In our California Future issue we spoke of Rex Osterkamp driving the West Coast and playing shows with all the freedom of a new generation; a generation who are uploading their music online and booking their own gigs with total independence. Rexx, to give him his artist name, still does that except now he’s got a full-band in tow – a neat reverse twist on the rock myth of breaking up and going solo.

With two albums under his belt, My New Punk Rock Life and My Last Moment of Teenage Angst, Rexx has just unleashed his third longplayer, Death, and Other Ways to be Artsy, recorded with the group. That means live drums on most tracks as well as a special collaboration with his friend Jonny Payne, who imagined the previous releases’ artwork and records dreamy synth sounds as Lumina.

You’ll recognise Osterkamp from the Saint Laurent summer 14 campaign where he’s moonlighting as an exclusive model. We dropped him a line to talk sonic evolution.

Dean Mayo Davies: How long have you been playing with your band and what inspired you to make the change?
Rex Osterkamp: I’ve been playing with my band probably for about 5 months now. I was always a little unhappy with the energy of my live performances when I was playing shows by myself. So I guess I just thought it was the right time for a change.

The band is myself, Trevin Welty plays guitar. I’ve grown up with him pretty much since birth. We’re super good buddies, so it really worked out well that he was in the band. And then Grant Teel plays drums. Oddly enough, I sing about Downtown Orange quite often in my songs, and that’s where I met Grant. I was sitting on a bench, and he just came up and sat next to me and we got to talking. And then James DeGraw, who I met through Grant, plays bass.

We actually recorded the new album in my friend’s living room. So for me at least, it was quite an easy transition. I’ve always recorded my albums in my bedroom. So it wasn’t that foreign for me to record this new album inside his apartment.

Well, when the band formed, I was still contemplating recording the albums by myself, because the band was still so new, and the whole sound was still going through changes. But once we really figured out what we sounded like as a band, the whole energy of the songs changed. I really wanted the new album to reflect that energy. So, I would say yes, having the band has definitely evolved the sound further. And I think it’s going to keep evolving as well.

DMD: What’s the best thing about having bandmates?
RO: I think mostly just not being by myself all the time. Before the band came around, I would practice by myself, drive to shows by myself, hang out by myself at the shows. I like hanging out with the guys.

DMD: You work quite quickly but have taken a bit more time over this record. How did that feel?
RO: I felt good about it. The other two albums, in retrospect, seemed a little rushed to me. I couldn’t be more happy about this album.

DMD: What can we expect from the album Death, and Other Ways to be Artsy? Any favourite moments?
RO: My song Guts always makes me laugh: “I quit my job to be in a band. But shit, I kind of needed that job.” I think the musical influences were all pretty much the same for this album as far as the songwriting goes. There were some outside influences that I think shaped the content of the songs. I think my songs are always going to have that hint of romantic hopelessness, but I feel this album is a little bit more optimistic.

DMD: Any dream venues you’d like to play?
RO: I would like to play a show in the Pokemon Universe. Maybe some sort of generator show in the Viridian Forrest.

Visit Rexx’s Bandcamp and follow him on Facebook and YouTube