One of the strangest markers of success must be having an artist you admire produce a remix of one of your songs. At least, that’s the case for Clementine Creevy of Los Angeles-based Cherry Glazerr. Since the band formed in 2013, they’ve released three full length albums (as well as two EP’s), toured with the likes of Slowdive and Foster the People, and played festivals such as Coachella and Pitchfork.
In the midst of these achievements, Creevy presently seems most excited about Reggie Watts’ remix of their song “Daddi,” which was released last week. “I keep like half joking that it’s better than the original,” she laughs. “It was so perfect, because I’m a big fan of Reggie and I just love him and all his music and all his comedy.”
The two met when Cherry Glazerr and Wajatta (Watts’ electro-pop collaboration with John Tejada) played a KCRW-sponsored show together last Halloween and connected after discovering they had a few mutual friends. “I just kinda asked him out of the blue, ‘Will you do a remix of Daddi?’,” she explains.
Creevy and her bandmates had been tossing around the idea of remixing one of their songs and Watts had never produced a remix before: it was a perfect match. “So yeah it was like this weird, special thing that we did,” Creevy says. “When he sent it to me, my mouth dropped. I had no notes for him. We used the first draft of the song.”
Tomorrow night, Cherry Glazerr will be playing at Anaheim’s Chain Reaction, with support from the dream pop/ chillwave musician Negative Gemini. In a sense, it’s a sort of homecoming show for Creevy. Much of the band’s early success is due to the fact that Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman discovered some of her early recordings on Soundcloud and subsequently released them as the Papa Cremp EP through the label.
This connection helped them establish an Orange County fan base that persists today. “We played in OC and [specifically] Anaheim as much as we did in L.A. in the early days,” Creevy says. “It just feels like it’s our people and I fucking love playing in Orange County.”
It’s worth mentioning that much has changed about the OC music scene since Cherry Glazerr last played here. It’s no secret that entertainment colossus Live Nation has moved into a multitude of Southern California’s independent music venues in recent months, and even recently announced a deal with Chain Reaction.
Creevy, like most of us, seems to be maintaining a healthy balance of skepticism and hopefulness about the partnership. “It’s really tough these days for venues that want to survive. I think they have to make a lot of hard choices,” she says. “But it means no mom, no pop, no wiggle room and that always blows. So I don’t know, it seems good and bad. It’s all the more reason to start your own independent club and start your own DIY venue. I think more people should be doing that.”
Cherry Glazerr with Negative Gemini at Chain Reaction, Friday May 31. For tickets and full details, click here.
