Song titles aren’t an indicator of a band’s overall musical capabilities. But suppose you’re a punk band titling your song the same name as an iconic track that holds branding power across different audiences. In that case, you should have the confidence of a brain surgeon operating on a case of glioblastoma that it keeps its weight against a giant. Gottlieb took that mentality to heart with “Waiting Room,” and New Noise Magazine is stoked to premiere its video.
Gottlieb’s intensity features a melodic quality derived from emo’s nascent period when bands like Heroin first emerged. There’s also a post-hardcore edge in “White Room’s” musicality that is not heard in the rest of their catalog. The video is the directorial debut of singer/founder Andrew Pescara, who played a smart angle for himself with this move by experiencing the first-hand stress of such a role while being able to retain creative control. There’s no better way to get thrown into the proverbial fire when your project is at stake, and having names like Phil Idrissi (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) and Wendi McLoven-Covey (Reno 9/11) added to your cast helps, too. Pescara goes in-depth about the story of “Waiting Room” below.
The major throughline of our music is that everything tends to come from an Anarchist perspective. While Waiting Room is about as personal as we’ve gone so far, it still has its roots in that worldview. Waiting Room started as lyrics I wrote, a day or two after my grandmother passed. During that time of grief, I re-interrogated the supposed “authority” of life. God, purpose, afterlife—these things that rationalize life’s importance—they get subverted during a loss.
So, the waiting room metaphor became a tool for us to visualize that subversion: life is a waiting room we wake up in, only to have other “waiters” spitball what the hell we’re even there for.
We were waiting for the right song to debut in the video format- since these words rely so much on visuals, it just begged to be shot. I work in TV as my other hustle, so I knew how to produce it and knew some very talented people who were down enough to help. This included Phil and Wendi. I met Wendi on my second TV job ever (coffee-fetcher!), and we just hit it off as punk fans. She’s followed the band since our first few singles, so we thought of her immediately. My fiancée Lily (who played the “Widow” character) graciously signed on as her stunt double, so I was able to confirm on the condition that “we won’t drown you.”
We are just stoked with her performance as the “Mother” character. We needed someone to balance out my messy melodramatic shit, and she had the expertise to bring that somber, tasteful touch to the role. She fucking murdered it. Big shoutout to Phil for being the first volunteer to walk out into the ocean, and young Aedan Stephenson for playing my past self. He’s a band fan who rolled with many punches during this. It’s an honor to be debuting alongside him.
Follow Gottlieb online through their website or Instagram, and catch them on the road at one of their upcoming West Coast shows below.
- 1720 Warehouse (Los Angeles, CA) – May 25th w/Spunk
- Cool Cat Tattoo (Bloomington, CA) – June 1st
- TBA (Sacramento, CA) – June 27th
- Pizzava (Reno, NV) – June 28th
- Thrillhouse Records (San Francisco, CA) – June 29th w/Sissyfit
Photography by Kaleb Roach
