Gardeners Logic

Sometimes the process of creating a labor of love from the ground up can be less-than-pretty. After months of planting ideas for their sophomore La Habra EP, Gardeners Logic are in a hurry to find out if the proper elements are in place to help their soon-to-be-finished recording make an impact when it sees the light of day at the end of the month.

This challenge, though, is being able to finish it in the midst of their second residency Detroit Bar, where the Huntington Beach band is filling up April with various shades of indie rock and Americana lineups to support their acoustic-driven, road trip-ready songs. As each day approaches toward their April 29th record release--the last night of their four-week stint--the promise of late night mixing sessions, crammed schedules and copious amounts of sweat aren't enough to intimidate this young-but-scrappy crew of OC folksters.

"We have this deadline now so it's gotta get done one way or the other," says drummer Matt Wilson. He's sporting a plaid shirt and horn-rimmed glasses as he sits clutching a frosty beer bottle in Detroit's back lounge. Seated with feet dangling on one of the pool tables is thick bearded front vocalist/guitarist Ian Bailey, whose songwriting takes cues from Wilco, Bonnie Prince Billy and Sufjan Stevens. While their previous EP favored melodic, story-driven songs about travel and passing adolescence, the new effort is more introverted and stripped down. Bailey, Wilson and guitarist Vince Phung (full disclosure: Phung also books local bands at Detroit Bar) now comprises the main lineup that once included seven people.

"I was really anal about [recreating] the sound of the record and we definitely got that. But as time went on, people had things come up...school and all that," Bailey says. So we condensed down into a four piece... we got to tighten up and Vince picked up a lot of slack on guitar." That fourth slot is usually rotated in by various OC musicians in their circle.

The band started in 2008 as Bailey's sapling of a solo side project designed to make music that didn't sit right in other bands he was in. He joined another band that year--the Counter Regiment--where he started playing with Wilson and good friend Gary Westmoreland. Though they fizzled in 2011, the three friends sprouted up a more impressive venture--opening Music Arts Production Studio (MAPS) in Huntington Beach. Wilson is the primary engineer, recording a variety of local bands, as well as his own, for the last three years. Once Bailey came in to lay down some of his Gardeners Logic material that December, he and Wilson saw enough growth potential to embark on the debut EP.

Seven months later, after keeping the project largely under wraps, the band released the EP anchored by howling indie pop gems like "Coyote Run" and the safe-sounding, alt-country jam "Costa Mesa" and snagged themselves their first residency at Detroit. At the time, the venue served as an incubator for them to really not only hone their sound, but grow their own community of bands to partner with, which now includes acts like Fellow Bohemian and Big Monsta (Wilson also plays drums in that band).

So far, their second go-round at Detroit is proving to be a good place to spread out sonically and tease their new material while they finish recording it in the studio. Each night of the residency offers one track from the new EP with the last night reserved for a set comprised of the first and second EP's back to back. One thing that sort of throws off this easily predictable way of doing things is their choice to produce a music video for "Coyote Run" off of the first EP instead of a tack from their newer material. When asked about the logic behind that move, Bailey says people should realize that fruits of a band's labor have to come in an organic way in their own time.

"It's definitely ass backwards a little bit," he says." We are also putting a single out for the first release after the second one comes out. But really, it's all just creative output." - OC Weekly

Perfectly in sync with headliner Stacy Clark is another acoustic indie act presenting strong vocals and carefully orchestrated productions. Gardeners Logic have been gaining momentum here in Orange County in the last few months with a Detroit Bar residency in April, their first EP and a tour. There's a cheery atmosphere even in their most melancholy tunes, characterized by upbeat acoustic chords and booming drums matched by belting vocals and electric guitar. This band somehow has found the perfect way to balance country flavorings and indie rock together in amazing harmony. Catch them tonight at the Constellation Room during Stacy Clark's residency with Some Gifts and Grizfolk.
Mon., Aug. 19, 8 p.m., 2013 - OC Weekly

Night #3 at the Detroit Bar was a lively affair with the audience appreciating every second of the performances, given the future status of the Detroit Bar. The infamous music venue will close down soon, making it an amazing place to hold such an esteemed Orange County event as the OC Music Awards.

All five bands that played did a great job of channeling the rock and roll energy of the place. An energy that will never die.

90s-style indie-rock four-piece Gardener’s Logic grinded it out on their heavy guitars juxtaposed with effervescent lyrics and singer Ian Bailey’s rich, well-tuned vocals. The band was dappled with flowers while audience members stood around like a floral garden cheering their favorite band on. - KROQ

First up was my second-favorite act of the evening: Gardener's Logic. Hailing from Huntington Beach, this four-piece rocked a swirling, grungy indie rock style in the vein of Built to Spill or Modest Mouse. Their songs, though filled with punchy energy, were at no times overwrought. The band also showed they know how to dial it back with the occasional addition of acoustic guitar to their rock arrangements. - OC Weekly

GARDENERS LOGIC: (Indie Folk) They’ve found the perfect way to balance country flavorings and indie rock together in amazing harmony. www.facebook.com/gardenerslogic - Locale Magazine

It’s been five years since producers of the OC Music Awards started hosting local music showcases leading up to the big show. Artists were understandably skeptical initially and didn’t seem to take their performances seriously.

Now, however, acts understand that competing in this series amounts to more attention in a single night than most struggling talents would garner in a season, including items in print and online publications and play on the biggest rock radio station in Los Angeles.

It’s refreshing, then, to see the marked improvement some of the bands have put into their performances this year. Artists who were previously so-so have considerably upped their game, while well-rehearsed others are using the opportunity to debut new tunes. Tuesday’s lineup at a packed Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa – including Gardeners Logic, Midnight Hour, FutureFix, Sonny Spectrum and Semi Sweet – was no exception.

Gardeners Logic didn’t bother easing into its set. Instead, the indie folk quartet from Huntington Beach kicked off with toe-tapping tracks from its “La Habra” EP, issued last April during the band’s month-long residency at this soon-to-close club. The band is vastly improved since then, sounding much tighter on “Sun, Moon and Stars (Run)” and closing out with their disc’s title track. Vocalist Ian Bailey is proving to be more than just a dude with a sweet mustache; he puts as much heart into his wailing on faster-paced cuts as he does during softer, pleading ones. - OC Register

In just nine months Gardeners Logic has gone from the solo side project of local singer-songwriter and guitarist Ian Bailey to a full-time folk outfit featuring drummer Matt Wilson, guitarist Vince Phung and a steady rotation of other O.C. players.

Bailey came up with the moniker in 2008 while still in high school. At the time it served as an outlet for material that didn't sit right with his other bands. Later that same year he joined rock act the Counter Regiment, along with Wilson and longtime friend Gary Westmoreland. In 2011 that trio disbanded while still opening Music and Arts Production Studio (MAPS) in Huntington Beach to focus on behind-the-scenes work. That December, Bailey brought some of his music in, and he and Wilson started work on Gardeners Logic's debut EP.

It took seven months to complete, during which time the duo decided to keep the project under wraps and not perform live. By June, however, they were ready to unleash their seven-song recording and present new material to audiences for the first time, with the help of fellow local musicians at the Avalon in Costa Mesa. A few weeks later, and only a handful of shows into its career, Gardeners Logic was offered its first month-long Monday night residency at Detroit Bar.

"It all did happen pretty quickly in hindsight," Wilson says during our interview this week at the Costa Mesa club, where Gardeners Logic is once again the resident band, performing ith a variety of opening acts – including Jameson, Stacy Clark, Billy Kernkamp and Golden Afternoon – every week-starter in April.

"When we first decided to play shows the biggest question was: 'With what size band?'" Bailey adds. "In my mind I wanted every part that we recorded in the studio played live, so we mostly had six- or seven-piece bands those first shows."

The group continued to flourish and last December Phung joined full-time as the band readied itself for a mini-tour in January. Bailey self-booked the West Coast jaunt. During down days on the road, he'd call up venues along their route to inquire about last-minute openings.

"I was just calling people like, 'Hey, we don't have anything on this night so if you have a spot ...' Sometimes it worked out. We had friends and fellow musicians in almost every city we went to that were really supportive, and we slept on a lot of floors, not even couches. We also took two cars, so we didn't even have a van to sleep in."

Returning home the guys began work on new tracks, creating enough content to release physical copies of The La Habra EP on April 29, the final date of its residency. Each Monday evening the band will debut a new song, then play the entire disc on the last night. Unlike with the self-titled effort, they've set a hard deadline to press the album. As of this week, the recording had yet to be finalized.

"We have the bones down but we just need to add the meat," Bailey says with a laugh. "I'm excited to be doing this, but this is our first time working under a self-set deadline, so the pressure is on.

"We've said it will be out by then, so I guess if we don't make it, then we blew it. We'd be giant liars, but it will get done. I just hope that people who come out, if they like the one new song, they'll come back the next weeks to hear another one and another one, and like those as well."

Once the Detroit Bar gigs are over, Gardeners Logic will head out on a second West Coast trek, this time with fellow O.C. act Big Monsta. Wilson says the guys also have big plans for their studio, where they've already produced and recorded releases for their future road mates and Randsburg.

"The studio is our little business project," he explains of the 3-year-old endeavor. "That way we can pay the bills and manage to record our own stuff, too. The band is staying busy and the studio is really busy, because it's all kind of attached. We're trying to gear everything we do in that one direction." - OC Register