Still Deciding is an energetic punk trio rooted in the Los Angeles scene, formed by longtime friends Stellan (guitar/vocals) and David (bass), and later joined by drummer Jude. Stellan and David first connected in kindergarten, and the seeds of the band were sown after they met a third musician at summer camp in 2023. Their connection to the LA music community runs deep; their early jamming took place in a studio owned by a friend, Glenn, where they would eventually record their debut EP, We Survived for This. The members have a clear dedication to their craft, with Stellan, in particular, having been playing guitar since he was eighteen months old.

The band's music is influenced by their Los Angeles environment, with recent songs like "Smoke" directly addressing local issues such as the raging wildfires and another track focused on the ICE raids. Frontman Stellan noted that the city's significant wealth inequality also shapes his perspective and lyrics. While they cite classic punk bands and LA favorites like Strawberry Fuzz and The Frights as inspiration, the trio defines "punk" less as a specific sound and more as an attitude of freedom of expression and love.

How did you all meet and decide to start a band?

Jude (drums): In 6th grade, Stellan and David decided to start a band and a little while later they asked me to be their drummer.

David (bass): Jude, Stellan and I met in elementary school, we all played percussion in the school band, and were good friends. However, Jude was not the original drummer. Stellan and I went to a summer camp together, and met a kid who, for the purpose of the story will be called Billy and he played guitar. After the camp ended, I was at the mall with Stellan and a few of his friends, as it was his birthday. We ran into Billy, and we formed a band, with Stellan as singer and guitarist, Billy as guitarist, and myself as drummer. At some point, Jude became the drummer, and I became the bassist. Billy left, and left the trio of us as Still Deciding.

Stellan (guitar/vocals): So thinking back to a bit before the band itself, when I was about 1½ I was at my grandma‘s house and there was some old acoustic guitar there and I just kept strumming and strumming and I couldn’t be bothered to eat or anything. So for my second birthday my mom and dad got me a little, cheap, like $35 acoustic guitar. I still have it, by the way. By the time I was about four I was still carrying that guitar everywhere and so my dad and mom thought it would be a good idea to get music lessons for me before I started picking up bad habits, so I started taking lessons with Luis Oliart, who is still my music teacher today. He actually teaches the whole band these days. About a year after COVID hit I started taking songwriting lessons on Zoom with this guy, Bobby Banister who was the singer/rhythm guitarist from a local band called All My friends Hate Me. They had just broken up during the pandemic but their one album was amazing. You should listen to that album. It’s called Metal Butterflies. Anyway, I took songwriting lessons for a couple years and I had all these notebooks full of songs and no one to play them with. At the time I’d known David our bass player since kindergarten and he was just starting in learning drums - and he was picking up the drums incredibly fast - so we started getting together to jam as a two piece. And then at summer camp in 2023 I met this kid (Billy) who’s no longer in the band but he came in as a second guitar and kind of ended up kicking off Still Deciding. You know it was pretty loose for a couple months, but we started getting better and then at some point we were like “we need a bass player” and David decided he wanted to play on the bass so we invited Jude to play drums and that was sort of it. A couple months after that (Billy) washed out and that’s how the lineup has been, you know, ever since.

What’s your favorite song to perform live and why?

Jude: I really like playing our new song (it doesn’t have a title yet) because I enjoy the fills.

David (bass) : Easily “Smoke”. I have a love for complicated bass lines and bass solos, so of course I love “smoke”.

Stellan: “Reality Test” would probably be my favorite because it’s really involved with the guitar and it has a good song structure and the riff is really fun to play.

The opening riff to Reality Test is pretty sick. How did you come up with it?

Jude: Stellan was trying out a groove and David and I jumped in and the song was born.

David: Stellan came up with it sometime before we were a band, somehow remembered it, and we wrote a song around it.

Stellan: So in 2022 I was watching the Super Bowl with David’s family at this guy Glenn‘s house and Glenn had a music studio in his house (Also that would be the recording studio where we eventually recorded the EP. Thank you Glenn for letting us record our EP at your place!) and David and I were just fooling around playing some music and I came up with the riff to Reality Test and we jammed on it for a little bit. It was a fun riff and a good jam but at the time I didn’t fully know how to integrate it into a song - I don’t know why. But I just kind of held onto it for a few years and then I was starting to try and write a song in that key and coming up with some lyrics and I realized that that riff I’d been hanging onto was kind of perfect for it. And then you know … that was that.

What's one thing that always gets you pumped up before a show?

Jude: One thing that gets me pumped before a show is knowing that the audience will enjoy our music and knowing that I will be able to sleep afterwards. Drumming is exhausting!

David: Caffeine!

If you could tour with any band, past or present, who would it be?

Jude: If I could tour with a band, it would be The Gap Band because I like their music, the drum beats are amazing, they’re iconic and I like their groove.

David: That’s a hard one. Probably Green Day. I love the band as a whole, and I’ve heard that the trio is incredibly nice and kind. My favorite song from their catalog is definitely Holiday.

Stellan: Probably The Frights because, for one, when I was 10 they let me sing “Kids” with them on stage at the Roxy. It was great and they were so nice and it kind of was the first sign of like “Oh I can do this! This is something that might not just be for recitals” And two, because I feel like they’re a big enough band that it would definitely help our group in popularity, but not so big that we have the charisma killer of playing to a nearly empty stadium with like 500 people in it - like when you see the opening band at a stadium show and there’s so few people there it feels like you’re watching a sound check. But I guess if we could open up for a huge band and and have it be a good show where people actually show up for the opening band, it might be Metallica just cause they put on a great show and my dad would probably like to hang out with Kirk Hammett and talk about horror movies. I feel like even though we’re not a metal band, It’s close enough. It wouldn’t be like opening for Taylor Swift “Hi, here’s punk music!” you know?

Stellan, guitar and vocals. Photo credit: Nancy Soriano-Villa

How does being from Los Angeles influence your music and your lyrics?

Jude: I was born in NYC and moved to Los Angeles when I was 3 years old. But riding around the car with my mom, we listened to a lot of hip hop, soul, latin music and rock. I would say that the combination of these genres started my love of drums and beats.

David: Smoke was about the wildfires that raged through L.A. in January. Our newest song is about the ICE raids. Themes from real life occasionally make their way into our lyrics, but not every song. Stellan is probably better informed than I am about the lyrics.

Stellan: So being from Los Angeles mainly has influenced my lyrics this year ‘cause we’ve had both the wildfires in January and the ICE raids that are still going on and we have a new song talking about the ICE raids and then “Smoke” about the fires. So those are specifically “LA” songs but in general, I mean, the wealth inequality is pretty big around here. Like every month I go feed the homeless at North Hollywood Park but then also I go to music lessons with some celebrities’ kids. So seeing that has influenced my perspective. Also, there’s a lot more access to punk music in Los Angeles and a lot more punk scenes than say, if we lived somewhere in like Kentucky. So, it makes it easier to be an LA punk band, where there’s this wealth of history behind everything. Of course after this when we’re editing these questions, I’m gonna discover that Kentucky has a huge punk scene and I was completely wrong. lol (editor’s note: Southeastern Kentucky is our second home. There’s nothing).

Okay, what’s the best music venue in LA and why?

Jude: The best music venue in LA is SoFi Stadium. The sound is amazing and when I went backstage with my uncle, I realized you get a private chef!

Stellan: That really depends because if you’re seeing a bigger artist or even like some sort of mellow folk show or something like that, or jazz - or even like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard played there recently - The Hollywood Bowl is amazing. But if you want to go see a small to mid-sized touring band play, I think The Observatory in Santa Ana is really great. In LA proper The Regent is also awesome ‘cause it’s got this staircase near the back with a great view if you’re short. Plus there’s some sentimental attachment to that place because a few months after The Frights thing at The Roxy another band called Skegss called me on stage at The Regent to play their songs “New York, California” and “Valhalla” with them. And I did my first stage dive at that show. That was amazing. So maybe Hollywood Bowl for big shows and The Regent for smaller shows. For runners up, I really like The Teragram Ballroom. It’s just got a really cool vibe in there and even though there aren’t any stairs or anything you can view the stage pretty well from most angles. The Fonda and The Palladium are great. They’ve got good views and good architecture - especially The Fonda. It’s got really cool architecture and design. The Palladium is good for slightly bigger shows ‘cause you know you’re not gonna catch a smaller band playing at the Palladium but it’s also not a stadium. So those are some favorite venues to go see a show.

But my favorite venue to play at so far is easily Hotel Ziggy on Sunset strip. It’s got really good sound - which not all venues have - and they aren’t a bunch of couches like 10 feet away from the stage, so everyone watching is standing right in front of you. Whereas I feel like in some other venues we’ve played, if there are seats and bar tables fairly near the stage, then everyone’s gonna be sitting down. And when you’re a punk band, everyone just kind of sitting down and nodding their head is a little is less appealing than people standing up and having a good time.

David, bass. Photo credit” Terrell Tangonian

What's the weirdest place you've ever practiced or played?

David: Never been played anywhere weird. I guess Jude’s garage? It has a lot of workout gear, so playing around that is a little tough.

Jude: The weirdest place I’ve played was the Redwood Bar & Grill. They were missing a lot of drum pieces and everything was sticky.

Stellan: The Redwood is actually awesome. It’s a pirate themed punk bar in Downtown LA. We’re maybe going to play there again in December. But I guess maybe we need to bring some wipes for the drums. I didn’t know they were sticky!

Who’s your favorite local band in the LA punk scene right now?

David: Strawberry Fuzz are kinda friends. I’ve only seen them once but they were good, and Stellan has performed with them. Lots of energy and passion, and very…. fanatical fans.

Stellan: So, in like the top tier would probably be Strawberry Fuzz, Sad Park, Liily and Slaughterhouse. They all put on really good shows and feel like… like they’re local but they feel like they’re all going somewhere. Opening on national tours. Then in terms of local bands that are a bit smaller but we still kinda wanna do something with, I think Gottlieb and Sleeper Cell. Both make great music. We actually were in contact with the one of the guys from Gottlieb for a while so I hope we can get that going again.

What does punk mean to you?

Jude: Punk is a style of music that expresses a rebellious and ‘fight the power’ vibe. It means freedom of expression to me.

David: Just playing with your heart and having fun. It definitely sounds cliche but it’s the truest definition I can think of.

Stellan: That’s tough. It really depends on the context. In the beginning punk was really just a bunch of normal people trying to get into a band and play fast and be rebellious. The sound was simple and raw and that’s just what the genre of punk was. But now it’s honestly more of an attitude - and despite what people think it’s more of a attitude of love than anything. But like there’s so many different sounds in punk these days you can’t say “this is what punk sounds like” I mean, like, this is funny cause it’s the same band but Turnstile on their first album and Turnstile on the newest album sound like two completely different bands. Viagra Boys don’t sound anything like The Ramones but both are punk. So it’s more of an attitude than one specific sound nowadays. Especially because it’s been around for a while, so over the years punk is branching off into different genres, so like surf punk or pop punk or hardcore don’t sound anything alike. So, yeah, I think it’s it is more of an attitude of like “the only thing we don’t accept is people who aren’t gonna accept others”.

What message do you want people to take away from your music?

Jude: I hope people enjoy our music and it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how old you are, you can find people you vibe with and create great things.

David: Just have fun. Life can get in the way, but work around it.

Stellan: One of the main messages is to keep going and not giving up on your life just because of some random anxiety from somewhere. A lot of the lyrics sort of deal with mental health. “Reality Test” is one about confronting denial and then “Don’t Give Up” is one about not giving up, but I mean that one’s pretty obvious. LOL. A lot of the songs on the EP were written about struggling with life during COVID lockdown and what that was like. We have two new songs we haven’t recorded yet that are kind of more about LA and a couple things that have been going on here recently. But for a lot of it is kind of about confronting anxiety and denial during hard times.

Jude, drums. Photo credit: Nancy Soriano-Villa

What is the coolest thing that’s happened to your band since you started?

Jude: I think this interview is one of the coolest things to happen to the band! (editor’s note: awesome!) However, my personal favorite experience was someone asking me for a picture with them.

David: We’ve found a good community of other bands. There’s an official title for the group of bands, but I don’t know it. Some of the bands include Sister Sister, The Sweet Unknown, and Asian Death Stare. Or the release of our E.P. “We Survived for This”.

Stellan: I would have to say when we got Zac Carper from FIDLAR to mix our EP. Like I know it was just a couple hours work but that was kind of surreal getting emails from him and I got to do a full hour zoom call with him. And the fact that we’re booking shows pretty regularly.

Do you ever get stage fright and if so, how do you deal with it?

Jude: I get stage fright before every show but I just tell myself that we’ve done great at every show and this one is no different. It also helps that I get to hide behind a huge drum set.

David: I used to get stage fright, but after playing a bunch of low risk shows, I’ve mostly worked it out. I do have pre-show rituals.I refuse to play bass the day of a show, because I get a lot of blisters. So there are two things I do. I play drums, just getting stress, nerves, and all the bad stuff out of my system. I also listen to music. I just listen to whatever I’m in the mood for which can range from metal to K-pop. This past show, I’ve been listening to power covers, pop songs turned metal.

Stellan: So I started performing musically when I was like five at recitals and stuff or the drum circle at Remo (Drum Center) when I was 3 I think and I always loved performing. So, I didn’t get stage fright up until 2020/2021 and then I forgot how to perform on stage because I’d been stuck inside at home for a year, so playing in front of people all of a sudden felt “Aaahhhh!”. But then by the time mid-2022 rolled around it all came back and so I feel like it’s normally more excitement than nerves, nowadays

What’s the next big goal for Still Deciding?

Jude: Our next big goal is to record our first full album.

David: I would like to just continue playing. Hopefully play with a bigger band and later become a headliner.

Stellan: Opening for Strawberry Fuzz, I think. So for a while now I’ve kind of been friendly with Strawberry Fuzz, which is a pretty big LA band out of Venice Beach. We met at a music festival of a few years back and then I got to play their song “Dropout” with them at the The Teragram Ballroom. Nothing‘s been confirmed yet other than a text saying they’re trying to find something in their schedule where we could open for them. It may be a while but Kris, the guitar player, said that he was like “1000% sure” it’s going to gonna happen, so that sounds like pretty good odds. Something will happen eventually. So that’s probably the next goal for the band. That and recording the two new songs… and eventually an album.

What advice would you give to other young musicians who want to start a band?

David: Just do it. If you want to, do it. There is nothing that will improve your musicality like playing with other musicians.

Stellan: Avoid sports players. Any sports players, that’s a “no go” because every time, if there’s if there’s a sports player in your band, you’ll be like “all right let’s practice” Nope. Sports practice. You want to find people who are dedicated to the band and to have that be their thing, rather than trying to schedule behind three soccer practices every week and three baseball practices.

What do you want to be when you grow up (besides rockstars)?

Jude: I have always wanted to be an architect and even though I love playing music, my goal is to open an architecture firm with my cousin.

David: Ah the infamous question. I would love to work in political science, possibly as a foreign analyst. Political science is just a field I find fascinating, and I would love to go into that area of expertise.

Stellan: As a back up job I was thinking engineering - I used to want to design roller coasters - but honestly, even if it’s not being a rockstar, I’d like to find some sort of job in the field of music.

Anyone you’d like to thank for their support?

Jude: I would like to thank my parents, my drum teachers Luis Oliart and Jaron Takach and my Uncle Leo for always helping me with my music

David: Our parents. All of our parents have been supportive, especially our dads. All of our dads have an unofficial job; Jude’s dad is roadie, Stellan’s is head of marketing, and mine is tech support. Without them we wouldn’t have gotten any gigs done.

Stellan: Dad and Mom for sure, for supporting the band. Also knifetwister records for giving us our first interview - that’s fun! Thanks to The Frights, Skegss and Strawberry Fuzz for bringing me on stage to play songs with them and kind of making me believe I could do this. And Zac Carper thank you again for mixing our EP. I want to thank the other two band member members and also my music teacher Luis Oliart and my old songwriting teacher, Bobby Banister. I think that’s it. No one else! No one else gets a thank you from me! lol

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