BottleRock 2022: Backstage With Liily

Last weekend, our team attended BottleRock 2022 in Napa Valley and it was a blast — to say the least. The music festival initially kicked off in 2013 in its first edition and has so far featured the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Mumford & Sons, and a slew of other popular names over the years.

This year was no different in terms of big names and ambiance. Headlining the festival this year were Metallica, P!nk, Twenty One Pilots, Kygo, Luke Combs, and The Black Crowes. Artists like Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Pitbull graced the stages as well. BottleRock 2022 also featured a long list of talented performers, including Liily, Marcus King, The Alive, Greta Van Fleet, and Chelsea Effect among many others.

Liily the Band

One of the Day One performers was Liily. The L.A.-born and bred indie-rock band hit the Truly Stage in the early afternoon on Friday. Liily is guitarist Sam De La Torre, bassist Charlie Anastasis, drummer Maxx Morando, and frontman Dylan Nash. After releasing their EP album I Can Fool Anybody In This Town, which featured some of their earlier singles, the guys went on tour in the U.S. and Europe before disappearing for almost two years. They returned to the music scene in late 2021 with their new album TV or Not TV.

This time around, the band’s voice had noticeably matured and shifted, just enough for fans to notice. It’s almost like the band had gone on a genre exploration tip. Electronica and even jazz can be noticed in some of the songs, which pleasantly surprised the audience. “The Yig”, “Anvil”, and “The Suit That Sold Itself” are three of the most memorable songs on the band’s most recent release.

The members, now in their early 20s, have been friends since they were eight. Nash, Morando, and De La Torre met in music school, and Morando met bassist Charlie Anastasis in high school. Since then they’ve all been running in the same circles. In fact, they all agree that they’ve known each other for “way too long”. Not long after high school, Morando and De La Torre decided to start a band together and invited Nash and Anastasis to join them; that’s how Liily was born.

After Liily’s energetic and upbeat performance at BottleRock 2022, we caught the Angelenos backstage for a quick interview.

Everything Music

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We asked the musicians to try and pick a mutual favorite from among their singles, however difficult it would be. Answers ranged from “Anvil” and “The Yig”, to “Wash” and “The Suit That Sold Itself”, but eventually all of them seemed to agree on “The Miracle of Race Wild”. Interestingly, the latter is one song they’ve never played live, because “it’s a hard song to grasp,” according to lead singer Dylan Nash.

As Liily fans had noticed with “TV Or Not TV”, the band had evolved exponentially from its earlier days. While their earlier songs were influenced by the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, System Of A Down, and Mamas and Papas, their more recent songs take inspiration from a new set of artists and bands from all over. “Whatever we’re listening to at the time of writing is ultimately what is going to influence our new tracks, but at the end of the day, it’s still going to sound like us,” says Nash.

While most bands aim at conveying a message, Liily believes that such messages target only a group of people and exclude others. “What we really want is to establish a connection with a larger crowd, not just a certain group — a connection so strong that the people attending our shows now still show up after 10 years. That’s the type of connection we want,” clarifies bassist Charlie Anastasis.

As for artists they would love to play with or even collaborate with, well, the answer was loud and clear, “any Red Hot Chili Peppers band member would do. John Frusciante, hit us up!” shouts Anastasis jokingly (or not).

Talking about “alive”, our interview was interrupted by the arrival of the members of “The Alive '', who were also performing at BottleRock 2022. During the short, friendly exchange between the members of the two bands, The Alive invited Liily to their second show of the day, and the guys happily accepted — we’re all for the musical support.

Californians Discussing California

Each of the four Liily members is from Los Angeles. San Fernando Valley, Studio City, Hollywood City, and Mid City to be exact, but all four grew up in the Valley. According to Liily, growing up in the Valley is a vibe of its own, and “completely different than growing up on the West Side.”

It’s only normal that growing up in the region influenced the band’s music, and we wanted to know more about it.

California.com: How did the Golden State influence your music?

Charlie Anastasis: In Southern California, creativity is in the air – somehow. Musically speaking, growing up, we’ve had a lot of musical influences and big artists around. Huge bands like Mamas and Papas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and System of a Down were thankfully all around us, and they became our inspirations. But it’s not necessarily just about the big names. We grew up watching many up-and-coming bands, and I just feel like our ethos embodies them more. You see smaller rock bands becoming a huge success and that leaves a mark on you.

California.com: Are there certain places in California that inspire you to create more than others?

Dylan Nash: We did write a big portion of our recent record in Joshua Tree. But, I think it’s L.A. that has the most effect on us all.

Charlie Anastasis: It’s not really something you’re conscious about. We live in L.A., we’ve grown up in L.A., and this city is all we’ve ever known. It, undoubtedly, has its effect on us, and it surely inspires us.

California.com: What are some of your favorite places to perform in California?

Sam De La Torre: We’re very fond of The Echo in L.A. It's like a home base for us.

Charlie Anastasis: We haven’t really played in the Bay Area much, though.

Dylan Nash: We’ve played in Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco. I believe we played in San Francisco on our first tour.

Max Morrando: In Oakland, we’ve played at the Alternative Music Foundation. It’s commonly known as The Gilman.

California.com: Is there a specific area in California where the audience stands out?

Liily: Los Angeles.

Sam De La Torre: In those shows, we do know most of the people.

Charlie Anastasis: When you’re somewhere for the first time, people just stand still, cause they’re not really familiar with you. Not in L.A. though. People know us and are used to our shows here, and their energy fuels us.

The California.com team is all for local talent making it big and wishes the talented band Liily the best of luck in their future musical endeavors!