Interview Junior High rock ’n’ rollers Northbrook Garage

Northbrook Garage is a pretty ripping band. It has played with Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings. It has a sweet gig booked at a garage and soul revue coming up in St. Louis. Its singer, Elenna Sindler, can belt it out like no one’s business. Sam Harkey really wails on guitar. Oh, and the band members are totally in junior high. No big deal.

But actually, yeah, it’s a huge deal. After Harkey, bassist Eric von Holst, and drummer Eric Doar met in grammar school, they tooled around aimlessly as a three-piece rock ensemble. After meeting Sindler at a junior high talent night, the group meshed, and has been really clicking ever since, especially when staying true to its members’ musical loves—garage rock, blues, and indie soul. The A.V. Club had a very confusing conference call with the North suburban quartet to preview its opening slot at the Abbey Pub this Sunday.

The A.V. Club: How did you guys book this sweet gig at the Abbey Pub?

Eric von Holst: Sam’s dad booked it. We’re very excited.

Sam Harkey: I just hope everyone has a good time.

Eric Doar: We’re hoping to impress a lot of people and try some new things.

SH: We want to play stuff that people don’t usually hear from our age group.

ED: We want to exceed [sic], and then keep getting better. At least that’s what we hope to do.

AVC: How did you come together as a band?

SH: We just like to play more mature songs.

ED: With kids our age, it’s always about pop, rap, and hip-hop.

SH: We just try to play the actual music we grew up hearing from our parents when we were young and stuff.

ED: Yeah, we grew up with that music. I heard it from my parents and brother. I just never had a taste for hip-hop. I liked classical music.

SH: Classical, like classic rock, you mean.

AVC: How do you guys decide what songs to play?

SH: We all have individual interests, and then we just show each other stuff we like.

EVH: We mostly like the same things, though.

AVC: Like what?

ED: Eric von Holst and I like Umphrey’s McGee, Phish, String Cheese Incident, The Grateful Dead. Those are the bands that influence me a ton.

SH: I like Pink Floyd, Cream, a lot of classic rock. ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, some blues.

Elenna Sindler: I like R&B and bluesy stuff, like Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse.

EVH: I also like Paul McCartney. He’s a good bass player.

AVC: So, you guys just played with Sharon Jones in St. Louis. How did that happen? Did her label just call you guys up?

ES: Sam’s dad put the video of us covering her on YouTube, and they really liked it. Daptone put it on their site, and they thought it was great we were playing it. So they said, “Hey, come on. We’d love to meet you,” and they invited us to the show. Out of nowhere, Sharon Jones invited us on stage. We had no idea that was going to happen. We had backstage passes, too. It was awesome.

EVH: It was an amazing experience for us, playing in front of 1,500 people. It was really great.

ES: It was really great. It was just so out of the blue. It was crazy amazing. I fed off of Sharon Jones’ energy, which was very high.

SH: We can’t emphasize enough how great it was. We say it over and over again how great it was to play with The Dap-Kings.

When Binky Griptite gave me his guitar, I thought, “Oh my god, we’re going to play with them,” and I started going crazy.

AVC: Elenna, how did you get invited to join the band?

EVH: When we were watching last year’s talent night, Elenna was the first act. We didn’t know what was going to happen, but she started singing and she was amazing. We started joking around that we should ask her to join our band, but then Sam’s dad went up to her to ask if she actually did want to come try out. So, she came in for a practice.

ES: I was actually looking for a band at the time. It’s ironic. I was either thinking about starting a band or finding one. It’s fate or something.

AVC: And how old are you guys again?

ES: I’m in seventh grade, and the guys are in eighth grade.

AVC: How involved are your parents? Are they the ones running your website, Facebook, and Twitter?

EVH: Our parents are a great contribution to our band. They help a lot. They work a lot to pull stuff off, and organize all the practices and times. They support us a lot.

ES: We are very thankful and grateful to them.

AVC: Are any of your parents musical?

EVH: My dad plays oboe in two orchestras, the Evanston Symphony and the Northwestern Symphony, I think. He’s very good at oboe. He majored in music.

SH: My dad and Elenna’s dad are singer-songwriters. They used to be in bands, but now they’re just solo.

ED: My dad was in a band when I was growing up. He played rhythm guitar and sang.

AVC: How long have you all been playing?

EVH: I’ve been playing bass since third grade. I started playing standup bass in orchestra, and then I played in the fifth grade jazz band and switched to electric.

ED: I’ve been playing drums since fifth grade.

SH: I’ve been playing guitar since fifth grade, but in fourth grade I started playing trombone, and I still play that too.

AVC: Are you guys in other clubs and stuff? How often do you practice?

ES: We practice basically every week. If we have gigs coming up, we might practice a lot more, like four times a week or every other day.

ED: I’m actually at a hockey game right now, stretching while we’re talking.

EVH: Oh, who are you playing?

ED: St. Jude’s. We’re gonna kill ’em.

AVC: Have you guys been to any other concerts than Sharon Jones? Seen anything good?

ED: I’ve been to two Grateful Dead concerts and one Allman Brothers. Eric van Holst and I just went to see Umphrey’s together. [Excited “oh my god it was so good” giggling ensues.]

SH: I’ve been to Green Day, Wilco, and some others.

EVH: I went to see Tom Petty, and that Umphrey’s show.

ES: I haven’t really been to any concerts, other than Sharon Jones. Now I feel embarrassed.

AVC: Do you have any artists you’d love to play with? Are you dying to meet anyone?

SH: Almost every practice, Eric comes up with an Umphrey’s McGee or Phish song, and is like “Guys, let’s learn this. Let’s learn that.”

ES: And then Sam tries to play Cream or Led Zeppelin, just noodling around. We haven’t done those yet, though, because of me.

SH: We try to learn songs by famous artists, but songs that not many people know about. We like abstract offshoots.

ES: For me, it would be awesome if we could play with Paramore. [Sam agrees.]

ED: Who?

ES: They have a girl singer. You’ve heard them, but you just don’t know their name.

SH: For me, I would have loved to played with Nirvana. They’re one of my top five bands. I’d also like to play with Pink Floyd, Cream, or Led Zeppelin.

EVH: Umphrey’s McGee. They’re from Chicago, and I don’t know. I’ve loved them ever since they started. My brother showed them to me, and I fell in love with them. We’ve played with other famous people, though. We could play with Umphrey’s eventually.