Palaye Royale exorcise demons on 'The Bastards,' how fans saved them
It’s been a long, strange road for the brothers of PALAYE ROYALE. Forget about their geographical roots in Canada, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Brothers Sebastian Danzig, Remington Leith and Emerson Barrett look like they came out of a rock history storybook published at the turn of the ’70s. While they may sound and dress like archetype rock stars from decades past, the men of Palaye realize there’s a whole new modern consciousness to navigate. And they take that responsibility seriously.
“When you speak honestly with yourself, you’ll be shocked [by] how many people it connects with,” Danzig reveals. “As much as we’re all sad and depressed, we’re all in a room sharing happiness. Some bands play on sadness, but we appreciate the power of all being there and connecting.”
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In their second cover story with AltPress, the brothers detail how it’s all about the fans. Their dedication has pushed Palaye Royale to achieve a higher consciousness both in their art and their business. The Bastards, the band’s impending album, is part of that covenant. The band have created a world for fans to get lost in, for better or for hope.
“I realized how incredibly awful this world can be,” Barrett begins. “And if you don’t have inspiration or a sense of understanding—someone to extend their hand—it can make you feel lost. Some of these kids feel so accepted, and this band make them want to be alive. When someone tells me they stayed on this Earth longer than they were going to because of something we’ve done, that’s more important than a hit song or making someone in a boardroom happy.”
Read more: Palaye Royale tease “the most political song of their career.”
Palaye Royale may look like they lived on London’s Carnaby Street five decades ago, but you’re not going to see them taking jets between shows or hanging out in any dressing rooms on this summer’s Rolling Stones tour. Their true flamboyance is the statements they’re making and the refuge they’re providing.
“It’s a beautiful age that we exist in, but it’s also an awful and mean time where people want to tear you down,” Barrett says. “I’ve created my own reality and realm to exist mentally to feel safe. We’ve extended that to our fanbase. We built this world together to feel safe.”
ALSO IN NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE:
We’ll admit it: There’s a whole bunch of stuff we can’t tell you about just yet. We could tell you about the big band in the scene who genuinely didn’t know what their next move would be. But they’d hate us. We could tell you about the other band whose music keeps evolving so much, it’s positively exhausting—yet cool, mind you. We can’t even tell you about the new record made by a group who’ve rocked more generations than your most-celebrated, long-term Warped Tour act. But they’re all in this issue. Swear.
However…
Read more: The Used on joining the My Chem tour: “It probably wouldn’t surprise anyone.”
THE USED have reunited with producer/mentor/fifth member John Feldmann to create their new album, Heartwork. Frontman Bert McCracken has a lot going on in his headspace, and it’s all (OK, most of it) good. From reconnecting with Feldy to how he wants his music (and heart) to move forward, the singer’s looking to find the good everywhere.
Singer-songwriter TESSA VIOLET’s charm and exuberance is wonderfully refreshing, and so is her outlook on life. The 10 TOPICS she takes on this month include her most-loved junk food, favorite day off from touring activities and the proud declaration that she’s not bummed out by the word “moist.”
AERIS HOULIHAN, the heart, soul and vision of U.K. outfit WITCH OF THE EAST, explains how a rough spot in her self-actualizing journey brought her to where she is now. Her life (and our playlists) are undeniable proof that for all of us, IT GOT BETTER.
Read more: 10 My Chemical Romance covers from all over the place.
Paige Owens gets on the ground floor with dark-pop ingenue DEATHBYROMY to discuss the artist’s motivations and obsessions. APTV’s Bobby Makar didn’t get tickets for the MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE tour, but it didn’t stop him from listing his fave MCR deep tracks in this month’s 10 ESSENTIAL. AP ARCHIVES looks back at THRICE’s darkness (literal), THE ACADEMY IS…’ sharpness (perpetual) and SONNY MOORE’s pre-SKRILLEX shamelessness (inconceivable). As always, we’ve got 12 BANDS for you to seek and adore, eye-widening fan art and sweet live photos to make you want to yell “Damn it,” call an Uber and head out to see some live music at once.
It’s the new issue of Alternative Press, and it’s happening with or without you. You should hang with us.
