Welcome to a new era of Phoneboy.
There’s a new single from NJ’s Phoneboy on repeat in our office and a spooky feeling lingering in the air outside. This can only mean one thing: we here at The Aquarian are gearing up to experience Phoneboy live in concert on Halloween night in Brooklyn, New York… which is true. That is exactly what we are doing right now, including chatting with the band itself for the below conversation about what they’re up to and what’s to come. The four-piece is returning to their ‘second home’ for Night of the Living Prom (featuring Divine Sweater and Double Standard). It’s sure to be a night of monster mashing, or, at the very least, moshing amongst other young Big Apple rockers.
You’re set to play Brooklyn Made on Halloween. How’s the band feeling? What is going through your mind? And, most importantly, costumes or no costumes?
The last show we played was seven months ago, so we’ve been shaking off the rust the past couple weeks, but we’re stoked! It’s definitely a heartwarming feeling seeing that people are buying tickets even though we haven’t released new music in a long time… up until 2 weeks ago.
And if you don’t show up in a costume, we will 100% single you out from the stage.
Would Phoneboy ever release a truly season single or holiday song, whatever that holiday may be? What would that look like/sound like?
Honestly, we’ve never really planned on it, but that technically means maybe, I guess! It would be funny to do a holiday song that no one really thinks about. I think an Arbor Day track would go so hard.
The new single, “I Look Alive” is rockin’ and oh-so lively, so I can imagine it fits right into your setlist for live shows and will be going off without a hitch during concerts. How did you harness that sort of on-stage energy for the single? Did you imagine it being played in a live setting during the writing and recording of it, as well?
Glad you like the track! The live experience was definitely in mind when we were making it. We really wanted it to feel like the listener was in the room with us. A lot of the guitar embellishments were improvised instead of pre-written, and we just threw a mic in the drum room instead of recording each part separately. We traded a lot of cleanliness for rawness, and we’re so glad we did.
Can you hint at what is next for Phoneboy, aside from what we already know with the 2025 tour alongside Good Kids and “I Look Alive,” the latest release of yours?
We’re so excited for the Good Kid tour. They’ve been really great friends of ours since we toured with them in 2022, it’s gonna be a blast to link back up with them for another run. Before that, maybe another song? After that, maybe a couple more songs? Maybe a little more than a couple more songs? Who knows, stay tuned!
You’re a Jersey band taking over a whole lot more than the tri-state, but with that being said, do shows in this area – like in Brooklyn on Halloween – feel different than other shows? Are those nights more like coming home?
The crowds are always the craziest in New York – we’ve always felt it to be a second home. It’s always a great feeling to catch up with friends that saw us when we were just playing gigs on campus in Hoboken. While we’re super grateful that people go nuts at the shows wherever we are, New York always does feel special. Surprisingly enough, this Halloween show coming up is going to be the first time we’ve played in Brooklyn. It kind of feels like a housewarming!
Phoneboy has quite the work ethic, which does not go unnoticed. What keeps you coming back to making music and these driving guitars, thunderous drums, and memorable riffs, licks, and lyrics?
Appreciate that! It’s relatively easy to stay creative when you have bandmates that share the same drive and ambition as you. We all want to make something new, all the time, and have a lot of fun doing it. What’s there not to love?
In that same vein, there is a lot of truth about young adulthood and firsthand experiences about living life in this day and age found within the music you make. As you get older, are you finding it easier to make new material? Or are you, perhaps, finding influence or inspiration in different places?
Definitely just finding our inspirations in different places; I think our music and our writing process matures with us. When you’re navigating your twenties, everyday presents itself with new challenges or new joys. New experiences, new inspirations, new music!
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