Biography
From California
The Willowz were conceived in Anaheim, CA in Summer 2002 by Richie James Follin, singer/guitarist, and bassist/singer Jessica Reynoza.
The Willowz released a single on Posh Boy that year, and continued releasing on Dionysus (2004, The Willowz EP), XL Recordings (2004, single), and Sympathy for the Record Industry (2004's LP Are Coming, 2005's LP Talk In Circles , and the 2006 DVD See In Squares).
With every Willowz release the band has increased its status as the critics' darlings: the OC Weekly named the Willowz EP as one of the top 10 records of 2003; the LA Weekly nominated the Willowz as the top rock band of 2005; and Rolling Stone ranked the band's Talk In Circles in their cover story "Top 50 Albums of 2005."
Legendary film and video auteur Michel Gondry featured Willowz tracks on both the Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated soundtrack for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and used two Willowz tracks as the only rock music in his current film release The Science of Sleep . Gondry also directed the video for I Wonder, included on the Willowz 27-video 2006 DVD release Talk in Circles, Seein Squares . TICSS has won innumerable awards, including one for the The Willowz Cons and Tricks video, directed by Toben Seymour and awarded a place in the Top Ten Videos of the Year on MTV2's Subterranean.
The Willowz have toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, sharing bills with such artists as the New York Dolls, the Greenhornes, Wolfmother, the Ponys, Be Your Own Pet, Tom Vek, Ted Leo, OK GO, the Gossip, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Mutes, John Cale, and endless others.
The Willowz forthcoming CD Chautauqua will be released on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records with a revamped, tighter lineup that includes guitarist Aric Bohn and drummer Loren "Ted" Shane Humphrey.
Chautauqua provides the energy and rawness of the first two albums infused with a thicker rock sound, and is more focused on songwriting. Old boundaries no longer apply as this set of songs is expressed with true storyteller fervor.
Richie James Follin - Vocals & Guitar
Aric Chirstopher Bohn - Guitar & Vocals
Jessica Anne Reynoza - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Loren Shane Humphrey - Drums