Three years ago, four friends released a single called “Scare Me,” and in the time that followed have spent a full summer on Warped Tour, supported numerous high caliber bands on the road and are gearing up to release their debut full-length album, Sponge Fingerz, on Red Bull Records.

Ahead of the release, Myspace visited the genre-defying quartet at Red Bull Records’ LA office to discuss the new album, “G-Punk” and how they feel about going on Warped Tour for the second time.

You’ve been making music as New Beat Fund for a few years now and finally releasing your debut full-length. How does it feel?  

Michael Johnson: It’s crazy because we literally did everything ourselves leading up to us getting signed, and we still pretty much create all of the art ourselves. The other day we got our physical copies of the CD—that ancient form—and just holding it brought back every memory of our first tour, jamming the first song for this new record together up in Topanga Canyon and everything that’s led up to this in the past few years. It’s like, Holy shit I’m holding all of that. We can’t wait to share it with everybody.

It’s a very upbeat, sunny album. What would you say your influences were?

Jeff Laliberte: Just living out here and writing in Topanga...I guess if we lived somewhere else maybe it would sound different, but I think it is a product of the environment. And a lot of the songs are about our lives.

MJ: I think this record is the first time we’ve been able to just all be together, get in a room, jam and whatever comes out is the direction of the record. We didn’t try to make any one sound—that’s just what it sounds like when we jam together on a mountain in Topanga. [laughs]

JL: We absorbed a lot of the hippy vibes in Topanga.

Shelby Archer: You know what’s craziest about the album for me? It’s so honestly us. Lyrically, it’s all shit that’s been lived. In the beginning it has an exciting feeling and we’re in the moment more, then later on you reflect on all the things you’ve been through... 

Explain “G-Punk.”

MJ: It’s kind of like the punk rock movement, which is what all of us really grew up in, as well as the G-Funk movement and West Coast hip hop. Even though I was growing up in Florida, I was listening to the same shit that made us who we are as musicians. Though those are kind of polar opposites, we kind of blend them together for our music.

Yeah, it’s cool that you guys don’t really fit into a specific genre.

JL: If you go to the Warped Tour website, there’s all these bands that are like “alternative,” “rap,” “hardcore,” “DJ,” then for New Beat Fund it’s like “blank/blank.” [laughs] I’m like, Maybe you could at least throw in “alternative” or something! They literally just left it blank, and I was like, Dude that’s kind of tight actually.

MJ: We also tour with every type of band ever and have made fans from every single tour, so we always joke about when we have a headlining arena tour when it lets out it’s going to look like a fucking circus. [laughs] It’s going to be the weirdest people!

JL: We don’t fit in anywhere, but we also can play anything.

SA: It’s good and bad I think, and maybe it’ll get better later on, but sometimes it’s hard because we don’t have a clear lane to funnel through. If you’re a hardcore band you can immediately plug in that genre and know exactly what that fan base wants. We’re just paving our own way, really. We’ve got a machete in the bamboo forest and are trying not to cut ourselves.

Lyndsey Byrnes

For only being a band for a few years, you’re in a pretty impressive place right now.

MJ: What we’ve accomplished in three years is actually pretty mind blowing.

PL: With an EP we did in our bedrooms, we never expected it to go anywhere near as far as it did. 

You’re going on Warped Tour this year—that’ll help get more people onboard!

SA: We did Warped Tour a few years ago, and that was our first real tour. This time around, we’ll quite literally get to see the difference. Hopefully it’s good...I think it’ll be decent at least. [laughs]

MJ: And we have full-length CDs to be selling. Last time, we were still at the point where we were just giving away CDs, trying to get our name out there. I think our core fan base was built at Warped Tour, so coming back around all those people will be awesome.

Warped Tour sounds insane though...

MJ: It’s more insane than you think. 

I’m sure!

MJ: This year we at least know what to expect. The first year, we had heard stories and thought we’d just figure out. Then we got out and were like, Holy shit! If you can survive Warped Tour you can survive anything.

SA: It was like touring boot camp.

MJ: Even as a band, the things you go through together bring you closer or, I’m assuming, break you up.

SA: It’s like a test of how bad you want it.