boy clothes - Sound In The Signals Interview
I recently had the opportunity to interview Noah of boy clothes. We discussed an early interest in music, how they formed the band, writing and recording their self-titled EP, how music is an outlet for writers and listeners, live performances, upcoming plans, and more. Check it out below.
First, thanks for the interview.
Absolutely! Thanks for having us!
Can you tell me more about how you initially became interested in music and how you started writing songs?
Since childhood, I’ve always had a passion for music. I was involved in anything that allowed me to touch an instrument, whether that be programs at school, church, or private lessons. In high school I met my friend Nia Savannah Givens, who is a phenomenal songwriter. She and I put our heads together and came up with the bones for the song "freeze" which later would appear completely reimagined on the boy clothes EP. After writing freeze and playing it for teachers and friends, I realized how beneficial it can be to put feelings into words, and make those words in to songs. It felt like it wasn’t just helpful for myself, but also for people around me who shared similar feelings.
Some of you are in other bands as well. Can you tell us more about that? How did you form this band?
Yes! We are all extremely involved in the local scene here in Nashville! I’d like to add a little list of the current lineup of band members below, and include the other projects that we contribute to!
Rose- poplar creek, rosebud, ok koala, cdb & the endtimes, cha cha heels, hussy fit, deadname: kids next door
Logan- ok koala, poplar creek, short rest
Carson- carson d bell & the endtimes, meat jelly
Cameron- obey the trooper, panda forces
Jackson- good news for modern man
Noah (myself)- cdb & the endtimes, poplar creek, hussy fit, deadname: kids next door
As for how we started this band, I (noah) wanted to start a band in which I could fully realize some tunes that I had written. So I just reached out to some of the musicians in the scene that I appreciated and respected a lot, or they reached out to me after seeing either some earlier variation of boy clothes, or my former solo project "no, uh...", and each of these people built on these songs that had been in the works for so long at this point. Every single person who has played with boy clothes has added their own touch to each song and helped make them into what you hear when you listen to our EP or see us live!
You recently released your self-titled EP. What can you tell us about writing and recording it?
Yes! We released it back in December of 2023, but most of the songs on it were written sometime between 2016-2022, and the majority of 2023 was spent developing and recording those songs. If you could hear what they sounded like originally you’d probably be surprised at how far they’ve come! I know I am!
Rose Berry, one of our guitarists, produced the EP and wrote a lot of the more interesting 'outro' parts of songs like sweater, and freeze. This project would not exist the way it does without her contributions, and those of everyone who has played with us.
Recording was a lengthy process, it took almost a year, and it was recorded in several locations, but once it was done it sounded more incredible than I could have ever expected.
What do you hope listeners take away from the EP? What did you take away from the process of creating it?
Music is an outlet for writers and listeners alike, and I hope whatever anyone may take from it is personal to them, as writing it has been so personal for me. My main goal of creating this EP was to find a way to deal with some more difficult feelings, most frequently heartbreak caused by my own shortcomings in romantic relationships.
My hope is that someone hears something from it that resonates with something that they feel, and it makes them feel less alone in those emotions. I’ve learned a lot about myself in creating this EP, from an emotional perspective, and a creative one as well.
You've been out playing a lot of shows. What are a couple of your favorite shows that you've played recently and/or what are aspects of performing live that you are currently enjoying?
Yes, we have! We have been playing 2-3 (give or take) shows a month locally for about a year now, and we went on a week long midwest run to ring in the new year of 2024! Favorite local shows are hard to choose, since we’ve played so many cool places and we have made so many great friends along the way. Cameron says the show we played at two rivers skate park with brim, together in dust, and decay, and one at a house venue called the grunge pit for our tour homecoming with herly berly, 95 corollahis band obey the trooper! have been his favorites so far.
Logan’s favorite shows were at new moon cafe in oshkosh, wisconsin with lunar moth and good reasons to freeze to death, and the meat jelly holiday party nottingham ballroom in madison wisconsin with EMWAY, diet lite, shoobie and kule. Carson said, and I quote, "my favorite show was every show on tour". I have to agree with Carson, tour was a blast! burlington bar in chicago with sawamura no hitter and d'funk and the grease monkeys was Rose’s favorite show from that run!
My favorite Nashville show was a minifest at new heights brewery with guitar fight from fooly cooly, 95 corolla, poplar creek, and loads more of our hometown pals. I know I’ve gotta be leaving out some awesome shows, but if I kept going, I could write a novel!
You recently said you plan to work on new songs for your next release and/or get started on a video soon. How’s that process going so far?
We’ve got about 4 demos in the works now, so listeners can expect a new single hopefully sometime this month, or next! But there are plenty more incomplete ideas in the mix that will be coming into fruition soon enough. some combination of these demos and ideas will become our first LP! As for the music video, we are working with someone on the process of starting a video for our song "background noise", more announcements to come regarding that!
What else is coming up for the band in 2024?
We have lots of exciting shows this year, including some local fests in the area. Hopefully the aforementioned LP, & video! We are also planning another tour with carson d bell & the endtimes (the lyrical, spiritual miracle tour: pt. 2) this August in which we plan to travel the northeastern portion of the US!
Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Is there anything else that you'd like to add?
No problem! Thanks again for reaching out and giving me a platform to talk about a project that means so much to me!
I’d like to say a special thanks to anyone who's listened to and supported us so far, and those who may listen in the future. We are so excited for the future of this project!
Follow boy clothes:
Follow Sound In The Signals:
No comments: