INTERVIEW: Makeout reflects on their debut album and their headlining run!

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INTERVIEW: Makeout reflects on their debut album and their headlining run!

For my first interview of 2019, I sat down with a band that we talked to for the first time just under a year ago. A band who’s had a wild journey the past two years from their first tour opening for Blink 182 to being one of the most buzzed on bands at the final year of Warped Tour! 2019 looks like it will be no different for the band as they already found themselves on tour just eleven days into the year with support from Story Untold and Handguns.

I sat down with lead singer Sam Boxold when they were in town just before they played a packed show. It’s the first time the band has headlined in Boston since 2017 and the crowd was fully out for it. For the length of the set, the crowd didn’t stop jumping to the high energy tracks featured on “Good Life” as well as a Good Charlotte throw back. With how the crowd was feeling it at the show, it seems like the band will only go up from here. While Boxold couldn’t talk much about what the band is currently working on, we talked songs that have been catching on in the crowd, looking back on the first record and more. Find our chat below and keep your eyes on Makeout! This was our third chat with the band and it’s great to see the band’s success.

This tour is just over a week long. It’s your first headliner in quite a while but the band has been really active. You did the Cute Is What We Aim For tour, you played all of the last Warped Tour but this time around this is your tour. How have these dates been going with the album being out for quite a while?
Yeah it’s been pretty great, kids have been coming out. Today is like over two hundred in presales if I’m not mistaken. Everybody has been super into it. A lot more kids know the words now which is really dope. Like you said the album has been out for a while so it’s to be expected but yeah the turnouts have been awesome. Pretty much just good vibes for the most part.
Little week long tour with Story Untold and Handguns to kick off the year.
Yeah! And both those bands are nutty and awesome.

Perfect! And we had talked before but it’s been a minute. “Good Life” is obviously something that you worked on for a long time, you’ve been writing together for a while, at least with Tyler being in you previous act with you. I know from looking at some recent interviews you’ve been writing new music which I’m sure you can’t say too much about.
Yeah it’s still kind of the same spiel. We’ve been sitting on a couple things for a while but yeah can’t say too much about it right now.

Then you can’t say what it is but Makeout has been a band for a few years now. Maybe something new you tried in the writing process recently?
I mean we were trying to make it a little less produced. That was kind of the goal initially was to kind of come out with something that was a little more raw. We kind of missed the mark on the first record. We were thinking going a little more rootsy with the next one. So we’re not really sure at this point.

Then when it comes to “Good Life”, you did the final Warped Tour, you were out with Cute Is What We Aim For. You’ve been on these big tours. You’ve seen people get really excited about it, you have over two hundred in presales for the show tonight which is great. Maybe songs on the album you think fans are really digging that are a surprise?
Well, okay, like ‘Secrets’, we hadn’t played that in a long time. Since our last headliner. So that one’s going off. Which I kind of expected but it could have not gone in that direction. Just because we haven’t played it in a while. So that one’s doing really well. I’m surprised by ‘Salt Lake City’, because that one on the internet and in record sales, the stats don’t pull to that one but kids seem to really like that one. Like I hear a lot of people singing that one. This tour is our first tour playing ‘Till I’m Gone’ and I’m surprised by how many people are knowing the words to that one as well. But yeah ‘Salt Lake City’ is a little bit more bumping then normal. Sadly I think ‘Open Minded’ is a little underwhelming for people.
Because that’s one that you really feel?
Yeah because I really like that one. But it’s been cool. We’ve just been playing through the whole record. So it’s cool to see the shift. Obviously ‘Lisa’ has gotten a lot of attention, people have been going off to that one. For the most part, it’s definitely ‘Secrets’ and ‘Crazy’ I guess. Those are the two big ones for people.

Well now you have the time. You can play the whole album because you’re not opening for somebody. You’re not playing that thirty minute Warped Tour set.
And it’s not the longest record either.
Fair but now you have that opportunity to kind of play it through. Play everything you want to.
It’s really nice. And we’ve also been playing a Good Charlotte cover, ‘Girls Don’t Like Boys’, which is fun because some of the older heads like that one a lot. So that’s always cool. Kind of bringing back a little bit of a throwback.

Perfect, to maybe end it off, this is probably a big time for you guys. Getting some new things going which you can’t talk too much about. To end it off, any plans or preparations you made for this tour? I know this tour is a shorter one with your last show being tomorrow in Philadelphia. Considering this was your headliner and not an opening slot.
There wasn’t too much preparation involved with this one. Which was a little unfortunate. Things were a little hectic going into it. We really wanted it to feel casual and stuff. We’re not really doing an encore or anything like that. That’s a little adjustment but it’s cool. We also go up, set up our gear before we play and talk to the kids in the front. It’s not so hypy I guess. They get hyped up when they first see us but after we’re setting up for a bit it just becomes sort of a homey type of environment and that’s been a really nice approach. As opposed to making it this really loud ‘We’re coming out now!’ Like we’re playing then we leave then nobody sees us. It feels less epic and a little more down to earth which I’ve been appreciating a lot. Besides that, not a whole lot honestly but it’s been cool to just vibe with people and be human I guess.

About Author

Colleen

Colleen has been writing about music since 2009. Interviewing bands since the glory days of Warped and has continued to do so for now over fourteen years. As well as doing freelance for other publications, the love for everything rock continues today.