Richie Follin
Richie James Follin is an American musician, writer, actor, and filmmaker. He is known for his work with The Willowz, Guards, Cults, CRX, Follin, and his solo music and film projects.
Early life
Richie James Follin moved frequently as a child, living in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange County, and attended art school in Italy for high school. Follin grew up going to acting auditions as a child where he would frequently change the characters dialogue leading him to eventually pursue screenwriting. Follin grew up attending Catholic and Christian schools. At age 12, he picked up guitar after attending Lollapalooza 1996, to see his stepfather Paul Kostabi perform with the group Psychotica. Later, witnessing Kostabi record with Dee Dee Ramone inspired Follin to begin writing music in his teens. As a teenager, he worked for his uncle Mark Kostabi, taking large-format photographs of artworks and stretching canvases in his art studio "Kostabi World".Career
The Willowz
The Willowz are a garage punk rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 2002 by Richie James Follin and Jessica Reynoza. The first drummer was the drummer for GG Allin and the Murder Junkies. The band has toured worldwide and released four studio albums, blending punk, garage rock, soul, folk, and power pop.Their debut 7-inch appeared on Posh Boy Records in 2002, followed by a self-titled album in 2003 produced by Paul Kostabi and Follin. Filmmaker Michel Gondry featured their songs in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, directed the video for “I Wonder,” and introduced the band to XL Records.
The second album, Talk in Circles, was named one of Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums of the year. The Willowz garnered critical acclaim from Spin, Nylon, Rolling Stone, and The Village Voice, and their music has been embraced by skateboarders. Subsequent albums—Chautauqua and Everyone —explored dream punk, heavier guitar riffs, and power pop, with songs featured in commercials, HBO spots, and the Netflix documentary I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.
Guards
Guards is an American rock band formed by Richie Follin, later joined by Loren Humphrey and Kaylie Church. The band released their debut EP in 2010 and their first full-length album, In Guards We Trust, in 2013.Guards has received critical acclaim from NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Pitchfork, NME, Stereogum, and The Los Angeles Times. Their songs have achieved widespread recognition: **“Silver Lining”** is the official Big Ten theme song, beloved by college football fans, while **“I Know It’s You”** was featured in the FIFA 14 video game. Guards’ energetic sound has resonated with skateboarders, and a Guards music video was the first-ever video sent to Snapchat users, made specifically for the platform.
The band has toured worldwide, opening for acts such as Queens of the Stone Age, MGMT, Two Door Cinema Club, and Palma Violets, and has played festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Primavera Sound. Guards released their second album, Modern Hymns, in 2019, and are preparing a new album serving as the soundtrack to Richie Follin’s film Crystal Cross.