Those well-versed in the SoCal punk-rock scene will recognize Wyatt and Fletcher Shears as the beguiling twin forces behind Orange County duo The Garden, a band known for its loud, fast, irreverently gothic songs and strangely dynamic, force-to-be-reckoned-with stage presence. Outside of the scene, though, the Shears boys have gathered a secondary, slightly more groomed fanbase: that of haute couture fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and its religiously devout fashionista followers.
Back in 2013, the Shears twins were spotted by a YSL scout at a show in Los Angeles. Not long after, the tall, fair-skinned, androgynous-looking brothers were en route to Paris to meet the label’s creative director, Hedi Slimane. And the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, The Garden has lent its faces and music to YSL, as well as a growing number of modeling gigs. They’ve also put out two additional full-length albums and one EP and are in the process of releasing another on L.A.’s current label of choice, Burger Records. This Friday, February 27, The Garden heads to Velvet Jones for a headlining gig that promises to be one of the more high-energy rock shows of the season. Below, we chat with Wyatt about fashion, fans, and the band’s looming new release. For tickets and info, call (805) 965-8676 or visit velvet-jones.com.
I know you guys had other bands growing up. How do you compare The Garden to the music you were making before? You know, we don’t consider it a band as much as an art project. We kind of just keep adding to it. It’s still raw like it was in the beginning, but our whole point is to progress and expand and get to the next step. We don’t want to stay dormant; we want to just keep moving. Even from album to album, you’re going to be able to tell it’s us, but we don’t ever want to do the same thing. We’re trying to break the mold of how bands are supposed to act. We’re trying to go our own way.
Are you constantly writing music? Yeah, essentially. It’s kind of nonstop. We actually just finished our next record, which is going to be out in either May or June. It just got finished yesterday, which is cool. But we’re still working on things on the side. We’re constantly inspired and constantly driven to keep making things, so there’s not really a month in the year that we’re not making songs.
In regard to the YSL thing, did you guys notice a pretty big shift after that all went down? Yeah, definitely. But I also think it was a mix of [getting] Burger [involved] and YSL and us. Everything kind of triggered at the exact same time. I believe that good things happen for a reason, and for whatever reason it all came together. But we came back from Paris, and things were different for sure.