Crocodile: The Dynamic Trio
Photo: Matthew Isaac
Crocodile’s cute factor is off the chains.
They’re a family affair – a married couple, Raechel and Derek Brown, with Derek’s cousin D.W. Nelson hitting the sticks; they write incredibly infectious pop songs like “Dinosaur”; and it seems they are equally cute characters, too, according to our interview.
But as I (Natalie Wright) sat down the trio at the Prohibition Room in Oklahoma City to have a round of absinthe and talk shop with the band, I discovered they are inherently dynamic in nature, both musically and as individuals.
SHOW INFO:
• Where: The Conservatory in Oklahoma City
• Opener: Wighead
• Time / Cost: 8pm / $6Crocodile joins the fight against cancer tonight at “An Evening With Jack”. The non-profit event (hosted by Sophie Zine) will also include a Guitar Hero contest and prizes, with all proceeds benefiting The Dear Jack Foundation, a cancer research charity headed up by Jack’s Mannequin / Something Corporate front man and leukemia survivor Andrew McMahon.
Around 2006, the trio tinkered with the idea of starting a band. Each band member was involved with a number of projects previously. Notably, Derek played with Starlight Mints, Chainsaw Kittens, Liz Phair and Steve Burns of Blues Clues. Raechel was just off tour with her former band, The Stellas. And at that time, D.W. was working on building his own studio. He and Derek had been playing music together for nearly 10 years.
“We kind of created a pact,” Nelson explained. “We all kind of hung out and decided to make music all together. It would only work as a trio.”
Without even performing their songs live, they went to the studio to lay down an EP that became The Great Depression.
Crocodile’s first EP, The Great Depression, was released in early 2008. You can pick it up at eMusic, Amazon, iTunes or your local independent record store.
“It was really hard to record, get our act together and decide how to play these songs. D.W. came up with the title because he was just so depressed trying to get all this recording shit done. He said ‘we should just call it that,” Derek says.
Nelson’s studio also earned the name The Great Depression at that time.
“The name really described how we were feeling,” Nelson chimes in. “It really was a growing process. We had to go through a Great Depression to get to a Renaissance, you know?”
“There’s a darkness to us, but also a dancy-ness,” Raechel adds. “Most of our influences are pretty dark. There’s a duality to it, which I love about some of my favorite bands as well. Like a lot of Blondie songs, like ‘Hangin’ On the Telephone.’ I think there are a lot of songs that are so poppy, but I think really they’ve got this depressing, weird quality to them. With a lot of songs on The Great Depression, that quality is there.”
It’s also a quality that rings true for the indie pop act, Mates of State, which Crocodile is often compared to and with whom they have also performed.
“We keep getting the Mates of State comparison. At this radio thing I did, we got that question, and I had never really listened to Mates of State,” Raechel says.
“Didn’t they start out as duo?” Derek adds. “So, everyone they play with are pretty much hired musicians? That’s probably our main difference. We’re in it together.”
Clearly, their family ties hold them tight. I ask if it ever causes conflict.
“It’s definitely getting easier,” Derek explains. “It’s not like we’re brother and sister. With your brother or sister, you could just punch them in the face, but this is like a normal relationship with boundaries.”
With that in mind, the band has continued forward successfully. They are working on a new album that will hopefully be equally weird and charming pop.
“It’s not like we’re making commercial hits, we’re trying to make art,” Derek concludes.
- posted by Natalie Wright
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:33 pm
There should be a law against calling that garbage that they serve in trendy OKC bars, “absinthe”. It’s obviously not real absinthe.
Crocodile is awesome, though. And, they’re all sweethearts. I like them waaaay better than Mates Of State. I think that the biggest difference is that Crocodile’s songs don’t all sound the same.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:15 am
I seen these by accident twice this year, and was extremely happy i did both times. Once was at the Helio sequence show at the opolis (one of the best shows of the year i thought), and also at mates of state. They were easily the highlight of the latter show, which is a definite compliment considering Headlights was there too.
My vote for locals of the year.