Boy Scouts
10.16.19 @ 7th St Entry - Minneapolis, MN
photos + interview by Morgan Winston
Hi, Taylor! For our readers at Honey Punch Mag who maybe haven’t heard your music, how do you like to describe it?
When it comes to the live set, I think we’re classifiable as an indie rock band. But I guess I would describe my recordings as kind of like, personal, intimate, harmony heavy songs.
I absolutely love Free Company, especially “Expiration Date” and “Throw Away Love.” Could you describe your process behind either of those songs?
Expiration Date was written after an important relationship and friendship in my life had ended. I was thinking about impermanence and trying to figure out how to be okay with that situation ending.
What do you find to be the most challenging part of writing/releasing a full-length album? Has this changed throughout your career?
This release is the first of it’s kind for me — all of my other music I’ve either just put up on bandcamp or soundcloud myself or released on a friends’ small tape label. I guess something that was difficult and new for me was the waiting period between when the album was completed and when it was released. I’d been used to writing and recording something at home and basically sharing it right away, if I had plans to share it at all. Been adjusting to releasing songs after they’ve had a significant amount of time to evolve and take on new meanings.
Now that Free Company has been out in the world for a little over a month, how has your relationship with it evolved?
My relationship to those songs has changed immensely since we finished recording them, which feels pretty long ago now. I’m at a very different point in my life than I was when I was writing those songs, so of course they feel different. Now that it’s been out for a bit and people have heard it, it adds a new layer to the experience. It’s a pretty special thing having something that feels so intimate and personal to me possibly strike something with someone else. So that kind of re-sparked my love for the songs.
What inspires you as an artist?
Seeing my friends play music and hearing their songs — it’s like this exclusive look inside of someone else’s soul or something and I think it’s just the coolest thing. I also like going on walks to get inspired. I like going to spots like Mt. Tam or Muir Beach in Marin for long walks by myself.
What song is your favorite to play live and why?
Right now it’s a song I wrote last month that is so much fun to play with the band — still figuring out a title for it. I hadn’t planned on playing it during this tour but there was a moment at our pre-tour band practice that my brother started playing the bass line, then everyone else kind of jumped in and we ended up with this heavy rendition of the song that’s super fun to play.
As the second part of your tour with Jay Som picks up, what are you most looking forward to? How is this tour different than other tours/shows you’ve played?
This is pretty much the first US tour we’ve done as a band so really it’s different than anything I’ve ever done before. It’s been so wonderful, I’m so grateful. I’m excited to see the east coast during the fall! Also very stoked to eat a bagel in Montreal.
Finally, I’d love to give you a platform to discuss an issue or something going on right now in the world that you think needs more attention. Feel free to do so below!
I am definitely not the best qualified to discuss the many issues of the world today. But one topic that needs more attention would be the family separation that happened at the southern U.S. border. Thousands of children were separated from their families and although that has been declared over, the reunification of these families is super complex and ongoing. You can donate to ACLU to help these families and support immigrant rights here.
