L.A.-based fuzz pop band Best Coast released their debut album Crazy for You last week, and if you check the cover you will notice there's a particularly adorable orange tabby cat on the cover. The cat is named Snacks and he belongs to singer/guitarist Bethany Cosentino. But as of late, Snacks has become somewhat of an indie rock celebrity, thanks to his cameo on the cover, as well as in Wavves press photos (Nathan Williams from Wavves is actually Snacks' stepfather), and a hilarious Twitter account of his own - but we haven't seen any proof that his little paws can actually tweet.
Exclaim! caught up with Cosentino recently to ask about the role Snacks plays in the band.
"There is one lyric on the record that talks about him," Cosentino says. "I got Snacks around the same time that we started recording and playing shows. So those are two major things that happened at the same time in my life. I got this cat that is now like my son. When we're not on tour, I'm literally at home sitting in front of the TV with my cat next to me. So he's a big part of my world. [Best Coast bandmate] Bobb [Bruno] and I both like cats, so we thought, 'Why not put a cat on the cover of the record?'"
Bethany says that in order to be a member of Best Coast, you have to be a cat person. When she and Bruno invited Ali Koehler to join the band, part of the initiation was to love cats.
"You can't be in this band if you don't like cats," Bethany says. "So we told Ali, 'You wanna join this band you've gotta like cats.' You don't have to like every cat, just some cats. I think people that are really chill and lazy are into cats. That's Bobb and I, rolled into one."
Best Coast's Crazy for You is out now on Mexican Summer. The band's next round of tour dates is below.
Tour dates:
9/7 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
9/8 Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
9/9 Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Fest
9/10 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn #
9/11 Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light #
9/12 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
9/14 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle *
9/16 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock *
9/17 Grinnell, IA - Grinnell *
9/21 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
9/22 Columbus, OH - Summit *
9/23 Cincinatti, OH - Midpoint Music Festival
9/24 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
9/25 Toronto, ON - Lee's *
9/27 Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa *
9/28 Boston, MA - Middle East *
9/29 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
9/30 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall *
10/26 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
10/28 Portland, OR - Holocene ^
10/29 Vancouver, British Columbia - Cobalt ^
10/30 Seattle, WA - Neumo's ^
10/31 Spokane, WA - Stage 54
11/2 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge ^
11/3 Denver, CO - Bluebird ^
11/5 Dallas, TX - Granada ^
11/6 Houston, TX - Mango's ^
11/7 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/9 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room ^
11/10 San Diego, CA - Casbah ^
* with Male Bonding
# with Cults
^ with Sonny & the Sunsets
Exclaim! caught up with Cosentino recently to ask about the role Snacks plays in the band.
"There is one lyric on the record that talks about him," Cosentino says. "I got Snacks around the same time that we started recording and playing shows. So those are two major things that happened at the same time in my life. I got this cat that is now like my son. When we're not on tour, I'm literally at home sitting in front of the TV with my cat next to me. So he's a big part of my world. [Best Coast bandmate] Bobb [Bruno] and I both like cats, so we thought, 'Why not put a cat on the cover of the record?'"
Bethany says that in order to be a member of Best Coast, you have to be a cat person. When she and Bruno invited Ali Koehler to join the band, part of the initiation was to love cats.
"You can't be in this band if you don't like cats," Bethany says. "So we told Ali, 'You wanna join this band you've gotta like cats.' You don't have to like every cat, just some cats. I think people that are really chill and lazy are into cats. That's Bobb and I, rolled into one."
Best Coast's Crazy for You is out now on Mexican Summer. The band's next round of tour dates is below.
Tour dates:
9/7 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
9/8 Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
9/9 Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Fest
9/10 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn #
9/11 Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light #
9/12 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
9/14 St. Louis, MO - Gargoyle *
9/16 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock *
9/17 Grinnell, IA - Grinnell *
9/21 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
9/22 Columbus, OH - Summit *
9/23 Cincinatti, OH - Midpoint Music Festival
9/24 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
9/25 Toronto, ON - Lee's *
9/27 Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa *
9/28 Boston, MA - Middle East *
9/29 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
9/30 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall *
10/26 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
10/28 Portland, OR - Holocene ^
10/29 Vancouver, British Columbia - Cobalt ^
10/30 Seattle, WA - Neumo's ^
10/31 Spokane, WA - Stage 54
11/2 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge ^
11/3 Denver, CO - Bluebird ^
11/5 Dallas, TX - Granada ^
11/6 Houston, TX - Mango's ^
11/7 Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/9 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room ^
11/10 San Diego, CA - Casbah ^
* with Male Bonding
# with Cults
^ with Sonny & the Sunsets
