Q&A: Post Sex Nachos on ‘Big Bad,’ Touring and Songwriting
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY ADDIE WILLIAMS☆
Sophia Bianco
FOUR ZOOM BOXES LINED UP ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN — I watch as Sammy Elfanbaum, Mitch Broddon, Chase Mueller and Hunter Pendleton converse with one another, each with bubbly, positive attitudes, laughing at everything one another says. For an indie rock band, the Midwest (now Nashville-based) band Post Sex Nachos are surprisingly warm and friendly. Unlike some, there is no intimidation or wall between the band and the outside world, no exclusivity or need to feel “cool” enough to listen. Instead, just like their music, they are fun and easy-going.
Post Sex Nachos’ fifth album, Big Bad, releasing September 18, perfectly conveys the theme of staying positive amidst the chaos of life. The 10 tracks highlight the conflicting dreams of wanting to stay in your comfort zone yet follow your biggest of dreams. Songs like “Pop Tarts” (featuring MARIS and Annelise Gonzalez) and “All For You” underscore these complex feelings. “All For You” reveals the reality of touring: missing home, family and normality. Combatting this, “Pop Tarts” is about the feeling of choosing to do what you are passionate about, no matter the hardships you have to face along the way.
This fall, the indie rock band will be touring Big Bad across the U.S. and Canada (via their tour bus Vanessa), bringing their upbeat outlook and resilience on the road to a city near you. Read about their preparations for the tour and Big Bad below.
Sophia Bianco
LUNA: Thanks so much for chatting. How has your summer been so far — has it consisted of a lot of tour preparation?
BRODDON: Yeah, that's exactly what we're doing. We're in the midst of moving houses right now too, so that's taking up a large amount of energy as well. And then we have an eight-hour rehearsal tomorrow to make sure that the whole tour setlist is good and prepare for the long run of shows coming up.
LUNA: I saw that you also had the opportunity to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at a Cardinals’ baseball game back in July. What was that like?
ELFANBAUM: It was wonderful. We have had a great relationship with the Cardinals organization for the past couple of years. They have a little stage up in the nosebleed section by right field, where we have played before games a couple of times. Then, last year, they asked us to come and throw the first pitch; Mitch was the one to step up to the plate for that (no pun intended). They had us come back this year to throw the pitch again and sing and it was just fantastic.
LUNA: What made you decide to make the move to Nashville, and how has it been so far?
BRODDON: We voted between a few different places but ended up choosing Nashville. All of us are a driving distance from home, which would not be the case for all of us if we were in New York or Los Angeles, and still in one of the best music hubs in the country; so many great opportunities have come from us being in town. We used the few connections we had when we moved here to start. It’s like a small town that is made up of a lot of industry folks who just want to meet and help each other grow, which is awesome.
LUNA: How do you go about formulating your setlist?
PENDLETON: It's funny you say that — last rehearsal we were just going through it. We have a main setlist, and then we have a bank of songs that we are going to have in our back pockets to switch up each night. That way, if you see one show and you come to another show, it’s never the same. There are subtle differences, and you might see a song one night and not see that song the next night.
LUNA: When you are feeling overwhelmed on tour, what do you typically do to decompress?
BRODDON: The toughest part of being on tour is being in the van for so long together, so when we do get to plant ourselves in a city and have downtime, I like to go get a meal on my own or go to the local YMCA and work out; it can be nice to just decompress and be alone for a second. I also like getting to explore a city and walk around the block for a few minutes, and then come back with my head cleared.
LUNA: What are your favorite tour memories?
ELFANBAUM: I loved our meal at Pinkerton’s Barbeque. I got burnt ends, but the star of the show was the baked bean, which I still think about often. We also all love visiting our friends in different cities while we tour; some of the best memories are just visiting friends from college or family.
LUNA: How did you go about ordering the tracks on Big Bad to convey the messages you wanted to?
ELFANBAUM: We had an app that we loaded our demos in. So throughout the process, when we would get new mixes from our producer Aaron Wagner, we would play around with the order in the van when we were on the road. From the get-go, we were pretty close and once we chose the final song, “Comin’ on Back,” it made itself clear. We recorded "Living a Lie,” and we felt the album flowed well this way; there were not too many hard decisions when deciding the track order.
LUNA: How does Big Bad vary from your previous albums?
MUELLER: The main difference is just how we went about making it. We really took our time making Big Bad. It was spread across a total of about six or seven months, maybe even longer, while Primavera was recorded in only about 10 or 11 days. This gave us a lot more time to really decide what songs were going to be recorded. It allowed us time to listen back and think, “Oh, wait, I want to switch up that part; I think that’s going to serve the song a little bit better.” The extra time was necessary in order to put out the best possible product, and I think that’s what we did.
LUNA: Can you explain a bit about the writing process when you collaborate with other artists?
ELFANBAUM: All the features have come about differently. For “Talk About It,” Addie Sartino [of The Greeting Committee] was in the room and we wrote the song together. It was really easy because every time she was there to track vocals, we were all there, so we could give live notes instead of waiting weeks to tweak parts. “A Lot To Lose” with BAILEN was through Zoom calls with Julia and David. We wrote the chorus together, and then they wrote the verse on their own and crushed it. For “Pop Tarts,” we told MARIS, “Hey, can you fill this gap?” and she crushed the verse. We got to record with Annelise Gonzalez in person, which was the same kind of deal as “Talk About It” with Addie, where we were able to give notes.
It has been so cool to share the songs and is such a great experience, not only to see how other people work and how what you create can be interpreted by them, but [also to] now be forever connected to these people that we did not really know before. There is this sort of bank statement with both of our names on it for the rest of time. You’re forced to be friends at that point, and luckily we chose really great people to do it with all three times.
LUNA: Do you have a song you are most proud of on Big Bad?
BRODDON: “Insane” is a really fun one, especially live. I’m also really excited for “Living Alive” to be people’s first impression of the full album, being the intro track. It’s unique, especially unique compared to the rest of our music; I think it’s a cool intro that sets the tone for the rest of the album really well.
MUELLER: I'll spare the main details for the live show, but we’re doing something a little bit different for “Pop Tarts,” and I'm really excited about how we have arranged that, and I think it’s going to be a very cool moment in the show.
LUNA: You are all so full of energy and positivity — how do you go about conveying this in your music?
BRODDON: In short, for any song or album, we think positively and try to spin things that are inherently negative, deep or dark into things that are positive just because: 1) That is who we are and 2) We get to be in a band and that is really awesome. Even those things that are negative can sometimes be looked at on the bright side when we put things into perspective.
LUNA: What are you most excited about with Big Bad’s release coming up?
MUELLER: We always look forward to Chicago shows. Chicago is like a home away from home, and they are always so good to us.
PENDLETON: We are really excited about playing the songs live to new people. It’s a cool thing to be able to play music for people, and to have this album we have worked on for so long, to be able to play for people is awesome.
Sophia Bianco
