Winnetka Bowling League Share 'This Is Life' Feat. Medium Build & Dawes

Los Angeles trio Winnetka Bowling League released their debut album Sha La La last month via Local Weather/ MDDN Records and now, give us another taste of their nostalgic pop sound with “This Is Life” featuring friends Medium Build and Dawes. WBL’s Frontman Matthew Koma is never one to pass up an opportunity to inject humor into both his art and life in general and the story of how this song came to life is no exception:  

“There was this song going kind of viral on TikTok called ‘Rectangular’ and it was at the same time I started seeing videos of Medium Build / Nick in his signature shorts / dangling earring / swooning the internet with his passionate and relatable observations on the weird life experience,” Matthew Koma says. “I was poking a little fun when I posted a Tiktok dressed as Nick, performing ‘Rectangular’, and we became fast internet buddies. On his next trip to LA we hung out at my studio and he noticed the Dawes poster on my wall....we bonded over our extreme fandom of Dawes and Taylor's songwriting. I sent Taylor some of Medium Build's music and he loved it, weeks later covering his song ‘In My Room’ at a show where Nick was in attendance. I had started a little nugget of a first verse with ‘This Is Life’ and sent it to our group chat seeing if they'd be down to complete the love circle with a musical gesture and, lucky for me, they were down. Taylor is our hero and I can't (but will) speak for Nick when I say this is one of the coolest moments of our lives to be on a song with him.”

Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith says: “There’s a Joan Didion quote from her novel ‘The Last Thing He Wanted’ that hit me hard enough to take up permanent residence in my notebook: ‘When I look back on what happened I see mainly fragments, flashes, a momentary phantasmagoria in which everyone focused on some different aspect and nobody at all saw the whole.’ It’s how most of life seems to feel all of the time. And Matt nailed it when he wrote that first verse of “This Is Life.” It’s an ambitious title, and he fully delivered on the premise. To be invited to be a part of it was a blast and an honor. I was quickly becoming a massive Medium Build fan when Matt told me what he had in mind for the song, but once I got to hear what Nick contributed I realized he’s a real motherfer of a writer. In my experience, it’s not always easy to sink into someone else’s vision for a tune and he did it as truthfully and elegantly as anyone possibly could. I was just painting with the colors that the song provided. While writing it, I didn’t know it would end up as the last verse though. So that was pretty cool. I’m just really proud people are gonna see Dawes’s name next to these other two for a song like this.

Medium Build says: When I first met Matt from WBL we gushed about Taylor from Dawes. He told me they were friends. I didn’t believe him until he got me free Dawes tickets. Then he sent me this song and said me and Taylor were gonna write on it. I didn’t believe him but here we are. Point is yall should believe Matt Koma. This song fing rocks.

“This Is Life” follows Winnetka Bowling League’s new record Sha La La, a document of Koma’s rediscovering what he loves about music; a back-to-basics and grounded release that finds him taking risks while being in conversation with his younger self.  Later this summer, the band will appear on the Alternative Press’ cover, interviewed by “another modern pop culture icon of irreverence” Joe Exotic, and spoke to the publication’s podcast series Artist Friendly w/ Joel Madden about the album and upcoming tour. 

In between trolling the cast of Love is Blind while high on valium post-vasectomy, online feuding with Candace Cameron Bure and trying to get Tiger King out of jail, Koma, along with his bandmates Kris Mazzarisi (his brother), and Sam Beresford penned Sha La La ten transportive tracks, exploring masterful melody-making, sardonic lyrical specificity, and a profound sense of rock’n’roll timelessness. 

This summer Winnetka Bowling League will hit the road for a North American tour playing songs off Sha La La and other fan-favorites from their previous numerous EPs and singles. The dates kick off June 25 in Seattle, WA and end in New York City at The Bowery Ballroom on July 23 They will make a stop at the iconic Troubadour in Los Angeles for a sold-out show on June 29. Reflecting frontman Koma’s inner world that collides comedy with music, buzzy stand-up comedian Veronika Slowikowska will support the New York show, Caroline Baniewicz will support in Chicago, and Stef Dag in Los Angeles. Indie up-and-comer Emi Grace will kick off the night on the West Coast, and Akira Galaxy in the east. In September Winnetka Bowling League will head back out on tour as the direct support for Mother Mother. Tickets for all shows are on-sale now and available here.  

Photo credit: Paige Sara 

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