Nuzzle Breakdown the Influences Behind Follow, For Now 30 Years Later, and Announce Upcoming California Shows. 

As you know by now, Nuzzle is an all-time TOP8 fave with their gut-spilling, gravel-throated, noise-bitten tracks, so we were more than excited to find out that we’d finally be seeing more of the band in 2026. 

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We previously got the chance to catch up with them about the making of their album Follow, For Now, which just recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a re-release on vinyl through Solid Brass Records and Zum Audio. Still, beyond the reissue, we wanted to rewind even further, back to the bands that shaped the record in the first place. ​

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Together, bassist Simon (Sam) Fabela, vocalist Andrew Dalton, guitarist Nate Dalton, and drummer Ricardo Reano had quite a few mutual picks. Ricardo previously told us that the band can basically read each other’s minds, and the chemistry is clear with their spins overlapping. It's as if Nuzzle is wired to the same noise; it definitely shows just how in sync they are. 

Here's what Nuzzle was listening to leading up to the making of their classic album Follow, For Now.

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Sam's Picks: ​

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At the time, bands like LYNC and UNWOUND were paramount for me, and I still listen to them on the regular. Their noisy churning tunes also had some great pop sensibilities that I love and think we tried to emulate. 

 

ANTIOCH ARROW & MOHINDER were also always in the mix - I was just so in awe of their organized chaos and insane tempos. This was all new to me, and those blasts of mind-blowing energy felt like an explosion in my brain and body. Took so much inspiration from their DIY aesthetic too, the hand-screened & spray-painted record sleeves and inserts.

 

UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON - just so incredible, I never got to see them live but listened to them so much. I wanted to be every member of that band. 

 

Ricardo's Picks:

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UNWOUND, EVERGREEN, LYNC, UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON, MOHINDER, FISTICUFFS BLUFF, ANTIOCH ARROW

 

Nate's Picks: 

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1. REM was my first favorite band. The interplay of the guitar and the bass of some of the early songs, combined with unconventional drumming and esoteric, mumbled lyrics, was definitely an influence on our songwriting.

2. UNWOUND was an electrifying live band. You could tell Justin and Vern knew each other a long time from the way they played together. Fake Train, their first record, was on every turntable in every punk house on the West Coast (and beyond) when it was first released in 1993.

3. NATION OF ULYSSES. This is a band I wish I had seen live. But their recorded music, their lyrics, their look, their arty political propaganda fired the imagination and made me realize that a band could be more than just a band. And being in a band was more than just being in a band.

4. JESUS LIZARD was the first show I saw at Jabberjaw, the legendary all-ages punk club in LA. Jabberjaw often got hot inside, but this Jesus Lizard show was extra hot. I remember David Yow taking his boot off at one point and pouring sweat out of it. (At least I think it was sweat). I love the band's mix of virtuoso-level musicianship mixed with madman Yow up front.

5. UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON. Tonie Ryan Joy was one of the great guitarists of the 90s underground scene.

6. Seeing ANTIOCH ARROW for the first time was a revelation. Hard core could be arty and weird and a helluva lot of fun.

7. EVERGREEN. The fact that a band like Evergreen could play on the same bill as Antioch Arrow (and even share a band member) made me love punk rock all the more. I wish I could sing like Aaron Calvert.

8. MOHINDER. Cupertino had a sweet scene in the early 90s. These boys were one of the funnest bands out there.

 

Andy's Picks:

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UNWOUND really showed us how to keep it organic, to plant it and let it grow in front of everyone’s eyes. 

 

EVERGREEN showed us that music that in many formal ways resembled ours and our scene’s could be so soulful – both literally, like spiritually emotional, and like actual soul music. 

 

ANTIOCH ARROW showed us you could be 100 percent aggro and zero percent macho at the same time. 

 

MOHINDER showed us how to be ruthlessly, relentlessly efficient.

 

UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON showed how you could mix in some virtuosity here and there without making a fetish of it. 

 

LYNC and THE FISTICUFFS BLUFF were just kindred spirits in every way. 

 

MUDHONEY showed us how to keep it zany. Mudhoney showed us what we already knew from skaters – the jokey ones are often the best ones.