Interview: Palaye Royale chats “Boom Boom Room” (Side B) and their tour with Metro Station!
Since the inception of New England Sounds just several months ago, I feel like we’ve kept on the pulse of what’s breaking out this year. From chats with Barns Courtney who played to five people in April and will be main support for Fitz & The Tantrums on their fall tour to all the bands we spoke to on Warped Tour like Too Close to Touch and With Confidence. One that we’ve been watching for a while now are the incredibly talented trio of brothers, Palaye Royale. The guys released their first record, the side A of “Boom Boom Room” in June and were on the lips of everyone we asked about what other bands kids should be looking for.
In the short few months since the album came out, the band has developed quite the cult following and easily brought a huge crowd to the Boston date of their tour with Metro Station where they are playing the main support slot. The kids were singing the words to every song and there were tons of Palaye Royale shirts in the crowd. Just a few minutes after the guys had a massive signing line, the guys broke down the writing process for Palaye as well as who they think will explode. This year’s Warped Tour was legendary and we’ll be sure to be covering all the bands who easily had the break out summer this year!
You’ve been pretty much non stop these past few months. You did Warped Tour, you’re out now as main support for Metro Station. Maybe a soft one to start it off, the three things that you had to bring with you while on this run?
Sebastian : The three things we needed to bring on this run was a bus but that caught on fire. Collectively, that could be one of them but I think individually I need scarves and I need my guitars.
Remington: I run out of fresh underwear like week one. So I definitely need to get more underwear and socks next time. I’ve learned by mistake.
Emerson: I bring my art books because I like to draw because people get annoying.
Maybe how has this tour been? You did Warped Tour which is obviously such a huge tour. So many bands on that tour. Maybe how has it been on this run being main support? I definitely saw kids were singing the words which clearly is a sign of it going over well.
Sebastian: We haven’t stopped touring since exactly a year ago last year. So now we’re here. The tour’s going really well. It’s crazy to be on a tour with Metro Station and to see that we’re bringing a lot of people. To see that kids are wearing shirts. That’s just from us being on the road and the organic growth.
Remington: I’ve known about Metro Station since I was like twelve. So it’s been super cool because I remember singing ‘Kelsey’ and ‘Shake It’ as a kid. Then being on tour with them, we’ve all become good friends. It’s been kind of crazy it’s awesome.
Sebastian: We’ve been friends with Mason for a while. Mason really started knowing us about when we started Palaye Royale and so I told him I wanted to tour with him like three years ago. He was like, yeah, yeah, we’ll see but then I called him after Warped Tour and he was like yes, we want to tour with you. You guys are doing really well.
That’s incredible. So he saw what you did on Warped Tour, that’s incredible. Then “Boom Boom Room” obviously came out in June but you guys have been together for a while. Obviously being brothers as well so that happens. I know you were performing under another name but when did you first decide this is something you wanted to do? Was being in a band something you always wanted to do, were there other pursuits?
Sebastian: I think the thing was that we became a band initially just based off of us enjoying music. We were all classically trained in piano but we all had other hobbies that we were pursuing and stuff. You’re a kid but we got to the point where we are now because we do enjoy being on the road with one another and it’s turned into something bigger than what we are individually. So it’s very cool.
Then how long was “Boom, Boom, Boom” in the making for the band? Was it something where you wrote these songs particularly for this record or were some older ones for other stuff?
Sebastian: We wrote the record pretty quickly. We wrote it in a 1920’s speakeasy in Beachwood Canyon. We recorded the record in about two weeks with James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins. It was a good experience with James. Funny enough, everyone’s like oh cool you have this new record but we’re actually going in to record Side B this winter to get it done.
Remington: In like two weeks.
Sebastian: Yeah we’re going to start recording in two weeks.
Remington: Right when we finish this tour, we’re starting to record. So, very exciting.
Sebastian: Then hopefully we’ll have the whole “Boom, Boom, Boom” collection out by fall of next year. And then we’ll hopefully be doing our own headlining tour after that.
Is it something where you feel the writing is changing? You’re already writing. Already working on this next record.
Remington: Yeah it changes. Our writing changes every day because we go through so many life changes. I’m not quoting a Good Charlotte song but I kind of am. Yeah it’s like going through so many life experiences on the road. Our writing progresses and changes every day but it’s moving in a direction that we like. So we’re very excited for this record.
Sebastian: We’ve seen death one too many times this week. We were speaking with one of the producers that we’re wanting to work with on the record and she’s like I just want to listen to all the stories and let’s put that into the record. So it’s a good thing. We’re looking forward to recording. It’s the first time in our Palaye Royale career where we’re actually going back to working with the person that started with us when we started this band and that was The Matrix. It was Lauren Christy and Scott Spock and Graham Edwards. It’s funny. They had broken up but they wrote songs for Avril Lavigne, Korn, Jason Mraz. They were on “Morning Light” together.
Remington: The first song we ever put out.
Sebastian: And that was the only song we ever cowrote on in our career. So it’s funny we’re going to go back to it but Lauren has done Bebe Rexha and Shakira and Enrique Iglesias. So she’s completely on the other side of it but I think when you take something as raw and as pure as us and put someone with that mind into it, I think we can really grow with the experience.
Remington: It will definitely up our game.
Sebastian: We’re going for the top 40 hit.
Remington: There’s three of them and there’s three of us. Each individual kind of pushes us and that’s what we really need. On Warped Tour, we had this stage manager that just pushed me and it was the best thing.
Sebastian: That’s why he hangs out backwards because of the stage manager at Warped Tour. This guy Trent. He was a huge help.
Remington: Definitely having someone there that’s looking out for your best interests and pushing you, you’ll get a lot out of it. So we’re very excited for that.
And speaking of Warped Tour, as well as you, I made it my focus to cover the new breaking class like Too Close to Touch, With Confidence, bands like that. Maybe bands that you did the tour with that people should be looking out for as well as checking out you? A lot of bands mentioned you in our chats.
Sebastian: I love Cane Hill. I think those guys are fucking crazy. I like the dudes in Waterparks.
Remington: They’re already blowing up right now but Crown The Empire.
Sebastian: It’s great. It’s like all our friends are out there. I See Stars, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, Sleeping With Sirens, the Good Charlotte guys. Ghost Town. But I really think the band that’s going to take over our rock market alongside us is going to be like Cane Hill. I think Cane Hill has something behind them. They have the fucking edge and the attitude to do something. The With Confidence guys, I see them being in a completely different market then Warped Tour and they should be. I think they’re going to do really well.
Remington: They’re really good.
Sebastian: They have catchy ass songs. Then you also have Waterparks. You have Austen that’s more ironic then the whole entire world.
Then you kind of talked about it, how in two weeks or when you finish this tour you’re going to go back into the studio. Back with The Matrix. Working on new music. Is that kind of like the plan for these next few months, is that the focus?
Sebastian: I’m probably going to get back into the editing for the art films. Just putting back the visual into the band because I think being on the road, we haven’t had time to do a lot of visuals. It’s just been a lot of drive, play, drive, play, drive, play, almost die. So now, we’re going to go back. Kind of just regroup for our mental sake. I think we’re one of the most toured bands of this past year. We did 225 shows in 365 days.
Remington: And I do two shows a day. I do the acoustic one then the set so I think I’m like 400 now.
That’s incredible.
Sebastian: So we put the work in this year but it really shows because we at least fifty to eighty kids in each market that know who we are now. So now we’re going to take the break but fingers crossed about a tour happening in February with one of the bands we talked about. Hopefully it comes together but we’ll see.
Remington: Yeah, it’s just pretty much go back to L.A. Hibernate for a week then explore your mind and get the best songs you can.