The French Cassettes are in the market for an arcade—at least, that’s what lead vocalist Scott Huerta said when asked what he’s looking forward to most on tour.
“Oh, you know what I’m really looking for? I’m in the market for an arcade. I really wanna go to an arcade. I haven’t found one yet.”
Quips like these that truly capture the band’s essence. They’re laid-back and down-to-earth, and they don’t take themselves more seriously than they need to, yet above all else, they’re here for the music.
Hailing from the small town of Ripon, California, French Cassettes were formed in high school, bonding over their love for music. Huerta originally formed the band with his brother and claimed that he “stole” current guitarist Mackenzie Bunch once he found out Bunch played guitar and liked The Strokes.
The origin of the band’s name perhaps most notably captures the nonchalance that is so emblematically them. According to Huerta, the band sat in a sweltering garage, throwing around potential names until they had to settle on one.
“Eventually it was just too hot, and everyone was too tired. And so I was like, ‘Oh, okay, what about French Cassettes?’ And then someone was like, ‘Okay, but what does it mean?’ And I was like, ‘I just—’ and they almost cut me off. They were like, ‘You know what? I don’t even care. This is—I love it. Let’s all go home. That’s great.’ So, we settled on French Cassettes.”
On a particularly calm Sunday night, Songbyrd Music House wasn’t exactly exploding with noise and energy—but it didn’t need to be. Minutes before the openers came on stage, the crowd was still trickling in, making small talk with the bouncer and bartenders at the bar. Inside, the lights cast a warm glow upon the faces of the audience members, not a commonality in most concert venues. Maybe it was this warmth, or the easygoing atmosphere of the whole scene—there was no high stress, anticipatory tension in the air. Everyone felt like a friend.
Meanwhile, Huerta stood at a small table by the entrance, selling merch and chatting with fans who came up to the table. To him, connecting with fans and venue staff is one of the most important parts of touring. “Everyone’s been nice, which for me, after doing this for a while, that just grows increasingly important,” he says.
The band certainly does their part to maintain that friendly energy on tour—after 18 years of working together, The French Cassettes are masters of having fun up on stage. They’re casual as they amble onto the stage, chatting with one another and mingling with the crowd. At one point during setup, touring bassist Andrew St. James played photographer for some fans at the front of the crowd. The guys are having fun, and that doesn’t stop when they start to play.
They opened their show with “Bee’s Knee,” a song from their 2013 record and first album, Gold Youth. The song’s high energy immediately brought the whole room to life, and as the concert continued, the French Cassettes kept this momentum. They jumped from song to song, blending the old with the new as they played a mixture of their 2020 album Rolodex, singles from recent years, and their most recent album, Benzene (2024). Each song was someone’s favorite, and each introduction was met with cheers. The crowd was swaying, the smiles were contagious,—and although the recordings are by no means lacking— the band’s live performance gave each song new dimension that can’t be felt through a pair of headphones.
The band plays as a truly well-oiled machine. In particular, Huerta and Bunch, who have been playing together since the formation of the band, act as extensions of one another during performance —when Bunch joins Huerta in harmony, their voices click together with ease. Even performing live, when sound is easily obscured, they blend seamlessly, no doubt a product of their long partnership.
Even though Huerta and Bunch have been playing together for nearly two decades, he feels incredibly lucky in that their musical relationship has only grown. “I’ve been playing with him for like 18 years now, so you would think statistically we should be mortal enemies at this point, but we are not. I love him,” he says.
St. James and drummer Rob Mills naturally fall into place alongside Huerta and Bunch. Under the stage lights, it’s clear that the four are one unit; they share the same vibrant spirit and talent that colors the French Cassettes as an artist.
When it comes to the band’s cohesion, that is something Huerta doesn’t take for granted. “Sometimes when there’s core songwriters, like two that have been together for long, the latest members that come in, they’re there and they’re present, but they’re always gonna be on the outskirts because it’s the two-man show. And then they’re just kind of there. That is not the case with this, and I’m really happy about that. Rob and Andrew are drums and bass, respectively. They’re just, like, very much a part of the band as much as me and Mack are a part of the band.”
Even in the face of technical difficulties, the guys worked well together to keep the ball rolling. When, at one point during the show, half the stage’s power cut out, the guys played through it. The audience was blissfully unaware of the band’s technical issues until the song was over, when Bunch stopped the set to handle the problem with Mills. Huerta stepped aside to watch as St. James took center stage to perform a few solo songs and crack a couple of jokes. Keeping the crowd engaged without missing a beat, it took them only a moment to reset.
In unexpected moments like these, the band’s professionalism and charm beam through. The sound issue only took a few minutes out of the show, and the band jumped back into their set so smoothly that it seemed as though they had planned it all along.
The guys finished strong with “Utah,” one of Rolodex’s most popular songs. Accompanied by the song’s recognizable chords and layered harmonies, the band brought the crowd to life one last time. As the song quieted, they thanked the crowd and reminded them to stop by the merch table to chat on their way out. But the crowd wasn’t ready for the show to end. After a minute or two of chanting and anticipation from the crowd, Huerta returned to the stage, guitar in hand, bantering that he couldn’t not hear the chants through the thin curtain separating him from the audience.
Huerta spent a little more time introducing the last song, “Fast Held Hand.” Although it was one of his favorites to create, he originally didn’t plan for it to be on the album. “It was just a day that I took off of work—and just dedicated the whole day. I woke up at, like, 8 a.m. and didn’t stop until, you know, like, midnight or something like that. Just spent all day working on a song with the goal of writing a song. It was just really fun, it kind of reminded me of when I started writing music where you kind of don’t think much of it. There’s no pressure and really all you’re worried about is, like, how easily it’s gonna upload to MySpace or something like that.”
“Fast Held Hand” is different from the rest of the setlist. It’s slower and softer, and it doesn’t require the full ensemble. As Huerta strummed and sang on the otherwise empty stage, the crowd stood still and listened to the story the lyrics told: “And I know that you’re mad / But this isn’t my car / and these stickers are not my opinions / But you found them reason / to follow me all the way back to my exit in Ripon.”
In true French Cassettes fashion, Huerta didn’t assign a deeper meaning to everything; these lyrics, as he explained to the crowd, are literally meant for an angry driver he encountered on the day he wrote the song. Part of the song’s beauty lies in its straightforwardness, and its mellow sound brought the lively night to a close.
The song ended and Huerta took his final bow. He and the rest of the band made good on their promise to stick around and chat, and nearly every single member of the crowd lined up at the merch table.
From the moment the doors opened to the minute the last straggler left, the French Cassettes were charming yet down-to-earth. They delivered a polished, well-balanced show full of personality and good music, taking even their hiccups in stride.
They’ve got it all—well, almost. As they continue touring, the one thing they’re missing is an arcade. And that was Huerta’s final statement to the Voice: “No announcements or anything,” he says about the tour, “Unless you know of an arcade—if anyone knows of an arcade anywhere, just let me know. Holler.”
