More than 500 people packed The Depot in the Cesar Chavez Student Center Friday night as sweaty bodies cornered The Growlers on a stage that barely fit their musical equipment.

“Beach goth” rock band The Growlers is made up of Brooks Nielsen, Matt Taylor, Kyle Straka, Anthony Perry and Scott Montoya. They formed spontaneously at a party in Orange County, Calif. in 2006. Their first album “Are You in or Out” was released in 2009, and the second album, “Hot Tropics,” in 2010. The Black Keys lead singer Dan Auerbach helped produce the band’s third album in Nashville, Tennessee, which was finished earlier this week.

The Growlers are on the bill to perform at Coachella during the second and third week of April, one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

Xpress caught up with the band before they hit the stage at The Depot. They discussed what it was like when Bill Murray showed up at one of their South by Southwest music festival performances in 2010, the new album’s “happier” sound, and the experience of working with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.