An Interview & Conversation with Wince's Dave Hernandez

I traveled to Brooklyn and sat down with Dave from the one and only NYC noise assault team: Wince. Arriving with a guitar on his back and one of the most friendly and conversational attitudes I’ve ever seen, I knew we were going to get really into it. Dave noticed we had the same Casio watch. (It was almost the same watch.) It was a brief and effective nod to how the energy in the room felt like the stars had aligned to bring us together for this interview. The L train rumbled past the windows from Jeb’s third floor bedroom which would suit as our studio for our linguistic adventure.

Behold our exchange of words. Dave is the unbolded text:

Oh, I’ve watched Nathan Fielder.

Oh, yeah, there’s a show called How To With John Wilson and he does a lot of stuff actually around here. Its one of my favorite shows. It just kind of completely captures New York really well. And I actually met them at Trans-Pecos like a couple years ago. Its funny because the view out of this apartment reminds me of this EXACT episode where he had a shot here about how loud the trains are.

Yeah…

It’s fucking loud! And the show is one of those things where it’s like… you remember how we said, “People are crazy, people are dangerous, and people are nuts here?”

Like, imagine that for a whole episode just concentrating everyone like that. I have no idea how he finds these people and they go on these tangents. It’s really awesome. I think you would really enjoy it. It’s really funny. Someone should make that for Philly.

Dude, it reminds me, I had an idea, like… when I was in the prime of my college years at Temple, the off campus life was just chaos. Like one time I went to my friend’s house because they had a party and I didn’t know anyone there!? Basically, they let their friend have her birthday party at their place because they had a bigger house. And they said, “Oh, we’ll invite some of our friends too so it’ll be a bigger party.” And then I show up and it’s’s literally Project fucking X in their house and I’m like, “Who are you people!? Where are my friends!?”

I’ve been there, actually recently. I’ve kind of always was jealous of seeing people having big houses. Usually they have a tiny apartment and it’s like crazy, but it’s never gotten too crazy.

I didn’t want to make the show about partying. I just want to make it about, like…

Just the crazy bullshit? It’s not too far off from here.

Dude, just all the nonsense happened. Even like… what’s that show? It takes place in Brooklyn. It’s about that guy that sells weed on a bike, and the whole show’s about vibing out.

I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’ve heard of it. I remember. Isn’t it on HBO? Or no?

Yes. I think it’s at HBO series. I think there’s like two seasons.

I remember something like that. I’m going to go watch it.

This is the first question I ask everybody.

Q1: What’s your name? What do you play, and what’s your musical background? #

Okay. My name is David. I play guitar and I sing and I mostly was self taught. I started playing guitar when I was 14 and I went to Brooklyn College for music from 2018 to 2022. So I studied classical music at Brooklyn College. Yeah that’s pretty much as much as I could say.

Okay, cool.

Q2: Who didn’t have the pleasure of joining us tonight? #

Thou, who shall not be named… No, I’m joking. Ryan Palmer, Kyra Horario, and Wil Ren do not have the pleasure of coming here tonight. God bless. I will vouch for them or speak for them as much as I can. They’re in a recording session right now…

Q3: So do all you guys come from New York? #

Yeah, actually. So I met Ryan in high school and we played musicals together, and Kyra went to another high school kind of north of ours, and I asked her to join. We had like a rotating bassist situation. I asked her to join, and she’s from Queens, but Wil was actually from Pennsylvania. He’s from Pittsburgh. But he lives the New York experience pretty hard. I’ll tell you that.

Sweet.

Q4: How did Wince form? #

So Ryan and I were in a bunch of different bands when we were teenagers and then COVID happened. So about every band that was in that scene, like broke up… So I kind of started going to music school and I was kind of like, “Oh man, like I really want to be able to write a bunch of music and rehearse it for, like, months because we have the time to get tighter and everything.” So I was just trying to kind of write a bunch of music and work on a new project. I do write all the parts and all the music and everyone kind of interprets it in their own way, but Ryan and I were meeting up. He is one of the best drummers I know, and I have a lot of experience playing in a band with him or adjacent bands and we kind of just met up and were jamming and like practicing songs and then when COVID started we started rehearsing and recording demos. So that’s pretty much how it started. It was a kind of a COVID project. We were all like, so depressed.

They’re the best projects!

Yeah! That’s kind of how it started. We were playing like three shows a week. We were teenagers with nothing to do and then COVID happened and New York got hit really fucking hard. It was nuts a lot of people, we know, like died… It was really hard. I don’t know if you ever played Naruto, but it was like kind like supercharging your chakra to unleash after hahaha. It was kind of like that musically. We were building up everything for once it came back. The scene after COVID really hit hard. It was explosive once it came back.

That’s awesome.

Everyone just wanted to play so fucking bad. And even though, like, a lot of us really sucked because we haven’t played in a long time hahaha! The spirit of it was really good and still really amazing. Everyone’s still on fire. Also what’s so cool is TikTok at that time. Everyone just started learning guitar and learning music because no one knew what to do with their time. And there’s like so many new musicians and it’s fantastic. We played with a lot of new bands too and people are like, “Oh yeah, I learned guitar during COVID.” I’m like, “Oh my God, that’s cracked.”

Hahaha!

Yeah that’s what being inside all day does to someone. Sorry, I think I answered like… I went on a tangent.

No, that’s great. I want you to. Did you want to talk about Kyra and Ren and how they joined?

Oh yeah, so I asked Kyra to join when our old bassist, Greg, had to go to vet school. He’s actually still going to vet school. She’s pretty much full time. I asked her to join us on a weekender going to the Midwest and actually now Ryan and Kyra are dating. It was really crazy how that happened, but before that, Wil was actually supposed to be the original bassist. Just like time constraints and scheduling didn’t work at the time. So Wil ended up being the designated person to record because he’s one of the best recording engineers that I know around in New York. He recorded us, and then Greg left and I was like, “You just want to play bass in our band now?” And he was like, “Sure!” So then he started playing bass and recording us and then when Greg got back, I’m like, “Do you just want to play guitar hehe in our band now?” Because we were a three-piece.

Oh, okay.

And then he was like, (deep voice) “Yeah.” That’s how he talks. Like in a deep voice. Now it’s a four piece kind of thing. So we started off as a three-piece. I think I just completely jumped the gun in saying that.

No cool. That’s the scoop the people want to hear.

Yeah, the three-piece days. Those are the most cursed.

Why?

Why the three-piece days were cursed: #

I think one of the most cursed three-piece shows… It was just one of those things where when you’re in a band with less people there’s less confirmation. If you’re in a band with one person, like a two-piece you can kind of be like, “Yo, you want to do this crazy gig tomorrow?” And it’d be like, “Yeah.” So there’s more people you have to check in with to see if they’re available. So as a three-piece coming out of COVID, still in school, we were always playing the most cursed shows. Maybe the most cursed one I could say was umm… It’s by the graveyard at the end of Bushwick, kind of bordering Brownsville and Bushwick. It was by this venue called Purgatory, and it was the week of Halloween 2022, and it was in a railroad tunnel. Literally. Everyone was like, “Yeah come play a show. Like, we’ll bring all the amps and generators and it’s going to be in the train tunnel.”

So what happened was we brought all the amps and everything to the train tunnel and it was a free show, so everyone and their grandma pulled up. We got there and it’s not like an actual venue they just set it up. But what happened was we double booked and a bunch of noise artists and DJs showed up and were like, “Wait, we were trying to play a show here too.” and we were like, “Well, we’re here first so like we let us finish.” So that debacle happened.

Everyone was like, “Yeah, we could do this. They have shows here all time, nothing’s going to happen.” Then all of a sudden I set all my shit on the floor inside the train tunnel. Then all of the sudden I hear (mimics train horn noise) and I see two big ass headlights and the train is tryna fucking pass!

Holy shit.

They were probably like, “Why the fuck are there 200 people in this fucking train tunnel!?” Our friend went to talk to the train conductor and was like, “Dude, I’m so sorry…, but we’re playing a show right now in this train tunnel.”

Hahaha!

And he was like, “I don’t give a fuck what you guys are doing. We’ll go to the other tunnel, just get everyone the fuck out of that tunnel, make sure no one’s in there. We won’t even call the cops.

The train guy said, “All right, I’ll use the other tunnel?” Lol.

They were like, “We don’t even give a fuck just make sure no one’s in this one here.” So then we made sure of that and they were like, “We won’t call the cops. We don’t give a fuck. We’re just trying to do our job. Train is gonna pass through, no cops.”

…

10 minutes later, maybe like 50 cops are walking down… and didn’t arrest us, didn’t give us anything. They were kind of impressed. They were like, “How the fuck did you guys do this?” They even helped us like bring the gear out!? They were like “Yeah, like, you guys could play a show literally anywhere else. Why are you doing it in this tunnel when this train is trying to go through? Like, come on lol.” So we finished the rest of the set outside the venue and it was great. Shit like that happens on a Tuesday. You know what I mean? It was really cursed and I’m sure you know too, like when you first start, you say yes to every single bill and you’re trying to play a bunch.

That’s what you gotta do.

Especially when you’re really young you’re playing every bill and now we’re like 25…

You have the right to be more selective.

We can be more selective, but it’s also venues don’t fuck with it at all here. There’s a huge radius. They don’t fuck with playing three shows a week. You have to space in like, two, three weeks apart for a show here. But when we first started, that wasn’t really a thing. Now it’s way more enforced. If they find out you’re breaking that radius clause they’ll kick you off the bill. So we were playing really cursed shows in the first year.

All right. Speaking of shows…

Q5: We actually played a show together a while ago at the Cosmic Arts Studio. How did you guys get that gig? #

(The L rumbles by…)

Pottstown! What was that guy’s name?

Kevin!

Kevin. Kevin literally messaged us and was like, “Do you want to play a show in Pennsylvania?” and usually the way it works is you have to hit up someone from out of state to play…

Not with him.

He reached out to us and we were like, “Fuck yeah.” We drove on one of the coldest nights, I think it was snowing? It was freezing.

Remember it was freezing in that venue?

It was crazy. It was nuts and the green room was pretty nice, but I remember we were all like rubbing our hands together. (Rubs hands together) I played guitar and it just hurt. It’s funny I don’t know if you remember, but I was setting up the new peddleboard back in the green room.

Yeah!

We literally got those new boards on the way there. It was like $40 for two pedalboards.

Speaking of that…

You just posted a photo from that show, from that green room with your pedal board because it got stolen… #

Yes. It was stolen at, I believe four in the morning in front of Gold Sounds in Brooklyn, and actually a year and one day ago it happened. So July 6th it happened. I remember my girlfriend called me.

She was driving back and I was looking at the pedalboard and I’m like, “Yeah, I’ll just leave it in the car. I don’t want to take it up.” She drove back and the next day she called me and was like, “Babe. I’m so sorry. Someone broke into my car…” and I was like, “…What did they take?” And she was like, “They took your board.” I’m like, “Are you okay?” And she was like, “Yeah.” I’m like, “Board shmoard hahaha.” Inside I was like, “Ohhh my God.”

I posted about it on Instagram and I thought a lot of people weren’t even going to donate, but a lot of people donated to help me get something back. It was one of those things where I was like really depressed for the whole day and I didn’t have the money to rebuild it. I hoped people on Instagram could help and people really helped! Like honestly I was able to do everything and it means a lot. I have a smaller board now and it does everything that I was able to do and more. Every time I use it at a show I think about that time and I’m so grateful. It just wouldn’t have happened without the support of all these people, and people I just didn’t even know. I want to shout out my friend Vincent Vega. He is the one who got me a discount and one of the pedals when I really needed it the most.

It was nuts. The police got involved, and they didn’t do shit. They never do.

Want me to leave that in the interview?

Yeah. Fuck cops. Actually, on record, fuck cops! We had to go around asking people in our neighborhood. We went around, called pawn shops, nothing. I looked at Craigslist for like months and still nothing came up. I mean it’s fucking hard to sell pedals in general, but these guys probably thought it was like a computer or something in the bag. They were like, “What the fuck is this?” I’m like, “Bro good luck selling that. It’s like a shitty Vox Delay Lab that’s like 40 bucks. An MXR Chorus, like, anyone could get that for dirt, you know?”

There are only three pedals in that board that I truly miss. I’m trying to remember the name of one. One of them was a King of Gear Mini Glitch pedal.

Is that a brand?

It’s a brand out of Brooklyn, and it’s this guy who does the Johnny Greenwood MaxMSP stuttering, glitchy, delay.

Oh I love that.

It makes your guitar sound like, “glitching mouth noises.”

Like on The Smile?

Yeah like The Smile or Go To Sleep. Like that kind of effect, it does it in the pedal and I was so fucking sad when I lost it. And I lost a Stone Deaf Warp Drive. I remember I just bought it like right before too lol. It’s a fucking awesome pedal, but I completely changed my board again. It’s a lot smaller now. Yeah… it’s fucked up.

I’m sorry for your loss.

I appreciate it.

That being said, let’s get into… your latest release.

Q6: Where does the energy come for your music and specifically your album: To Be a Fly in the Rain? #

I was in another band called Big Pity from end of high school up until I was like 19. We were working on recording a couple singles and then COVID happened. So some of the songs were never recorded and I was studying classical music at Brooklyn College via Zoom and I was learning a lot of different new concepts of music and theory and harmony. And I was being exposed to a lot of new music, so I was kind of like, “Wow, I have the time to really sit in isolation and really care and put a lot of time into this thing.” I wrote all these songs and it took a long time. Sleepy was like the first song on the album…

That’s my personal favorite.

Oh, really? Thank you! Yeah, that one took a looong time to work on it because it was one of those things where we were picking at it and trying to see how it goes. I think I was 19 when I first wrote that riff, but I didn’t finish it until I was like 21. You know, it took like two years.

Wow! It’s a really articulate song.

Oh, thank you. It’s not because of that. It’s because I’m really slow at working on music hehe. I was never the kind of person who’s like, “Oh, I’m really fast at this.” I have friends who could write songs with lyrics and the whole vocal melody in one day. It takes a long ass time because I’m just like a very slow writer.

Q7: You write all the lyrics and all the music, right? #

The whole thing, except for the drums, essentially. It’s actually written on sheet music. Everything. It was like the only way to really make it work because I think everyone in the band would really hate me if I asked them to write the parts to my guitar part. It’d be like, “What what the hell am I supposed to do with this?” But it’s just something about visually seeing it on paper. It really makes it less muddy and jumbled. It’s very easy to get kind of lost. It was kind of a necessity. I don’t know.

Because like I was saying, I went to Brooklyn College, so I was studying how to notate and write music for the first time. I didn’t really know before, so it was kind of like a new skill developed and I was like, “Wait, what if I did this in a band and see how that went?” That’s kind of how Wince started and the whole album started. It was like, “What if I did that for rock music?” Because, you know, it’s really hard to find classical musicians to play your music, especially at that time. So I was like, “I’m just going to do it myself. Fuck it. Fuck everyone, you know?” But yeah it was an interesting time and there was a lot of error and a lot of things that sometimes I listen back and I’m like, “I would not have done that now.”

That album was one of those things where I listened back to it and umm… It was Wil’s first real big project and recording and producing an album. We were kind of still both learning. Like I’ve done it before in my old band, but I was so far removed from the production of it. But for this one, all the songs were done in a rehearshal room in Marine Park. Wil brought all the mics and we recorded all like straight. We played the set twice, and what you hear there is just us, no click, just like straight in.

Oh, so it’s like a live album?

Yeah, it’s like a live album. Yeah, that’s why it kind of sounds a little janky. It’s completely live. Only like one or two songs have a click. I think we just wanted, Ryan especially, wanted to capture that sound. There’s a certain thing about when you’re recording that I found that if I’m really playing to a click and I’m trying to be too meticulous it kind of hinders the phrasing a bit. There’s something about playing live. We actually had a couple friends in there to almost simulate that. They were just chilling, but it almost felt like we were playing for them.

I find it interesting that you are very meticulous with writing the songs, but then when it comes to recording them…

It’s completely the opposite haha! It’s funny that you say that. It was kind of all live. Only one song was done to a click. Hikikomori. Because the demo was done to a click. Whenever we’d play that song live (we don’t play it anymore) but whenever we did it we would always rush it. And by the end of it it was like way too fast.

It’s intense music.

Hehehe, I would say, “Yeah, it’s pretty intense.” I would say generally, at least for me, there’s a tendency to rush in my playing, but yeah idk.” You know, a lot of bands like Polvo and Sonic Youth… A lot of noise rock bands like that you hear those recordings and you just know that they’re recording that shit live. And there’s just something about recording it all together looking at each other as if you’re playing at a show. You’re playing it like you’re trying to, you know, do your best at a gig. There’s not aaany cuts of anything really. It was all kind of straight through. Occasionally, there were moments where we took another take and somehow tempo-wise completely locked in. I have no idea how. We put them together and made one big take but all of it for the most part was not meticulous at all. It was hit record, play it, hear how it sounds.

I love that.

Really?

Yes.

I mean, have you done that before?

I am a big fan of live albums because I like when people are like, “No, this music needs to be a live album.

It’s too hard yeah.

You’re like serving what the energy of the music is.

Exactly. There’s something about when you’re looking at each other and you’re playing no click, you’re not even worried about anything and you’re completely locked in. There’s a natural push and pull. The playing and like dynamics and playing, the phrasing… I don’t know. Especially if you have friends there. I highly recommend to anyone reading this:

If you’re recording an album have maybe a couple friends there if you’re doing it live. It feels like you’re playing a set for them and it’s kind of like making music for your friends. You get to really capture that.

I really hate seeing bands live where it doesn’t sound anything like the recording. Where in a sense that it’s almost like a bastardisation of the recording. Like they’re not very tight, they’re not very good, and it almost feels like I got cheated. Haha I don’t know how to explain it. Like I got catfished.

I always love seeing a band where I hear the recording and maybe the recording is a little shitty, but live they are so good. That’s kind of the model that we try to strive on. Ryan also records his own music live as well.

Q8: What could we expect for upcoming Wince releases? #

Actually, this might be the first reveal of it ever. So I’m gonna just say it in this interview for people reading it.

Thank you. (blushes)

We’re recording our second album called Julian. It’s named after my friend Julian, and you could expect ten songs on there. Most of our live set now we’re playing most of the songs. We’re actually recording it… I believe we’re starting next week? And at Nowhere Studios which is Wil’s Studio.

It’s probably production-wise going to sound exactly the same just different songs. It’s going to be all live. It’s going to be kind of a similar arc of the first album. I feel like the first album, the first half, is really like a sonic assault. And the last half feels like you’re being cradled to a degree. Like very tender, but it’s going to be similar. The first half of the album is going to be a complete sonic assault and the second half is going to be a little more tame. I think I learned a lot from my mistakes making the first album that I hope to revise in this endeavor. We’re all trying to get better.

Q9: Are you guys going to be playing another tour sometime soon? #

Um, we were planning something in the fall… I don’t really know what’s going on with that. I think more than anything we want to really focus on recording and getting new music out before touring because we spent a lot of time playing shows for the last two weeks trying to support the album that we can’t really do justice to it if we’re playing so much, you know? I really want to give the album the time it deserves. The respect to the people who are listening to it. We want to make sure that it’s presentable for listeners. I felt like the first album was definitely very rushed in that process. It was kind of like, “Let’s get this out as soon as possible.” This one, I think we’re gonna take our time, but we’re hoping to aim for end of summer 2026. So, like, in a year. But maybe some singles before then, a couple singles. It’s like penis music.

Penis music?

Penis music, yeah.

Are you saying, “penis?”

Yeah. That’s kind of what I call it. It’s like really penisy. I don’t know how to explain it.

Hahahaha!

Like, if you listen to the songs and you come out you’re going to be like, “Fuck, this is, like, really penis.” Yeah, that’s the best way I can explain it. Yeah.

Fantastic.

Q10: What could one expect at a Wince rehearsal? #

A lot of Diet Coke. A lot of a lot of farting. 120 decibels. And a lot of burritos. But also, earplugs… is what you could expect. A lot of banter.

Q11: How was the Wiring release show? #

I saw some good bands on that bill.

Wiring is just like one of the fucking best bands in the world. It was a total honor they asked us to play the release show. I know it sounds really funny to say this, but like, you hear a lot of legendary bands and people saying, “I saw Led Zeppelin in the sixties and this is the best band in the fucking world and they’re the best band ever of all time.” And like, Wiring is better than Led Zeppelin. They’re the best band in the fucking world. And it’s such an honor to play at the release show for the best band in the world. That’s kind of just the best way I could describe that show.

Fuck yeah.

And the AC was broken and it was so hot and stinky, but it didn’t matter. It was really crazy. Everyone played so great. Fib was fantastic too. It was awesome.

Cool. To follow that up…

Q12: How was Philly Porch Fest? What are some of your favorite Philly bands? #

Okay, so Porch Fest almost did not happen, and it was mostly me who was delaying it because I didn’t want to go. I thought all our equipment was going to get rained on because they didn’t say they had a tent, but we showed up and we played and it was like one of the best shows we’ve ever played.

Smelling sidestory: #

Jeb: (opens door) You smell good. Just wanted to say that. (closes door)

Oh, I appreciate it. Thank you haha. That’s really sweet. You should leave that in the interview.

I will. It’ll be in there.

(Door reopens.)

*sniffs

Are you smelling me? Is everyone smelling me right now?

You smell good.

River: He does have a nice smell.

Becca: Really!?!? Cause I was just told that I smell like a high school girl.

Back to the interview…

What was I saying? Sorry, yeah Porch Fest we played a great set and we met a lot of people there. We met a lot of new friends there and everyone was so supportive. We played a second set after that with Microgoblet, who you also interviewed. Also one of the best bands in the world. That’s penis music! If you want to know what I mean by penis music.

If Wince and Microgoblet are penis music then I’m in.

And Wiring as well.

Then I’m a penis fan.

Yeah, that’s kind of the best way to describe it. The actual Porch Fest show was incredible. There was another… so like basically you have all these bands playing… I’m just explaining it for the sake of the interview. You have all these bands playing. Like five bands on one block, right? And then maybe like two to three of those other people running those porches kept telling us to turn down. Because we brought some amps and put them a little bit too loud. It was fucked up and we got a lot of noise complaints, but it was a great time. And the second show was in front of Temple University, like on like the grass.

The lawn?

The lawn. We literally played on the a lawn and I went to Wendy’s across the street and I couldn’t see past like, 10 feet because it was so smoky in there. I was literally like mid piss, shaking my dick, and then I get a call. “Show’s canceled, cops shut it down.” It’s a crazy thing to transcribe. I’m so sorry. They shut it down and I will say this…

Wince generally has a thing where a lot of crazy people come up to us on the street come up to us and they start conversations and talk to us. I don’t know why. Every time we play out of state, we get like racially profiled or like some crazy person comes because most of our band is Asian. So a lot of people will come up to us and they say comments. Actually, at Pottstown when we played at the Cosmic Arts, Wil was by the bonfire and he was talking to someone and then someone else was talking to someone else and and saw Wil. He looks back to him and goes like, “Ni Hao.”

Wait, where was there a bonfire?

It was, like, in a front. In the second floor in the front. There was like like a fire thing going on.

Like a real fire?

Like a real fire, yeah.. I remember that place if I closed my eyes. I could still imagine it.

It’s a special, unique place.

Yeah, it’s definitely unique. We played in D.C. and the door guy was like, “Oh, yeah, we’d love if you guys came back and like, played a show together or like, you know, just want to hang or like…” and he sizes me up and looks at me, he’s like, “…or like, get Boba Tea or something.”

Hahahaha!

I’m completely serious. I was like, “Guys, you have no idea what the fuck just happened.” So now you see, a lot of this shit happens. It’s very normal. A lot of crazy people show up to our sets and say crazy stuff. I guess it’s just something that the music attracts somehow on a cosmic level.

But after the show got shut down at Temple, this guy comes up to us. He had a cowboy hat on. Before he even came over, we were like, “Wow we’re about to like, leave Philly, and no crazy person came up to us.” And I swear to God, this guy came up to us while we were breaking down. He was like, “That’s fucked up what those cops did to you guys.” We’re like, “Yeah man that’s fucked up, right? You saw?” He was like, “Yeah, you know, like I don’t fuck with those guys. I know the mayor and everything. I’ll tell the mayor on them. That’s fucked up what they did to you. You know, I sing too.” I’m like, “Really?” He was like, “Yeah, I’m just like you guys. I sing, I sing too. Like I swear.” I’m like, “Oh that’s awesome…” And he was like, “Let me show you.”

So he takes a little Bluetooth speaker and gives it to Ryan and he takes out his phone and starts connecting it to YouTube. He’s like trying to find a video to sing over and then he puts on a random video as a filler and it’s a video about the Diddy trial and it’s blasting, like a really fucking loud.

Hahahaha!

And then he finds a Madonna song and tries to sing it. I have this all recorded, too. But like he does not even know any of the lyrics or how the song goes. He completely doesn’t sing the song at all! And we were like, “What the fuck is happening?” Ryan’s holding the Bluetooth speaker and the guy is singing his ass off and is completely out of tune and fucking up the lyrics. We finished and he was like, “Yo, I sing white people music too.” and he tries to pull up Creep. We’re like, “We gotta go. I’m sorry, man.” And he’s like, “You guys are not ready for me yet.” We told someone else about it. We were like, “We broke down and yeah… this guy came up to us and was singing like a Madonna song. He’s like, “Oh yeah, that same guy sang Creep to us like thirty minutes ago.”

Lmao.

But yeah, that’s how Philly went. We actually ended up finishing that second show at our friend James’s house. I think he’s in Wallace, Tonight?

James Duesler?

James Duesler yeah! It was at his house and he made us all tacos.

Oh, sweet.

Yeah, and he made brownies and everything. It was like one of the craziest things ever.

Oh, was that two years ago?

That was literally just now.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, it was just at at his house, I was like, “Shit, man.”

Gotta love those guys.

Yeah, it was crazy. I never met Wallace, but I know one of the members is in Attack Dog that we played with.

Yes.

Yes. That’s all I know.

Yes. John and Paul from Wallace both play in Attack Dog.

Ohhh, okay, wow. That’s crazy. I didn’t know both were in. I didn’t know Paul.

Q13: Do you want to shout out Lahnah? #

Yes. My favorite band, and Philly band of all time is Lahnah. They are crazy. I really want to shout out Thomas’s painting Lois daily instagram account. He’s a huge inspiration, and he actually ended up coming to that second show and painting a Lois painting of Master Chief sitting on Lois’s lap on a bench that he was sitting on, and he was wearing a leather jacket with a Lois on it that he painted himself. Hehehe!

Lahnah’s also penis music. Like, that’s kind of what I mean. Lahnah’s an incredible band. We actually played with them in the back of a cell phone shop in New Jersey. It was a cell phone shop and he had like these Madison Square Garden PAs. It was at the biggest PAs that I’ve ever seen in the back of this store. We met Lahnah there and there was like 10 people at the show.

Word.

And it was great. They were fantastic. We want to play with you, Thomas and Asher and Griff! If you are reading this…

Q14: Do you have any last words, maybe about NYC? #

Uh.. Let me pick my words carefully hahaha.

Take your time.

I am proud to be a New Yorker at this time and I’m proud that New Yorkers did the right thing by voting in Zohran Mamdani and I really hope that he wins Mayor. It’s going to make all of our lives as artists and just people so much easier. And just like… possible. If it all goes right, all of our dreams actually might be feasible. This city is one of the best music cities in the world. We’re all so grateful to be in here, but it’s time someone fucks the billionaires and the landlords hard in the ass.

Preach.

Raw! Hahaha. No douche.

Q15: Wait! What music you be listening to? #

A lot of Bartok. And Shoshstakovich. And Ligeti. And Bach hehehe.

If you liked this interview and you want to see more you can always help by buying me a sexy ko-fi ;)