Local sweethearts The Umbrellas have been dominating the BFF.fm Weekly Charts and they recently joined DJ Swirving of audiosyncrasies to chat about AM/PM hot dogs, Discovery Bay, Michael Bay, cover bands, an alternate album title, and the Richmond district before they headed off on a European tour!

Check out the full episode here but scroll below for some snippets about the making of the second album, local San Francisco gems and a look behind the scenes of their music video:

Swirving: What were the differences from recording and releasing that first album to the second album?

Matt: The first record we had never... I mean, I had never recorded like a pop group before. Our first release ever was with a drum machine, so we were recording live drums and the drums kind of sound a little crazy on the first record. And also with like, tone and stuff we thought that like because we were making jangle pop, guitars needed to be like super bright, but instead that was just like harsh sounding guitars. So I think we just learned a lot more with production and we also took our time making this record... the first record was made in like a couple days, so it was like a little bit more rushed... they were both self recorded, just we figured it out a little more... we took more time with vocal takes and parts and arranging.

Swirving: One of my favorite songs on the album is "P.M." and I was just wondering if there was any connection between the first album and the second album with "A.M."(the album closer to the first Umbrellas album) and "P.M.", or am I reaching?

Nick: Yeah, definitely. I mean, both were closing tracks on both these albums. The acronym for A.M., the first time around was actually there's a reference to April Magazine, which is our friends and a band we played with a lot and when we made that song we said, it kind of sounds like maybe it'd be an April magazine song. And then P.M., originally it was a reference to... I think we had it entitled FM for a while. And that was actually in reference to The Field Mice. But I think just title wise we like P.M, a little bit more. Yeah, they are connected in some way, I guess.

Matt: We're big fans of ampm... we love their hot dogs. 🌭

Swirving: Being a local San Francisco band, what are some of your favorite businesses and establishments in the Bay Area?

Nick: I mean, one of our favorite venues is a place called Edinburgh Castle. It's been in the Bay Area for quite a while now. Last year, they just started doing shows there. So if you're looking to book just go in there and talk to someone but they're great. You mentioned 4 Star Theatre, which has been really fun to go and see shows... nothing better than being able to sit and eat some popcorn 🍿 and watch live music. It's always really fun.

Matt: I like Relic on Haight Street. Good clothes... you said Vesuvio, Vesuvio is pretty great... Vacation Vintage...

Swirving: So you released a music video for "Three Cheers"... I was wondering if there were any specific locations you used in the music video, and did you have any friends help you out?

Nick: Most of that was shot in the Richmond a few blocks away from Matt's house. It was directed and filmed by our good friend Michael Cruz, who's been making films in the Bay Area the last 10 years. He's was my roommate at one point in time. We went to school together... a great friend. But yeah, it was a fun day of shooting.

To hear more about some details about the influence of The Richmond district and cover bands that The Umbrellas would play as, listen to the full episode of audiosyncrasies and be sure to follow The Umbrellas for details for upcoming tour dates!