WATCH: Silversun Pickups Return to Silver Lake in the First Episode of “You Are Here”

Our new video series tours the cities that inspire the world.
WATCH: Silversun Pickups Return to Silver Lake in the First Episode of “You Are Here”

Our new video series tours the cities that inspire the world.

Words: FLOOD Staff

May 03, 2016

Silversun Pickups You Are Here intro header

There may not be a band more obviously associated with a neighborhood than Silversun Pickups are with Silver Lake. Before they became a touring juggernaut, the Los Angeles quartet regularly gigged around the neighborhood—most notably at Silverlake Lounge and Spaceland (now The Satellite), both of which are situated near the corner of Silver Lake and Sunset Boulevards. Before their shows, so the legend goes, people would grab a six-pack from nearby Silversun Liquor, hence making a Silversun pickup.

To put the long process of gentrification that has turned Silver Lake into the East Side’s nicest neighborhood lightly, things have changed. As singer Brian Aubert told LA Weekly last year, “the only part of [Silver Lake] that still looks dumpy is the Silversun Liquor store, which makes me very proud.”

The group’s long history with the neighborhood made them an ideal choice for the first episode of our new video series, “You Are Here,” which examines the role that place plays in the artistic development of a band, a chef, an actor—anyone who’s involved in making culture.

Below, you can tag along as the group tour their old stomping grounds, reminisce about their opening for their friend Elliott Smith, and revisit the process of recording their debut EP, Pikul.

Silversun Pickups are heading out on the road for a couple of months starting tonight in Houston. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be giving away tickets for a show of your choice, as well as signed copies of the band’s 2015 LP Better Nature. You can see those dates below, and you can click here to enter.

Silversun Pickups tour dates

May
05/02 – Houston, TX – Revention Music Center
05/04 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
05/05 – Minneapolis, MN – Myth
05/06 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
05/08 – Detroit, MI – 89X Birthday Bash
05/09 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
05/10 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
05/12 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
05/13 – Atlanta, GA – Centerstage
05/16 – Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
05/17 – Greensboro, NC – Cone Denim Entertainment Center
05/18 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium

June
06/06 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
06/07 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
06/08 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theater
06/20 – Chattanooga, TN – Track 29
06/21 – Knoxville, TN – The Mill & Mine
06/22 – Asheville, NC  – The Orange Peel
06/24 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz