Joker’s Hand told us about their past, their music, and how they write songs. Let’s see what they have to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
The story of our band name is kind of a funny one, because neither of us came up with it
ourselves. When we got started playing out at open mics and getting our feet wet, we just went by “Kevin and Matt”, like Tegan and Sara but less cool haha. During our first month performing,
we each worked up a long laundry list of potential band names that we didn’t agree on–until
Kevin’s dad suggested the name Joker’s Hand. We looked at each other after weeks of
disagreement over a band name with the unifying thought of “okay, I don’t hate that. Let’s use
it.”
Since then, the name grew on us and took a more interesting meaning, as lifelong social
outcasts that came together as college roommates and strangers and ended up best friends
and bandmates. A deck of cards has two Jokers in it, usually left out of card games or used as
substitutes for other cards gone missing. Since we’re all too familiar with feeling left out or
misunderstood, the idea of being the underdog that no one saw coming, with the potential to be a winning hand, is empowering and motivates us to keep outdoing ourselves.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Kevin: I stumbled upon an old guitar that I had never seen my father play when I was 9. I
immediately took an interest in playing and started taking lessons. Within three months of
picking up that guitar, I had my first performance at a talent show at school. I’m sure I played
terribly, but I fell in love with performing immediately. I started seeking out other people to play with and start a band. Throughout middle school and highschool I spent my free time either playing the guitar or writing songs. My parents were thrilled with the idea of me taking a liking to music, but at the time, they weren’t supportive of me dedicating my life to it. This would later
change.
Matt: I first took interest in music when I was 4 or 5, and my older sister started taking piano
lessons. When there was suddenly a piano in the house and music coming out of it, I knew I
wanted to learn too. My time taking piano was very short lived, but a couple years later, my
elementary school brought in professional musicians to demonstrate the instruments we could
learn in our music program. The violin spoke in ways I wished the piano did, and so I picked up
the violin and later the viola. My early years in music were pretty firmly grounded in the classical music world, but as I got into my teens, I realized what kind of music I listened to outside of orchestra and my private lessons was all contemporary–rock, hip hop, RnB, pop, etc. I started teaching myself guitar when I was 14, using a carnival prize acoustic guitar that played like it cost the $30 it took to win, and the rest is history haha.
How would you describe your sound?
Modern alt rock with a dash of pop punk and hip hop.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Some of our biggest musical influences at the moment are Holy Wars, Turnstile, Rage Against
the Machine, Linkin Park, and Green Day. The latter three groups are big long-time inspirations
for us whose influence find their way into our writing sometimes. We’re always on the hunt for
newer bands to listen to, like Holy Wars and Turnstile, that are doing something fresh and new
that we can take inspiration from.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Kevin: Green Honda by Benee. It’s such a fun and catchy pop tune. Our drummer Aviv has
introduced me to so much new music in the past year, this song being the latest he’s shared
with me. I grew up with a HUGE iTunes library, so when the switch to streaming came in the
early 2010’s I was VERY slow to embrace the new change. To this day, I don’t tend to rely on
the algorithms for new music recommendations. I usually hear new music through friends…and
then wind up listening to them on repeat for what I assume to others is an uncomfortable
amount of time.
Matt: Centipede by FIDLAR. I found these guys a couple years ago through Spotify and saw that they just put out a new EP by the same name. I went on a run this morning and put this on, and gotta say it’s a fun one, short and sweet. They’re a fun band, definitely recommend a listen!
What’s your source for hearing new music?
We find new music a bunch of different ways. One of them is, of course, through the almighty
and all-knowing Spotify algorithm, which occasionally yields great results for finding new bands.
We also play out locally often, which has exposed us to lots of great people and bands that
we’ve become friends with. Music recommendations through friends tends to be the most
reliable way to find good new music, or even older stuff we weren’t hip to before.
Who is your dream producer?
Kevin: Andrew Watt. I remember the week I finally caved and got Spotify. I was in my second
year in college and I decided to finally check out what everyone had already been buzzing about for years. I had been listening to a brand new artist at the time: Post Malone. Spotify’s algorithm then played a tune that featured Post by Andrew Watt. The song was called “Burning Man.” I remember hearing it and being blown away. There had been so many iterations of rap-rock in the 2000’s that, to me, just didn’t work or age well. And though this song wasn’t in the rap-rock genre, it did feature a ton of production elements that clearly came from the hip-hop world. The way the track mixed rock with its screaming guitars solos and Andrew’s rock-god voice and hip hop with its low end bass and trap-hats spoke to me in a way that no other track had. To this day, I listen to that single all the time. And Andrew Watt’s work since then has evolved in such a glorious way, along with his body of work which now includes superstars like Ozzy Osburne and Miley Cyrus.
Matt: A producer I would love to work with one day is Will Yip. I’m not personally very well
versed in the who’s who of producers in modern music, but Will is one of the guys whose name I kept seeing tied to some of my favorite bands’ music. Bands like Tigers Jaw, Title Fight,
Movements, Turnover, and Citizen really changed my ear for what alternative rock could be, as
broad of a blanket label alt rock is. A few words I would use to describe the sounds Will helps
cultivate are colorful and raw. Those bands had a big influence on my music taste, and they
were all produced and recorded by Will so I know his ear and production sense would be magic
to work with.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
We’d love to collaborate with Holy Wars. They’re this amazing duo out of LA that puts on killer
shows. Their music is gritty, grimy, and so unapologetically cool. We love the messaging and
attitude in their songs, and their sound really gets you moving. Kat and Nick are badasses, need we say more?
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
I think what led us to music is the instantly captivating thing that music does for people–when
you hear music, the language needs no translation, something about it just makes sense. Music
is an integral part of the human experience for those that are able to hear it, and if you know
someone who can hear music but doesn’t like music at all, you should probably run.
Jokes aside, music is just human. It can be fun, happy, exciting, and also heart-breaking, angry, and confusing. What motivates us to keep making music is what it can do to communicate things we feel that words can’t completely express. Music is a powerful thing, as a listener and a songwriter. I think the day we have nothing to say is the day the music stops and the day that we die. Until that day comes, we have music.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Our songwriting process is always changing, since no two songs get made the exact same way.
I would say the bulk of our songs do get their start as voice memos on our phones, usually
being us recording basic sections or ideas onto the voice memo app. Sometimes ideas come at
the weirdest times, like on the toilet or stuck in traffic. If we’re good, we give our memos a
descriptive name, but let’s just say some of us have gotten up to unnamed New Recording #869 haha. From there, as the song develops, we write lyrics and start recording a demo, building projects on Logic Pro X.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
On stage, we’re elevated versions of our introverted selves and we love to crack jokes and
share stories with our audience. A lot of the time when we’re off stage, we’re hanging in the
crowd or at the merch table, so if you see us around, please say hi! The easiest way for our
audience to connect with us online is through our Instagram @jokershandofficial. We’re the
most active on that platform and post regularly, showing more of our personal side as well, so if you dig our stuff, give us a follow!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jokershandofficial/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCwywFTEnXiXtFoqL-eoUGw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JokersHandBand/
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jokershandofficial?lang=en
Website: https://www.jokershand.com
Seeing Red EP Spotify Link:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1ckug4HjUUDsgzYX0sX5na?si=9ZnXZalHSXydIlvkd_pQVA
Seeing Red EP Apple Music Link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/seeing-red-ep/1673107379
What’s next for you?
We just put out our new EP called “Seeing Red”. Our next run of shows has us gearing up to
play an artists showcase in Austin, TX for this year’s SXSW festival. We’ll be performing at
Cooper’s BBQ on Wednesday, March 15th, for a showcase put on by 93.7FM KLBJ. We’re
excited to start playing the new stuff off of Seeing Red in our live show. Beyond that, we’ve got
more shows lined up into the summer, and we’re gonna keep on writing!
Bio:
Formed in 2017 by Kevin Kawano and Matt Lau, Joker’s
Hand has catapulted themselves above the noise floor
of the Los Angeles music scene with their explosive live
performances. Kawano and Lau, both first generation
Asian Americans, seamlessly fuse together punk, alternative and hip hop to create a fresh sound that reaches
across the generational divide.
Joker’s Hand released their self-titled EP in March, 2020.
Their first single “Gold Rush” landed them #1 on KROQ’s
Locals Only for nine weeks. While the pandemic put a
wrinkle in the band’s touring plans, they went back into
the studio with producer Steve Ornest and turned out
their second EP “All-American Rage”. In 2022 the band
released “Danny Phantom,” a high energy pop punk tune
that was immediately picked up by KROQ and has
become a fan favorite.
As the world reopened its stages, Joker’s Hand toured
nationally and shared the stage with artists such as Cage
the Elephant, Jane’s Addiction, The Aquadolls, Sitting on
Stacey, Jakob Nowell, and many others. Their showcase
performance at SXSW in 2022 was a turning point, as the
band was signed to Wiretap Records by Rob Castellon.
Joker’s Hand’s new EP “Seeing Red” released on
February 17th, 2023 on all streaming platforms.
