Bumper Sticker Writing: Feature Interview with Ken Park

Liam Creamer’s project, Ken Park, released their debut self-titled EP on February 26.

Liam Creamer is ready for his “hopeful 20s.” After writing and recording his debut EP as Ken Park over the past six years, he’s leaving his “moody teenager” era behind.

Writing the EP began deep in Liam’s teenage years, with “Sleep Paralysis.” A very different time for everyone, and Liam—a kid from San Diego who loved surfing but not surf rock. So, he did what many Gen Z kids did in need of some musical direction: he listened to the all-stars of every 2010s indie playlist. Writing one track of the EP a year, Liam let influences like Mac DeMarco, Phoebe Bridgers, and Big Thief gradually sculpt his sound.

Discovering contemporary songwriters was only half of what it meant to be a musician for Liam – he also needed a change of scenery. Rather than moving up the freeway to LA, Liam flipped coasts and learned the ropes of writing and recording in Brooklyn. Now, he’s on the rise in NYC. Since the EP’s release, he’s played New Colossus Fest, Baby’s All Right, and other landmark venues on the road to Brooklyn royalty. 

For Liam, the release of Ken Park isn’t entirely a relief or a reward, but a reminder to keep writing. On the EP, he wrote and recorded simultaneously, and now, he’s opting for a traditional approach. He won’t think about recording a song until the music has legs. Luckily for Liam, there’s no better time for creating than springtime in New York, and he knows it too: “New York has always had the intensity for a creative mind, depending on how you go about it, because it can totally swallow you whole,” he said.

A month after releasing his debut, Liam and I spoke about the meaning behind his band name, recording on GarageBand, and the New York indie scene.

Sam: Your debut EP has been out for a few weeks. How does it feel to hear everyone’s reactions?

Liam: I’m pleasantly surprised because half the songs were recorded with an iPhone or MacBook mic, and you can hear it. The EP was me learning how to write and finding what I like, and I was so ready to get it out and look forward to the new stuff that I’m very excited about. That made me pleasantly surprised me with how it’s doing, just because I’ve grown a lot as a songwriter from this EP.

How long have these songs been in the tank?

The first one was six years ago, and the last one I recorded last year. So each song has its year, in that span of six years.

Which was the first?

“Sleep Paralysis” and the last was “Dragonfly.”

Did “Sleep Paralysis” change in those six years?

It stayed exactly the same. It’s funny because I’m kind of going back to the “Sleep Paralysis” era. I will never write that song again. I don’t think there will be one much like it. I’ll just say that one really stood the test of time for me. Like, I can still listen to and be like, “Wow, I did that.”

Did you think people would latch onto the track and see it as your sound?

I didn’t really think about people seeing it as my sound, but I knew it would do well because when I sent around the demo link, that was the one that people were like, “Holy shit.” I really just enjoyed listening to it, and it did its job in bringing me back to the space I was in when I wrote it. 

What’s your current favorite on the EP?

It’s between “Crawl” and “Sleep Paralysis.” With “Crawl,” I’m telling a full story, and I like how my voice sounds in it, so it’s an easy listen for me. It also has the vocal processing that I’d like to use in the future.

Tell me a little bit about what’s next after the EP?

Firstly, less moody teenager, and more hopeful 20s. Sound-wise, I feel like it’s a really good mix of a lot of stuff. The big difference now is that I’m not writing while I’m producing. 

I’ll write a song on the guitar and let it marinate for months before I go and seriously record it. There’s no sacrifice between the writing and how it sounds, because I have fully separated writing and recording.

What was the process on the debut?

Everything was me writing a line, then recording it, writing another line, then recording it. All of these songs were done in a day. And that’s what added a lot to the sound of me being lazy with recording.

Will the new material still have the grainy, lo-fi texture of the EP?

Yeah, I don’t want to lose that, and that’s why I’m continuing to record stuff in my bedroom. My philosophy is that there’s still an identity to be formed in that, before I take it into an actual studio. I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t know anything. I’m just trying to have fun, and feel like how it felt on GarageBand when I was 12. 

When you write, do you have specific times for writing, or is it done through random observations?

Yeah, definitely observations. I will show you [shows notebook]. It’s just pages full of mumbo jumbo.

I call it “bumper sticker writing.” It’s not even poetry. I’ll just write a line that makes me feel something, or it makes me laugh, and maybe it’ll be used in the future.

I really like that, it’s so important to be aware of the humor and the silliness of life.

Exactly. That’s the “hopeful 20s” thing I’m going for now. It’s like, “What is the funniest way I can say this fucked up line?”

The EP has a great balance of light and dark-feeling songs. What went into the process of finding the harmony between the two?

Where I was, and how I wanted to make that come to life, was really just me being pissed off that I’m not where I was a couple of years ago. I was constantly surrounded by friends and way too happy. And I’m happy to say I’m kind of there again, but yeah, I guess from graduating high school till, like, when the EP was finished, I was mourning, hopeful, and nostalgic. I hope I translated that in the music. 

You mentioned “hopeful 20s” is the goal, are you keeping the mourning, hopeful, and nostalgic feelings, or is it a whole new mindset?

Both. The last song I wrote was going for a really classic vibe, and I ended up writing my first breakup song, even though I haven’t been in one in a very long time. I’m just kind of going about it like, “What song do I want to listen to?” Instead of going to a streaming platform and finding a song to listen to, I’d rather write it.

I want to talk influences, going back to your GarageBand days, who were the bands growing up that were on all the time?

I was a die-hard Foo Fighters fan in elementary school. Later in elementary school, I was listening to a lot of Avenged Sevenfold, and I would be on GarageBand trying to make these metalcore tracks when I was 10.

In high school, I listened to a lot of neo-soul and produced it for other people. The bridge back into indie rock was Mild High Club and Mac DeMarco [laughs].

I feel like they’re the bridge for so many people.

I like to be aware of the chords that I’m using because of that. 

Late high school is when I started branching out, because I had friends who were showing me very cool music, and that was very singer-songwriter stuff, and that’s when lyrics came into play. And I was like, “Oh, this entire other world exists that is songwriting.”

Who were those artists?

Adrianne Lenker and Phoebe Bridgers. 

My Bloody Valentine also came in at that time, and also Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, all my life, of course, yeah, yeah. I should also definitely include 60s music, like Woodstock-era stuff. For example, Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys is one of my top albums.

It doesn’t really get better than that.

Yeah, and recently, I’ve had a lot of George Harrison solo stuff playing. But I think my most listened-to song right now is “Going Up the Country” by Canned Heat.

You’re based in Brooklyn, and I don’t want to say New York rock is having a moment right now, but it does feel like there is some extra excitement going around. What are your thoughts on all the buzz on NYC rock?

I think the community is very strong, and don’t get me wrong, it’s clique-y, but I think it’s coming from a place of people genuinely making what they want instead of trying to regurgitate, and that’s very special. New York has always had the intensity for a creative mind, depending on how you go about it, because it can totally swallow you whole.

The community is very strong in terms of members of the band having friends to come to the show, and the music being genuinely good.

That’s what matters, the music being good.

 100%. And even if it’s not the most pushing boundaries kind of music. There’s still so much out there that people are singing along to, and that is awesome. 

When you play live, is it just the EP? Are you doing covers or unreleased stuff?

Honestly, a lot of unreleased stuff. A lot of songs that are marinating. There are some I would like to stop at some point and rewrite. But, a third of it is EP or half sometimes, and the rest is all new stuff. And the last cover we did was “Devil Town” by Daniel Johnston, more in the vein of Bright Eyes.

Are there covers that you want to play?

“All The Small Things” by Blink-182. And another song I’d like to cover is “Last You Heard Of Me” by Joyce Manor. 

What is the background behind the name Ken Park?

It was a movie that I watched when I was too young to watch it. I didn’t even finish it. It’s just that the name rang in my head. I watched the movie because of the name. I was like, “Oh, this looks really interesting. And the cover is someone skating.” I was skating a lot at the time, so just yeah, it rang in my head, and I was sitting in a circle with my friends, and I was stressed out about finding a band name, and at the at the time, I wasn’t sure if the band was going to be band or just me, which kind of influenced me into the name. 

I did watch the movie fully, after naming it, like months after, and I was like, “What the fuck.” It’s directed by Larry Clark, who makes very, very messed-up movies. Like really, really dark themes, which is why I’m like, “Oh, I don’t identify with the movie at all.”

Now I’m just praying that the name, the Ken Park band, will be bigger than the movie. 

This interview has been condensed and edited from a longer conversation.

Ken Park’s debut self-titled EP is available now, listen here. Find more about Ken Park, here.