One of Bellingham’s newest bands, The Hookups, has been taking the local music scene by storm with a unique genre of music they have coined “jurf.” As drummer Avery Colbrunn explains, “We make surf-y rock with a few jazz elements every now and then for funzies.”
Although they first performed at Western Washington University’s Sound Block 2022 in February with three members, The Hookups have since added a fourth for a full lineup that includes Conor Cedergreen on bass, Avery Colbrunn on drums, Benjamin Alexander on guitar, and Juliet Diballa on guitar and vocals. Their first single, “Matchbox,” has amassed nearly three thousand listens on Spotify, and they’ve kept busy entertaining the community with live performances at local venues including The Shakedown and JJ’s Junction — which is where I had the opportunity to interview the entire band.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
A BREAKOUT Q&A WITH THE HOOKUPS
BREAKOUT: I’ve heard rumors of a fifth member of the band, what’s up with that?
Colbrunn: So, Patricia started as our manager but now she’s migrated to be our fifth member. She’s a Pokémon plush, a Ditto, and we bring her with us to shows. Typically we wedge her between the two toms and she gives us good fortune.
Alexander: We’ve only had good shows when she’s around. She’s our ride or die.
BREAKOUT: How did the band form?
Diballa: I met Ben, I DM’ed them back in May 2021 and said, “Hey, let’s jam!” Ben was on guitar and I was on bass. And then we didn’t talk for four months. Then, when I was working at Home Depot, one of my coworkers was like, “Hey, I have a distant acquaintance who plays drums,” which lead to me meeting Avery. Connor, I met when I was working at Champlin Guitars. He auditioned and absolutely killed it and now here we are.
BREAKOUT: I listened to the playlist you guys made as inspiration for your song Matchbox. What’s your general music writing process, how do you get a new song off the ground?
Diballa: We start with a jam and if we go, “Shit! That’s great! That sounds awesome!” then we’ll go ahead and create the bones and skeleton of the song, like the structure, first chorus, so on. Then we’ll sit in a circle, pick a theme, and write on it all together; it’s a very collaborative, group-creative process and that’s something that we really prioritize.
BREAKOUT: Here’s a wild card question: what is the biggest animal each of you thinks you could take out in one punch?
Colbrunn: Not a spider.
Diballa: I could take out a shark. The secret is, as a Californian, I have been told that if a Great White is coming directly towards you, you’re supposed to punch it in the nose and it’ll redirect it. So, I think I could punch a shark and I keep having dreams about it. I’m meant to punch a shark.
Colbrunn: I think, if there was a fly that was feeling particularly dazed, about to fade to black, I could help bring her to rest.
Cedergreen: One shot, for sure, a weasel probably. Not if I have to catch it; if we were boxing or something.
Alexander: I would probably say a rat. There are a lot of rats in the dumpster at my apartment building and I’m always ready to square up with them whenever I open the lid. Past trauma will fuel me.
BREAKOUT: Another question unrelated to music: what is each of your favorite childhood playground or board game?
Colbrunn: Monopoly. I like to make enemies.
Alexander: Does Mario Party count? I have a lot of fond memories of playing that.
Cedergreen: I loved four-square a whole lot. I was a big four-square kid.
Diballa: Am I allowed to say Pokémon: Soul Silver? I love Pokémon: Soul Silver, it’s my favorite game ever.
BREAKOUT: What is your favorite Bellingham venue?
Diballa: The Wild Buffalo. I had a really great time at that show.
Cedergreen: For me, I fell in love with live music at Bluebird House. Being there and seeing people my age, seeing people like me, up there playing live music was an eye-opening moment and I was like, “I want to do this, I want to play a house show before I graduate,” and I’m doing that tonight which is pretty epic.
BREAKOUT: Who is your dream band to open for?
Diballa: I’ve been manifesting that we open for Peach Pit ever since we started. It’s gonna happen. They’re my personal biggest musical influence and they also put on such a fun show. It would be absolutely impossible not to enjoy opening for Peach Pit, they’re just lovely. I’m putting that energy into the world because it’s gonna happen. We’re gonna make it happen.
Colbrunn: I think Dayglow would be awesome.
Cedergreen: I’m a big King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard stan and I love everything they do. I don’t even have to open for them, just to see them live would be sick.
Alexander: I would probably say maybe Crumb or Hippo Campus would be super sick. I feel like I personally take a lot of writing influence from them so it would be so much fun.
BREAKOUT: What are the goals for the band going forward?
Colbrunn: Right now, it’s getting more recorded content and trying to engage with communities outside of [Bellingham], trying to expand our engagement elsewhere.
Alexander: For me, it’s about inspiring community, I think it’s been my goal since starting this band and starting music to bring people together and to have a good time.
BREAKOUT: Any last tidbits that would be abhorrent not to publish?
Diballa: On the 29th of July we’re putting out our second single called “Touch.” It sounds super good and we’re excited to share it. Available on all streaming services.
Alexander: Go stream on our Bandcamp!