Love Sequence Q&A

By Maya Ulrich and Megan Hoff

We traveled deep into Como to chat with the members of Love Sequence, a genre-fusing pop group. They’ve been jamming together for over two years, with Bobby Rethwish and Nolan Sawyer Watts on guitar, keys, and vocals, Grant Gabriel on drums, and Marcus Findley on bass, synth, and vocals. A self described “drop-out band” trying to make music their top priority, we knew these guys were a serious bunch from the moment Bobby greeted us in plaid pajama pants.

How did you guys meet?

GG: The social network. Me and Bobby met on Facebook... I literally messaged him because I liked his guitar.

BR: With Marcus and Nolan... [they joined] after being friends.

NW: They found me in a wicker basket on Bobby’s front steps.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

MF: Prince, Michael Jackson...

NW: Styx! [everyone laughs]

BR: We all have our individual influences, but as a group, it’s like Prince, Michael Jackson, The 1975, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Bon Iver.

How did you come up with the name “Love Sequence”?

MF: We came up with “Love Sequence” because we wanted a name that could stem through different genres… eventually we just wanna do everything we love about music… We also like the name “Love Sequence” because… you’re going through, like, an up-and-down cycle with love, with yourself, with the world, with the environment, people around you… it’s just a phrase put to life, I guess.

Were there any other names you considered?

NW: Some bad ones!

GG: “Rising Action”

BR: “Lypofuckion”

Your EP Sexual Enlightenment is very thematically centered. Are those your favorite subjects to write about or are there other topics that you focus on?

NW: I know Bobby should definitely answer some of this question… but I feel like we all could  speak from experience… or experience we haven’t had… on that subject and especially with the state of the world we’re living in right now. We wanted to… say things that haven’t been said before… because there seems to be a particular vernacular that’s used in pop music when it comes to talking about sex and spirituality, and we wanted to put them together and form something new.

BR: Yeah, it was all about trying to create a new perspective on sex… it just felt like what had to happen. It’s not necessarily like, “We are sex band.” There are other things that we have to talk about. It’s just a reflection of what’s going on with us. You know, we might write a whole EP or album about, like, geopolitics or something… we love themes. We love having projects that all kind of fall into the same kind of narrative… I think people are just expecting us to be “sex band” from here on out. But, like, there’s much more to what we’re gonna do. The stuff we’re writing now is not so much about sex as the last EP. It’s not something we’re backing off, like, “Oh, that didn’t work.” It’s just like, we did that, and now it’s time to do another thing. We’re not gonna repeat ourselves.

GG: I think we’re not gonna write about sex always, but… part of our band and our writing is gonna be talking about how we really are… how people are living and how they go about certain topics, whether it be sex, love, or whatever.

How would you say your perspective and upbringing makes your music different from other bands in the pop genre?

BR: I think a big thing is that we make pop music because we love it, not because we wanna be “cool”… Like growing up and being in public school… I never felt “cool.” I guess I just accepted that I wasn’t gonna be “cool,” so I just want to make great music. I think it’s a status thing for a lot of pop bands, and for us it just comes from a very sincere love for the music we’re making.

How do you think the Minneapolis music scene is helping your growth?

GG: It’s crazy because, like, the music scene in Minneapolis… no matter what kind of music you play, everyone’s gotta respect what you’re doing because they’re doing it, too. There have been shows where we played with rappers, and it’s a totally different genre, a totally different fanbase… we can still recognize, “Hey, your show is great.” In the music scene, when you continue to play and meet more bands and play with those bands again, honestly, it starts to become almost like a family.

BR: It’s also very competitive, in some ways. So there’s hints of cattiness involved sometimes, but that also pushes you to be as good as you can. But it is a very supportive scene. It’s definitely treated us pretty well.

Do you have any plans to experiment with other instruments?

GG: When Bobby says, “Hey, check out this song idea,” and you put on those headphones, there’s no telling what you’re gonna get… if it’s going to be like a big pop banger or subdued, trippy vibes… I don’t think there’s any limitation in the things we’re willing to use, as long as they sound good and they work.

NF: I feel like we aren’t really a “plans” kind of band… we just wanna keep moving forward and evolving and coming up with new ways of creating old sounds.

BR: It’s never gonna stay the same. We’re not gonna keep being the same band. Ever. There’s so many opportunities for good songs and good sounds.

MF: An infinite supply of sounds.

I know you guys said you don’t make plans... but if you were to make a plan, where would you see yourselves?

MF: Six feet under.

BR: I think we just want… to share it [our music] with as many people as possible. So it’s just gonna be a process of trying to play really great shows, put out really great music, take care of everything else so that it can reach the people that it needs to reach. The goal is not to be the biggest band in the world, necessarily. It’s just to try and do this for a living, try and get it to the people who need it, and do whatever it takes to get it to them. However far we get, great. We’re pretty happy right now making music and playing.

GG: It’ll be exhilarating if someday we’re playing a bigger venue… but I feel like if the same feeling we get from playing a great show with a group of like 25 people… as long as that feeling continues… I think we’ll be happy.

You’ve released two EPs so far. What’s your next project?

BR: The world shouldn’t know yet.

NW: We were actually thinking like a mural, downtown. Forget songs. We’re just gonna paint a mural.

Do you want to release an album?

MF: Oh, for sure.

GG: We don’t even really talk about it that much… it’s in the back of our heads...  it’s cooking.

BR: I think when it shows up, it’ll be amazing... We already have songs for it that we’re saving… we just want it to really hit the spot.

MF: Mmm. [rubs belly]

NF: It could just be a really big mural, too.

Any upcoming shows?

BR: Oct. 27 at the Depot.

MF: We’re opening for Night Moves at 7th Street on Halloween.