TACOMA, Wash. — Just days before they went on tour to promote their debut album, "Save The Baby," Enumclaw, the band that boldly claims to be "the best band since Oasis," gave us a tour of their hometown.
"Why should we show off Tacoma?" asked bass player Eli Edwards. "Because we're from here and we're sick, so Tacoma is sick."
"Yeah," his brother, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aramis Johnson, agreed. "I got a lot of pride to be doing what we're doing and to be from Tacoma."
The band came together in the summer of 2019, bonding over a shared love for 90s rock.
First stop: the streetwear boutique ETC where front man Aramis Johnson once interned.
"ETC is a special spot for me just because it was the first experience that I ever had in my life where I could see somebody who looked like me doing some stuff that I wanted to do," Johnson said.
"They are a cool place," drummer Ladaniel Gipson agreed. "Nice clothes."
At ETC, almost every item of clothing has a limited run so they're all considered collectible by the store's fans.
"They're real fixtures in the community and in my life especially," Johnson said.
One of the band's favorite places to hang out is Wright Park in the afternoon. There's almost always a game going on.
"It's just like a beautiful place to come and chill out," lead guitarist Nathan Cornell said.
"I spent a lot of time here as a kid," Gipson said. "Like I ran around here. Hoops."
"I think I wrote one of our first songs, 'Cinderella,' on a walk at Wright Park," Johnson said.
Now that they've worked up an appetite, Enumclaw hits up Eleven-Eleven on Tacoma's Hilltop.
"They just got the fire sandwich honestly," Edwards said. "And the salads are sick too."
"Today I got the cheesy garlic bread," Cornell said. "One of their appetizers. It's pretty good. I usually go for the French dip though."
"Eleven-Eleven not only has the best sandwiches in town but they have the best Caesar salad in town as well," Johnson said.
When the band gets together there's no shortage of laughter and good vibes. Something they'll need when they spend six week touring cross country in a musty van.
"It feels like the last week of summer," Johnson said. "You're trying to soak it all in because you know as soon as you hear that bell and that class starts, everything is going to change and you're gonna be back on it."
Enumclaw has a free live show at Easy Street Records in West Seattle on Friday Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. Their debut album, "Save The Baby," drops Oct. 13.
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