At this point in time, everyone should be very acquainted with the sleeveless music experience that is Rayner. Specifically, they’re known for their knack for catchy hooks, energetic live shows, and their utter hate for any article of clothing that extends beyond one’s shoulder.
The boys recently announced a mini-tour leading up to their set at Punk Rock Bowling this year, and they’re being accompanied on that tour by SoCal trio, Melted.
One of my now-defunct bands played a show with Melted over a year ago now at the also now-defunct OMD Theatre. No attendance records were even close to being broken at the show, but that didn’t stop Melted from playing one of the most insanely entertaining shows I have witnessed. It prompted me to immediately buy their album, Ziptripper, released on the Burger Records roster, which I full-heartedly enjoyed.
I wanted to know more about the guys, so I recently talked to Melted’s guitarist/frontman, Justin Eckley about making a name for themselves in a competitive scene, SXSW, and the upcoming tour with Rayner.
Has Melted played a show with Rayner before? How did the idea for a mini tour come to be?
Melted has not played with Rayner before, but my other band, Casual Friday, played in Vegas with them in November at a sandwich shop. Manny reached out to us after the PRB announcement, and we bounced around ideas for a pre-PRB hang sesh / tour thing. Oddly enough, last time Rayner was in LA, Melted had a show around the corner after their show, that I didn’t realize was so close. As I was walking to the show from where I parked, I ran into them packing their truck up.
PRB isn’t the first festival Melted has played. You’ve had spots on well-attended festivals like Burgerama and Burger X Observatory 5 Year Party. Has that kind of exposure paid off?
It’s hard to say really, but I guess so? We still play bar shows to our girlfriends and the other bands, so it’s a really difficult thing to judge. But it is cool to tell our parents that we are playing festivals with artists they grew up listening to. When I told my dad we were playing with (Black) FLAG, I could tell he was in awe but also excited for me.
How was your experience at SXSW this year? Was it Melted’s first time there?
To preface, EVERYONE told us SXSW was going to be a headache. So we had low expectations for our first trip out there. Thomas and I got sick when we got into Texas, and I was having trouble with my asthma. The shows were rough, because every city between LA and Austin had 10 bands going through them. Right before the Burger showcase, I went to an urgent care to gets some steroids to help my breathing and Thomas was leaning for the third day in a row. Overall, I think we all agreed that the Burger showcase made up for the shit show the week before had been.
You guys are part of a highly competitive and crowded SoCal scene. How have you managed to stick out from the slew of bands, and with how competitive it is, is there still a camaraderie among musicians?
It’s a blessing, and a curse. Not only are there a ton of awesome bands, but there are so many friends in bands and artists and promoters. Weekends are hard because there are 30 *good* shows happening in a 30 mile radius of LA. I think how we are able to stay relevant is by playing in so many places so often. We play twice a week, sometimes more. I think we have kept a consistent group of friends in bands since we started, and continue to make new friends very often. There is a small black list of bands and people, that everyone kind of backs. I’m sure it extends outside of California too.
What are you looking forward to the most about PRB and what do you see is next for Melted?
I am probably looking forward to our set the most. It will likely be the most people we’ve played in front of and we’ve been really getting in the groove as of late. I’m stoked for our friends and family to be coming with us to hang. And of course, I’m stoked to see most of the bands playing. Not only is it tight as hell to be playing with a lot of the bands, I also assumed I’d never see most of them.
-Alan Madrigal
Melted plays the Punk Rock Bowling mainstage at 4:05 on Saturday, May 28. You can purchase Punk Rock Bowling tickets online at https://www.punkrockbowling.com/. More details for their tour with Rayner can be found below:
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