The power of TikTok

TikTok is the news, but it’s curated by people. They are small stories that are sometimes 15 seconds, sometimes one minute, that capture really intimate versions of the human experience and allow them to be shared through an algorithm that promotes organic content. The opportunities that it provides are endless, for both the creators and the audiences. Basically, the shit’s fucking dope.

The best breakfast you’ve ever had

I was never a breakfast eater, so my opinion probably doesn’t matter on this. I think that if I have anything sugary in the morning, it has to be an acai bowl. Hey, that might make me a little boujee, [but] I don’t care. Especially if you put peanut butter on top, the thing is always going to hit.

An EP you love

Dominic Fike’s EP, Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. That shit is crazy. You know what? I’m going to put it on right now. “3 Nights” was the song I listened to every time I opened up my phone to listen to music. I think there are some groups of songs that just have a hold [on] you, you know? They catch you at just the right time and place in your life. FYI, I actually do have the EP playing right now.

What the world needs right now

I don’t know what the world needs right now. I’m not the person who is in charge of change. I’m responsible for how I go through my life. I try to stay positive about every situation and have a short memory, collaborate with people who are fun to collaborate with, don’t take anything too seriously and try to be as honest as possible all the time.

Necessities for your mental health

I probably need to be writing. It’s the way I make myself feel better. I’m not really writing these songs for people to sing them. I just write them because I think it’s better for those words to live out in real life instead of in my head. I can sing these songs over and over again because they sound how I feel.

What to do when you feel stuck 

Talk to someone, someone that actually cares about your situation. That can be a great starting point. They have all the energy to help but none of the fucked-up perspective that you’re carrying around with you in the decision-making process. It’s impossible to do everything yourself, and that’s OK. Things get less impossible when you share your problems with your friends.

The perfect night

I don’t have an answer. I don’t even know if I want that because then I’ll have to think about all the other nights that won’t be as perfect. Now I’m trying to make every night perfect, and then I’m just trying too hard. Maybe I’m thinking too much about this. Maybe just give me Sour Patch Kids and let me watch The Office and I’ll shut the fuck up.

A book you want to read

Honestly, I don’t really want to read any books, but I read a lot on the internet and learn a lot on YouTube. Watch YouTube.

A fear you overcame

Lollapalooza. Singing in front of all those people with a live band. [It was] my first major festival/show. That was the first time I had ever done something like that. I told myself, “If you can do this, you can do anything.” It doesn’t matter what other stages you go to. Thirty-five thousand people on your first show knocks the training wheels off. I just said to myself that if I really want to do this, you should go out and do it — and do it like you mean it. 

Your inspiration today 

Inspiration is such a big fucking word. It makes it seem like you need to have a huge bright spotlight on your head when you’re doing the activity that is “inspiring” you. I just do shit that I enjoy, over and over again. I try to make things very simple. If I hate something or how it makes me feel, I’m probably going to stay away from it.

This interview appeared in issue 400, available here.

WHAT PEOPLE MISUNDERSTAND ABOUT BEING A VOCALIST.

Just because someone uses Auto-Tune doesn’t mean they’re not a great singer. It’s not something [where] someone can just sing a shit note and suddenly it’s this perfect on-pitch note. The biggest stars in the world, they all use it. We gotta kick that stigma. Auto-Tune is a tool. Just because you use it doesn’t mean that you’re not a very talented singer.

MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS.

I have to exercise. If I don’t exercise, my mind isn’t as sharp. Even getting up and walking, staying close to nature, going and connecting in a park or doing something like that. I get overstimulated really easily. Sometimes I’m like, “Why am I so stressed?” I’m just overstimulated. I need an hour to just go be alone. Giving yourself those breaks is so important.

CELEBRATING QUEERNESS.

The best thing I can do for myself is to just surround myself with people that show me love and respect in spaces that I’m accepted and I feel the way everyone deserves to feel—like a community. Living in L.A., to me, is like celebrating my queerness. Give yourself that shot to meet people that are going to love you and accept you and have no questions, no doubts about offering you that kindness and space that you deserve. Another big one is just putting it in the music. If people can listen to our music and feel empowered to own their space and figure their sexuality out, then I feel like that’s the biggest celebration of all.

THE ULTIMATE TOUR SNACK.

We always go to Whole Foods because the hot bar is amazing. So you can just go get something healthy. Alisa [Ramirez, drums/vocals] was gluten-free and dairy-free for one of the tours, so we had a plethora of dairy-free snacks. Bananas [are my] go-to. Bananas are the best because they fill you up, but they’re so easy. I’m always looking for the quickest, easiest, healthiest thing.

SLEEPOVER NECESSITIES.

[If I was a kid], I just would need to go to the local grocery store and get as much candy as possible and as much doughnuts and cake and cookies as possible. Nowadays if I was going to have a sleepover, I need a solid face wash, obviously my toothbrush [and] my girlfriends really turned me on to eye masks. So, I’m doing an eye mask moment now.

SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS AND TRICKS.

I’m such an advocate of [taking] one day a week just to cleanse. Make your Sunday or whatever day you want where you can be a little bit off your phone. When I’ve done that, like a Sunday where my phone is gone, I don’t look at it as much as I can. I don’t even look at it for texts or calls. I just have a day that I like to spend with myself or my loved ones. Go to the beach and don’t take your phone, and just be away and give your brain a real rest and clear your thoughts out. I feel like that helps me reset my week so much. It helps me feel really rested.

TODAY’S DAYDREAM. 

I think just the tour that’s coming up. I’ve been getting really excited and ready for that. And also, just the music we’ve been making and working on is really exciting me. And the visual around that and the feeling and that approach to creating the songs and the creativity we’re currently in. I was [also] just in Maine with my girlfriend. And it was so dreamy out there, just on the water for two weeks and chillin’.

WHAT’S WORTH WAITING FOR.

Your food at a restaurant when you have a basket of bread in front of you. Your food is worth waiting for, I promise. [It’s] always the worst when you eat way too much of the appetizers and way too much bread and then you ruin your meal.

A GAME YOU HATE PLAYING.

I have to be honest: I literally hate games. I don’t like playing them. Everyone knows. Everyone trolls me. My whole band [are] like, “Cristal’s such a game hater.” We just went to Mexico, and they all wanted to play games at night. And I was like, “Literally, no! I’m on vacation.” This is the last place I’m playing a game. I want to lay and watch a movie or just lay around and do nothing and have a drink and eat food. Sometimes I’ll give in when my friends and family say, “Please play a game.” And I’m like, “OK, fine.” And sometimes I can get into it.

A VACATION YOU WANT TO TAKE.

The girls and I were actually talking after we were in Mexico, and we were like, “Next trip we gotta do Greece.” [We have to] go to a beautiful beach in Greece, like a crystal-[clear] water beach. So I think I’ll make this happen. The older I get, the more I’m just like, “Life’s too short. Let’s just go on the trip.” Even if it’s the cheapest ticket, cheapest Airbnb, whatever you can do to just go see other cultures and other people and other places, do it. ALT

This interview originally appeared in AltPress issue 397, available for purchase here.

“I’m going to make this because I think that’s funny. And if other people find it funny, amazing,” she says of her characters. “If it’s literally just me cackling alone in my bedroom over this, that’s fine, too.” 

Read more: iann dior and Måneskin are making alternative music for a global age

Relying on her comedy instincts above all else, she has attracted more than 100,000 Instagram followers and made artists such as Cherry Glazerr and Hayley Williams laugh. And this is surely only the beginning for the personality-building mastermind. 

Her natural grasp of physical humor and ability to piece together a multitude of characters with niche interests and backstories and share them with the world in bits of a minute or less reveal what we already knew: This is Servideo’s world, and we’re just living in it. 

Here, the rising comedian shares more on her adored character Anubis, how she finds ideas everywhere she goes, her unconventional comedy inspiration and more.

You have a plethora of characters, all with different, big personalities and interesting traits. How do you go about creating these dynamic characters?

It’s funny because I am trying to almost backpedal and figure out my own process because I went through a period, I feel like between 2016 to 2019, where I was coming up with characters who are really now part of the main coterie of Servideo land. There’s Anubis the vampire, Victoria from Pittsburgh, Ethan’s mom, stoner roommate. This character work was really a good four-year push.

I don’t know if the effects of [the pandemic] took a while to hit—the isolation. Creatively, I felt stifled. So, I’m trying to figure out how I come up with my characters or how to come up with new ones because it’s like they come to me in dreams or just all at once. I’ll be standing there, and I’ll be putting the pieces together in seconds. But it’s never deliberate, like, “I’m going to set out to make this person.” That’s the next step of my creative process. It’s actually coming up with a creative process.

The trad goth character made me laugh because it was so real and reminded me of my teenage years. Have any of your characters been based on real people or your own childhood?

People often ask, “Are these based on certain people?” And for 99.9% of them, no. It is an absolute hodgepodge of a bunch of different people or just people I’ve known very well and people I haven’t. That particular character is based on a follower I’ve had for years and years, and I just was always so interested by her. And then she went away for a year and then came back. Before she was a classic teenager, [wearing] Brandy Melville, and then came back and was full fucking trad goth. I was like, “Oh, my God!”

I love that that’s not dead. I feel like a lot of us millennials are finding out that emo is not dead. I guess we all presume emo was just a thing that happened in between 2002 and 2007 that nobody else would try. And now there’s a whole generation of kids that are actively into emo and dressing emo.

Being in New York City must inspire some interesting personality traits. Do you often find yourself people-watching for ideas?

Oh, my God, 100% That’s a huge part of my process. When you’re just packed on the subway so early in the morning, you see the most brutal sides of people. [They’re] pre-coffee on the way to their jobs that they hate. You get the raw side of people. And I used to take two transfers to get to my office job up in Midtown. And you just saw a hodgepodge of people before 9 a.m. And so I haven’t had that since the pandemic. I’m like, “Damn, I may have to just take the train up and down every day, even though I don’t have anywhere to be.” [Laughs.] The streets very specifically are integral to my process.

We have to talk about Anubis, perhaps your most well-known character right now. How did Anubis arise to be everyone’s favorite vampire? 

I had been doing this for so long to no real audience other than a few hundred of my friends, give or take. And then it was really Anubis, I think, that set everything off. She got the right attention from just a certain kind of person that totally changed my life. I had been walking one day, and I worked near, in New York City, this giant Halloween store. [It was] a huge costume store two blocks [away from] my office. I will say [that] I like to get a costume first and then just stare at it and think about it.

And then sometimes, the character will come to me, like the actual bread and butter of who they are, their personality. And I was like, “Damn, a vampire could be really funny.” And then I was like, “OK, maybe I should get contacts to go with this just to [really] punch up [and] do the whole thing.” So, I have this outfit. And then I came up with the voice, which was the voice I used to talk to my cats when I was a kid.

Read more: Shapel Lacey perfectly weaves the DIY attitude into his comedy work

During this time, my grandma passed away. There’s something about my grandma. I mean, God bless her. She was just a total shopaholic [and an] amazing woman, just a weirdo. Something about her totally lives in Anubis, and it was like she died, and Anubis is a vampire, [so] she’s undead. And it was all of these things. It all just converged, all these ideas [like a] literal Big Bang. It’s never one person [present in a character]. [Anubis is also] based off people I know downtown.

One thing I heard when she first came out was, “Oh, we’ve never seen something like this before.” Everything feels derivative to me. I was like, “OK, thank you” because I have such a hard time taking a compliment. [Laughs.] But then I was like, “OK, that does make sense because all of these elements being present in one character probably hasn’t existed before.” Because how could they?

A lot of comedians often cite a person or thing that first drew them into the world of humor. Do you have someone who first made you realize that you wanted to venture into comedy? 

The people when I was younger that I found funny really weren’t comedians. It was like Eminem being really goofy in his music videos that I always thought was really funny and zany. Andy Milonakis was hugely formative, but it really was a larger sort of comedy like Napoleon Dynamite that was very formative. There was this early 2000s wave of weird[ness]—not Adult Swim weird. I can’t explain it, [but] things were just kookier.

Have you ever had a character that you loved and developed but people didn’t understand them as you meant them to?

Sometimes people will say stuff about Ethan’s mom being a “bad mom.” She loves her child. She loves Ethan and would never necessarily do anything to endanger him but does just have a bit of a streak of treating him more like a friend or a sibling even. She’s not a PTA mom. But, you know, that’s the beauty. In that way, I love seeing how people are going to interpret it. Ideally, they would know that she’s a great mom. But the fact that some people are like, “Oh no, she’s a terrible mom” is insightful.

There’s a character for every type of personality to relate to. You know, different people have different types of humor. And you get to cover that with all these characters, which is really awesome.

I look at some stuff that I made, like between 2016 and 2017, where, of course, the comedy zeitgeist was different, and things that were funny even then just now are not funny, but I still was just finding my voice, and holy shit, it is so cringe. I cannot watch it. I’ve had to archive a few of them because they just make me cringe with my full body. It was like full-body chills. You have to bomb. Bombing onstage you have to do to get better. I’ve definitely had videos [where] it was like crickets. But you have to have those. It’s the name of the game. It’s the only way you can get better.

I consider Busted my first musical love. They made me want to play guitar, and then I got a guitar for Christmas. But it was an acoustic guitar, so it didn’t sound the same. Then, my friend ended up breaking it because she tuned it too tight.

I remember the first time I read the lyric booklets, I realized they said the word “bitch,” and I was like, “You can’t swear. That’s bad.” And I got really upset. So, that was the mentality of me when I was a Busted fan. But then they led me to pop punk. 

YOUR SMALLEST REGRET.

I guess just not being myself for so long. In a way, it used to be a big regret. I was like, “I just want to live my life and be happy, and there are too many barriers.” And I was like, “Wow, if I came out like five years earlier, what would my life be like now?” But I guess it’s a small regret now because I know the place I was in back then, and I don’t think I would have been able to handle coming out.

A FREEING FEELING.

Getting my tits chopped off was the most freeing feeling because I spent four years of my life in a binder, which funnily enough, has affected the way I breathe now. Straight away after surgery, I was like, “Holy shit, I’m never going to have to do this to myself again.” As a kid, I was always half-naked. I was always shirtless.

Read more: Frances Forever hopes ‘paranoia party’ can bring people together

I was like a little gremlin. I was like a woodland creature. I was always climbing trees shirtless with no shoes.

After surgery, I was going back to that person, which is really nice. It’s very freeing.  

IT WAS NEVER A PHASE.

I just think of emos when I think, “It was never a phase.” My dad introduced me to Nirvana and Foo Fighters and the Prodigy and all that. So he was always into loud music. But sometimes his friends would come around while I was playing guitar. They’d be like, “Oh God, that’s some dreadful music. I can’t wait for you to grow out of it.” And I sat there playing My Chemical Romance.

I’m never going to “grow out” of MCR. I don’t think anyone does. 

THE STATE OF TRANS RIGHTS.

When I think of trans rights, I just feel like the word that comes to mind is “exhausted.” I feel like trans rights have taken a good leap forward. But now, suddenly people are just like, “Hey, we’re not ready for that yet. Could you guys calm down?”

I feel like America made some progress, and then they’re taking a few steps back, and then maybe they’ll make another leap, but they’ll have to take another step back because not everybody is ready for giving trans people equal rights. I think the general idea is that people just think the fight is over, which it definitely isn’t. [There’s] sexual assault against trans women, like [the] murdering of Black trans women. There is a lot of work to do, but it’s just exhausting.

UNDERACHIEVING.

In terms of the song, I recently got diagnosed with ADHD, which explains the majority of my life. I grew up being told that I had so much potential, that I could do whatever I wanted, and then—bam—mental illness. And that stopped me from being able to do things that I should have been doing or do things that I wanted to do. So, I guess I feel like an underachiever, even though I know I’m doing well for myself.

The world can think I’m doing great. But in my mind, I’m still like, “I should have done that better, or I should have done this earlier.” So that word is very loaded in my brain because it just encapsulates a lot of struggles I’ve had. And I feel like that’s why a lot of people identify with that, especially LGBT kids, because we all do really good as kids, and then we realize we’re different at some point. And then we realize that maybe the whole world is against us being ourselves. I think that’s something a lot of kids can relate to. 

GEN Z.

When I think about Gen Z, I’m just like, “They fucking got it!” The amount of conversations that I’ve had with older family members are just like, “Why do you always complain about everything? Why can’t you just be happy?” Because things suck, and we want to do something about it, which I think is our motto for Gen Z. Maybe 30 years ago, kids in school didn’t question everything because they didn’t have the internet. Whereas we have the ability to fact-check literally everything.

A PLACE TO DISCOVER.

A place to discover is just the world, the future. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I’m excited for it. So I guess just touring, releasing music, meeting new people, just life in general, is for me to discover because I feel like I’ve been hiding a bit like a hobbit, tucked up in my own bedroom. 

SELF-CARE NECESSITIES.

In order to give yourself self-care, you need to recognize and understand yourself to the extent where you know when you’re becoming burnt out. It sounds so boring and so irritating and so obvious, but eating enough, drinking enough, leaving the house, being in the sun—those [things] are so important.  

2022.

I hope in 2022 [that] everybody that can be vaccinated is vaccinated—and not just in England and America. So many countries that aren’t as rich as us just don’t have vaccinations. So for us, COVID might end, but they’re still five years behind. Then in terms of myself, I just want to have more life experience. Like playing shows, writing more songs, meeting cool people. I just want more progress in terms of YouTube and to write songs I like and have more people enjoy them.

This article originally appeared in Alternative Press issue 396. To read this story and more, purchase the issue here.

Now, viral hitmaker UPSAHL, aka Taylor Upsahl, is fresh off the release of her deeply honest, relatable new indie-pop-infused single “Time of my Life.” In the track, she explores how your best years can still be clouded with a little darkness. “So how come all the worst days are in the time of my life/Time of my life,” she sings.

Read more: The Maine discuss the making of ‘XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time’

UPSAHL will finally be able to perform for fans soon and share her 2021 singles from her forthcoming debut album, including “Douchebag” and “Melatonin,” as she embarks on a cross-country tour with Olivia O’Brien. Grab your tickets here.

You can see the mesmerizing live performance of UPSAHL’s “Time of my Life” below, as well as an exclusive interview with the artist on the track.

What does “Time of my Life” mean to you? What personal experiences, if any, helped you write this track?

“Time of my Life” is about being in the best and worst place in my life, all at the same time. I didn’t realize that these two feelings can exist simultaneously until this past year. As the highs got higher, the lows got lower. The day we wrote the song, I just had the question [of], “How come all the worst days are in the time of my life?” floating around in my head. We wrote that into the chorus first, and then I feel like we blacked out and an hour later had a song. [Laughs.]

What inspired the visuals and storyline for the “Time of my Life” music video?

George Gallardo [Kattah], the director, and I have been working on music videos together for the past year or so, so when I told him the story behind the song, he immediately asked me if most of my self-reflective moments took place in the shower. I said yes, and he just took that idea and ran with it. We wanted the entire video to take place in a shower while using the cut-up lip as a transition between past and present to showcase the best and worst times of my life. I feel like the meaning of this song isn’t specific to a certain age, so we showed what the “time of my life” looks like at different parts of my life.

How was your experience piecing together and performing the song live? What was the most memorable part of the shoot?

This shoot was the first time I got to play with my band in months, so just being in a studio with them and playing live again was hella fun. It was also the first time we ever rehearsed or played the song together. We were so excited about how new it felt to us. We just jumped right into filming while the energy was still fresh. Since the bassline in the song is so prominent, I wanted to play bass for part of the performance. I definitely feel most empowered when I’m playing bass onstage.

The song is very deep, tackling subjects like growing up, heartbreak, etc. What’s your favorite lyric and why?

I think my favorite lyric in the song is “Guess I’m gonna fake it ’cause I still look amazing.” It’s probably the least deep lyric in the song. But as a songwriter, I love juxtaposing a really serious topic with some humor to lighten the overall vibe. By the time you hear that lyric in the song, you’ve been on this roller coaster of emotions, and then it just hits you with the idea of, “Well fuck it, I’m still hot, so I’m just going to do the best I can to have a good time.” I try really hard not to take life so seriously sometimes, which is very empowering, and I wanted the listener to feel that way too.

UPSAHL tour dates:

08/30 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory
08/31 – San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
09/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre
10/12 – London, UK @ The Courtyard
11/02 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
11/03 – Sante Fe, NM @ Warehouse Live
11/05 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/09 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live
11/10 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
11/11 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
11/13 – New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall
11/14 – New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall
11/17 – Boston MA @ Royale
11/20 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrews Hall
11/23 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
11/24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
11/28 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

On their eighth studio album, XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time, the quintet reached new heights after over a decade since their inception, including their first radio hit with lead single “Sticky.”

Lead vocalist John O’Callaghan noted how their seventh album’s writing process differed from XOXO, sharing, “[With] You Are OK, we spent a lot of time just vocalizing what our vision was. It was a long, drawn-out process. And I feel like the idea of the world coming to a halt and us being forced to create this record the way that we did, it minimized a lot of the talk. It was like we knew what we had to do. And it became more like, ‘Let’s create instead of talk about creating.’”

Read more: The Maine deliver sonic warmth on their summery eighth record

If you know one thing about the Maine, it’s that these creatives will do anything for their fans. Even though they couldn’t tour, they didn’t let this stop them from bringing live music to their dedicated listeners. They created the “XOXO Concert Delivery Service” and performed new tracks for a handful of regionally based followers. 

Beyond this service, they performed several livestream concerts over the course of the pandemic, including their “Forever Halloween Ball” and their most recent “Face Towards The Sun” stream. To celebrate the launch of XOXO, they performed from the top of a Los Angeles skyscraper as the sun set with a small group of loyal fans. 

“So much of what we do live is heavily influenced by the relationship between [the] band and people in the audience. And I think there’s just no way of recreating that. This was just our way of trying to,” O’Callaghan says of the various livestreams. “And that made for, just in my opinion, our stream to, hopefully, stand out a little bit from the prerecorded, perfect, in-a-box kind of feel.”

Luckily, the band are about to embark on a massive tour via Sad Summer Fest with All Time Low, the Story So Far and more artists beginning on Aug. 6. Plus, you can catch them in the U.K. with All Time Low and Meet Me @ The Altar this fall. 

Without a doubt, we are all ready to see the Maine live again. AltPress had the chance to catch up with O’Callaghan, Pat Kirch and Jared Monaco to hear about the making of their latest record, how they’re achieving new goals as a band and much more.

Your songs on this album are incredibly personal. Where were you internally when you started shaping them? 

JOHN O’CALLAGHAN: It is just a snapshot of where I was at mentally. With You Are OK, I definitely was thinking less “selfishly.” I was thinking more [about], “How will people receive this?” Hopefully, it would help them. This record, I went a bit more inward and was just speaking from direct experience as opposed to worrying about how it was going to affect other people. And hopefully, once people listen to the record, they can attach their own meanings with the songs. I’m just really excited about how the whole record feels as a record, not as individual songs. I’m really proud of the way that we were able to put a bow on the whole thing and make it feel cohesive. 

Over the course of eight records, each one has a unique energy even though you’re tackling similar topics, like anxiety, for example. What motivated the sonic feel for XOXO? 

O’CALLAGHAN: We do this push-and-pull thing with our records. If people are getting too comfortable with a sound of ours and we’re getting too comfortable, we tend to push in a completely different direction. And it’s on purpose because I don’t think we ever want to recreate something that we’ve already done. I think we decided to lean more into the pop elements of our band on this record. And I think it was really important for us to embrace it and own it a little bit more and not be so worried about how it was going to be perceived. And because I think at the core of our band, every time that we do something that feels right, people tend to gravitate toward that more. So I think it’s more believable.

Pat, you are the Maine’s No. 1 fan, of course. You’re always delivering big ideas to the band. What was a goal you had that you saw come to fruition for this album? 

PAT KIRCH: The idea for this album was always, “Let’s make our first album in Arizona,” which seems odd that we haven’t ever recorded an album in our hometown. And then primarily produce the album completely on our own. We’ve worked with so many people throughout the years and have gained all of this experience. Finally on this record, it was all happening at the right time where we felt like this [was] our time to use everything that we’ve learned and make the record that we want to make that’s 100% us. And that was an awesome experience just to see what we could do on our own.

I think the ambition was to make a bigger record that could reach more people and could just be a different thing from what we did in the past. And so far, that’s been the case. We have a song right now that’s on the radio every day and all these things that we’ve hoped for for 15 years of being a band. So I couldn’t be happier with the album we made.

“Sticky” is everywhere, and it’s so exciting to see the music video being played in public and heard all over radio stations. What is this new experience like for all of you?

KIRCH: It’s one of those things where you have really no reference for it until you’re hearing it yourself. When you’re not searching for it or you don’t know it’s supposed to play, it’s a pretty cool feeling.

JARED MONACO: [Hearing “Sticky” on] the radio is fun because it’s a new dynamic for us. It’s something that we’ve never really gotten to enjoy as a band. At the end of the day, you don’t really have that much control over what happens with it. But when you hear it on the radio, it’s a really good feeling. So I think for us, after about 15 years of doing this, it’s cool to have that element be part of the mix, especially going into a new record.

O’CALLAGHAN: And to know that new feelings can still be felt this far into being a band is really empowering. New doors can be opened no matter how hard we’ve worked before. There’s always something more to strive for.

Ahead of the record release, you dropped “Sticky,” “April 7th,” “Lips” and finally “Pretender,” ranging from sexy to sweet to introspective. How did you decide these were the ones to share before the full body of work? 

O’CALLAGHAN: A lot of conversation. Hours of talking about things and probably overthinking things. It’s always so difficult because, inevitably, we’ll land on two if we’re lucky. I felt like we were all in agreement that this was the right amount of energy that needed to come out. We didn’t want to release [too many] slow songs. We wanted those to be special moments for people to discover on their own when the record drops. But again, it’s so hard [to choose].

KIRCH: You make an album, and you’re not really thinking about it like that. You’re making the tracklisting and the album and thinking about someone listening to it from start to finish.

MONACO: It was cool just because, with “Pretender” specifically, I think it’s something that all five of us could probably collectively agree that if you’ve been a fan of our band for a while, at least, it’s something that you’d be really excited about. And I think it’s nice to give people that right before they get the whole record. I think it’s a nice small win right at the end going into the record. But like these guys are saying, there’s no real way to do it right. You just have to go with your gut.

It’s hard to choose, I know, but do you guys have a favorite song off this record?

KIRCH: “Face Towards The Sun.” We take a lot of pride in how albums end, and we also take a lot of pride in not repeating ourselves. So, I think coming after the last record, which had [“Flowers On The Grave“], it was a challenge to figure out how to end the album. And I just think that this one does an awesome job of encapsulating the whole album.

MONACO: I think I would go with “Dirty, Pretty, Beautiful” because I love a hook, [and] I love a groove. And I think that for us, that song at this stage of where we’re at and how the record was taking shape, it finally made sense to really lean into that. That one is just a proud achievement. I think it’s something that for our band, it’s very much us, but it also has a lot of really exciting elements to it that I feel like for a long time, [for] myself at least, I’ve been wanting to hear us try to do in a song. And I feel like that one’s full of them.

O’CALLAGHAN: I think with that song specifically, that is the idea of where we are at as far as the approach on the whole record. And I think Jared’s right: We probably would have been afraid to do something that heavily pop-influenced before. But I would also say at the same time, I’m really excited for people to hear “Anxiety In Real Time” because that’s another avenue that we’ve been reluctant to travel down. I think you’re just on this same road for four-and-a-half minutes. And that’s always been a point of, you know, we get cold feet, and we tend to run from [that].

You bring up a great point, Pat, about the Maine’s history with album closers. You pour your whole soul into every single album closer, whether it’s “Flowers On The Grave” or “Forever Halloween” and beyond. What made “Face Towards The Sun” the perfect closer? 

KIRCH: There is just a feeling that you get when you hear it, and it’s like, “Oh, this would be weird being the fifth song. It has to be where it is. It has to end.” You almost couldn’t hear anything that would happen once “Face Towards The Sun” was done.

MONACO: I think knowing that it was going to go last filled in the roadmap a little bit better because I think pretty early on, we were pretty sure “Sticky” was going to go first. Knowing the bookends of the record makes it, not easier, but a little bit more clear to see what you need to do to get from A to B.

This interview originally appeared in issue 396, available here.

Danny Rocco, the Brooklyn-based rock powerhouse and producer behind Des Rocs, has made a major splash in the alternative scene upon his release of “Let Me Live / Let Me Die” from his 2018 debut EP, Let The Vultures In. After receiving millions of streams on his three EPs, touring the world with Muse, gracing world-renowned festival stages and beyond, the musical polymath is excited to announce his debut album, A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place.

Read more: Turnstile drop “BLACKOUT” and visual ahead of forthcoming LP—listen

The 11-track, self-produced LP will arrive Sept. 24. Des Rocs isn’t leaving us hanging as we wait, however. The guitarist dropped his first single from the record, “MMC,” accompanied by a brand-new music video.

With fierce, intense vocals and seductively harsh instrumentals, listeners will be taken on a whirlwind of classic-rock-influenced alternative rock that will leave your heart racing and eager to hear the rest of the album.

Ahead of A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place‘s release, we had the chance to chat with Des Rocs and deep-dive into his groundbreaking rock ‘n’ roll single, his upcoming debut headlining tour and more. Check out the “MMC” music video below, as well as an exclusive interview with the artist.

In “MMC,” you combine classic-rock influences with a modern alt-rock flair. Just to start, how did this song arrive? Is there a story behind it or an experience that made you want to write this?

It’s a hodgepodge of different parts of my musical DNA. I remember just coming to my space one day and feeling really exasperated with a lot of inauthenticity in the music industry and people pretending to be things they aren’t and thinking that’s what other people want from them. And I’m more [of] the opinion of just do you, just be yourself. That’s the most unique gift you have to offer as an artist. And I just wrote this song in one giant gasp of energy. You know, [I was] just thinking about all those concepts, and it all came out pretty intensely and pretty ferociously.

I did want to say that I loved your recent tweet that said, “too many artist thinkin about the dopamine hit and not enough thinkin about the art.” I very much like that. Is this the main theme in “MMC,” would you say?

Absolutely. I think [with] artists today, it is so easy to just monitor what everyone else is doing and just try and copy it or emulate it in any sort of way. But me, I’m thinking like, “Maybe no one’s going to like my album for 10 years, but 10 years from now, people will like it.” I’m only thinking long term, and I’m only thinking of the larger-than-life art that I can create that’ll suck you out of your life.

How do you feel like you’ve grown from 2018’s Let The Vultures In to your debut LP? 

2018 was just the beginning of the beginning. I was just putting music out and just hoping somebody out there would like it. And the fact that anybody did and that it was this unfiltered version of myself just really gave me the confidence to keep doubling down on that and to always creatively do whatever it was I wanted to do. So as far as growth is concerned, everything about Des Rocs for me is rooted in constant evolution. I’m constantly making records, and I self-produce pretty much everything, so I can just put them out whenever I want to. I always want to take chances, and I always want to get riskier. And “MMC” is really just the tip of the iceberg of everything that is to come.

You have done everything that a lot of people have just dreamed of: arena tours, festival shows, etc. And now you’re gearing up for your first big headline tour. Is there anything that fans can expect? Are you excited or nervous?

I’m not nervous, but the only thing that’s a little weird is doing the first headline tour and having not played a show in such a long time. The idea of playing a show is crazy to me because it’s been a year-and-a-half of just being in a studio apartment. But it’s a blessing in disguise because I think so many artists say, “Man, if I just had two months off tour… If I just had six months off tour… I could make the album I always wanted to make.” And now, everyone has to put their money where their mouth is.

You got to self-produce this LP and had the time to do it. What was that process like?

It was a dream come true in the sense that [I had] creative control and very few distractions. So I didn’t have to play any sort of games with band members, with label people. The only games I played were with myself, and the big theme of the album is struggle and one’s journey through this life. I think for me, the biggest takeaway on this album is that every single lyric, every single production choice and creative decision I would die for. It’s so incredibly personal. It really is the purest version of myself as an artist and this chapter of my career.

A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place tracklist:
1. “Tick”
2. “Why Why Why”
3. “break break break”
4. “Imaginary Friends”
5. “MMC”
6. “Ruby With The Sharpest Lies”
7. “Don’t Hurt Me”
8. “Hanging By A Thread”
9. “Born To Lose”
10. “The Devil Inside”
11. “Rabbit Hole”

Headlining tour dates:

09/25 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
09/28 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
09/30 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement

10/01 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
10/02 – St. Paul, MI @ Turf Club
10/05 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
10/08 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
10/10 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
10/11 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
10/13 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
10/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
10/16 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
10/19 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s
10/20 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
10/21 – Houston, TX @ The Secret Group
10/23 – Nashville, TN @ The End
10/25 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Backroom
10/26 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27
10/27 – Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd

11/02 – Boston, MA @ The Middle East
11/03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
11/04 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

You can preorder the album and grab your tickets for Des Rocs’ tour dates here. 

Departing from previous lighthearted tracks such as “Stunnin’” and “Freckles” from his debut album, Pity Party, this new EP sees Waters challenge himself sonically by incorporating heavier synths and bass notes, as well as vocals with a gripping ferocity. Adorned in rabbit ears, the artist explores the pitfalls of fame with dark satire and his own mental health as the character “Psycho Icon.”

Read more: Oliver Tree is all about “mixing together things that maybe don’t fit”

“When I was making PLASTIC WORLD, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I want to make a hit.’ It was an art experiment,” Waters shares. “From the very beginning, the videos had to go with it. It was like a statement. I wasn’t too focused on commerce. I just felt like I had to challenge myself to make a cohesive art piece.”

From the heavenly and aesthetically glowing “BAD MOOD” to the hellish, anxiety-inducing “PSYCHO ICON,” viewers are sure to adore this auditory and visual trip, which took nearly three months to piece together.

AltPress had the chance to catch up with Waters and Jovy Bergen, who led art direction on “BAD MOOD” and directed “PSYCHO ICON” in its entirety. Check out the visuals and an exclusive in-depth look at the process below.

Obviously, your life changed drastically in 2020 when “Stunnin'” went TikTok viral. In what ways has your life and music changed in this year alone?

CURTIS WATERS: Well, I had a dream that I was in middle school the other day. I woke up sweating, and I was like, “Oh, my God! I’m so glad I never have to write some fucking essay about some dumb shit again.” And I just realized [that] I take it for granted that I’m not in school, and I’m actually doing what I want to do every day, and I’m making music and stuff. And I gotta be grateful for that—that I wanted to do this since I was a child and I’m actually fully doing it now.

Diving into the sonics of “BAD MOOD” and “PSYCHO ICON,” these sound a lot darker than your debut album. Were you inspired by any rockers or heavy-leaning rappers for these tracks?

WATERS: I was just in a bad mental space, I think. When I’m making music, whatever comes out is whatever comes out. I’m doing a lot better now. It’s always weird because you make music when you’re in this certain time frame, and you want to put it out, and then all the promotion and planning and everything stretches out for months, and it doesn’t really reflect it as much anymore. I’ve always been into Death Grips. “PSYCHO ICON” to me is like “DEATHCAMP” by Tyler, The Creator. It’s like that same lineage. Like N.E.R.D had “Lapdance” with guitars and synths. So, it’s the musical DNA.

Yes, especially in “PSYCHO ICON,” the graphics are very intense. What led you in this artistic direction?

WATERS: Well, I think when I was writing it, it was like this tape is about ego, especially “PSYCHO ICON.” It’s [about] these things that seem really good, like fame and money and sex and this and that. I think for me, when I was making it, I [decided] to ramp it up to the point where it’s delusional and it’s not real; it’s like overcompensation. The whole time I was making the songs, I had the visual idea. The thought of a music video is what actually guided the way the song sounded. I knew “BAD MOOD” had to sound airy and heavenly and beautiful like an evening. And I knew even before we did a video [that] “PSYCHO ICON” needed to sound hellish and claustrophobic and loud and crazy.

For you, Jovy, what influenced your creation of the visuals, and how did you make your vision come to life for the music videos?

JOVY BERGEN: I remember when [Curtis] showed me “PSYCHO ICON.” It was at the same time that I was coming out with a personal project, which is basically like a visual expression of a psychotic break. And so it was perfect that that’s what he needed, as well, because I just finished developing the style. So, my mind went straight to the things I’ve been doing, which I was just like [a] hectic nightmare: the visual expression of actually being distressed and feeling fucked.

That makes a lot of sense. “PSYCHO ICON” is very fast-paced and has many details that do contribute to that nightmarish feeling. What was your favorite visual to create? 

BERGEN: I think the BDSM room is the most exciting one for me, but I really love the 360 view of the pill shot as well. And it would be funny if people paid attention to all of the sex toys I specifically made for the BDSM room. I made all these unique butt plugs and everything. It goes by in half a second. [Laughs.]

WATERS: I think the BDSM is still the coolest to me and [when] I’m on the wheel and it spins around and there’s a beep, beep, beep, beep sound. And it’s moving around with the song, and it goes in. And so I think it’s really sick.

What was it like to intertwine those graphics with actual footage in “PSYCHO ICON”?

BERGEN: That’s actually a similar concept with “Shoe Laces” that we did. It was a little different because this time we brought the animation into real life a bit. But with “Shoe Laces,” we had [Curtis] in this child-like world that I had animated. It was like a Blue’s Clues background.

WATERS: Well, to me, this video is just like “Shoe Laces” in a way because “Shoe Laces” was like my childhood anxieties about growing up and whether I’ll ever be successful, whether my parents will ever love me [and] all this other stuff. And it took place in this fake childhood home, and it was Blue’s Clues-inspired. It was very colorful, but there was a darkness to it. I think “PSYCHO ICON” is my anxieties now, where I’ve had a taste of money and popularity and then how that’s made me manic at times. So, it’s almost the same video in my head conceptually. It’s just different phases of my life and different anxieties.

What was the most challenging part about creating these videos?

BERGEN: I usually don’t make “beautiful” things. Most of my work and my art is fucked-up, crazy things or sometimes cute and fun. But I mostly do very expressive stuff about feeling bad. So, when I had to work on a sunset-y, pretty concept [for “BAD MOOD”], that was something new for me. And I found it hard to think of ideas at first. But after diving in and finding such a helpful director [Brandon Williams], who did a lot for that video, it was easier. Once I started, I understood what could help.

In the future, do you see yourself making some similar sonic pieces to that, or does it just depend on the mood and time of life? 

WATERS: It really depends because when I made this, I was dealing with my bipolar disorder. I was having a lot of difficulty, so the music reflected that. I just spent three months in Vancouver, [and] I had a great time. I was on the beach, [and] I was partying. The music I’m working on right now is just fun, cute stuff. But emotions ebb and flow.

Stay up to date with Curtis Waters on Twitter and Instagram, and follow Jovy Bergen’s work on Instagram and grinsbrand.com. 

The stunning one-take video sees the artist arrive home to find his partner with another person. With that, JAWNY packs up his car and heads to Las Vegas, where romances can be pushed aside with the pull of a slot machine lever. In the end, our protagonist does come face to face with the man from the beginning of the video. Ultimately, this character knocks JAWNY out and steals his car.

Read more: beabadoobee launches brand-new EP alongside “Cologne” video—watch

The melancholy faces and gloom-tinged aesthetic pair perfectly with the light, yearning vocals that allow us to hear JAWNY aiming to cope with a solitary life and feeling that signature “tombstone grey” color.

This music video and EP follow JAWNY’s 2020 release, For Abby, which features indie hits such as “Honeypie” and “Super Bad Mantra.” From last year to now, we see the artist experiment with new sounds to create fuller indie-rock gems that are timeless, both sonically and lyrically.

In addition to celebrating his new EP, JAWNY also announced his first headline run. Starting in November, he will perform on stages from San Diego to Boston.

You can check out the brand-new video for “Tombstone Grey” below, alongside a Q&A with the artist.

What inspired the fast-paced shooting style and overall aesthetic for the music video?

I wouldn’t really say anything inspired it other than that’s how we really live. Me and [director] Spencer [Ford] both are into the same crazy shit. We are two kids being given money to play out whatever crazy fantasy we want to create. We just want to see how far we can push this thing.

What was the most fun part of crafting the video?

I had the pleasure of waking up and saying, “Babe, I’m out. Gotta work” and road trip to Las Vegas and jump around the streets of L.A. I’m living my childhood dream. This is all I’ve ever wanted: to be busy making art. All of it was fun!

Your lyrics are undeniably catchy, meaningful and sometimes even funny. For example, the YouTube/U2 line was very clever. What is your favorite lyric from “Tombstone Grey” and why?

“The world wants me to love or lose/The good news is I don’t have to choose because I lost you.” That line hits me in the gut every time I sing it live or hear it. That juxtaposition is just beautiful to me. It’s good news that I don’t have to choose life’s ultimate test because I’ve already lost, and the thought of leaving you myself would be the hardest thing somebody could ever do. Ouch.

You even described on Instagram how you used an orchestra on “Tombstone Grey.” How did you know this was the right fit for your song? Do you hope to use strings in more projects to come?

I think if the song calls for it, then maybe. But it’s all stuff that should come naturally. I didn’t go into making “Tombstone Grey” thinking there would be an orchestra at the end. The track just took me there. I think it’s a feeling when you know something is missing or a track has an empty part, and it’s up to you to find out what the phantom thread is. Once you find that phantom thread, then the rest is history.

The Story Of Hugo EP is finally out. You got to experiment with a ton of sounds, whether it was the orchestra, the big guitars in “Take It Back,” etc. How did you find yourself growing and changing with your creativity on this release?

I’ve grown so much since my last release. I’m 6 foot 11 now and am relocating to a new home in Los Angeles that can accommodate my new height. Bigger bathroom, bigger door frames, taller cabinets. I cannot wait to leave this hobbit house and finally have a house built for a giant like me.

You can grab tickets for a JAWNY concert here and see the full list of dates below.

07/29 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall – Lollapalooza Aftershow
07/30 – Chicago, IL @ Grant Park – Lollapalooza

11/01 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
11/03 – Oakland, CA @ New Parish
11/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
11/08 – Washington DC @ Union Stage
11/09 – New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
11/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
11/12 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
11/15 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground