Mediocore is a 3 piece rock band with a post-grunge feel. Los Angeles local, the band has GIRLWOLF aka Cindy Clark on vocals and guitar, Lukas West on bass, and Frankie Graves on drums. The band was formed in 2019 by GIRLWOLF and West. The two met at a grocery store rock show in Venice Beach. Frankie joined in 2021 allowing the band to continue playing shows. The inspiration behind this project is simplistic guitar that frames the poetic and erratic vocal with a more lead bass counterpart, plus groovy drums. Rather than narrowing into the constraints of a pre existing rock sub genre, the band responds to the emotion of the meaning in the lyrical content, although they heavily favor 90s grunge. The concepts discuss landscapes of mental illness traversed by singer Clark and the origin story at glance coupled with societal commentary and resolve in nature.
Mediocore’s track “Keep Punching” was written in an ICU when GIRLWOLF spent 14 days in Harbor UCLA hovering over her 82 year old Grandfather when he was struck by a moving vehicle on Pacific Coast Highway as he was walking past a driveway. He suffered an instant brain bleed and later an internal bleed was found that would lead him to months of starvation and eventually tube feeding. The year before GIRLWOLF had brought him to two heart procedures to keep him alive as he was facing a major blockage as well as needed an aortic valve replacement. He was active and well following however, on blood thinners which made the accident more detrimental.
In the blur which was the 14 day time period that GIRLWOLF was traveling to and from home to the ICU to help advocate for her grandfather, one long night on the drive home she pressed record and shaking she let out the lyrics to the verses to what is now the song “Keep Punching”. Those words are that which she borrowed from George Clark Sr., her grandfather “ya gotta keep punching” he’d always repeat in times of trial. He was a boxer in the air force. He was seemingly accident prone and struggled with his health nearly his entire life, specifically his heart, but he was incredibly active walking mostly 5 miles a day on the coast in Redondo Beach, CA. He died 7 months post accident. He never made it home. Covid hit and the rehabilitation facility he was in closed their doors to family and visitors. His family never saw him again.
The pandemic proved difficult to retain the movement of the band however GIRLWOLF and Lukas had finished writing their 3rd EP PUPPYBOY, at lost of a drummer, they asked their friend and incredible drummer Alejandra Robles Luna [ Le Butcherettes / Cocovera ] to track the EP. She absolutely crushed it. The track, and all 3 EP released by the band, was produced by Dave Swanson of Love Juice Labs.
The concept for the video was brought about one day when Cinematographer Joe Rubinstein asked GIRLWOLF if she would get punched in the face for a video. She, of course, replied “yes”. However it wasn’t for a few years that she would write “Keep Punching” and they would actually shoot the footage. It fit perfectly. Rubinstein recruited actress and stunt woman Tayln Edelson, who aided in choreographing the moves.
Although GIRLWOLF is not a fighter in a literal sense, the metaphor of the ring, especially as it related to her grandfather’s boxing experience and Irish fighting personality, worked perfectly for all she knows is struggle. Surrounded by doctors in the ICU she recalls the medical professionals asking her grandfather who she is to see how coherent he was. His response was to point at his grandchild and say “me, that’s me.” The staff looked perplexed and asked again clarifying that they were pointing at the young woman. Again he repeated “me”. She grinned bearing the sense of humor he passed onto her father and down to her and looked at the staff , “he’s not wrong.”
SONG CREDITS: producer – Dave Swanson vocals/guitar- Girlwolf bass- Lukas West drums- Alejandra Robles Luna
VIDEO CREDITS: Director- Joe Rubinstein Stunt Actress- Talyn Ann Edelson Makeup Artist-Theresa Reish Production Assistant- Tami Clark
PHOTO CREDITS: Joe Rubinstein Eric Artman
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Check out more of MEDIOCORE and their music here: INSTAGRAM / WEBSITE / SPOTIFY
