The Happy Fits

After weathering lineup changes and the general whirlwind that comes with being an independent band on the rise, the New Jersey trio has found its footing again—this time as a four-piece. Calvin Langman and Luke Davis have been steering The Happy Fits for nearly a decade, but the addition of guitarist Raina Mullen and bassist Nico Rose has turned that steady momentum into a full-on surge.

Currently on a massive 50-date headlining tour through North America, The Happy Fits are experiencing the learning curve as they support a compelling new album, Lovesick. We sat down with the now-quartet to talk about the swirl of change for all parties involved and what ownership of the music looks like on this side of things.

Analogue: When I was reading everything happening with the band, I thought of a snow globe, where it just felt like everything's shaken up, everything's swirling around, and that's could be beautiful to look at. It could also be too much. Just curious if it even feels like a swirl for you all? Is it normal?

Calvin Langman: I think that it still feels really swirly and frenzy-like. I also think it's always felt like that. We're an independent band, and I think any independent band can relate to always having to hustle and never really having a complete sense of security. I think you get little moments of relief when you get to play a really big show and you can physically feel and hear all of your hard work paying off. I think it's more frenzy than ever, honestly. But I think we all live for the frenzy.

Analogue: Even beyond the activity of album release and major tours, you’ve also got major personnel shifts. How much of that still feels like the swirl?

Luke Davis: Like Cal said, there’s still that frenzy, but things also felt pretty clear the first time that we played together. The chemistry was already there. It's like there's a part of that comfort, even in the chaos, that it's like, ‘Okay, I know these people will be able to do it.’ Also, the support that they carry themselves with and how we lift each other up is tenfold what it used to be. I find peace in that for sure.

Analogue: I love that. I love that you referenced that first set together. Can you take me there?

Luke: I took a break when they started playing to get sober, so the first show I had with them was in Mexico City at Corona Capital Fest. We were playing to thousands of people. That was probably one of the best times I ever had. That was my first one together with this new iteration and how it went.

Nico Rose: Raina and I joined The Happy Fits for a fall tour while Luke was working his stuff out. We ended up touring, and we weren't official members of the band, but we knew the whole set. When Luke came back, we were so excited to play with him. Everything did feel really natural. It was at that Corona Capital set. It was nerve-wracking. The stage manager was yelling the entire time. It was one of the most chaotic festival sets I think I've ever been in. They're just like, ‘Go!’

But we went, and it felt so natural, especially all of us being established in the band at that point. Not only was that our first set with Luke, but I think that was mine and Reina's first set as members of The Happy Fits. It's a different feeling going from a tour where we were supporting the band and supporting Calvin. That was really the first feel of it. Personally, it felt so empowering and magical. I felt like, ‘Okay, I know who I can be in this band!’

Raina Mullen: That definitely felt like a kismet kind of show where we could finally come together and enjoy it all.

Analogue: What's ownership like in something that's already established? Is it weird to claim some ownership in that way?

Raina: It's interesting because we’d been in bands previous to this that were kind of our own projects, so coming into something that has its own fan base already, it’s like, ‘Oh, we didn't help build this.’ It felt a little weird at first but making this record together felt very collaborative. I feel confident in the place that I have in this project, just based on what this record is, because this record is really fun. I feel like part of my heart's in it, like everybody else, and it was just such a really great experience.

Nico: Coming into this project, we were curious what it could look like. Bouncing off what Reina said, the recording process of this album is when I felt like ‘Okay, I am truly a part of this.’ My flavors are all over the album, and it was really collaborative. Calvin did such a great job of that as the primary songwriter.

Luke: I want to add one quick thing. As Cal and I built this over the past eight years, Nico and Reina have also worked so hard in their own way to be the best they can be, so when we all came together, it almost felt like a supergroup in a way. It just felt like a melding of the minds when we all got together.

Analogue: Can you tell me about that ownership process in the live show?

Nico: I definitely think it's a growing process. That first show that I was talking about, where I really felt myself on stage and who I could be in this group, was part one. I’m looking at this upcoming tour as, ‘How am I gonna present myself in this even more? What can I provide for this band to help push it in the best way possible?’ It definitely is something I think about a lot. I'm like, ‘Oh, how is this song gonna take over me?’ It makes me excited to think about.

Raina: With the tunes that are not on the new album, I feel like I was able to explore a different part of my performing self in a way where I could have a little bit more fun on stage, because I was a little less precious about the material itself. It wasn't directly from me and that was an interesting experience because that's not been the case previously.

So I have been able to find different parts of myself within this material as we've gone through different tours. But I feel like this next tour is really going to be where all of us shine together as like the group and as individuals and feel the most comfortable on stage because we're really a part of it now. That was really established over the creation of this record and our practices for the shows we have coming up.

It’s still a learning process of how everyone works and goes about rehearsing and making decisions. Every day, I'm still learning how to function as a group, but it’s definitely like the most positive music band situation I've been in. [Laughs]

Luke: It's really exciting to hear old songs that we've played for eight years—hundreds maybe even thousands of times—with Raina and Nico. It's such a fresh new feel to it that's exciting yet still sounds like the previous work. It's super inspiring. There were some songs where I could kind of zone out because I’d played them a million times, but now, they're here and it's exciting. It keeps me engaged.

Analogue: Calvin, did you know The Happy Fits would weather the changes all along?

Calvin: I never thought throughout the change that it was going to be the end of The Happy Fits. This is just everything I've ever wanted to do since I was really, really young. Writing music and being able to perform original music in front of an audience is just something that is so core to who I am. All the past Happy Fits music, it's kind of like a diary of my life in many ways, so if anything, I was like, ‘This isn't the end. This is just extra fodder for what is about to come.’ I'm a big believer that without stress, you can't grow, so throughout all the stress I was experiencing and Luke too, in the back of my head, I knew that we were going to end up better because of it, even if it was a lot in the moment.

Analogue: With the changes, was there any worry about fans going along on this ride with you?

Calvin: One hundred percent. I think we're always like, ‘What are the fans gonna think?’ That’s human nature. I also feel like we became especially close to our fans during the pandemic. We posted a weekly livestream show, and we got really close with our fans that way. That is one of the things that helped see us through that really rough time. It was tough to be in any industry but especially the music industry when we couldn't tour.

So there was this parasocial relationship between us and our fans, and I think the way we navigated everything that happened was the best that we could have done. I can’t imagine how we could have been more open with everyone. There's always gonna be a contrarian or someone who doesn't agree with the way you did something. That’s just the world we live in, but it was mostly positive.

Luke: Yeah, 99% positivity.

VISIT: The Happy Fits

Photo: Anna Koblish