INTERVIEW: Beauty School Dropout
BY OLIVIA LEON
Photo by Skyler Wagoner
So you just put out a new single “beautiful waste,” which feels very grounded in your band’s sound, but it seems to go in a bit of a different direction than some of your past releases. It feels more on the pop side and very summery! What was the process of creating this song like? Did you have that in mind when creating it or did it just naturally flow towards that direction?
To be honest we write so much music that it’s usually pretty aimless aside from wanting to make the best song possible. I think we know what we like enough that it’s never really premeditated. Ironically we had written an entirely different hook/song until bardo started noodling on guitar and played the main riff. As soon as he played it we knew that was the hook and started from scratch again. The rest of the track came naturally.
And speaking of your past releases, you guys only released your debut album last year, but seem to have such a honed in on sound that’s definitely expansive and explored throughout the album, but it feels incredibly well established for a band so early in their career! How did you go about finding that sound, and that sort of cohesiveness striking that perfect balance between pop and punk that was right for your music?
So much of it really comes from the fact that we are rooted in such different sides of “rock” oriented music. Bardo listens to a lot of folk, Beepus comes heavily from pop punk and I mostly listen to the heavier rock n roll, hardcore and punk music. Altogether I think we’ve found a way to make those roots come to life in the most pop centric rock sound we can possibly create. It also doesn’t hurt that we’re all songwriting and producing for a variety of other artists so we have to keep our ears fresh.
Are there any artists in particular that you draw inspiration from?
We take inspiration from everyone. Yeah there are the obvious influences of our space, but we all listen and dissect so much to understand ourselves and what we like that it’s impossible to narrow it down to even a handful of artists.
I know you guys have also had a packed year with festivals and shows! Especially having put out your earlier music pre and even during the height of the pandemic. So how has it been being able to play music off of your debut album live and finally getting to connect with all the fans you’ve found over the past few years in person?
It’s the best part of what we do. The Dropouts are the backbone to the world we are building. Getting to travel the world and have our fans go so hard that they somehow know every word to our unreleased songs already is crazy. There truly isn’t anything like it.
Do you have any plans you can tease for the rest of the year or upcoming year?
Ready To Eat drops October 13th and we leave the next day for our headlining tour! Come find out what the rage is all about.
Finally, what is one song, artist, or album that has been on repeat for you? Or even a few if you don't have a current go-to?
I know Bardo has been playing a lot of Bon Iver and Kacey Musgraves, Beepus usually listens to a lot of Blink, Knox, Turnstile, and I’ve been listening to The Weeknd, Loathe, and Bring Me the Horizon.
Head to our Spotify to check out On Repeat With: Beauty School Dropout.
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