Hey, this is Sonia from Weakend Friends, and
you're listening to My Weekly Mixtape with Brian
Colburn. What is going on, friends? Welcome to
My Weekly Mixtape, the show that takes the classic
mixtape approach to building a modern playlist.
I'm your host, Brian Colburn. And as I've said
many times over the years, I'd like to think
of My Weekly Mixtape as a community, not just
a show, and every mixtaper listening is just
as much a part of the conversation as I am. Last
October, Patreon mixtaper Chad Lamasa was raving
about a new album he'd picked up, Weakend Friends
Feels Like Hell. And after sitting down with
the album myself, I immediately agreed with his
passion for this album. Hence why the band has
continued to come up in conversations since the
album's release. So tonight, I'm grateful to
take that conversation to the next level as I'm
joined by Sonia Storino of Weekend Friends. Sonia,
thank you so much for joining me tonight. Yeah,
thanks for having me. Start to be on. So since
it's your first time on the show, let's start
with the basics. What does the word mixtape mean
to you? I feel like it feels very nostalgic.
It's something I was a little bit, I guess I'm
a little too young for the mix tape, but a little
too old to not know what a mix CD is. So I remember
making mixes growing up, like in the heyday of
downloading songs and burning them on CDs and
giving them to your friends. But I think it just,
yeah, good way to share music. Well, as I mentioned
at the top of the show, we're here to talk about
the band's latest release, Feels Like Hell. you
just don't move the same so i stalk you from
the screen and it makes me feel insane i used
to be around and now you're just these lights
and sounds kicking things off tonight with a
little sneak peek of the song nosebleed as a
fan this album feels like the culmination of
what would be a decade -long journey especially
considering your Gloomy Tunes EP came out in
2015. Can you talk about the band's musical evolution
over the last 10 years and how it led you to
Feels Like Hell? Yeah, we've just constantly
been doing the thing. I know that's what every
band can say, but we've been working hard and
really just diving into trying to write good
songs. I think the main ethos of the band for
me has always been I want to be a fan of my own
music. So whatever project, whatever record we're
making, I'm writing music to be a fan of those
songs. I want to feel like they're songs I would
listen to or enjoy listening to if I wasn't making
them. And that stayed through the whole time.
I think as a band, we've grown quite a lot. We've
had some lineup changes with our drummer. Annie's
recorded and engineered everything and produced
everything we've ever made. She's grown tremendously
in that. And I mean, it's always been awesome,
but so much growth. And then just Annie and I
working more collaboratively, even just at the
starting stages of songwriting and co -writing
has been like a new development in the most recent
years of our band. So just, yeah, always growth
while still maintaining like the same ethos of
just like wanting to make music that like you
actually care about. Well, what drew me initially
to the band is that I am personally very much
a musical chameleon. So when I hear a band that
I can't easily describe to someone, you have
my attention. So if someone were to ask me if
Weekend Friends were punk, emo, alternative rock,
indie or pop, my answer would be yes. Nice. So
how do you strike a balance between genres while
staying authentic? to what you want to create
as an artist. Yeah. Um, it's interesting. You
mentioned that because I just love so much music.
There's so many different kinds of music that
I listened to. And I think a lot of artists share
that, but I never found myself as like a music
listener to be like pigeonholed into like one
genre. I've always been all over the map since
I was a kid, you know? And I think a lot of times
like you tend to pigeonhole yourself genre wise.
because enjoyment of art and enjoyment of music
can also be a place where when you're growing
up and when you're younger where you find your
self -expression and you find like who you are
as a person and I guess I've just like always
been like a mess of a person I don't know I've
like really just liked so much shit and I don't
really think genre specific when I'm writing
I feel as though every song is telling its own
story and has its own like character or its own
set of characters. And I kind of just approach
songwriting in that way. And in a sense of like,
be true to the character of the song, sort of
as if you were like, you know, it was like a
movie or like, you know, every, you're not going
to like keep making the same movie over and over
again. So I just don't want to keep writing the
same song. I think there are things that are
through line, like, you know, my voice and our
sound, but Yeah, I guess it's just it's really
all over the map for me. Now, the band has worked
with Don Giovanni Records since 2018's Common
Blah. Can you talk about that relationship and
what the label brings to the band? Yeah, we love
Joe at Don Giovanni. It's a small operation.
When we signed on with them, it was very much
like told to us, this is a very indie DIY label.
they had worked and continue to work with amazing
artists have put out some of my favorite records
but it really is a small operation and with that
you get a lot of real face time with the people
who are working behind the label and they're
humans and it always has felt like in a world
where everything is just so driven to be like
content like sell your soul like do anything
you can like we're gonna take all your money
like there was never any of that at all from
Don Giovanni which is is really supportive and
I think the more and more I do this the more
I realize like the people who come at you and
try to like flash all these like promises and
like dangle the carrot in front of you are the
most bullshit and the people who are actually
there to like help you and support you will just
like show up and be there and be there consistently
and be down to listen and will be like honest
And that's always been my experience with Andre
Bonney and with Joe, just like super honest and
there to meet you in the middle and to work with
you. Well, as a whole, Feels Like Hell tackles
some heavy themes, both musically and lyrically.
So on one side of the spectrum, you have anxiety
and burnout, but on the other, survival. And
I think that becomes immediately clear as soon
as you press play on Tough Luck, Bleed Me Out.
Can you talk about how those themes weave throughout
the album as a whole? Yeah. I'm someone who's
very aware of the world around me, and I have
sensitivities to all types of emotion. I guess
that's just describing being human, but it's
not always a given these days. Right, right.
And we're living in a time where there's just
a lot of newness to how people go about being
terrible. how people plan to destroy our planet
and it could be very overwhelming and sometimes
it could feel very hopeless and there's this
like through line I think for people to feel
like nihilistic about it because of that and
want to just be like well let it all burn whatever
but what I've always learned through making music
and just as a person is that there's so much
more power in community and and like surviving
it and being hopeful so where there's like a
lot of catharsis on those like negative feelings
and emotions and observations on this record
or in any of the music i write whether they're
looking inwardly or outwardly at the same time
like i like that you bring up survival because
it's it's the times we're living through and
and i believe that like you know you'll always
get to the other side and the other side is also
the reality that there is a lot of good and there's
a lot to live for and there's a lot to show up
for and when we go play these songs live and
you see people like connecting and relating and
singing along it's like that's the reason why
you survive that's the reason why you keep making
art and creating that's really actually quite
beautiful that it certainly is now in the liner
notes you talked about having a few years of
writer's block leading up to this album yeah
can you dive into how you took what conceivably
could have been a breaking point for the band
and how you turned it into a breakthrough instead?
Yeah. After our second record quitter, we had
been touring a lot. COVID had just happened and
then things did start opening up again. And we
started just hitting the road and playing a ton
of shows. And a lot of that was support tours
for bigger bands where we were the opening act
and just getting out and doing that. we did so
much of that and then when i would come home
like when you tour at that level it's really
exhausting and there's really no way to sugarcoat
it it's like that time you get on stage you feel
like a fucking superhero and you feel like you're
just out there doing the coolest thing in the
world but the reality outside of that is just
like a lot of grind and a lot of struggle and
a lot of like sleeping in weird places and not
sleeping at all and not treating your body well
not treating your mind well and so I think grinding
at that level and and as a band for as long as
we did and as long as we kind of still are at
times it made me feel like really burnt out and
so when I would come home and then sit down to
like write or create you know it's hard to want
to get in that headspace and write and create
when you have this like negative connotation
to like the art itself because now it's become
this like thing that's causing a lot of like
hardship in your life which is a lot to deal
with especially because it's something you ultimately
do love and that makes you you and so I think
like refinding a relationship with music and
creating music that felt safe and that felt fun
and that felt like removed from those feelings
of burnout and those feelings of like stress
and hardship and the grind. That was something
that just took time and I'm happy we got there.
I'm happy we got through it and we're able to
again, turn it around and then make the record
we did. And I'm so proud of this record and I'm
so happy to see people finding it and finding
our band for the first time through this record.
So, and I'm so happy ultimately to be in a place
where I just feel so much more positive about.
making art and making music and getting to tour
and getting to be in a band. And that's a lot
of like self -work as well. But yeah, we turned
it around. So when you're writing material, have
there been moments where you're leaning into
that honesty that you're talking about, even
when it's raw and it cuts you to your core, that
ends up creating the strongest connection with
fans? I think so. I feel like while I am writing,
the emotion never feels like really there for
me. Like I usually if I'm writing something,
I've already kind of processed the emotion of
it beforehand. And so I'm not like feeling it
like necessarily like in like it almost like
you're almost like a conduit to it. Like it comes
back to your your brain from like a past memory
and then you're like putting it into a song.
So it's interesting because sometimes I'll write
something and it is really emotional and it's
like not until we get. So far, like we get on
stage and then play it and like hear people screaming
it back and like really connecting with it or
like sharing their stories that then like those
emotions I went through or witnessed become real
again. And you're just like, it's so nice to
like have that together, I guess. Well, just
a quick reminder to anyone listening, you can
hear the full versions of all the songs we're
talking about tonight on all the streaming services.
But let's be honest. Physical media is always
better. So be sure to grab a copy of Feels Like
Hell on vinyl or CD, either via Weekend Friends
Bandcamp page, or even better, from their merch
booth at their live show. But just as a reminder,
you can also hear all the songs we're discussing
tonight via the playlist I embedded on the episode
page over at myweeklymixtape .com. Now, the band's
collaborated with the insanely prolific Buckethead
on NPC, which, for those that don't know the
vernacular, it's in the video game world as well
as modern slang known as non -player character.
Honestly, I couldn't imagine a more perfect musical
mind to help bring that concept to life. His
guitar solo in this track starts off like a glitch
in a video game. That paints the musical picture
more perfect than I can even describe here. Just
take a listen for yourself. Now, was that solo
entirely Buckethead's vision or did you share
the concept of the song with him beforehand?
Yeah, we spoke about it. So we got into the studio
and he's just someone who loves to like share
music and share his process and share what he's
working on and like very collaborative energy
or has been at least to us. And we kind of talked
about like having him guest solo on a song and.
When that song finally came together, I wanted
that sound of like if you're an NPC and you're
living in this like manufactured or artificial
universe, the idea of it just like tearing apart
and like glitching out and kind of just ripping
the whole thing apart in this like big glitch
explosion. And I was like, I think I know the
guy who can play guitar exactly like that. So
I did. i did send that like as like a an idea
but then i also love how he starts with that
and it's just like crazy like it does feel like
the computer is about to explode uh fabric of
reality is just splitting apart but then he also
has like there's like some of my favorite little
like melody licks in the back half of the solo
that are just like really lovely and and so cool
um because i'm i'm a very like melodic guitar
solo kind of person with like i mean If I'm left
to my own devices. So I like that he kind of
blended both worlds. And it's like, so him. It's
so Buckethead. You like know that's who that
is as soon as you hear it. And did the collaboration
maybe introduce your band to people that maybe
heard of you through Buckethead? Yeah, certainly.
I mean, we got to open for him in L .A. back
in December. And there were a lot of people who
then came out to some of our West Coast dates
who were at that show. and it's really cool they're
always like such nice fans like we had they like
come up to the merch booth after like had chat
with them like always have like such a nice like
spirit and story to share like definitely like
in the best way possible i mean there's like
music nerds like people who just like love music
i mean i think if you do like buckethead you're
kind of a music nerd which is awesome i mean
he's released like hundreds of records and is
just you know always putting on new material
um so Yeah, it was really cool to see them at
our shows. And I never really thought there would
be like a crossover. And I guess like I was a
little worried when we were paying to open that
show that like people would not receive us as
well or just like think it was weird that we
were there. But they were all super excited.
And, you know, there was a lot of people who
really liked our stuff. So that's awesome. Well,
next, I want to touch on one of my personal favorite
tracks on the album, that being Smoke and Mirrors.
This is one of the most visceral moments on Feels
Like Hell. Yet, like we talked about earlier,
to me, this song has that sense of survival in
the lyrics, choosing self -preservation over
resentment as you walk away from something that's
completely one -sided. Looking back, what did
that moment of preservation teach you about yourself,
both as maybe a person and as a songwriter? yeah
you always have to set boundaries and that's
something i have only recently come around to
i think setting boundaries is so great i've always
been known in the past not really anymore but
i used to have a little bit of a temper and i
would like let things get to me and i could be
i'm italian so i can be a little spicy at times
and get a little aggro but uh i in more recent
times like just like advocating for yourself
setting boundaries and like when you're in situations
where you are being taken advantage of, or you
feel like, you know, that tension, all you need
to do is just be like, I think a little Eric
is like, I can't hold this ladder anymore. I
got to climb it for myself is just be like, it's
good to be helpful. It's good to be there, but
you have to know that point where it's like,
okay, and now I need to like put my own, put
my own, like, you know, life jacket on and my
own, you know, mask on before. I can help others.
And then, yeah, like as a songwriter, I guess
with that one, it was just like a really cathartic
one to bust out, I guess, you know, especially
if like the wound is fresh in those situations
with some of that animosity, it could feel, it
was like really nice to put that down. I think
I could speak for a lot of people when I say
that that catharsis comes from maybe the songwriting
as well as in the audience hearing that song,
because it's something a lot of people can relate
to. in one facet or another. Definitely. Now,
another thing I love about this album, and here's
where my music nerd comes into play, song dynamics.
I've talked about this on the show before with
Eric Bass of Shinedown and Chris Gerringer of
Sterling Sound. And if Annie were on the call
tonight, I'd be asking her this from a recording
perspective, but I want to ask you this from
a songwriting perspective. When I hear tracks
like Nosebleed, and Queen of Town, both of those
tracks feel hyper -focused on this roller coaster
of loud into quiet passages. Was that something
the band wrote with intent, or was that a product
of Annie's, as you mentioned, incredible studio
mastery on full display? Well, I feel like Annie
is amazing at capturing that. I have always leaned
a little into the drama. I love pop music. I
love the drama in pop music. And I love the loud,
quiet. I love a dramatic song. Again, I'm Italian,
right? It's like, I feel like there's so much
drama in that culture and in the music of that
culture. Like growing up with like Italian music,
actually, my parents are from Italy. So I have
a very... strong connection, I guess, or experience
with the culture. And yeah, I love, I just like
love drama. I love, I love a dramatic song. I
love a song that has range. I find myself like
so bored sometimes when something's just a little
too streamlined. So yeah, it makes it fun for
me. I just, it feels fun to do. Well, now I'm
going to tap into a song that I'm sure you've
talked about at nauseam and I hate to spoil past
episodes of the show, but This past December,
Weekend Friends cover of Edna Swapp's Torn kicked
off my Sound of Cover Songs 2025 episode. And
while so many people know Torn from Natalie Imbruglia's
iconic pop take on the track, I feel like your
band's version honors both the spirit of the
original song while moving it fully into Weekend
Friends universe to the point where it no longer
feels like a cover song. It just feels like a
natural extension of the tracks on Feels Like
Hell. Can you talk about the band's approach
to covering this track and maybe what the mindset
in closing the album with it was? Yeah. So I'll
start at the end of your question because I think
closing the album with it for me felt like a
bonus track. In my mind, the album ends at Great
Expectations and then Torn was like the bonus
track because we did release Torn before the
album rollout started to happen. And again, that's
how I can. That's. how I decided to put that
last or we decided to set that one last. Yeah,
that song just came about out of the fact that
we were like doing a cover would be fun. And
we already had done a version of it for our Patreon
page years ago. We would do like this, like a
subscriber poll and have different themes and
have people pick what song they wanted us to
do. And that one was like one of the top voted
on. And then years later, we were heading out
on tour with our friends in the band Slothrust,
who are this incredible band and great friends
of ours. This was in like early 2024. And we
were like, let's shake up our set. Like we're
the opening band. One of the things they do a
lot is they do a lot of covers and they do these
awesome covers. They did a cover of Genuine's
Pony and they completely revamped it into like
this like really heavy guitar rock song. You
know, they've done like Britney Spears songs
before when we've been on tour with them. I think
they did a Splish Splash, the Taking a Bath song.
Oh, Bobby Darin. They've done Sex and Candy,
like so many great covers. And I was like, I
think their fans would dig it. Like, let's just
let's bust out Torn. Like, that was so fun to
record for the Patreon. Like, let's dust it off
and let's put it in the set. And we did. Yeah,
people went feral for it when we unleashed it
on that crowd. And then it just kind of became
this thing at live shows. And so while we were
gearing up to make the new record, we're like,
well, let's release Torn as a single. Let's just
put it out there. People are loving it live.
It's like a fun thing to do to kind of launch
into this new chapter. And then it just, like
you said, kind of did feel like we really embodied
it. So I wanted to keep it. on the record. I
thought that was like, you know, it felt like
it belonged on the Feels Like Hell record. And
like, so we just tacked it on the end there.
Okay. So when you listen back to Feels Like Hell
from start to finish as an album, is there a
song now in hindsight that surprises you the
most, either emotionally or simply how the final
recording turned out compared to what it sounded
like in your head? During the writing stages.
Like during the right, like where it completely
took a life of its own. Yeah. I am. All right.
That's a good question. Making me think, I guess
I would say NPC because I kind of had that one
that started off as just that like little opening
riff and like. There was so many iterations of
it. There was like, I think like a voice demo
where like the lyrics are like not anything what
they ended up being. And it was one of those
ones like I really didn't like it. Like we started
writing it and I was like, I don't know about
this song. Like it's not, I can't see the vision.
And Annie really pushed for us to continue exploring
that one because I think she really liked the
like. lyrics and like the concept of it because
it was just something so different so we kept
hammering away at it and then once it actually
was tracked and we started really like layering
onto it i was like oh yeah this song rocks like
this is really cool and it's one of my favorites
to play live now and i think one of my favorites
on the record but in the creating it and like
writing it definitely not it was like one of
those ones i'm like i don't even know if i want
to keep doing this um but happy we stuck with
it thanks i'm glad you did too Now, we've talked
a lot about the singular songs on the album,
but I also want to reflect on Feels Like Hell
as an album itself. Because when you think about
Annie's two piano interludes, they feel like
part of Feels Like Hell's overarching story versus,
let's just say, two passages amongst a collection
of songs. Is the album experience something that's
important to the band in a streaming era? where
the majority of the focus is usually pointed
towards a hit single. Yeah, I love an album.
I buy records. I am someone who just loves to
put on a record. I love to just cook and have
a record on the background, or I honestly like
to just sit and actually immerse myself and listen
to a record. I love little interludes. I love
a tasteful little throwback or callback to a
theme. I love a well -crafted record. Something
I with this record, we made a conscious decision
to try to do. I love lyrics that call back and
reference like an earlier song. Yeah, it's so
fun to create and make a record in that way.
And the interludes are just like, I think such
little fun things on this record, like the NPC
one or the one right before NPC is like just
like Annie was just like sitting, playing that
on the piano in the studio. I'm like, yo, let's
track that. That's like so cool. Like it's just
like slowed down version of the melody. And then
the one right before Great Expectations coming
out of Not For Nothing. That piano part is actually
in the layers of Not For Nothing. And she was
soloing it to like edit something in Pro Tools
with it. And then I was just like, hey, actually.
keep looping that but like make it sound like
it's like weird and then i'm gonna do this like
stuff where i turn on like every single pedal
on my like delay pedal on my guitar and like
shout out to like walrus audio i was using like
a bunch of their pedals to make all like that
weird undulating kind of glitchy guitar noise
on it and like those are so fun like it was something
i just like wanted to do and i i love i love
a record and i i'm so over the like adhd like
single driven tiktok content bullshit that the
music industry has become I understand, but I
hate it. And I will always be someone who's like,
buy vinyl records, go sequel shows, make time
for the art you care about. I love reading books.
I'm trying to slow my brain down as much as possible
these days and just like immerse myself in the
things I'm actually enjoying and not feel like
constantly distracted. So like, yeah, crafting
an album all the way. I'm going to dive into
that a little bit, staying on topic of this album
story, because when you take it beyond the music,
you're personally responsible for the album's
artwork, photography and design. Is there a story
behind the album art in general? Because for
me, the color contrast immediately grabs my attention.
the album or CD you pick up in the store that
it catches your eye and then you put it in and
you listen to it and you read the liner notes,
it feels more impactful than when I see a band
and unfortunately more and more bands utilizing
AI for their art just for a new single or an
album cover in that dual role as a musician and
a designer. Do you feel like the feels like hell
visuals are an extension of the songs on the
album or a separate creative lane for you as
a photographer? So, yeah, because I took the
photos and did all that. That was like my first
time ever attempting that. And I wanted something
that like caught the eye. I do like I love like
a bright, loud record cover. But I always felt
like this record had like a blue feeling to me,
like kind of just like sunset blue and the sunset
over the water. That image kind of kept coming
to my mind for some reason. And so when I like
went in to like make the album cover, I had these
photos that I had taken on a vacation in Italy.
We were in Sorrento and there are these little
like beach cabana huts. I took that photo and
I'm really loving that photo. And then I pulled
in a bunch of other images or just like textures
originally for the album cover. And then I put
those in there and I, I honestly can't tell you
what I pressed it. Like if I had to recreate
it in Photoshop, I would not know how, like I'm,
I'm a designer. I like, I didn't go to school
for graphic design. I work marketing for a concert
venue and I make a lot of the, like I. you know
i'll uh localize a lot of the the posters and
the ad mat and stuff so i know how to use photoshop
but i really kind of just started like pressing
stuff until it like looked really cool and then
i was like oh sick i think the only good concrete
idea i had is i wanted the feels like hell like
the text on the front really big like that and
like the hell kind of like you know melting away
and then everything else i kind of just like
felt like i was the painter with a blank canvas
and you're like throwing stuff at the canvas
and you're just like going crazy. And like, that's
kind of how I made the album art, but it feels
so locked into me. Like I love, I love it. I
love the colors. I love the palette. I loved
getting to be the person who spearheaded it.
And just a reminder, all the songs we're talking
about tonight, you can hear over on the episode
page at myweeklymixtape .com. Now I want to pivot
a little bit and talk about. some live things
now because we've talked about studio recordings
for a while and the band is hitting the road
with the wonder years and knuckle puck which
feels like a chef's kiss pairing if you ask me
as a fan earlier we talked about the evolution
of the band's music how would you describe the
evolution of weekend friends live show over that
same time frame especially given what you've
learned from all the bands you've shared the
stage with yeah I think we've locked into something
new. That's really where I've always wanted to
be. There's a level of confidence that comes
from just like touring a lot and doing it a lot.
And I think in and around the same time where
like, I like to think that like writer's block
stopped happening. I just really made it a conscious
decision to be like. you have to approach this
with like a thousand percent confidence so when
you're on stage like that is what you're meant
to do you are there you are justified being there
and you need you're just gonna give the best
performance ever and I have completely locked
into that and it's like my favorite time I get
to spend in my life is like getting to just perform
and be on stage and I feel like even Annie is
like locked in she's got her thing where she's
just so like the most energetic live performer
I think I've ever seen in my whole entire life.
She's like an energizer bunny. And yeah, we're
just like, I mean, always trying to like bring
the production of it all up. We tour with our
amazing friend, Kyle Hussey. He does our front
of house. So he, he's our sound guy and it just
sounds so good out in the room. And just that,
that helps with the confidence is having someone
who feels like that extension. of the band uh
who really understands the music loves the project
and like is there to like elevate it i mean where
i think production where you can put it in and
and i think that that elevates the show as well
and we're always just trying to do it in whatever
capacity we can to give people a show that's
like worth their money but where it starts is
really your attitude and and bringing that confidence
and bringing that joy and bringing that honesty
To the stage, I think after years of just doing
it and like you said, seeing other amazing artists
do it and hearing their process, I think we've
just gotten to a point where it feels really
locked in. And touring itself over the last decade,
how has it changed for you both positively and
maybe in terms of new challenges? Yeah, well,
we're not sleeping on floors anymore, which is
great or in our vehicle. So that's much improved.
We actually get hotel rooms and. Like I said,
like that being able to set boundaries for myself
as well and just be like, I need to like also
not. I used to try to just like manage everything
on my own. I still do tour manage for us. And
I'm pretty heavily involved in the day to day
of the tour world and production and making sure
everything is what it's supposed to be. But like
we've been able to like hire on amazing crew.
We have our friend Justin Labate, who is an amazing
photographer, videographer, who also like helps
with our merch. And then like having our friend
Kyle out there with us, who's an incredible front
of house engineer, just being able to afford
those luxuries and to afford to bring those amazing
people on the road with us has taken stuff off
my plate and allowed me to just immerse myself
more in like prioritizing the performance and
prioritizing the art and trusting the team to
really handle a lot of things that otherwise
I was really trying to also do myself, which
was like stressing me out. So that's really awesome
to just have that, again, luxury and have that
privilege to be at a point in making music and
being a band where we could barely but afford
that. And I'm so grateful for that because it's
so nice being able to do that. But I also am
happy that I've learned how to also allow people
to be the team. and trust people like it's a
really growth in trusting your team and trusting
the people around you and working together and
watching them shine is is just as special as
like getting that moment for myself and so I
love them and I'm proud of everybody we have
with us and yeah and I guess challenges for the
future is just like you know as you grow then
there's like other financial things that might
come in the way or like it might become You know,
you just tour more and then it's like you're
away from home more often. You know, obviously,
like the amount that we tour now, we have we
have stuff on the horizon that's going to have
us away from home quite a lot. And being able
to be OK with that is like something I hope.
And at this point, like physically, I feel greater
than I've ever felt. Like I always feel good
on the road. Like I I prioritize like. really
healthy habits out there uh which is you know
to preserve my voice and preserve my energy because
at the end of the day is like again we want to
make that show the best show possible for the
people who are coming out to it and now for the
double -edged sword question when it comes to
touring or maybe even in general would you say
streaming has impacted the band in a positive
or negative way given all the stuff we said about
physical media so far I have nothing to base
it on because we've always been a band in the
streaming age and that's where it's been like
the the main way people get music so because
I have nothing to compare it to I think it is
a great tool in a way that like a lot of people
who come and see our band for the first time
is because like we ended up on their daily playlist
or we ended up like in their algorithm And then
it's awesome because they do come to shows and
those are usually people like they do. They're
telling me this at merch while they're buying
merch. They do want to support the art as well.
I think it also eliminates a lot of middlemen
that would have otherwise cost a band a lot of
money or time or just like energy that doesn't
exist anymore. Like now any artist or any band
or any kid like anywhere. you don't need a record
label and you don't need an agent and you don't
need all this stuff to like then just go start
sharing your music and sharing your craft and
sharing your art and having it really reach quite
a lot of people uh which is such a great and
tremendous tool with that said it's like if i
think back i'm like would have a band like ours
crushed in the 90s and probably would have had
a house twice the size of mine and like probably
touring on a bus like who knows i don't i don't
have that comparison i'd like to think maybe
yes but then maybe we would have never got to
the point where we get that way because it was
so selective and so like networky you know we're
now again it's like you could just put your music
out there so i think you know both have their
pros and cons and i think that the great thing
is we exist in a world where both exist and you
know you can really just foster the fan base
you want to see based off of the art you create
and what you prioritize and what you shed light
to and our fans have been supportive in all different
kinds of ways whether it be buying the record
or merch or streaming us and sharing with their
friends all right full circle moment here are
there any songs i know we're early in the album
cycle the album was just put out last october
but are there any songs from feels like hell
that have maybe already taken on a new life of
their own once you started playing them live?
Yeah, I think the song Lightspeed, it's the second
song on the record. That one, people really kind
of like fully took on as something they love
to sing along to and are really in it. The song
Queen of Town is really a cool live moment. It's
kind of this point in the set where I get, I
get a little bit, I share my thoughts on the
ways of the world right now. I get a little political,
I guess, a little bit on my, on my soapbox. And
then that song starts and it's, I feel like become
this like moment in the live set that is really
just like a good kind of community moment. Now,
before we wrap things up, and because this show
is built around the old concept of mixtapes and
pushing musical envelopes forward through playlists,
what are three songs that you're personally rocking
right now that you think the My Weekly Mixtape
listeners need on their radar? Okay, let me see.
Is it okay if I look at what I'm rocking now?
Oh, sure. I guess, okay, number one. I'm really
into the new military gun record. I guess kick
has got to be the song. It's such a good song.
I mean, like if you write a chorus where the
opening lyrics or if I kick you in the face,
I'm sorry, but I would do it again. I'm like,
that's solid. So definitely check out military
guns kick. Let's see. I'm like looking at what
I've been listening to. um moona who's a wonderful
band very queer very pop put out a new a song
called dancing on the wall the lyrics are so
good it's just fun it's like that's classic like
pop music with like such good lyricism and such
good like story they're an incredible band have
been one of my favorites for the last few years
they just put out that song so shout out to them
and then let's see you said three um oh There's
a song called System. It's by a band called Prune.
P -R -E -W -N. This song to me, it just has such
a cinematic quality to it. If I was in any sort
of position where I could put a song into a dramatic
scene in a movie or a show, I would pick that
song. It sends me on one. I get such main character
energy. when that song comes on and it's like
so good. It's like for fans of people who have
you like the band, like Wednesday kind of has
like that vibe, but the song is kind of like
in a world of its own. It's so good. The album
feels like hell is available on all streaming
sites, but like I said earlier, physical media
rules all. So be sure to pick up a copy of the
album on vinyl or CD via the band's band camp
page. And if you do it on band camp Friday, remember
the band gets a hundred percent of the profits,
but even better than that. Do it in person at
an upcoming show. Sonya, this has been an absolute
pleasure. Thank you so much for joining me tonight
on My Weekly Mixtape. Thank you so much for having
me. This has been great. And to those listening,
I want to know what your favorite song on Feels
Like Hell is. Be sure to reach out to me, myweeklymixtape
at gmail .com. Hit me up on social media at myweeklymixtape.
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Please help spread the word about My Weekly Mixtape
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name is Brian Colburn. This has been My Weekly
Mixtape. And until next time, enjoy the tunes.