A Conversation with Buckets
Back in March of 2020 a group of emerging artists got together to release their debut EP, breaking into the Los Angeles music scene and creating their first official online presence as the band Buckets. Since then, these four friends have been creating indie-punk music that has attracted thousands of fans, generating a fanbase that reaches far past their home-base of Southern California. Buckets consists of four members: Mitch Rossiter, Tanner Houghton, Hiram Sevilla, and Sasha Massey who came from all over North America to create their original sound. A little over six years after their debut, in May of this year, Rambler’s Los Angeles chapter was lucky enough to not only see Buckets live, but also grab an interview with them after their performance at the Arroyo Secodelic Festival.
Rebekah: “Hi guys, this is Rebekah. I'm with Rambler, and I'm here with…”
Hiram, Tanner, Sasha, and Mitch: “BUCKETS!"
R: “So, we just got to hear you guys play. You guys were so incredible. I genuinely loved your music. You guys were one of the bands I was looking forward to the most, really. All right, so I was hoping I could just get like a 30 second elevator pitch for you guys, as a band, for our audience.
T: “Came from all over the place. Best friends love each other so much, make music that we like to hear, and that we like to play.”
S: “Yeah, awesome. All right, let's let the Communications major do it now”
M: “Sure. So, hey, we're Buckets, as Tanner said, we're from all over the place, but we all met in LA, and that's where the band started back in about 2019 doing kind of like nostalgic indie punk stuff. We’ve toured all over the US and northern Mexico. We're about to put out our second full-length record next month, and we're just happy to be here.”
R: “Awesome, awesome. Well, so Rambler is all about, like, bringing back physical media, you know, getting off your phone…”
M: “Beautiful, we love physical media”
Buckets outside of the Arroyo Secodelic Festival from this past May
R: “Yeah! So the next question is going to be for each one of you. What are the three CDs you’d have in your car at all times?”
H: “CDs?”
R: “CD’s, you can do cassettes, whatever you want.”
M: “What CDs, Cassettes, or Records do you have that isn't just something you listen to off of Spotify or Apple Music?”
H: “I would say Ace of Base, these guys love it. What else? Deftones, I’m a heavy hitter, and what's this guy's name? Cat Stevens. My mom gave me that CD.”
T: “My buddy Sasha gave me a Pile record. It's called Dripping. It's one of my favorite records ever. Let's see, Dripping by Pile, I like the Born Ruffians. What's the first record called, like Yellow Red (Red, Yellow and Blue) or something like that? The first record by Born Ruffians, so much energy. It's a really cool record. Third thing, Backstreet Boys, I grew up with Backstreet Boys. I would set my tables up, and, and I would like, walk down it like I'm a fucking model, and like sing like I'm the Backstreet Boys.”
R: “I see, you were doing the pop star thing.”
T: “My mom would be like, ‘are you gay?’.”
M: “Ok, great answer.”
S: “Three CDs I had in my van before it got impounded by the beautiful city of Los Angeles”
R: “Ugh, they'll get you.”
S: “It's probably Obaa Sima by Ata Kak. Great record, his first record. He just put out a new record. If you haven't heard of it, check it out. It's amazing music from Africa. Leave Them All behind by Ride, and then Interstate Eight by Modest Mouse. I used to have that like dialed into my alarm clock, and even when I'd be at work, it would go off and play the whole album, and Tanner used to have to listen to the whole thing multiple times till I got home from work.
T: “Oh, this is Seattle?”
S: “No, this is when, when we first moved to Echo Park, when I was living in the living room. I will never do that again.”
R: “Not sleeping on the couch anymore?”
S: “No!”
M: “I guess I'll do Morbid Stuff by Pup, one of the OG bands I grew up listening to.”
T: “We just saw them play at fucking Oblivion, they played for a hundred people as a practice show. It was so beautiful, they’re practicing for their upcoming Mexico tour.
M: “I’ll also, say Left and Leaving by The Weaker Thans, which is another Canadian band, that's that's for the heads. And then we'll say Toots in the May Tales, best of it's a classic reggae record. So, how ‘bout that?”
R: “Ok, you guys got some good picks! You said you lived in Echo Park, you’re not all from LA, are you?”
T: “No”
M: "We've all been in LA for at least the last eight or so years, but none of us are from California originally. Got a couple Washington State (Sasha and Tanner), we got Northern Mexico (Hiram), and we got Ohio (Mitch).
Another pic from Arroyo Secodelic Festival!
R: “Okay, awesome, wow, all over. Alright, so this one's going to be like our final question , before I ask if you guys will have anything you want to promote. I know you got a new album coming out. So it's gonna be Kiss, Marry, Kill, Highland Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake?”
T: “Oh, kill Silver Lake. Immediately!”
M: “Wait Silver Lake, Highland Park, and Echo Park?”
R: “Yep, the big three.”
T: “I’m going to marry Highland Park.”
S: “Of course, absolutely!”
H: “Yeah.”
M: “Yeah, and kiss Echo Park?”
S: “Yeah, we’ll kiss Echo Park.”
M: “I think we’re all in agreement. Kiss Echo Park, kill Silver Lake, and marry Highland Park.”
S: “Goodbye Silverlake”
T: “Yeah, goodbye!”
R: “That’s what keeps a band together, a hate for Silver Lake.”
T: “It’s not a hate, it's just like, you know, Echo Park is like everybody's trying to be somebody, and Highland Park, like I lived in Highland Park for many, many years, like it's very family-oriented”
M: “I just don’t want to shop at Erewhon in Silver Lake.”
R: “That’s fair, it’s too expensive out there, I couldn’t even live out there if I wanted to. So do you have anything you guys want to promote? You got a new album, maybe a favorite song?”
M: “Yeah, so we have a new record coming out June 12. It's called Horse to Water via Slouch Records. It's our sophomore record. We're very proud. We'll be touring the rest of the year. That's about it. Stoked to be here. Thank you so much.
T: “Hey Mitch, vinyls. We have a lot of vinyl for sale if you guys want to buy a vinyl!”
M: “You can buy the new record on vinyl on CD or digital formats via our Bandcamp or our website.”
R: “Awesome! Thank you guys so much!”
It was great to be able to have this conversation with Buckets, they are a great band and I highly recommend everyone check them out. I will personally shout out their song Better, as it is one of my favorite songs right now, and of course take a listen to their incredible new record Horse to Water. See Buckets at a venue near you during their upcoming Western United States tour during July 2026, more info on their website bucketsband.com!
