It has only been seven months since rock band Garbage has played in Southern California, but the quartet already has a few new tricks up its sleeve. The last time Garbage performed in the area, vocalist Shirley Manson used her magical powers to conjure the clouds and make it sprinkle during the band’s hit song, “Only Happy When It Rains,” off of its 1995 self-titled debut at the Foo Fighters-curated Cal Jan ’18 in San Bernardino.
The majority of last year, Garbage was out on tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of its sophomore album, “Version 2.0,” by playing it in its entirety. The proved a bit of a challenge, Manson said, since the band hadn’t realized just how many ballads were included on the record that spawned more high-energy singles such as “Push It,” “I Think I’m Paranoid,” “Special” and “When I Grow Up.”
This time around, however, Manson said the band members have been diligently building a more interesting set list as they look back through their six-album catalog to shake things up for their 2019 tour, which makes a stop in the band’s current hometown of Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday, May 16.
“What’s really kind of extraordinary is that we’ve survived these eras and we are in such a privileged position,” Manson said during a recent phone chat. “We’re one of the last few remaining bands from that era (the mid-’90s) that have a considerable discography behind us at this point and we have this luxury to pick from a lot of different records with strong songs. We are so grateful for the support that we’ve enjoyed. Sometimes it’s too much … it’s mind-boggling to think about and I can’t believe it to be honest. It’s mad.”
Garbage released its most recent album, “Strange Little Birds,” in 2016 and is currently working on writing a new record. Though “Strange Little Birds” touched on a few more worldly issues, Manson said the band members never go into the studio with an agenda and they’re certainly not a “political band.”
“These are funny times indeed,” she said while mulling over the band’s process of song selection for an album and how they piece it all together. “We just try to come up with great songs, that’s our main dilemma.”
In the past, Manson has described Garbage as a dysfunctional family, and it’s still that way, she insists. Though Manson, guitarist Steve Marker, drummer Butch Vig and guitarist/bassist and keys player Duke Erikson may not always agree or get along perfectly, they’ve stuck together for more than 25 years and when they get on stage there’s an undeniable chemistry that few artists are lucky enough to experience in their career.
That passion and energy is something fans have certainly picked up on and they’ve shown their appreciation to the band in a number of ways whether it’s helping sell out shows, buying merch, creating some pretty elaborate fan art or getting tattoos of Garbage song lyrics.
“I always share fan art because I feel like they deserve to have that acknowledgement,” Manson said of the pieces and photographs sent and given to the band via its social media accounts. “Some of it is unbelievable. There’s so much talent out there. On tour, I get gifts that are quite beautiful and some the fan art is of such a caliber that I can’t part with it, so I collect it in my wardrobe case and when I get home I have all of these incredible paintings of the band, of my dog or of our albums and I didn’t know quite what to do with it all. I started putting them up in my garage. It’s creepy at this point how many there are and I’m thinking ‘Oh my God if someone drives by my garage they’re going to think I’m an absolute ego maniac.’ Maybe I should have an art show.”
She’s often at a loss for words and fighting back tears when fans show her their tattoos.
“I do always ask the same question which is ‘Are you dangerous?’” she said with a laugh. “I understand what an honor that is that someone has taken something I’ve written or that the band has produced and put it on their bodies. It’s a very sobering experience. It’s like getting a gentle slap in the face with a white feather. It’s really quite moving.”
When she’s not on tour, Manson has done a lot of work with Girlschool, a non-profit based in Los Angeles that helps encourage and ensure that women-identified artists follow their passions.
“It’s a wonderful initiative in getting women to be more involved in not just performing music, but in writing music, producing, engineering and editing and also bringing in women who are interested in lighting, design or stage management,” she said. “It’s something that I feel really passionate about in my life. As I’m getting older something that truly burns inside of me is the desire to help other women get to do what I’ve gotten to do, which has been the greatest adventure of my life.”
Garbage
With: Ioanna Gika
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, May 16
Where: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
Tickets: $19.50-$79.50 at AXS.com
