Los Angeles psych quartet Color Green has signed with New West Records and is set to release their latest album, ‘Fool’s Parade,’ on July 12th.

Co-produced with Mike Kriebel (Osees, Wand), the nine-track collection was recorded at Discount Mirrors and Golden Beat Studios in LA and mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London. With guest appearances from members of Osees and The Nude Party, this record promises a sonic journey not to be missed.

It marks a thrilling evolution in their sound, showcasing a dynamic rebirth as a four-piece band. Written and recorded in just two months during the early LA winter of 2023, the album dives deep into themes of loss, grief, and introspection, reflecting the band’s raw and honest experiences.

Color Green has built a word-of-mouth reputation for their unpredictable live shows, blending cosmic jams with earthy melodies, drawing from ‘60s SoCal folk-rock, ‘70s classic rock, and ‘90s psychedelic dance-rock.

Guitarist Corey Madden says, “We shaped ‘Fool’s Parade’ to showcase our range. All the songs were written together as a band, featuring all our voices. It’s a step towards what this band truly is.”

Starting as a basement project between Madden and Noah Kohll in Ridgewood, NY, Color Green evolved with the additions of drummer Corey Rose and bassist Kyla Perlmutter. Their chemistry was undeniable, quickly establishing the band’s loud, dynamic sound, which they strive to capture in their recordings.

‘Fool’s Parade’ by Color Green is a savage plunge into a frenzied stew of heavy, incense-drenched grooves and blistering jams, a mind-bending assault that’ll stick with you long after the last note fades. Are we tripping back to the ’70s, or what?

“The concept of a band, we believe, should be ever-expanding.”

Congratulations on signing with New West Records and the announcement of your upcoming album, ‘Fool’s Parade.’ Could you share with us the journey that led to this significant milestone in your career?

Thank you! The record was written and recorded in about two months during the early LA winter of 2023 and really showcases the new dynamic sound of the group. It’s a sort of rebirth in the making—this is the first record we’ve created as a four-piece. Quite some time has passed since we actually made the record, about a year and a half, but we’re excited to be working with New West and even happier to know that the record will be in our hands in a month. About a year ago, we started working with our manager, Brian Schwartz, and through his exuberance and finesse, he connected us to the label.

Your sound has been described as a unique blend of influences, with comparisons ranging from The Burrito Brothers to Acetone. How do you feel ‘Fool’s Parade’ expands upon or perhaps diverges from these influences?

All of us are fans of all types of music. We like to wear our influences on our sleeves, but we try to keep our eye on timelessness and originality within the process. We try not to be too obvious about where we’re pulling from, but rather aim to pay respect to the legends that have shaped our musical taste. There are songs on the record, like ‘5:08’ and ‘Kick The Bucket,’ that lengthen the rubber band propulsion into spaces we haven’t existed within before, which is really refreshing for us. In terms of divergence, the group is actively trying to push the limits on what “Color Green” means and not get pigeonholed. So, there’s a wide spread on ‘Fool’s Parade.’

‘Fool’s Parade’ seems to delve into themes of loss, grief, and introspection. How did these themes shape the album’s creation process, both musically and lyrically?

Our lyrics and musical intention are mostly honest, pulling words and vibes that are true to our experiences, which unfortunately include a healthy serving of deep topics. These themes are a constant in waking life whether they’re acknowledged or not, and music can be a healing process for dealing with the unknown, both for the player and the listener. Two of us have lost a parent, and singing ‘5:08”s lyrics about this experience helps a little with the infinite processing. It feels absolutely crazy to do that in front of a live audience, but we hope that somebody out there might hear it and feel comforted in a dauntingly hard moment. Some of the other songs are more ambiguously heavy, drawing from heartbreak or a depressingly late, long night. As we see it, the things that are most relatable are the real ones.

The album features guest appearances by members of Osees, the Nude Party, and more. How did these collaborations come about, and how did they influence the album’s sound?

All the people that worked on the record are within the tightly knit community of the music scene we are gratefully a part of. Luckily, Jon Catfish Delorme was in town with The Nude Party while we were recording, and he’s been a constant collaborator of Color Green since the birth of the group. Hearing him play on those recordings transported us back to the basement in Ridgewood, Queens where we made our first EP. Other honorable mentions are Tomas Dolan of the Osees and Mr. Elevator, Jonny Kosmo, Sara Safaie, and the infamous banjo player Bill Evans (who is Corey Rose’s father). All these folks and more shape and inspire the band, enabling us to create new sonic ventures that couldn’t have been executed without them.

“Most of the record was recorded live in the studio”

How do you approach translating live energy into the studio recording of ‘Fool’s Parade’?

Most of the record was recorded live in the studio with overdubs added afterward. Since Discount Mirrors is a big room, we were able to utilize the space to give the album a multidimensional feel. Capturing our live energy was extremely important to us, and we would have done everything like that if it were possible.

<a href="https://colorgreen.bandcamp.com/album/fools-parade">Fool’s Parade by Color Green</a>

The album was co-produced by the band and Mike Kriebel (Osees, Wand) and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. What was it like working with these collaborators, and how did they contribute to shaping the album’s sonic landscape?

Mike Kriebel has been a longtime friend of the band. We did our two winter singles back in 2022 with him and felt it was a right fit for him to do the following record. The kind of trust you need between the artist and producer was already established long before we recorded the album, so the entire process was organic and easy. Mike has a great talent for directing singers, helping us hear when the last syllable of a line might be falling flat or cutting off too early. We’re grateful for his help there. Luckily, Noah had a connection with a friend who engineered at Abbey Road and connected us with Alex Wharton. He really glued everything together and added another dimension to the already amazing-sounding mixes that Mike had provided.

‘Fool’s Parade’ features a mix of quiet moments and reckless jams. How do you balance these contrasting elements within the album’s overall narrative arc?

We use dynamics to create our narrative, so the contrasting elements serve as the album’s arc. We had the idea of creating a record where side A is the come-up, with more high-energy moments, and side B is the come-down, with cozy quiet moments. Of course, we strayed from this idea a bit. We try to be a little unpredictable; we don’t want listeners to hear the expected. Our live set has valleys and peaks too; Color Green wouldn’t exist without dynamics.

Tell us about the recording gear, your instruments, effects, pedals, etc.

All the gear we recorded with is what we use live, so there wasn’t any smoke and mirrors in the execution of the tracks. Rose plays a champagne sparkle ’69 Ludwig kit with a supraphonic snare, moon gels all around. Noah rocks a ’72 Gibson SG through a Bigsby with a blackface-modded Twin Reverb from ’74. Corey Madden alternates between a wood-grain Strat with Gilmour pickups and a ’70s reissue Tele Deluxe through a Music Man HD-50 head and a Soldano cab. Kyla plays a Fender Mustang short-scale bass with flat wounds through an acoustic rig.

Your debut album received acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. How do you feel ‘Fool’s Parade’ builds upon the foundation laid by your previous work, and what new dimensions does it introduce to your sound?

The concept of a band, we believe, should be ever-expanding. That was the mindset for this record, and hopefully, it was achieved for the better. Color Green has evolved a lot since the making of the first record. We’re a four-piece, and simply even recognizing that represents a major internal shift. We’re no longer “Corey Madden and Noah Kohll.” So, the core sound now has two more brains full of opinions contributing to it.

Would you be able to draw parallels to your 2022 self-titled album?

We think so. It feels like a continuation of the umbrella of Color Green.

How do you remember working on your 2021 EP?

Since it was recorded in 2018, it feels a little murky, but looking back, we have definitely grown a lot from that moment. We have added new members and elements that wouldn’t have been tangible back then.

What are some future plans for the band?

We have Pickathon coming up in August, as well as some shows around that. There are whispers of an East Coast run and a Euro run. Our latest batch of new material also has a massive range, from heavy Szabo incense-filled basements to bouncing down the street in high-top sneakers. We are probably going to be cycling through touring and writing until the end of time, forever uncovering a new sound.

Let’s talk a bit about the beginnings of your journey. Is your band named after the song ‘Colour Green’ by Sibylle Baier?

That’s only for us to know.

Can you elaborate on how the band originally got together?

The band was originally a recording project between Noah Kohll and Corey Madden in Ridgewood, NY. We ended up in Los Angeles, moving at different times. Kyla joined when we first started playing as a live band in 2022, and Corey Rose joined shortly after, filling in for our first live drummer on a West Coast tour. We’ve all known each other from years of being in the music scene, and by the end of our first tour with this lineup, it was undeniable that this was who Color Green should be.

Would you like to share about your upbringing? Where did you all grow up? Tell us about daily life back in your teenage years.

We are all from different parts of the country. Noah is from Omaha, Nebraska; Corey Madden is from West Orange, New Jersey; Kyla is from Long Island; and Corey Rose is from the Bay Area. I believe we all had a similar upbringing of being musical weirdos surrounded by some form of the mundane.

What are some of the most important players that influenced your own style, and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked?

Mostly, the people that surround us shape our influences because of the incredibly talented community we are a part of. We believe it is the key to being inspired musically, as well as our constant love for listening to new things and finding inspiration in every nook and cranny that envelopes us. Collectively as a band, we are really into Primal Scream, Steve Hillage/Gong, and Jack Frost.

Was there a certain scene you were part of? Maybe you had some favorite hangout places? Did you attend a lot of gigs back then?

We all have rich backgrounds in the DIY scenes of the cities we’ve lived in. Rose lived in Olympia for most of her twenties and would frequent the satanic goth bar. Kyla lived at 538, a punk venue and pillar in NYC. Noah was bopping around O’Leavers and sleeping on the couch at the Middle House and West Wing in Omaha. Corey Madden was your usual suspect at the Endless Basement in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

If we were to step into your teenage room, what kind of records, fanzines, posters, etc., would we find there?

Probably some early 70s jazz records, copies of Maximum Rocknroll, Celtic Frost posters, and an open web page of Terminal Boredom.

I would love to hear more about your previous bands, such as Fur Helmet, Paranoiac, Deep Space Sorcerer, and Barbed Wire… What else? Surf Curse… It would be fantastic if you could share the events/bands chronologically.

Oh boy, that would take a book to write out chronologically. Probably the most important thing now is the events, future and past, that Color Green creates.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Good question! ‘No Roses’ by Shirley Collins and the Albion Band, ‘Howl’ by Daisy Rickman, ‘Whizz Kid’ by David Werner, ‘Everybody’s Hustling’ by Heads, Hands and Feet, ‘Fabulous Soundtracks’ by Jack Name, ‘!’ by Gracious!, ‘Flesh of My Skin, Blood of My Blood’ by Keith Hudson…the list could go on.