2010: Beginning The band released their first recordings in March 2010 for free download through thecollectiveca.com and bandcamp. Of that batch were the demos for "San Francisco", "The Great Divide", "Time", "I've Been Around" & "Waiting For The Dawn". These demos were recorded in a Woodland Hills garage studio known as The Victory House. Through 2010 they headlined an array of 'mini' festival/event concerts called "manifestivals" where all of the bands, artists and friends of the collective would join forces and perform together. Bands would rock back to back on 2 stages with some of The Mowgli's performing in as many as all of the groups on the often up to 8 act line ups. The nights would usually culminate in one massive Mowgli's performance where it was likely that most of the collective and the audience would all join on stage to sing. In the Summer of 2010, most of the band rented a house in Venice Beach, CA. They spent those months performing hundreds of shows in the area, sometimes as many as five gigs in a day and night, anywhere from cafes to the
Venice Boardwalk to art galleries, venues, bars, underground warehouse gatherings, backyards, offices, house parties, hair salons, clothing stores, farmer's markets, airplane hangars, etc.
2011–2012: Sound the Drum The Mowgli's spent the better part of 2011 migrating from Venice and gigging throughout the Southwest while recording what would later become their debut LP
Sound the Drum. Most of the recording was done in former member and producer Christian James Hand's Hollywood studio, Mid-Bronx Recording. Vocals were also recorded at St. Genevieve's Church in Panorama City and Swinghouse Studios. Colin Dieden, a fan of Brooklyn singer-songwriter
Kevin Devine, approached Devine's management, CandyShop, who began representing the band. That summer the band launched a
Kickstarter campaign, informing fans that "they had been kidnapped by a record producing kangaroo who was known simply as "Kevin"." Kevin held The Mowgli's and their LP hostage until their campaign goal was met and his ransom could be paid. In October 2011, the band participated in the
Occupy Movement, performing a number of concerts at the Los Angeles City Hall encampment and raising awareness through social media. They had crowds of activists chanting "love's not dead!" and "we are free if we wake up!" and performed with
John Densmore,
NOFX,
Tom Morello,
Danny Glover, The Makepeace Brothers, The Luminaries, Parker Ainsworth, Matthew Schildkret, Eduardo Manilla,
Peter Joseph &
Marianne Williamson. On May 1, 2012, they independently released their debut LP
Sound the Drum. The single "San Francisco" was sent to College Radio, where it peaked only at No. 91 on the CMJ charts. Steven Spoerl of
PopMatters gave the album seven out of 10, calling their music a "delightful blend of summer coastal powerpop and hints of folk-rock" but commenting that the album started to "slow down at the end" and that the band's music might benefit from shorter releases. They embarked on a support tour with
Walk the Moon in October, transitioning into a headline tour of the country with support from American Authors, Royal Teeth, The Rocketboys, X-Ambassadors, Blondfire, Kopecky Family Band, Hunter Hunted. The band recorded a new song "Your Friend" for the Relativity movie
Earth to Echo. The song "Say It, Just Say It" was used in a trailer and as the end titles for the Adam Sandler movie
Blended. A video for "Say It, Just Say It" which featured Bill Nye as the DJ was shot but never finished or released. In February, Michael Vincze announced that he had left the band as of the beginning of 2014 to pursue solo endeavors. Spencer Trent moved to guitar & vocals. The band began a nationwide headlining tour in March 2014, beginning with a San Francisco show and another stint at SXSW. Over the summer they began recording for their 2nd Photo Finish record with producer Tony Hoffer (
Silversun Pickups,
Fitz and the Tantrums). In addition to appearing at Wakarusa, Firefly, Riverfest and Osheaga, the band also headlined two sold-out shows at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in July and performed the National Anthem at AT&T Park in San Francisco before a SF Giants/Diamondbacks game. In August they supported Manchester Orchestra (whom they met at a series of college shows earlier in the year) on a brief tour. Finishing up recording for the new LP, the band embarked on the 7 week Honda Civic nationwide tour with American Authors, Echosmith and Oh Honey.
2014–2015: Kids in Love Returning to Los Angeles, the band recorded an additional couple of songs with Hoffer, as well as working with former collaborators Captain Cuts and Matt Radosevich. During a visit to Kansas City's
96.5 The Buzz, Dieden announced that the new LP would be titled
Kids in Love and played the first song "Through The Dark" on air. The song was subsequently added to rotation on The Buzz,
Sirius XM's AltNation and a handful of other stations. "Through the Dark" was the first single released off of
Kids in Love. After airing on the radio and a select few social media outlets, the song was officially released on iTunes on December 15, 2014.
2019: American Feelings On March 1, 2019, the band released the EP
American Feelings, which included the tracks "Mr. Telephone" and "Norman Rockwell". On May 13, 2019, the band announced that lead singer Colin Dieden would be taking a break from the band to focus on his solo project and would not be a part of the Summer Vacation 2019 tour. Dieden subsequently left the group, signing to REDMusic under the moniker Little Hurt. The 5 remaining original members announced a fall tour with New Politics and Plain White T's.
2020: Dizzyonatightrope Late 2019 saw the release of a simultaneous single and video for "Fighting with Yourself", with vocals by Earl. Its follow up, "Wasting Time" premiered on Forbes Magazine on January 3, 2020, and garnered features on Spotify's New Music Friday worldwide, a record number for the band. The video (which featured a same-sex break up between actors Lucy Walsh and Gina Daidone) was heralded by several LGBTQ publications. The band embarked on their first UK Tour in support of the single. On September 25, 2020, the band released a single entitled "More Love". Along with the release, The Mowgli's announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus. In 2023, Josh Hogan and Katie Jayne Earl had a baby, and on February 10, 2024, the band reunited for a show at The Novo Theater in Los Angeles. == Discography ==