Band: Future Confusion
From: Los Angeles, California
Their formation story:
(Ben Merlis, guitar/vocals): "I had been in a bunch of hardcore bands in SoCal going back to the late '90s. I sang in Fields of Fire, played bass in Broken Needle, and played guitar in Bad Reaction. When the latter two bands came apart almost simultaneously at the end of '09, I had an idea for a more melodic punk band.
"After a handful of years trying to find the right lineup, it came together with me on guitar/vocals, Javier Cruz (Hit Me Back, Dry-Rot, Sea Lions) on drums, Jeff Capra (Holier Than Thou?, Embassy, Broken Needle) on guitar, and Jeff's former roommate Wyatt Lavasseur on bass. That band was called Surprise Vacation.
"After putting out a 7", Jeff (and his replacement KK) bounced, we made an LP, and life happened. Flash forward to 2023, and Future Confusion was formed. It consists of me on guitar/vocals, Javier on drums, and Wyatt on bass. Javier is up in Ventura County; me and Wyatt are Los Angeles-based."
Their sound in their own words:
"We are definitely a melodic punk band, but I don't think we play pop-punk per se. We definitely don't sound "hard" either, so we're just floating in space as a punk band, not really tethered to a specific sub-scene even though we have backgrounds in hardcore.
"Influence-wise, we love bands like Descendents/ALL, Naked Raygun, Pegboy, The Replacements, Television Personalities, and a lot of newer bands like Crocodiles, The Whiffs, Stepmother, Split System, The Unknowns, Bloodstains, Destiny Bond, and The Barbed Wires.
"I think if you're a fan of anything from Dag Nasty to Sex Pistols to Jawbreaker to surf rock, you'll probably find something to latch onto in our music. I know that is an incredibly wide net, but hey, we have incredibly large record collections!"
Latest release info:
"EP ONE is our very first release and so far it is online-only via Bandcamp and streaming services. It's three songs and they are as follows:
"'Ruined My Day,' which is about witnessing a motorcycle wreck and pondering why anyone would ride one of those things in the first place (in the most sardonic way possible),
"'You Threw Away My Résumé,' which is specifically about going to a fruitless job interview but broadly about reaping no rewards by conforming to the expectations of society (isn't that kinda what every punk song is about?),
"'College Street Overcrossing,' which is an instrumental, unless singing "Whoa!" counts as lyrical content.
"It was recorded at mixed by David O. Jones at Wasatch Studios in Mar Vista and mastered by Nick Townsend at Townsend Mastering in Highland Park. They are both geniuses who were able to make us sound like a real band".
Future plans:
"We are planning on releasing EP TWO, EP THREE, and EP FOUR online separately later this year, with the ultimate hope that a giant record label run by a guy with a suit who is holding a cigar will put his feet up on his desk and say, 'You Future Confusion fellas have got a big career in music ahead of you; that's why I'm going to put all four of your EPs onto one 12" record. Now just sign here, here, and here'
"The art on each EP will link up to form a single image. We also plan on playing shows. For booking, contact us on IG @futureconfusion"
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Ill Communication (Tehachapi), Cosmic Joke (San Fernando Valley), Crocodiles (we don't know where they're from anymore), Bloodstains (Santa Ana), Romeos (Orange County), For Closure (LA), Carnage Asada (LA), Char-Man (Ojai), Jinx (Pico Rivera maybe? somewhere near LA), Sweat (LA), Neighborhood Brats (spread out all over CA), Firestarter (LA SXE), and Cola Boyy (The Nard).
"There are probably a ton more I'm not thinking of right now and I'll kick myself for not including."
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Future Confusion on social media: Instagram
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Tagged: future confusion
