different things, you are kinda rejected maybe from everyone else. I guess that inspires us to be weird.
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She Changes Face Trailer
Matt Kollar And The Angry Mob | MySpace Music Videos
Messick: I can tell you what inspires me. [Begins to sing “I Will Always Love You”] Ever since I was two years old, that song has been stuck in my heart.
Kollar: In a sense, we try to distance ourselves from some of the things in Orange County like the “coolness, 'we are in a band'” [image]. We aren't really like that, and we have friends like Moostache, where we are our own little Orange County clique.
Do you think it helps being in Orange County, since if you were based in somewhere like LA, it would be harder to differentiate yourself from the crowd?
Kollar: Yeah, I think that that is a possibility. There is so much competition in Orange County and LA and it's very hard in both places. We played in Canada over the summer and it was amazing. There were so many people and they all loved it. It is very hard to differentiate yourself in Orange County or Los Angeles but it's helped. We are weird, and we just like to have fun. We are probably the weirdest band in Orange County.
What can fans expect from this new EP compared to the debut album?
Kollar: There is a lot different. It's basically an experiment of all the sounds that we have to offer. We have enough material that we could've made a full album, but it's just a sample of things to come. It's a lot louder, but it's broken up into the soft and pretty piano numbers and the acoustic numbers and the loud, thrashy blues stuff. It's just a mix of what else we can do.
How are the songs written?
Kollar: I usually write the songs. Recently, we've been working on songs together for future albums. The first one [album] is all me, on this one [EP] we are more of a band.
Favorite album?
Messick: I used to like System of a Down, but one day I heard a song by Regina Spektor. I think it was on a bus, and I thought “Who is this? It sounds just like me.” I thought it was my voice and it was the weirdest thing. I also am influenced by Weird Al and Julie Andrews.
Kollar: Blinking Lights and Other Revelations by Eels. That one was the one that made me think 'Oh man, I want to make records.'
Do you consider the theatrical aspect of the band, including the “She Changes Faces” and “Where's Elizabeth?” promotional video, an integral part of the band and music?
Messick: It's just us being weird.
Kollar: I think that a lot of it is inside jokes, and I'm amazed when other people like it. But it's something that I wanted to do, mixing the videos with the music. We're just having fun and it's just another element to like about us. They're usually just ideas that we think of on the spot.
Messick: And we just decide to film it.
Kollar: It's just our kooky sense of humor mixing with the music. It's something we like to do since there is no other venue to do it at.
Messick: It originally started with the idea that we wanted to make a band flier for shows once a month. And we decided to make a video flier.
Kollar: We decided to do an interactive one. I don't think it really worked out for us, a lot of people were confused.
Messick: People are still confused!
How did the benefit show come about?
Messick: I have this friend from choir who is in this group that is going to Haiti and they are trying to raise money because there are 30 or more going. It's at a place called “Mile 2” in Cypress. She just wanted us to play since she really liked us.
For the finale, describe your music in one word.
Messick: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It's such a big word and has so much character in it.
Matt Kollar and the Angry Mob are performing at the “Operation Band Aid” benefit show, City Place shopping center 151 East Memory Lane, Santa Ana. Sat. (Feb 20) 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Free admission (but donations suggested). All ages.
