June 12, 2023 • 38 mins
Royal Thunder are back with Rebuilding The Mountain, their first album in 5 years, out June 16th via Spinefarm.
Like past efforts including Wick and Crooked Doors, it sees the group continue their unique marriage of classic rock and 90’s alternative with a contemporary edge. It also marks the return of drummer Evan DiPrima, who left the group in 2018.
It’s also one of their most direct and immediate efforts, reflecting the group’s recent sobriety and renewed focus of their musical vision. And front and center is Mlny Parsonz, the powerhouse vocalist with an inimitable voice and delivery that is alternately fierce and introspective.
In today’s interview, I speak to Parsonz about the band's personal struggles, how conquering her demons rejuvenated her dedication to Royal Thunder, how the group’s songwriting process has changed, reuniting with DiPrima and much more. Be sure to stick around afterwards, where I’ll be playing the song Cut off the new album.
You can check out the interview via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or the various platforms listed at the bottom of the page, and you can pre-order Rebuilding The Mountain via the Amazon link below.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:17):
Hello and welcome to the smells like if in its and this podcast,
I'm your host, Michael Taylor. Those of you who don't know, I
run the website smells like a bandit sadness.com it's a Blog
covering, the best alternative rock from the 80s and 90s up to
present day. I'm a proud middle-aged indexer
who is still obsessed with the music of his Youth and loves to
talk about it today. I'm speaking to Melanie Parsons
(00:38):
the vocalist and bassist for Lana hard.
Rockers Royal Thunder the We areback with rebuilding the
mountain, the first album have five years out.
June 16th, be a spinefarm records like past efforts,
including wig, and crooked doors, and sees the group
continued, their unique marriageof classic, rock and nice
alternative with a contemporary Edge.
It also marks the return of drummer Evan diprima.
It's also one of the Bands most direct and immediate efforts
(00:59):
reflecting the group's recent struggles with sobriety and
renew. Focus on their musical vision
and front and center is Melanie Parsons the PowerHouse vocalist
with inimitable voice and delivery.
Those alternately Fierce and introspective Today's interview,
guy speak to Parsons about the band struggle with sobriety how
conquering her demons rejuvenated her dedication to
the oil Thunder. Other groups.
Songwriting process is change reuniting with the Prima and
(01:19):
much more to check out the interview and stick around
after. It's all be playing the track
cut off the new album. Alright, so I've loved the new
album, I haven't listened to it for the past couple weeks, and I
was reading the press release and seems like, you guys had
(01:40):
kind of a rough past couple of few years as far as like getting
sober and all the stuff that youall went through.
So I was wondering, I guess. Why do you think everybody in
the band kind of hit, kind of a hard time?
All at once is that the pandemicthat kind of exacerbated things
or just I think, definitely. forme, I know that that was a, that
(02:09):
played a huge factor in Me goingfurther down than I already was
pretty low. Starting out, I think.
After Evan left, the band with all due respect to anybody, we
played with because anybody thatyou know, came along and helped
(02:30):
carry the torch especially on drums at that time.
I feel like there was just that sense that something was
missing. After our band broke up.
So in that, I think we were continuing to play before the
(02:52):
pandemic. But we're really fucking
depressed. And I think the The first thing
when you feel bad is like you know, you want to hit the eject
button and not bugging base, your pain, like who wants to
feel pain. But we were avoiding how much it
(03:12):
hurt and how it almost felt likein the back of our minds, we
knew it was over. Because without Evan, it was
just kind of know, just different and not as fulfilling
to miss that. Like, you know, it's like having
a really cool puzzle and like, he took his peace and we like
(03:33):
carved another one out and put it in there.
I was like, man, she's not like flush.
But so then the pandemic hit andyou know as we all know it um
fuck the lot of people. Yeah.
And II didn't realize Realize what was inside of me?
Like, what kind of Darkness was in?
(03:54):
I mean, I've always known, you know, struggle with depression
and stuff like that anxiety. And the pandemic hit and I was
like, dude, definitely like a fucking very fucking depressed
and socially awkward and full ofanxiety all this shit.
I just didn't realize I had a lot of time.
(04:17):
To face. And So yeah, I just I personally
just got deeper into my fucking like drugs and drinking and
fucking being as wild as I possibly could, because I wanted
to have fun and feel good and I thought that was I did.
I actually, I did have fun. And at all that to say not just
(04:42):
to focus on myself, but I know Josh and Evan were going.
Evan was going through his own thing.
I'll let him tell his stories got one.
Um, and Josh had already started, kind of those at the
beginning stages of his sobriety. so, I think we all got
(05:04):
sober, because in those three separate experiences like away
from each other. Not playing, we all just came to
different places that we considered our bottom for me.
It wasn't until February 1st. Well, the week before that I was
(05:24):
just like, very fucking sick. I was very sick during the three
shows that we played in January.I was holding it together,
especially the one in Atlanta always.
I was bleeding vomiting. All kinds of things were coming
out of my body. Great.
I think it was partly because I kept trying to stop drinking and
(05:47):
I couldn't and I go like I'd always come back to I think it
was just kind of like a withdrawal kind of thing, but
February 1st, I got really, really fucking sick.
And I was in Philly with my friend Mike and I was like, I
called home as like did. And we had a long conversation
about it. Josh and I, and his girlfriend,
(06:10):
and they were like our offendersdone.
Unless you go to rehab, or just Saban some way to get sober.
And if you don't go to rehab, then you have to come live with
us or the option. Is there to come live with us
and your job is to quit your jobwhere you're at and God, I'm
(06:31):
take this is the longest answer in the world.
Yeah, they're like just come here and stay sober and that's
how I got sober was and I'm still here living with them.
And after this tour in July, I'll get my own place but you
know I had to do it like there was going to be no roll thunder
(06:53):
and probably not going to be anymore be, pretty sure it was damn
near close to killing me. I'm glad it almost did because
it led me to a better place. It really did.
Well, what do you think like howlong was it from getting clean
(07:14):
to starting work on the new album?
Like what was that process? Like it was it just got.
Was it? You're ready.
As soon as you were cleaned up the ready to get right back in
the swing of things or to kind of take a while to get the
chemistry back and get back in that groove.
Or how did that? How did that work?
(07:37):
I, I got sober. Just to make the album, which I
think was. When did we fucking record?
We did a single and then I thinkthe album I think we recorded in
October. I want to say, quote me on that,
but I was sober for the I think it was three weeks it took us to
(08:00):
make the album. I was sober for those three
weeks and as soon as the last song was done, I was drinking
like immediately right back where I started.
Started but that that stretch ofsobriety kind of sucked because
I didn't really want it, I did it because I felt like I wanted
to like be present and show up and like honor you know what
(08:23):
we're doing as a band that I want to let anyone down.
So I was sober during that but Idid not like it.
I didn't want to do that with mylife.
I wasn't ready. So like I said, I mean we
started getting fucked up and then like I think we were doing
you know, we were filming a lot,the process of of making the
(08:46):
album and I remember being interviewed and I was like dude
I'm sorry I'm just fucking hungover.
My bandmates didn't know that I had been drinking.
Um, and then yeah, fast-forward,February PSI, hit it like extra
hard. When did Evan rejoined, the
(09:07):
band? And how did that was that?
Like an instantaneous kind of shot in the arm as far as
getting everybody back together?Was that really what started the
process of getting a new album? Or did he come in?
Kind of after the fact, after y'all are written the songs, or,
or, how did that? Come about.
He I was on my back porch. At the time, I'm old Houston.
(09:32):
I got this like, message from him and it was just immediately
like walls down like got right to that to that place where he
was like I miss you guys. I love you guys.
I'm sorry, I walked away. You know, he played with other
people and he's like, you just don't know what you have until
(09:54):
it's gone and we felt the same way.
Fucking scooters, go crazy. So yeah he's still he hits me up
and we started talking and it's just like alright cool.
(10:15):
You need to talk to Josh. He's like all right but so we
get Josh and him together and then almost immediately but then
like a week we were writing. Well, I'd say that.
Back, they were mostly riding. I was still kind of half in half
out, I mean my, I wanted it but but you know, who knew if I was
(10:38):
going to come through her or not, but eventually we got
together, they didn't most, theydid all of the writing actually,
they were really good about it. Like, you know, we were writing
remotely and then they kept waiting for me to jump on.
And you have any ideas you have baseboards?
Yeah. And I was like, yeah.
(11:00):
I was very last minute but it worked out.
It really did work out. All right, I am You know in the
past not so far behind me like I'm not I wasn't really. not the
kind of person who would be like, That's so damn good.
(11:20):
I did a good job, that looks great, like I'm proud of myself,
but I actually am very proud of that.
This album means a lot to me. Like it's like It wasn't only a
second chance, it felt like we were taking a chance in the way
the songs were written. It was very different, it wasn't
(11:43):
like, hey guys hope you like this song disclaimer you have 17
minutes before you hear any vocals and it wasn't intentional
to have things feel more like minimalistic or that wasn't
intentional a tall order. Like keep it under a certain
time. but it's kind of funny that it happened that way and I
(12:06):
don't know why, and it's strangeto me because we're all in all
in a different headspace and that's what came out was like,
short sweet, you know, not cutting corners but like getting
get out and So yeah, now I'm rambling.
I know I was actually going to ask about that the difference in
(12:27):
the song links and kind of how its kind of more economical kind
of gets more straight to the point and lyrically, songs like
knife, pretty much lay out. You know what you were
struggling with was it always going to be your kind of girl to
make it autobiographical as far as the lyrics were concerned or
were you ever thinking more doing it more?
Kind of like metaphorically or or just, is that just your Just
(12:50):
to kind of hear route to be really direct or was that new
for you? As far as being kind of bear
about what had happened. I honestly, Didn't go into the
studio. With many ideas about how I felt
about anything. I actually remember feeling
(13:11):
like, I didn't have any ideas and I didn't have anything to
say. Although I felt a lot of things.
I didn't have, I didn't have that.
I wasn't tapped in like where I would normally be but I I really
believe that. There is a Common Thread,
(13:34):
there's, you know, stringing running through all of it.
And it was not, it just it happened that way, it wasn't on
purpose, but I have a tendency, no, no Tennessee.
I always step back and get out of the way and like, get out of
(13:55):
my head and get out of myself. And I have always kind of Tapped
into. whatever it is out there in the Beyond us.
But I've always just kind of opened myself up to, like, what
are you saying? What what's, what's this song
about? And it just kind of comes to me
(14:19):
and I don't necessarily always understand it, I'm not always
lined up with it. I'm not always experiencing it
in that moment but like it's usually after an album is done
and I sit back and listen to it.I'm like who that's I'm Sorry my
phone's making noise. Um so, that's when You know,
(14:42):
when I when it's all it was completed on my off up.
Well that turned out to be me like you know rebuilding them
out on his me, trying my higher self my you know future Mill
looking into that moment that time that I like being in a dark
place and just being ready to take me out of it and trying to
(15:05):
help me hear the truth about where I was headed and where I
could go I don't know why that happened but it's pretty cool
because now I'm like, fuck that's all that totally ended up
happening but that's a that's pretty common and I'm not trying
(15:28):
to take credit for it. I honestly believe sometimes the
lyrics have in that you know when they're when they're You
know, coming to me, they're not necessarily from me it like I'm
not, maybe I make sense, I don'tknow.
But eventually, you know, it is something I feel like a vehicle
(15:52):
a lot of times when it comes to Art and like you know weird
ideas it'll pop up in my head like I can take a look at comic
book strip, I'm like, what the fuck is this is that it's like,
you know, it's just like thoughtor ideas or feelings and I don't
know where I feel like. We're just all vehicles for
like, whatever were here to share to make things better.
(16:14):
I hope I hope that's true. I think it's true.
So there you go. That's true for me.
No, I know I think that is definitely.
I mean to me the thing about music as always been I think
it's a healing thing. So I imagine it was therapeutic
for you and I also meant to be therapeutic for anybody
listening to it is who's going through something similar.
(16:37):
I really love the opening songs part of my favorite drag me.
I like that one. A whole lot is the mood of it
and your vocals and everything. Deep was that one that was
written early on or how did thatsong Come about and remember
that kind of That one that's a perfect example of what I'm
(16:57):
talking about. I was like, I don't know what
I'm gonna do on this song and I was in.
I had just had a conversation. Say this.
(17:17):
I just had a conversation with someone in, really The mood in
the room at that time, not saying necessarily that it was a
conversation with somebody in the rumor around or whatever it
was just a conversation happenedand I was in that room after the
(17:38):
conversation and the room just felt like thick with like
tension and like fear and like totally disconnected.
And I didn't realize that the conversation that I had had the
lyrics that came about, Were. The consequences of what I had
(18:07):
say like so they the words endedup being like a.
Oh so you said this you did this.
You see painted it this color, check it out.
Here's here's what you did. And it turns out I did go down
the path that I was singing about like all those things
(18:30):
happens and lot of regretting that song lot of like Fuck.
I'm a liar and I You know, at the time I really try not to be
a fucking liar and I actually don't consider myself a liar.
I was lying at that time and Lying to myself that and then
(18:54):
really just opened up a can of worms so that songs about you
fucked up. Like you better hope you got
They're hope you got a chance atmending this and it's still kind
of floating out there, but definitely drag me down.
Big time was, was that Dancing with Myself Line, a little Billy
(19:18):
Idol, omage? Or was that just a I thought of
like, um, no, I after the fact, I'm like, there's a lot of Like,
Dancing with Myself or dancing by Myself songs, And the first
one that pops in my head is Robin Dancing On My Own.
(19:38):
That's a good song. But no I won't.
Listen, I wasn't tipping my hat but I'm sure I don't know, I
think it's a it's a it's a greatway to, you know, Allow someone
like maybe the visual experienceof like fun because it's like,
(20:02):
man, now I'm just like I'm out there by myself like, in my own
you know, and you start dancing.He's getting your own world just
kind of like zoned out. So I mean speaking of I know
that he was an influence but I think it's interesting how you
guys I know up. Listen to like hear the past
articles saying that your bliss by bands, like the colt and
(20:23):
things like that. And I kind of hear that always
in your Or sound. But also you've heard likes of
My Bloody Valentine kind of stuff and some of these songs.
Are there any Missouri music? You're listening to that kind of
inspired you while you're makingthis album particular?
Or it just came out the way it came out?
My Bloody Valentine. I've definitely tell Josh.
(20:44):
You said that he's a, he's a bigfan of My Bloody Valentine.
I Like My Bloody Valentine as well, but not as much as him,
um, and we'll use it was young My Bloody Valentine.
Oh the cult, the cult? I don't know.
I, I think it's a cult. And I'm like, I feel like we're
the, the Colts little brothers. Feel like you're so cool.
(21:08):
Can we hang out? Get your link ID.
No definitely not ever try to sound like anyone but I we all
love the cold a lot. Have you ever met?
Have you ever met them before? No.
(21:31):
Well me and Evan saw that. Well me Evan and Josh saw them
one time in Vegas at a casino. We were on tour.
We got like our tour manager. Do somebody new somebody so we
got like wristbands to get in not backstage or anything but
just to get into the thing and we swear I swear that you know,
(21:51):
is very looked at me like Crying.
I didn't happen and John said, piss just like made eye contact,
with evidence smiled and Billy. Duffy, I'm pretty sure he shook
Josh's hand or something, none of that happened, but we were s
like, the closest we've ever gotten is like, in our minds.
I did you see that? Oh, I bet they would lovey.
(22:17):
I mean, I met them. I've been reviewed Billy and em4
there. The coolest.
I mean it just very like down toearth more than you would expect
you on the day of a little bit of rock star attitude but you
know, it's yes. Just a little sprinkle that I'm
like yeah I know you guys shouldtotally have little should have
a little and your stuff because okay, cool and Billy.
(22:42):
Don't, these guitar tones are like yeah, yeah, it's that
kretsch and everything is prettyamazing.
I don't invest like best drummer.
I can go on and on. One thing is for certain, even
though no matter what, you went through your voice still, sounds
fantastic. It's always well, listen to, to
(23:06):
do your band, and I get here songs, even pastels like time
machine and stuff, I'm always taken by the strength of your
voice was there? Any, did you have any issues as
far as kind of getting singing? We're like any vocal coach
stuff. Because you could because of
your state or late, you're just naturally as your voice and
you're good to go and You didn'tneed to.
(23:28):
But well to sit back a little bit.
I didn't. You were talking about like
music that influence. Yeah, album.
I actually could not listen to music during the pandemic.
I couldn't. I like I just quit listening to
music. It was too depressing it was.
I don't know. It just felt so far away which
(23:49):
is really weird. So all you know in saying that I
didn't I didn't saying like at all hardly ever sing.
I don't know how I still have something and I hope I always
do. But no I don't I really don't
(24:13):
know what I'm doing. What I do know is since I was
13, I was in like grindcore bands and metal bands and still
are screening and weird things to my voice.
So I think maybe there's some damage and it's already been
done and I've just been riding out the result of that.
(24:35):
I I don't know how I can sing but just do but I definitely
have a weird fucking like psychosomatic issue pretty much
every time before I go get on stage or before band practice.
I have like these weird vocal panic attacks where I like, only
(24:57):
see because it's like if I don'tsing for a month, like, you
know, sing sing like, bam practice or use it loudly
outside of me like so, I always get this weird thing.
I make myself hoarse, I go, I go, I like freaked myself out
and I lose it. And after we did the album, we
(25:20):
went to band practice because wehave those shows coming up in
January. So, we started preparing before
that and I went to sing and I was like, I can't do not like,
we have to tune down. We have a 2 down.
They were like, we did this whole album and the done.
This key like what kind of tuning down?
Like we're gonna have to go home?
Fuck. It's empty.
There's no I can't do this live.I like, freak myself out like
(25:43):
that all the time. I wasn't sober at that time.
I was so I had like a weird fucking Panic thing.
That hasn't been there since I think I might be lying about
that. But I remember her.
We tune down and I did the albumlike that and it sounded
(26:05):
horrible and I was like, I'm sorry, I can't, I can't sing it.
Eat Josh is like, all right, great, great, great.
And he goes UPS, we practice at a music store.
He goes upstairs and get to reverb pedal, and he puts it on
my vocals in his cranks. It could, you know, everybody
sounds great. Very Reverb is like Ulis amount
(26:25):
of Reverb. And he's like, we're tuning back
up. We're like, let's do this again.
You got this. You and Evans like belly and his
every time thank you, Viking voices, like broken in half your
windpipe, Scott cut in it, and there's like a grape stuck on
your thing. Like, like, I'm always making
something up. So we did it like that.
(26:45):
And I was like, oh, sorry, this is fucking brain.
And then we were fine. I didn't think I sounded very
good in January, but I wasn't feeling too great either.
It was probably fine. I was real disconnected.
(27:06):
I was first time I'd ever playedmusic and was like, where am I?
What's I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do with,
like, my head and my heart. Oh, worked out because the new
album. I mean, I think it's fantastic.
And you sound great? I mean, I, I really liked all
your albums, but this one is just has a really unique event
(27:28):
to do you think that's a direction, you all want to
continue in, as far as, like, the shorter songs, and a more to
the point? I think the next album could be
even even more sprawling. And just You just kind of take
it as it goes and or maybe even thought about that.
I haven't thought about it but now that you're asking I feel
(27:51):
like It'd be cool to surprise ourselves again.
I feel like we always do like a real moment.
Island did not see that coming. Cool, but I would love to have
that experience like we did withrebuilding the mountain just
like whoa, weird cool that worked like but who knows?
(28:13):
No, we haven't. I wrote a song, I don't know if
it's good or not because every time I play it, Josh kind of
giggles. Ellen.
What what am I like? Do I am I just not realizing I'm
playing songs. Already is.
Why are you laughing? Donna mean way?
He's just he's like he'll recordit.
Like to use it. Can we use it?
(28:36):
But no, no confirmation on that side of that, Josh has a couple
songs. Few songs, just floating around.
Now that I'm living with him andhis girlfriend, I'm like getting
a chance to hear it eased in there like baby stages.
You know, that shit's really cool. being his girlfriend just
(28:57):
sit on the couch, like, we had this some One day where he just
played for like an hour and we will just like lay down on the
couch and realigned out and we were going on these like trips
and our mind. This is really cool.
We had some cool visuals that wetalked about it afterwards but
he writes cool stuff and he's just born to do it, you know,
(29:22):
I'm glad I get to be in a band with him because it makes my
life easier because you can spires the fuck out of me and I
just kind of follow his lead. A lot of the time.
Well I know that I've seen you're doing some of the East
Coast tour days. I'm done in Austin.
Any plans you think for coming down to Texas anytime soon or
there's that I honestly don't know where we're going.
(29:47):
I kind of know I just looked at it was I let store fuck it.
That's cool. I know as East Coast you know
this is Royal this is royal blue.
This is torso. I wonder, like, they're playing
in a lot of different places, like, you know, their budding up
to like a circuit that we would normally go to, like a different
(30:10):
part. So I'm really curious to see
experience that, like, go to like a smaller part of, you
know, a state. That's that's going to be really
cool and really do for us and I expect to have some new little
buddies. First round of the new chapter
(30:37):
One of our favorite bands we toured with was the sword.
Oh yeah, yeah, I got a toured with them forever, man.
It's like maybe you saw the EastCoast.
Buddy. Westco, what are your side
forever? Really cool.
Guys. The last time?
No, no, it's fine. The last time I was I saw y'all
actually was with Monster Magnetwhen you opened up for them.
(31:00):
I guess. All that it's been a while but
that was, that was a really, really good show.
All was just that little Club. Yeah.
Right. It's changed like names 5 times.
I think it was called red seven at the time.
Yeah. Yeah.
Then outdoor Court to. Yeah.
(31:20):
Yeah, we played there too. Oh man.
Play. There were black Wizard and
Brant Bjork to that's cause I forgot about that.
Yeah it was a cool place. It's yeah.
It's it was called barracudas now it's so I don't even know
what it can't seem to keep an identity for very long, but that
was a rumor. It was a very Confusion.
(31:51):
Well, I guess going forward, I mean I was reading in the press
release to where you were basically saying that this feels
almost like a new band for you. Like again, you know, and like
you're kind of starting your allare kind of starting from page
one again. So I mean do you feel kind of
like the sky's the limit for where you guys can go next or
(32:14):
just kind of being taken? Baby steps getting out there
after after all you've been through or Where is your mindset
like as far as the future of theband is concerned.
I am kind of sitting on, you know what the possibilities are
(32:35):
moving forward. Only I don't know what's going
to happen. I think good things.
You know. The future of the band.
I don't know. It just feels good.
It feels different this time around and maybe that's because
I feel more present and then we all are except y'all are Leavin.
(33:06):
Yes. So I don't know.
I just, I don't want to Have really any expectations other
than to have a good experience. You know, I think this is a good
nuge. I don't know if it's a new book
or a new chapter. It feels somewhere in the
(33:27):
middle, you know? Well, I wish you all the best
with the album and the tour and hopefully if you guys come down
to Austin I will definitely be there.
Actually, you know what? No, I saw you.
Like I saw you on the Crooked doors to her to, I just
remember. Now I saw you at another little
Club in Austin, where you guys played a set, which was, which
(33:48):
was great at a memory lapse here.
But yeah, shit. I don't remember most tours, but
hopefully get to see y'all soon.Yeah, thank you for your time.
Sorry, again, about the first attempt.
No problem. Cool.
Thank you. When he takes the mound of
(34:09):
taking the time out for this interview, if you're looking to
pre-order the album, take out the blog link for this episode
with a link to order as promised.
I'll be playing a track off the new album, It's called cut.
It's the song I mentioned earlier.
That sounds a lot like My BloodyValentine but has their own
unique stamp on it for sure. I think you really dig it, so
give it a listen by the new album and until next time, stay
safe and stay saying.
Hello and welcome to the smells like if in its and this podcast,
I'm your host, Michael Taylor. Those of you who don't know, I
run the website smells like a bandit sadness.com it's a Blog
covering, the best alternative rock from the 80s and 90s up to
present day. I'm a proud middle-aged indexer
who is still obsessed with the music of his Youth and loves to
talk about it today. I'm speaking to Melanie Parsons
(00:38):
the vocalist and bassist for Lana hard.
Rockers Royal Thunder the We areback with rebuilding the
mountain, the first album have five years out.
June 16th, be a spinefarm records like past efforts,
including wig, and crooked doors, and sees the group
continued, their unique marriageof classic, rock and nice
alternative with a contemporary Edge.
It also marks the return of drummer Evan diprima.
It's also one of the Bands most direct and immediate efforts
(00:59):
reflecting the group's recent struggles with sobriety and
renew. Focus on their musical vision
and front and center is Melanie Parsons the PowerHouse vocalist
with inimitable voice and delivery.
Those alternately Fierce and introspective Today's interview,
guy speak to Parsons about the band struggle with sobriety how
conquering her demons rejuvenated her dedication to
the oil Thunder. Other groups.
Songwriting process is change reuniting with the Prima and
(01:19):
much more to check out the interview and stick around
after. It's all be playing the track
cut off the new album. Alright, so I've loved the new
album, I haven't listened to it for the past couple weeks, and I
was reading the press release and seems like, you guys had
(01:40):
kind of a rough past couple of few years as far as like getting
sober and all the stuff that youall went through.
So I was wondering, I guess. Why do you think everybody in
the band kind of hit, kind of a hard time?
All at once is that the pandemicthat kind of exacerbated things
or just I think, definitely. forme, I know that that was a, that
(02:09):
played a huge factor in Me goingfurther down than I already was
pretty low. Starting out, I think.
After Evan left, the band with all due respect to anybody, we
played with because anybody thatyou know, came along and helped
(02:30):
carry the torch especially on drums at that time.
I feel like there was just that sense that something was
missing. After our band broke up.
So in that, I think we were continuing to play before the
(02:52):
pandemic. But we're really fucking
depressed. And I think the The first thing
when you feel bad is like you know, you want to hit the eject
button and not bugging base, your pain, like who wants to
feel pain. But we were avoiding how much it
(03:12):
hurt and how it almost felt likein the back of our minds, we
knew it was over. Because without Evan, it was
just kind of know, just different and not as fulfilling
to miss that. Like, you know, it's like having
a really cool puzzle and like, he took his peace and we like
(03:33):
carved another one out and put it in there.
I was like, man, she's not like flush.
But so then the pandemic hit andyou know as we all know it um
fuck the lot of people. Yeah.
And II didn't realize Realize what was inside of me?
Like, what kind of Darkness was in?
(03:54):
I mean, I've always known, you know, struggle with depression
and stuff like that anxiety. And the pandemic hit and I was
like, dude, definitely like a fucking very fucking depressed
and socially awkward and full ofanxiety all this shit.
I just didn't realize I had a lot of time.
(04:17):
To face. And So yeah, I just I personally
just got deeper into my fucking like drugs and drinking and
fucking being as wild as I possibly could, because I wanted
to have fun and feel good and I thought that was I did.
I actually, I did have fun. And at all that to say not just
(04:42):
to focus on myself, but I know Josh and Evan were going.
Evan was going through his own thing.
I'll let him tell his stories got one.
Um, and Josh had already started, kind of those at the
beginning stages of his sobriety. so, I think we all got
(05:04):
sober, because in those three separate experiences like away
from each other. Not playing, we all just came to
different places that we considered our bottom for me.
It wasn't until February 1st. Well, the week before that I was
(05:24):
just like, very fucking sick. I was very sick during the three
shows that we played in January.I was holding it together,
especially the one in Atlanta always.
I was bleeding vomiting. All kinds of things were coming
out of my body. Great.
I think it was partly because I kept trying to stop drinking and
(05:47):
I couldn't and I go like I'd always come back to I think it
was just kind of like a withdrawal kind of thing, but
February 1st, I got really, really fucking sick.
And I was in Philly with my friend Mike and I was like, I
called home as like did. And we had a long conversation
about it. Josh and I, and his girlfriend,
(06:10):
and they were like our offendersdone.
Unless you go to rehab, or just Saban some way to get sober.
And if you don't go to rehab, then you have to come live with
us or the option. Is there to come live with us
and your job is to quit your jobwhere you're at and God, I'm
(06:31):
take this is the longest answer in the world.
Yeah, they're like just come here and stay sober and that's
how I got sober was and I'm still here living with them.
And after this tour in July, I'll get my own place but you
know I had to do it like there was going to be no roll thunder
(06:53):
and probably not going to be anymore be, pretty sure it was damn
near close to killing me. I'm glad it almost did because
it led me to a better place. It really did.
Well, what do you think like howlong was it from getting clean
(07:14):
to starting work on the new album?
Like what was that process? Like it was it just got.
Was it? You're ready.
As soon as you were cleaned up the ready to get right back in
the swing of things or to kind of take a while to get the
chemistry back and get back in that groove.
Or how did that? How did that work?
(07:37):
I, I got sober. Just to make the album, which I
think was. When did we fucking record?
We did a single and then I thinkthe album I think we recorded in
October. I want to say, quote me on that,
but I was sober for the I think it was three weeks it took us to
(08:00):
make the album. I was sober for those three
weeks and as soon as the last song was done, I was drinking
like immediately right back where I started.
Started but that that stretch ofsobriety kind of sucked because
I didn't really want it, I did it because I felt like I wanted
to like be present and show up and like honor you know what
(08:23):
we're doing as a band that I want to let anyone down.
So I was sober during that but Idid not like it.
I didn't want to do that with mylife.
I wasn't ready. So like I said, I mean we
started getting fucked up and then like I think we were doing
you know, we were filming a lot,the process of of making the
(08:46):
album and I remember being interviewed and I was like dude
I'm sorry I'm just fucking hungover.
My bandmates didn't know that I had been drinking.
Um, and then yeah, fast-forward,February PSI, hit it like extra
hard. When did Evan rejoined, the
(09:07):
band? And how did that was that?
Like an instantaneous kind of shot in the arm as far as
getting everybody back together?Was that really what started the
process of getting a new album? Or did he come in?
Kind of after the fact, after y'all are written the songs, or,
or, how did that? Come about.
He I was on my back porch. At the time, I'm old Houston.
(09:32):
I got this like, message from him and it was just immediately
like walls down like got right to that to that place where he
was like I miss you guys. I love you guys.
I'm sorry, I walked away. You know, he played with other
people and he's like, you just don't know what you have until
(09:54):
it's gone and we felt the same way.
Fucking scooters, go crazy. So yeah he's still he hits me up
and we started talking and it's just like alright cool.
(10:15):
You need to talk to Josh. He's like all right but so we
get Josh and him together and then almost immediately but then
like a week we were writing. Well, I'd say that.
Back, they were mostly riding. I was still kind of half in half
out, I mean my, I wanted it but but you know, who knew if I was
(10:38):
going to come through her or not, but eventually we got
together, they didn't most, theydid all of the writing actually,
they were really good about it. Like, you know, we were writing
remotely and then they kept waiting for me to jump on.
And you have any ideas you have baseboards?
Yeah. And I was like, yeah.
(11:00):
I was very last minute but it worked out.
It really did work out. All right, I am You know in the
past not so far behind me like I'm not I wasn't really. not the
kind of person who would be like, That's so damn good.
(11:20):
I did a good job, that looks great, like I'm proud of myself,
but I actually am very proud of that.
This album means a lot to me. Like it's like It wasn't only a
second chance, it felt like we were taking a chance in the way
the songs were written. It was very different, it wasn't
(11:43):
like, hey guys hope you like this song disclaimer you have 17
minutes before you hear any vocals and it wasn't intentional
to have things feel more like minimalistic or that wasn't
intentional a tall order. Like keep it under a certain
time. but it's kind of funny that it happened that way and I
(12:06):
don't know why, and it's strangeto me because we're all in all
in a different headspace and that's what came out was like,
short sweet, you know, not cutting corners but like getting
get out and So yeah, now I'm rambling.
I know I was actually going to ask about that the difference in
(12:27):
the song links and kind of how its kind of more economical kind
of gets more straight to the point and lyrically, songs like
knife, pretty much lay out. You know what you were
struggling with was it always going to be your kind of girl to
make it autobiographical as far as the lyrics were concerned or
were you ever thinking more doing it more?
Kind of like metaphorically or or just, is that just your Just
(12:50):
to kind of hear route to be really direct or was that new
for you? As far as being kind of bear
about what had happened. I honestly, Didn't go into the
studio. With many ideas about how I felt
about anything. I actually remember feeling
(13:11):
like, I didn't have any ideas and I didn't have anything to
say. Although I felt a lot of things.
I didn't have, I didn't have that.
I wasn't tapped in like where I would normally be but I I really
believe that. There is a Common Thread,
(13:34):
there's, you know, stringing running through all of it.
And it was not, it just it happened that way, it wasn't on
purpose, but I have a tendency, no, no Tennessee.
I always step back and get out of the way and like, get out of
(13:55):
my head and get out of myself. And I have always kind of Tapped
into. whatever it is out there in the Beyond us.
But I've always just kind of opened myself up to, like, what
are you saying? What what's, what's this song
about? And it just kind of comes to me
(14:19):
and I don't necessarily always understand it, I'm not always
lined up with it. I'm not always experiencing it
in that moment but like it's usually after an album is done
and I sit back and listen to it.I'm like who that's I'm Sorry my
phone's making noise. Um so, that's when You know,
(14:42):
when I when it's all it was completed on my off up.
Well that turned out to be me like you know rebuilding them
out on his me, trying my higher self my you know future Mill
looking into that moment that time that I like being in a dark
place and just being ready to take me out of it and trying to
(15:05):
help me hear the truth about where I was headed and where I
could go I don't know why that happened but it's pretty cool
because now I'm like, fuck that's all that totally ended up
happening but that's a that's pretty common and I'm not trying
(15:28):
to take credit for it. I honestly believe sometimes the
lyrics have in that you know when they're when they're You
know, coming to me, they're not necessarily from me it like I'm
not, maybe I make sense, I don'tknow.
But eventually, you know, it is something I feel like a vehicle
(15:52):
a lot of times when it comes to Art and like you know weird
ideas it'll pop up in my head like I can take a look at comic
book strip, I'm like, what the fuck is this is that it's like,
you know, it's just like thoughtor ideas or feelings and I don't
know where I feel like. We're just all vehicles for
like, whatever were here to share to make things better.
(16:14):
I hope I hope that's true. I think it's true.
So there you go. That's true for me.
No, I know I think that is definitely.
I mean to me the thing about music as always been I think
it's a healing thing. So I imagine it was therapeutic
for you and I also meant to be therapeutic for anybody
listening to it is who's going through something similar.
(16:37):
I really love the opening songs part of my favorite drag me.
I like that one. A whole lot is the mood of it
and your vocals and everything. Deep was that one that was
written early on or how did thatsong Come about and remember
that kind of That one that's a perfect example of what I'm
(16:57):
talking about. I was like, I don't know what
I'm gonna do on this song and I was in.
I had just had a conversation. Say this.
(17:17):
I just had a conversation with someone in, really The mood in
the room at that time, not saying necessarily that it was a
conversation with somebody in the rumor around or whatever it
was just a conversation happenedand I was in that room after the
(17:38):
conversation and the room just felt like thick with like
tension and like fear and like totally disconnected.
And I didn't realize that the conversation that I had had the
lyrics that came about, Were. The consequences of what I had
(18:07):
say like so they the words endedup being like a.
Oh so you said this you did this.
You see painted it this color, check it out.
Here's here's what you did. And it turns out I did go down
the path that I was singing about like all those things
(18:30):
happens and lot of regretting that song lot of like Fuck.
I'm a liar and I You know, at the time I really try not to be
a fucking liar and I actually don't consider myself a liar.
I was lying at that time and Lying to myself that and then
(18:54):
really just opened up a can of worms so that songs about you
fucked up. Like you better hope you got
They're hope you got a chance atmending this and it's still kind
of floating out there, but definitely drag me down.
Big time was, was that Dancing with Myself Line, a little Billy
(19:18):
Idol, omage? Or was that just a I thought of
like, um, no, I after the fact, I'm like, there's a lot of Like,
Dancing with Myself or dancing by Myself songs, And the first
one that pops in my head is Robin Dancing On My Own.
(19:38):
That's a good song. But no I won't.
Listen, I wasn't tipping my hat but I'm sure I don't know, I
think it's a it's a it's a greatway to, you know, Allow someone
like maybe the visual experienceof like fun because it's like,
(20:02):
man, now I'm just like I'm out there by myself like, in my own
you know, and you start dancing.He's getting your own world just
kind of like zoned out. So I mean speaking of I know
that he was an influence but I think it's interesting how you
guys I know up. Listen to like hear the past
articles saying that your bliss by bands, like the colt and
(20:23):
things like that. And I kind of hear that always
in your Or sound. But also you've heard likes of
My Bloody Valentine kind of stuff and some of these songs.
Are there any Missouri music? You're listening to that kind of
inspired you while you're makingthis album particular?
Or it just came out the way it came out?
My Bloody Valentine. I've definitely tell Josh.
(20:44):
You said that he's a, he's a bigfan of My Bloody Valentine.
I Like My Bloody Valentine as well, but not as much as him,
um, and we'll use it was young My Bloody Valentine.
Oh the cult, the cult? I don't know.
I, I think it's a cult. And I'm like, I feel like we're
the, the Colts little brothers. Feel like you're so cool.
(21:08):
Can we hang out? Get your link ID.
No definitely not ever try to sound like anyone but I we all
love the cold a lot. Have you ever met?
Have you ever met them before? No.
(21:31):
Well me and Evan saw that. Well me Evan and Josh saw them
one time in Vegas at a casino. We were on tour.
We got like our tour manager. Do somebody new somebody so we
got like wristbands to get in not backstage or anything but
just to get into the thing and we swear I swear that you know,
(21:51):
is very looked at me like Crying.
I didn't happen and John said, piss just like made eye contact,
with evidence smiled and Billy. Duffy, I'm pretty sure he shook
Josh's hand or something, none of that happened, but we were s
like, the closest we've ever gotten is like, in our minds.
I did you see that? Oh, I bet they would lovey.
(22:17):
I mean, I met them. I've been reviewed Billy and em4
there. The coolest.
I mean it just very like down toearth more than you would expect
you on the day of a little bit of rock star attitude but you
know, it's yes. Just a little sprinkle that I'm
like yeah I know you guys shouldtotally have little should have
a little and your stuff because okay, cool and Billy.
(22:42):
Don't, these guitar tones are like yeah, yeah, it's that
kretsch and everything is prettyamazing.
I don't invest like best drummer.
I can go on and on. One thing is for certain, even
though no matter what, you went through your voice still, sounds
fantastic. It's always well, listen to, to
(23:06):
do your band, and I get here songs, even pastels like time
machine and stuff, I'm always taken by the strength of your
voice was there? Any, did you have any issues as
far as kind of getting singing? We're like any vocal coach
stuff. Because you could because of
your state or late, you're just naturally as your voice and
you're good to go and You didn'tneed to.
(23:28):
But well to sit back a little bit.
I didn't. You were talking about like
music that influence. Yeah, album.
I actually could not listen to music during the pandemic.
I couldn't. I like I just quit listening to
music. It was too depressing it was.
I don't know. It just felt so far away which
(23:49):
is really weird. So all you know in saying that I
didn't I didn't saying like at all hardly ever sing.
I don't know how I still have something and I hope I always
do. But no I don't I really don't
(24:13):
know what I'm doing. What I do know is since I was
13, I was in like grindcore bands and metal bands and still
are screening and weird things to my voice.
So I think maybe there's some damage and it's already been
done and I've just been riding out the result of that.
(24:35):
I I don't know how I can sing but just do but I definitely
have a weird fucking like psychosomatic issue pretty much
every time before I go get on stage or before band practice.
I have like these weird vocal panic attacks where I like, only
(24:57):
see because it's like if I don'tsing for a month, like, you
know, sing sing like, bam practice or use it loudly
outside of me like so, I always get this weird thing.
I make myself hoarse, I go, I go, I like freaked myself out
and I lose it. And after we did the album, we
(25:20):
went to band practice because wehave those shows coming up in
January. So, we started preparing before
that and I went to sing and I was like, I can't do not like,
we have to tune down. We have a 2 down.
They were like, we did this whole album and the done.
This key like what kind of tuning down?
Like we're gonna have to go home?
Fuck. It's empty.
There's no I can't do this live.I like, freak myself out like
(25:43):
that all the time. I wasn't sober at that time.
I was so I had like a weird fucking Panic thing.
That hasn't been there since I think I might be lying about
that. But I remember her.
We tune down and I did the albumlike that and it sounded
(26:05):
horrible and I was like, I'm sorry, I can't, I can't sing it.
Eat Josh is like, all right, great, great, great.
And he goes UPS, we practice at a music store.
He goes upstairs and get to reverb pedal, and he puts it on
my vocals in his cranks. It could, you know, everybody
sounds great. Very Reverb is like Ulis amount
(26:25):
of Reverb. And he's like, we're tuning back
up. We're like, let's do this again.
You got this. You and Evans like belly and his
every time thank you, Viking voices, like broken in half your
windpipe, Scott cut in it, and there's like a grape stuck on
your thing. Like, like, I'm always making
something up. So we did it like that.
(26:45):
And I was like, oh, sorry, this is fucking brain.
And then we were fine. I didn't think I sounded very
good in January, but I wasn't feeling too great either.
It was probably fine. I was real disconnected.
(27:06):
I was first time I'd ever playedmusic and was like, where am I?
What's I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do with,
like, my head and my heart. Oh, worked out because the new
album. I mean, I think it's fantastic.
And you sound great? I mean, I, I really liked all
your albums, but this one is just has a really unique event
(27:28):
to do you think that's a direction, you all want to
continue in, as far as, like, the shorter songs, and a more to
the point? I think the next album could be
even even more sprawling. And just You just kind of take
it as it goes and or maybe even thought about that.
I haven't thought about it but now that you're asking I feel
(27:51):
like It'd be cool to surprise ourselves again.
I feel like we always do like a real moment.
Island did not see that coming. Cool, but I would love to have
that experience like we did withrebuilding the mountain just
like whoa, weird cool that worked like but who knows?
(28:13):
No, we haven't. I wrote a song, I don't know if
it's good or not because every time I play it, Josh kind of
giggles. Ellen.
What what am I like? Do I am I just not realizing I'm
playing songs. Already is.
Why are you laughing? Donna mean way?
He's just he's like he'll recordit.
Like to use it. Can we use it?
(28:36):
But no, no confirmation on that side of that, Josh has a couple
songs. Few songs, just floating around.
Now that I'm living with him andhis girlfriend, I'm like getting
a chance to hear it eased in there like baby stages.
You know, that shit's really cool. being his girlfriend just
(28:57):
sit on the couch, like, we had this some One day where he just
played for like an hour and we will just like lay down on the
couch and realigned out and we were going on these like trips
and our mind. This is really cool.
We had some cool visuals that wetalked about it afterwards but
he writes cool stuff and he's just born to do it, you know,
(29:22):
I'm glad I get to be in a band with him because it makes my
life easier because you can spires the fuck out of me and I
just kind of follow his lead. A lot of the time.
Well I know that I've seen you're doing some of the East
Coast tour days. I'm done in Austin.
Any plans you think for coming down to Texas anytime soon or
there's that I honestly don't know where we're going.
(29:47):
I kind of know I just looked at it was I let store fuck it.
That's cool. I know as East Coast you know
this is Royal this is royal blue.
This is torso. I wonder, like, they're playing
in a lot of different places, like, you know, their budding up
to like a circuit that we would normally go to, like a different
(30:10):
part. So I'm really curious to see
experience that, like, go to like a smaller part of, you
know, a state. That's that's going to be really
cool and really do for us and I expect to have some new little
buddies. First round of the new chapter
(30:37):
One of our favorite bands we toured with was the sword.
Oh yeah, yeah, I got a toured with them forever, man.
It's like maybe you saw the EastCoast.
Buddy. Westco, what are your side
forever? Really cool.
Guys. The last time?
No, no, it's fine. The last time I was I saw y'all
actually was with Monster Magnetwhen you opened up for them.
(31:00):
I guess. All that it's been a while but
that was, that was a really, really good show.
All was just that little Club. Yeah.
Right. It's changed like names 5 times.
I think it was called red seven at the time.
Yeah. Yeah.
Then outdoor Court to. Yeah.
(31:20):
Yeah, we played there too. Oh man.
Play. There were black Wizard and
Brant Bjork to that's cause I forgot about that.
Yeah it was a cool place. It's yeah.
It's it was called barracudas now it's so I don't even know
what it can't seem to keep an identity for very long, but that
was a rumor. It was a very Confusion.
(31:51):
Well, I guess going forward, I mean I was reading in the press
release to where you were basically saying that this feels
almost like a new band for you. Like again, you know, and like
you're kind of starting your allare kind of starting from page
one again. So I mean do you feel kind of
like the sky's the limit for where you guys can go next or
(32:14):
just kind of being taken? Baby steps getting out there
after after all you've been through or Where is your mindset
like as far as the future of theband is concerned.
I am kind of sitting on, you know what the possibilities are
(32:35):
moving forward. Only I don't know what's going
to happen. I think good things.
You know. The future of the band.
I don't know. It just feels good.
It feels different this time around and maybe that's because
I feel more present and then we all are except y'all are Leavin.
(33:06):
Yes. So I don't know.
I just, I don't want to Have really any expectations other
than to have a good experience. You know, I think this is a good
nuge. I don't know if it's a new book
or a new chapter. It feels somewhere in the
(33:27):
middle, you know? Well, I wish you all the best
with the album and the tour and hopefully if you guys come down
to Austin I will definitely be there.
Actually, you know what? No, I saw you.
Like I saw you on the Crooked doors to her to, I just
remember. Now I saw you at another little
Club in Austin, where you guys played a set, which was, which
(33:48):
was great at a memory lapse here.
But yeah, shit. I don't remember most tours, but
hopefully get to see y'all soon.Yeah, thank you for your time.
Sorry, again, about the first attempt.
No problem. Cool.
Thank you. When he takes the mound of
(34:09):
taking the time out for this interview, if you're looking to
pre-order the album, take out the blog link for this episode
with a link to order as promised.
I'll be playing a track off the new album, It's called cut.
It's the song I mentioned earlier.
That sounds a lot like My BloodyValentine but has their own
unique stamp on it for sure. I think you really dig it, so
give it a listen by the new album and until next time, stay
safe and stay saying.
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.