{"id":144633,"date":"2026-01-22T12:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/144633\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T12:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:22:10","slug":"how-south-bays-contradictions-shaped-joyce-manors-enduring-pop-punk-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/144633\/","title":{"rendered":"How South Bay’s contradictions shaped Joyce Manor’s enduring pop-punk sound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One hour into cruising the streets in a car near the Pacific coastline of Long Beach, the band Joyce Manor\u2019s sightseeing leads to the destination that, to their amusement, is now a pop-punk landmark: the Joyce Manor midcentury condominium off Alamitos Avenue. With its Art Deco lettering and being a stone\u2019s throw from Ocean Boulevard, this cozy condo complex feels like a humble monument to SoCal Americana. You could picture Elvis walking out of here in one of his classic surfing movies.<\/p>\n

This is indeed where Joyce Manor got its name, but it\u2019s not quite ground zero \u2014 that\u2019s a few miles east in nearby Torrance. Bassist Matt Ebert confirms it\u2019s a fan destination, where people post on social media about their pilgrimages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have that much meaning to me,\u201d says frontman Barry Johnson, who often walked past this building to a former day job during the band\u2019s early days. \u201cIt\u2019s my whole identity, my life, but it\u2019s just two words, you know? I\u2019ve never been inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those two words, Joyce Manor, now embody a less-glitzy yet still-potent flavor of vital SoCal culture \u2014 L.A.\u2019s local punk scene.<\/p>\n

After nearly two decades together as local heroes and critical darlings \u2014 2014\u2019s \u201cNever Hungover Again\u201d is on Pitchfork\u2019s list of the best albums of the 2010s \u2014 the members of Joyce Manor have had an especially visible past few years: tours with spiritual mentors Weezer, their signature song \u201cConstant Headache\u201d featured on \u201cThe Bear,\u201d and sold-out shows at the Hollywood Palladium (where Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 joined them onstage for their song \u201cHeart Tattoo\u201d) headlining their local Long Beach Arena.<\/p>\n

Later this month, they\u2019ll release their seventh studio album, \u201cI Used to Go to This Bar,\u201d through longtime label Epitaph. The songs are so good that the label\u2019s founder, Bad Religion guitarist and L.A. punk icon Brett Gurewitz, came out of semiretirement to be their producer. <\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a writer who has almost always used too many words in his songs, I just truly admire Barry\u2019s elegance and economy of words,\u201d says Gurewitz, who compares Johnson\u2019s songwriting to Ernest Hemingway and Tim Armstrong. (\u201cSort of like the Springsteen of the punk movement, or the Dylan,\u201d adds Gurewitz.)<\/p>\n

Another fan is John Mulaney. The comedian booked them for their live TV debut on his Netflix talk show on an episode dedicated to L.A. punk that had surviving members from Fear, X, the Germs, Minutemen, the Cramps and Gun Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were an absolute highlight of that week,\u201d Mulaney wrote via email. \u201cTed Sarandos and others at the studio were like \u2018Who were THOSE dudes?\u2019 Those guys make me really excited about drums and guitars and the necessity of loud ass music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got some serious hang time in with Richard Kind,\u201d says Johnson, grinning when I ask about performing that night.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up <\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Barry Johnson of Joyce Manor on Jan. 12 in Long Beach. <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

For a band that arrived so self-assured \u2014 their 2011 self-titled debut is especially a landmark of punk\u2019s Four Loko-era, or as guitarist Chase Knobbe calls it, \u201cthe MGMT times\u201d \u2014 Joyce Manor now seems to be having a moment. Call it the goodwill that comes from creating a catalog of solid and critically acclaimed albums, or a testament to the core trio of Johnson, Ebert and Knobbe still being together after all these years. Johnson, 39, is the main songwriter and talker of the group, always ready with a thorough answer regarding any bit of Long Beach or Joyce Manor lore. Knobbe, 34, is more reserved yet just as knowledgeable about the area\u2019s history and scenes. Ebert, also 39, is the politest, a kind force who, 17 years later, remains the new guy after Johnson and Knobbe formed the band a year before.<\/p>\n

But through all the success, the band remains in the South Bay. So, I was excited to see home through their eyes. I first suggest we tour the Torrance spots most historic to Joyce Manor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not one music venue in Torrance,\u201d says Johnson, his tone losing some positivity. \u201cThere\u2019s never been any kind of thing that can bring touring bands, then you can open up for bigger bands. They have that in Orange County, but there was no ecosystem for that in Torrance at all.\u201d Ebert added that they haven\u2019t played a show in Torrance since 2010 at the now-gone Gable House Bowl, where Johnson and Ebert originally met through a bowling league.<\/p>\n

For our driving tour of historic spots for the band, the members opt to stay in Long Beach, with Knobbe driving us around to plenty of spots vital to their early days. One notable destination was the house known as \u201cThe Hickey Underworld.\u201d This is where Joyce Manor played early shows (\u201cYou\u2019re playing a living room with your socks on,\u201d adds Knobbe) and credits its free practice space and late nights drunkenly singing along to Saves the Day for making the band feasible. We also stopped at Johnson\u2019s apartment, where he recorded the \u201cConstant Headache\u201d demos and lived until signing with Epitaph and releasing \u201cNever Hungover Again.\u201d Other sights included Knobbe\u2019s first Long Beach apartment, countless favorite and not-so-favorite bars and a gas station where Johnson beams, \u201cI used to buy cigarettes there.\u201d We also talked much about the Torrance 3 bus, Johnson\u2019s \u201cmental workspace\u201d where, to and from practice in Long Beach, he wrote and workshopped many songs, including \u201cConstant Headache.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having moved to Long Beach at 20, Johnson feels more at home here, though he acknowledges that Torrance is still the spirit of Joyce Manor.<\/p>\n

\"Guitarist <\/p>\n

Guitarist Chase Knobbe, who formed Joyce Manor with Barry Johnson, with Matt Ebert joining a year later.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have that much love for Torrance,\u201d he says. \u201cI like things about it. I think it\u2019s got a lot of problems \u2026 [it\u2019s] haunted and weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knobbe shares Johnson\u2019s mixed affection toward Torrance; he moved to Long Beach a few years after Johnson. (\u201cI think the first time I drove on the freeway was giving Barry a ride back to Long Beach.\u201d) Ebert remains the accepted outsider, a longtime East L.A. resident with roots in San Pedro. When I asked if moving to L.A. was ever an option, they said the band favored visiting the older, more established pop-punk scenes of Riverside.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy high school band tried to play a show at the Whisky a Go Go,\u201d says Knobbe, \u201cbut it was like a pay-to-play sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

We end our tour grabbing Modelo beers (\u201cA few small beers,\u201d we joke) at the V Room. Though Johnson confirms the album\u2019s titular bar is an amalgamation of all the local bars they showed me, the V Room has become a go-to.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

\u201cI was so broke that I really relied on dollar beer night,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cFern\u2019s [now the Hideout] had dollar beer night. As a result, it had a younger crowd, college kids with not a lot of money. That\u2019s how I met a lot of people, some I still know today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the new album is dedicated to Brian Wilson, who grew up in nearby Hawthorne, I wanted to explore what Joyce Manor and Wilson may share \u2014 or at least how the South Bay shaped them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe South Bay is the epicenter of the Southern California culture that became really popular in the 1950s all over the world,\u201d says Ebert. \u201cSurfing and then skateboarding. It\u2019s Americana distilled. But the South Bay is also an extremely complicated, lonely suburban place. It\u2019s very cut off from the rest of the city. It\u2019s surrounded by oil. You have the Port of L.A., which is one of the biggest ports in the world. It\u2019s kind of a cultural dead zone, but it also bred what a lot of people around the world know as American culture. Brian knew how to distill that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson points to the irony of murals dedicated to legendary punk bands the Descendents and Black Flag littering the now-expensive Hermosa Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a pretty heartless place and always has been,\u201d says Ebert.<\/p>\n

\"Joyce <\/p>\n

\u201cI for years wanted to play a show in Torrance, where we\u2019re actually from,\u201d said Joyce Manor bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ebert. \u201cBut I just don\u2019t know how it ever could or would. So I\u2019ve kind of stopped thinking about it.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

This mindfulness of the American dream versus economic reality has always been embedded in Joyce Manor, which formed during the Great Recession.<\/p>\n

\u201c[We were] very influenced by the feeling like the future is not going to be good,\u201d says Johnson. \u201cThere\u2019s no financial security ever. I will never know it. So just try to enjoy yourself and party while you can. You have to create your own happiness because historically what should provide security is just gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those relatable feelings come across right away on \u201cI Used to Go to This Bar.\u201d Just read its opening lyrics: \u201cWhen you can\u2019t afford anything anymore, tell me how are you gonna swim to shore? When you can\u2019t explain the damage done to your brain, but it\u2019s clear that it\u2019s severe and it\u2019s here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Members <\/p>\n

This month, Joyce Manor will release its seventh studio album, \u201cI Used to Go to This Bar,\u201d through longtime label Epitaph.<\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The new album includes Smiths-like desert country shuffles (\u201cAll My Friends Are So Depressed\u201d), a bizarre (compliment) mesh of intricate classical composition and Cars-like synths (\u201cFalling into It\u201d), and the usual catchy, melodic pop-punk that makes Joyce Manor so great. Longtime fans will recognize \u201cWell, Don\u2019t It Seem Like You\u2019ve Been Here Before?\u201d as an update on \u201cF\u2014 Koalacaust,\u201d a song predating Joyce Manor that now adds Knobbe on harmonica. And then there\u2019s \u201cGrey Guitar,\u201d which might rival \u201cConstant Headache\u201d as the band\u2019s best album closer. Even the album\u2019s hired drummer is notable: Joey Waronker spent last year drumming for Oasis\u2019 reunion tour. They also worked with many of Beck\u2019s musicians on this album.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re around L.A. long enough, you get Beck\u2019s guys,\u201d joked Ebert.<\/p>\n

Up next for Joyce Manor: a spring U.S. tour and Coachella. Johnson feels confident \u201cConstant Headache\u201d will go over well with the Coachella flower crowd. I ask what else is on the L.A. bucket list.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s play the Forum,\u201d says Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI for years wanted to play a show in Torrance, where we\u2019re actually from,\u201d added Ebert. \u201cBut I just don\u2019t know how it ever could or would. So I\u2019ve kind of stopped thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebert\u2019s words remind me of a lyric from the album\u2019s title track: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing special about the place, nothing too hard to recreate.\u201d It\u2019s the mixed blessing of still being close to where you\u2019re from, yet sung with a wisp of yearning. It\u2019s a feeling Joyce Manor makes timeless yet intensely relatable. Wilson would have approved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One hour into cruising the streets in a car near the Pacific coastline of Long Beach, the band…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[72339,11416,72338,72340,72337,18654,72334,72336,2303,48,52,51,131,47,50,49,72335,10390,200,27721,72],"class_list":["post-144633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-acclaimed-album","tag-band","tag-constant-headache","tag-early-day","tag-ebert","tag-johnson","tag-joyce-manor","tag-knobbe","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-long-beach","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-nearby-torrance","tag-song","tag-south-bay","tag-word","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}