Trophy Eyes announce first-ever North American headlining tour, talk favorite tour memories

September 20, 2017

In what might just be one of the best tours of the fall, Trophy Eyes have announced their first-ever North American headlining tour, with support from Free Throw and Head North.

To celebrate the band’s momentous occasion, we caught up with Trophy Eyes vocalist John Floreani to talk more about their forthcoming tour, the band’s favorite parts about visiting North America and what we have to look forward to.

Trophy Eyes are supporting their 2016 record Chemical Miracle, which Floreani explains has truly been a game changer for them.

“We had an EP and a record out before Chemical Miracle, and we were proud of them. But we never really felt like we got it right,” Floreani says. “Chemical Miracle is the first time we really achieved our sound as a band. The record came out and people liked it. It’s definitely changed our lives, especially here at home. People care, people come to shows and the response has been crazy, and we couldn’t be happier or more grateful.”

The band will be kicking off the tour Nov. 24 in Seattle, rounding off the tour Dec. 17 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Tickets are currently available here, and you can see the full list of cities and dates below.

This is your first-ever North American headlining tour. How stoked are you guys on that?
Super stoked. It’s always been a dream, ever since we were little kids, to get to the States. We wrote some shitty songs and ended up being able to go to America, actually play there and find out people care about us. We’ve done support tours and a couple of Warped Tours now, and it’s a dream come true to finally be in a spot where we can host our own show and invite people that enjoy our music to come and see us. It’s really something else. It’s a lot of hard work, dedication and persistence, and it’s paid off with the chance to play our album to people who want to listen to it. It’s really exciting.

Like you said, you’re not strangers to the U.S. by any means. What’s your favorite part about touring North America?
I like how every state is totally different—it’s really cool. It’s such a cool thing to go one state over, and the people have a different accent, countryside or food. You know, you don’t get a Philly cheesesteak from anywhere else but Philadelphia because it sucks. I fucked up and I tried a Philly cheesesteak in Buffalo [New York], and it was one of the worst things I’ve ever had in my life. [Laughs.] Every state in America is like a different little country, and it’s incredible. I love the people, and we’ve got so many friends now.

Not to give anything away, of course, but are there any surprises up your sleeve that fans can anticipate for your upcoming tour?
We have some things up our sleeves. This next thing is a big deal for us. We’re all really stoked. I can’t tell you exactly what it is, though…

And you’ll be hitting the road with Free Throw and Head North. How excited are you to be hitting the road with these bands in particular?
Super stoked. I like all the bands on the tour. These are some of the standout bands in this scene that I really do appreciate. Especially Free Throw—“Two Beers In” is such a great track. It was our soundcheck on a couple of our American tours. All these guys have got great new content out. America is going to want to see them, too, so it’s really going to help give us a welcome for our first headlining tour. I’m so happy they’re coming. I love all those guys.

For someone who isn’t as familiar with Trophy Eyes, what would you recommend they check out to get a feel for the band?
We’ll be playing primarily our new record on this next tour because we want to show everybody this new thing we wrote, so I would say listen to “Chlorine.” It’s got a little bit of everything in there: slow, fast, heavy, sad, fun, whatever. And the music video has a cute dog in it, so you should watch that, too.

If you could sum up your live show experience, what would that be?
When we first started, it used to be like, “Everybody drink as much as you can and do as much ridiculous shit as you can.” But we wrote some more mature songs, so it’s a high energy, high intensity, extremely emotional experience. It’s a place to come and exude all of those shitty feelings and anxieties and your shitty work week and just say, “Fuck yeah, I belong here.”

You’ll likely have some long drives, so embarrassing or not: What guilty pleasure artist or band do you like to listen to on a long drive?
I’ve never really felt guilty about the weird shit I listen to. Some people are like, “Oh, don’t tell anybody, but I really like that new Justin Bieber record,” and I’m like, “Dude, that record is fucking awesome. It was a really good record.” [Laughs.] I’m a firm believer that if it’s good, you should listen to it.

So what would be the most unexpected?
Unexpected? The song “The Night Is Still Young” by Nicki Minaj. It has the biggest, best produced chorus I’ve heard since I can remember. When I hear the song, I’ll put it on and play it literally 15 times, just one after another. I remember one time I was at our drummer Callum [Cramp]’s house, and I was like, “Dude, you have to listen to this,” and we watched it three times, one after another. Then we watched a live version of it, and we watched the original version of it like three more times. That would be the song—it’s fantastic.

Anything else we didn’t touch on?
If I could add one thing, it would be: If you’re reading this, bring me food to the venue. It has to be the best favorite local place.

Dates:
11/24 – Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse
11/25 – Portland, OR @ Analog Lounge
11/26 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone
11/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo
11/28 – Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
11/29 – San Diego, CA @ The Irenic
11/30 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
12/02 – Dallas, TX @ Dirty 30
12/03 – Houston, TX @ Walters
12/05 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
12/06 – Nashville, TN @ The End
12/07 – Columbus, OH @ Woodlands Tavern
12/08 – Detroit, MI @ The Shelter
12/09 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahalls
12/10 – Toronto, ON @ The Hard Luck
12/12 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
12/13 – Boston, MA @ Sonia
12/14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bazaar
12/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
12/16 – Washington D.C. @ DC9
12/17 – Asbury Park, NJ @ House Of Independents