Sorry It's Over brings California-infused sound to Launchpad

Louis Petrella likes to start his shows by telling the audience, “We’re sorry, it’s over.”

That’s the name of his band.

Sorry It’s Over will headline Launchpad on Thursday, June 19, with local bands Cult Sister, Shoulder Voices and Time Foolery opening.

“We haven’t ever played anywhere besides the West Coast,” Petrella said. “We went on our first tour towards the end of the year last year, up to Seattle from San Diego and then back down.”

Petrella said he’s “really excited” to visit Albuquerque.

“It’s really fun just hitting the road and going to different cities, playing shows and being able to hang out,” he said.

A lifelong Californian, Petrella infuses his music with a distinctly California vibe.

“California surf rock is an influence, and there’s a lot of other bands around here that are in a similar surf rock vein,” he said. “Although I don’t really surf myself.”

Other contemporary musicians Petrella feels a kinship with include the indie rock bands Peach Pit and Pinegrove, while his early influences include ’90s alternative bands.

“When I was a kid and I first started learning guitar, what got me into music was listening to Green Day and Weezer and stuff like that,” he said.

In high school, Petrella’s musical tastes shifted toward electronic dance music (EDM), and he experimented with his own EDM projects. But after college, he switched back to guitar-based rock.

“I just kind of realized I’d rather make live music again,” he said. “And I wanted to write songs again.”

He said his songwriting process is very intuitive.

“I don’t really think about what the song is going to be about,” he said. “I just kind of sing along to whatever guitar thing I have, and just kind of hope for the best. Once there’s a few lines, usually I can start seeing what it’s actually about, and go off of that.”

When he’s not rocking out, Petrella holds down a day job as a delivery driver.

“I drive around delivering blueprints to construction workers and stuff,” he said. “Sometimes, you get off work and don’t really feel like doing all the work that comes with the music. But luckily it’s just during the day, Monday through Friday, so I have time to play shows and practice afterwards.”

Although Petrella isn’t necessarily expecting superstardom, he hopes to achieve a high enough level of success to eventually quit his day job and have more time to write music and perform.

“The goal, I guess, is to just be able to continue to tour,” he said.

Sorry It’s Over switches up their set lists, often incorporating covers.

“We’ve always covered nice and easy songs, like ‘Molly’s Lips,’” Petrella said, referencing the Vaselines song popularized by Nirvana. “And we’ve been playing a new one, ‘Hallucinogenics’ by Matt Maeson. We’ve just been playing it a little different, a little more rock ’n’ roll.”

Petrella doesn’t like to philosophize too much about his music. He’s more rock than talk.

“We just can’t wait to come out and play some music,” he said.

Sorry It's Over brings California-infused sound to Launchpad