In this day and age, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to be in a band. With most artists opting to stay independent longer, reinventing themselves with each release and taking more (or less) time to release new music, musicians certainly have more creative freedom to do exactly what they want with their music, and “Quinton!” the new single from D.C. alternative/emo band, Petty War Club is a perfect example of just that. Following last year’s debut EP, I Don’t Want To Feel This Way Forever, the trio took the chance to reinvent themselves for “Quinton!” and their upcoming EP, Ordinary, out this Friday, February 28th. With the freedom to explore new sounds and express themselves, Petty War Club are on their way to releasing some of their best music yet with Ordinary, and with plans to get back into the studio to record even more new music this year, 2020 promises to be a hell of a year for the band.
We caught up with Petty War Club to discuss “Quinton!” and their upcoming EP – listen to the song and read the full interview now below.
You guys just released your new single, “Quinton!”. Can you tell us a little bit about the track? What inspired it?
I would say that “Quinton!” is the closing track to everything I’ve ever written about. It’s my way of saying goodbye to writing or caring about all the bullshit that’s in my life. Whether it be my past abusive relationship, our perception as a “band out of D.C.”, or just caring so much about trying to fit into some “music scene”. We, as a band, are trying to just move forward and not get so caught up in the bullshit that is life. I know this sounds a little dramatic, but “Quinton!” and this whole EP is kind of a selfish “Fuck Off” to of our pasts. The name of the track “Quinton!” cane from our good friend Quinton from Ohio who toured with us last summer. Just a little nod to him and our friend Trent with no meaning whatsoever behind the title!
“Quinton!” is taken from your upcoming EP, Ordinary. What are you most excited for listeners to hear on the EP?
I think what we’re most excited for is to be able to show a new side to our music. It’s been a while since releases for us at least and we’ve grown a lot as musicians and people since then. We are definitely a lot heavier on this EP and think that’s going to continue moving forward. I think we also got a lot more experimental on this EP rather than our first one. Because it was our second EP we definitely felt more comfortable in the studio experimenting with different sounds, instruments, and techniques to make these songs sound very unique.
Did you have any goals in mind when you first started working on Ordinary?
I wouldn’t say we had any goals other than to just write more good music. When we practice as a band and something comes out we kind of just put it aside. Eventually we realized that we had enough material to go into the studio so we did!! Lyrically the songs and themes kind of organically started to mesh well in the studio which was very unexpected but ended up working out in our favor.
Ordinary follows last year’s EP, I Don’t Want to Feel This Way Forever. Although it hasn’t been very long between the two releases, how do you feel you’ve grown as a band since then?
I wouldn’t even say we’ve grown as a band. I would definitely say we’ve changed as a band though. We definitely wanted to go with a new heavier sound with more experimentation and I think we were able to accomplish that. I think the nature of all of us (Corbin, Brett, and Jeff), is that we all listen to so much different music and are always wanting to try new things so that will always come out on new music. While we are always looking for a signature “sound” we also understand that it’s just our nature that every time we write music something completely different is going to come out of us and will continue to moving forward. In that spirit, we’re even more excited about what’s coming out next!!
Is there anything that you wanted to accomplish with Ordinary that you didn’t get the chance to do with I Don’t Want to Feel This Way Forever?
Definitely. While we all still love that EP, especially since it was the first The we ever wrote together, we all agree that we were really able to hone in on our sound for “Ordinary”. We didn’t feel as rushed to just “get something out” with this EP. Instead we took a lot longer, got a lot heavier, experimented a lot more, and were able to just relax more as a band and record good music rather than just try to get something out that we liked as a first release. While we do believe “Ordinary” definitely shows more of who we are as a band, we are still ever changing. So on the next release I’m sure we’ll be saying the same thing about this EP.
With “Quinton!” out, when can fans expect to hear some more new music?
Our second EP “Ordinary” will come out Friday, February 28th!! It will feature the two singles out, “Ordinary” and “Quinton!” plus 3 more songs!!
Do you have any other big plans for 2020?
We do. We haven’t officially announced it yet but we are recording our debut record (LP) with Chris Teti at Silver Bullet Studios in Connecticut in March. We don’t have a release date in mind but definitely want it to be released in 2020. We are so excited as Chris has been part of one of our favorite bands for years (The World Is a Beautiful Place and I am no Longer Afraid to Die), and has produced some of our favorite records in that very studio. We are absolutely honored to be able to work with him on a record and hopefully it will be something really special. Other than that we just plan on trying to go back on tour in the summer and to play as many shows as we can… as well as continue to write!!
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