"Back in the Garage" Raises a Glass and Funds for Los Angeles
An underground effort to rebuild our community
Thousands of Angelenos took the first steps toward rebuilding their lives this week. With containment percentages creeping toward 100%, we were almost to where we could do something about this catastrophe.
And then, the Hughes fire erupted in Northeastern Los Angeles County, engulfing thousands of acres in the first hours of the blaze.
The fragility of our place in this environment continues to be jammed down our throats. Many confront that by doing what they love to reclaim a feeling of control. Chefs are cooking meals. Cowboys are boarding horses. Regular people are volunteering and donating millions of dollars to relief efforts.
During the peak of the Palisades fire, my home wasn’t in immediate danger, but it was close. My childhood home, where my parents still live, was under evacuation warning for more than two weeks. Friends lost homes in both major fires, and our kids were traumatized by the constant helicopters over our home, smoke-filled air and lack of socialization.
While I usually find refuge in music, I couldn’t listen to music during the worst of it. I found no relief.
In speaking with friends around the Los Angeles scene, there was immediate talk of a large-scale show that could raise money for those impacted. Then others — with much deeper pockets — took that idea and ran with it.
But for those of us within the community — there was a desire to do something more personal. Local and specific. An LA effort for our self-selected community.
And the “Back in the Garage” team — a hyper-local project of Luke and Tristan Pelletier, which I’ve discussed before — started kicking around the idea of bringing all of the recordings made by the artists who have been through the garage together on one massive compilation.
“We wanted to include as many as we could,” explained Luke. “So we reached out to all the more than 60 artists on the sessions we currently have released, and 57 of them replied with enthusiasm.”
While the order was “half intentional, half random,” Luke intentionally put Cooper Kenward first.
“He was the first person to submit to ‘Back in the Garage,’ the first artist to release a single on Soggy Anvil Records and the first artist to release a full-length on the label.”
Kenward was also one of the first people I knew who lost his home in the fires.
“We’re all hurting with him and want the best for our bud,” Luke said.
The City of Angels is Filled with Humans
Los Angeles gets a really bad wrap. Countless songs, especially those in the Americana space, shit on LA. But from what I’ve seen in my four years living here as an adult and growing up in the suburbs, this town cares deeply, loves freely and dreams big.
“This project is a reflection of everything I love about LA,” said Tristan, echoing a bit of my sentiment. “A city full of dreamers and misfits, all chasing something uniquely their own.”
He explained that the garage sessions emerged “as this curious little ecosystem, developing its own rhythm and dynamic, fueled by the diverse talents and connections of the people involved.”
“After the fires, it took on an even deeper meaning—a reminder that art and creativity have this peculiar ability to stitch things back together.”
“It’s not just about the music,” the younger Pelletier suggested. “It’s about creating a space where people can connect and support each other when it matters most.”
His brother agrees.
“We’ve spent the last four years getting to know all these songwriters, and I think a common theme that runs through them all is a strange feeling of otherness,” Luke added. “We all come here from different parts of the country in hopes of making a living off our art. We bring the traditions of the towns we left behind, but we’re free to reinvent ourselves out here. It makes everything a little more strange, classic and rowdy.”
Strange, Classic and Rowdy: The LA Sound
In discussing this project, Luke mentioned that this collection provides a snapshot of the “LA Sound.”
This concept is elusive, and I don’t believe an LA Sound exists. The diversity of the city and its music makes it hard to pin down. But for the brothers, it's bigger than just the audio.
“After the fires, [‘Back in the Garage’] took on an even deeper meaning—a reminder that art and creativity have this peculiar ability to stitch things back together,” Tristan explained. “It’s not just about the music. It’s about creating a space where people can connect and support each other when it matters most.”
The music created as part of “Back in the Garage” brings together a range of styles and approaches — it would be hard to describe all of it as a singular genre, even if employing the ever-expanding umbrella of Americana.
However, the culture fostered back there by Luke and Tristan could be key to the deeper feeling of the LA Sound.
Katie Mae, whose song is featured in this collection, lives in Arizona. Rob Gator spent 10 years in Los Angeles but calls Austin home. Juliet McConk is out of Virginia. But in the garage, they made LA music.
“For much of my life, LA was a city far away that I knew little of,” explained McConk. “That changed thanks to the folks of ‘Back in the Garage’ and Soggy Anvil Records. They represent a special and supportive community that has come together with fierce loyalty in the face of tragedy to help each other out. I’m humbled to lend a song to this compilation.”
McConk’s classic country sound — a bit MidAtlantic and a bit Nashville, with the requisite funk of a Soggy Anvil artist — fits well on this collection.
Right now, people want to help and regain control — they want to feel this power through the community. The differences are what draw it together, regardless of distance.
Luke and Tristan’s long-time collaborator and hometown friend, Tommy Burns, mixes and masters all the sessions. Interestingly, he’s never been to Los Angeles or the garage to see it in action.
“Mixing the sessions has been like all of my collaborations with Luke and Tristan since we were teenagers playing in crappy punk rock bands in their attic,” he said via email. “Organic, DIY, a bit foolhardy, but true to ourselves and our mission. But now that spirit is put toward representing the artists who grace the garage in the most authentic manner possible to their unique identities. No overdubs, no tomfoolery. Mics in a room and the artist.”
The fires and this relief project have intensified that sense of purpose for Burns and how he understands the LA Sound from his home in North Carolina.
“Given the stark demonstration of impermanence as performed by the fires and the devastation wrought, it is more important now than ever to document this scene and its place within LA culture with uncompromising honesty and integrity.”
Records and Whiskey
The four-record set is available to purchase today (1/24) at 9 am PT. Whiskey company George Dickel funded the limited pressing of vinyl albums. The artists on the album will forgo royalties. This allows all funds raised to support MusiCares and the Pasadena Humane Society.
After starting a conversation with George Dickel last year, Luke established a working relationship with a classic American booze brand.
“I really enjoyed learning about the company’s history and involvement in music,” he told me. “After we spoke to the company about what we were working on, they jumped on board. All of these songwriters are working-class musicians. The fact that they were willing to donate all the proceeds from these recordings isn’t lost on me. I can’t thank [the company and artists] enough for their generosity and for preserving this catalog of music on vinyl forever.”
Jumped is the perfect word. This massive collection of 57 songs went from concept to publication in a few days.
“Luke and Tristan moved so quickly from idea to artful execution — they saw a need, had the ability to help and went to work lining up all the things that normally take months to accomplish,” said Mae. “Sponsorship, cover art, artist permission, sourcing vinyl and so on. All of this was done within a week, which means relief will arrive to those who need it faster. I’m truly happy to be part of it and proud of my friends for stepping up.”
The rebuilding effort will take everything we have for years to come. And I know a few good albums and glasses of whiskey will make it a bit more tolerable.