Interview: Destroy Boys
It marks a distinct evolution in our production quality and songwriting. I feel like the themes are also more wide than before, less specific, more philosophical.
Destroy Boys have just brought out their incendiary new album Funeral Soundtrack #4 and it sees the Californian punk band on fine form with their fiery and catchy rock anthems with a deeply personal twist. To celebrate the release of Funeral Soundtrack #4, Gavin Brown caught up with Destroy Boys singer Alexia Roditis and they told us all about the record, its themes and where Destroy Boys are at right now as well as looking forward to their forthcoming live appearances in the UK, which includes a slot at the Reading and Leeds festivals.
E&D: Your new album Funeral Soundtrack #4 has just been released out. What can we expect from the album now it’s been released?
Alexia: You can expect great new music, cool features, and me on IG live and Discord listening to the album!
E&D: How will you be celebrating the album’s release when it comes out?
Alexia: I think the band and I are gonna go out to dinner once we get to Europe (shortly after the release) to celebrate! I’m scheduling a discord Q&A to talk to fans about the album as well.
E&D: You’ve released quite a few songs from the record already. What has the reaction to them been like?
Alexia: The reaction so far has been awesome!!! People are enjoying the various topics (psychology, gender, relationships) and honestly I feel like our fans were like “FINALLYYY!!” haha. They’ve been waiting for…three years was the last time we released an album. I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and love we’ve gotten. It’s cool seeing people sing the new lyrics at shows too!
E&D: What topics do you deal with on this album?
Alexia: We talk about relationships, growing out of patterns, “shedding skin” so to speak, childhood trauma, love, patriarchy, gender nonconformity, fighting assumptions and projections…all kinds of things.
E&D: Can you tell us about working with Kat from Scowl and Missy from Mannequin Pussy on the album track ‘You Hear Yes’ and how did that collaboration come about?
Alexia: It was awesome! We toured with Mannequin Pussy back in 2019, and Scowl in 2022, plus we’re all in adjacent genres so it made sense to me. I look up to Missy and Kat a lot and I really respect their artistry. The song was taking a while to come together, so I thought it’d be awesome to have some badasses come in to help flesh it out. I’ve been wanting to make an anti patriarchy song for a while, and what better way to do that than with friends!
E&D: Who else would Destroy Boys love to work with in the future?
Alexia: I would love to work with Rico Nasty, Denzel Curry, Sasami, Pierce the Veil, LS Dunes, Adan Jodorowsky, to name a few, and maybe like… Melanie Martinez or Olivia Rodrigo since a lot of our fans love them too. I’d also love to work with some Latin American artists too like Bizzarap, Nathy Peluso, Bad Bunny would go crazy ahahaha. Oh My god…. How could I almost forget, Marilina Bertoldi would be a dream to work with.
E&D: Does Funeral Soundtrack #4 mark a new beginning for Destroy Boys?
Alexia: It marks a distinct evolution in our production quality and songwriting. I feel like the themes are also more wide than before, less specific, more philosophical. We’ve got our line-up structured and we’re also stepping it up in terms of live performance, incorporating more instruments and better costuming haha!
E&D: What are the biggest influences on the sound and outlook of Funeral Soundtrack #4?
Alexia: I’d say for me, Cocteau Twins, Marilina Bertoldi, and Bugsy were big influences while making the record.
E&D: Without sounding too morbid, what songs would you want played at your own funeral?
Alexia: ‘Gracias a la Vida’ by Mercedes Sosa for sure. I also think it would be really funny to make my friends and family do karaoke of Destroy Boys songs at my funeral.
E&D: Can you tell us about the song ‘Boyfeel’, the music video that accompanies it and how that particular song has been received?
Alexia: ‘Boyfeel’ is about my exploration of gender and nonbinary-ness. I’ve felt gender fluid for a long time, so I’m glad I could put it into a song. There have been some haters/trolls, particularly when the song reaches people who don’t listen to rock… But overall it’s been so awesome. I’ve heard so many people tell me how much they relate to it and how it makes them cry in a good way, or the song speaks to them deeply. That’s really what I wanted for this. The video I made with my friend Tay Allard, featuring E Streeter, Ariel Demure, WitchPixie, and Nikky Zeal. All of them are trans/gender nonconforming, and currently do sex work or have done it in the past. I think that’s cool cause people are fine consuming porn and sexualiEd content, but they tend to shy away from actual sex work and sex workers. In my experience, sex workers are some of the kindest, funniest, most open and confident people I know. I wanted the video to reflect the awesome happiness and joy I get from expressing myself how I want. I wrote the song when I was 17, so I wanted the video to be a sort of reflection of how I feel about myself and my gender identity as a 24 year old, more comfortable with themselves. The video is very heavy on symbology and Tay and I put a lot of thought into it. It was a blast to film. I wanted to show that you can be happy as a gender nonconforming person!!!! And that I would never want to go back to trapping myself. My identity is ever changing and I’m happy to feel less resistance to that change as I’ve gotten older.
E&D: Despite the young ages of the band members. Destroy Boys have been a band for a decade. Do you feel that all that time in has made you stronger as a band today?
Alexia: I think so. I’m grateful to have gotten a lot of mistakes out of the way. And I feel like I’ve had lots of practice performing. I think some artists will get big all at once, and that’s a big adjustment to make! So our gradual growth has been a blessing to me. I also think we’ve all basically grown up with each other, so we understand each other pretty well and have a sense of family within the band. I think the fans feel the same way.
E&D: Have you faced a lot of difficulties and hostility along the way and how did you overcome that?
Alexia: Hahaha yes. Well…I don’t really go searching for my name or anything like that. If I don’t see it, it doesn’t affect me. I have shifted my focus to be on the people who support us, and people who can respectfully share their thoughts. I try not to look at other people’s yards either… jealousy is a biiiitch! So I keep lots of people on mute on IG, and just try to stay off it as much as I can. Being grounded in my relationships outside of music is important too. Being connected to my family reminds me to stay grateful and grounded.
E&D: What albums and artists have been the most inspiring to you on your journey so far?
Alexia: Mannequin Pussy, Gaga, Bugsy, Amyl and the Sniffers, Willow, Turnstile, Björk, Mercedes Sosa, Chabuca Granda, Silvio Rodriguez, Daniel Viglietti to name a few. Reading, Writing and Arithmetic by The Sundays, Prender un fuego and Mojigata by Marilina Bertoldi, Clube da Esquina by Milton Nascimiento and Lo Borges.
E&D: What have been some of the sheer highlights of your time with Destroy Boys so far?
Alexia: Oh gosh…Riot Fest, Lollapalooza, all of our shows in Europe (especially Rimini)…all the funny times we have in the van/bus ahahha. Making fun in the green room…touring with bands like LS Dunes, Blink 182, MP, Pierce the Veil….hanging out with new friends we take on tour like Die Spitz and Sorry Mom… I think the highlights are really the connections made with people on tour. That’s been my favourite part. Aaaand singing the last part of ‘Boyfeel’ live hahaha!
E&D: How was the experience of playing Lollapalooza recently?
Alexia: Fucking awesome. Hot as hell, physically and spiritually. What a great festival.
E&D: How have your other recent live shows gone and have you been playing a lot of new material?
Alexia: They’ve been great! And yeah we pretty much always play all the new songs we’ve released. Our show in Madison, WI in particular was sooo electric. Something about that set was…different.
E&D: If Destroy Boys could curate your own festival bill, who would you have playing?
Alexia: Ok, aside from all of the bands I’ve listed above, I would add: Anita Velveeta, Gully Boys, Mora Y Los Metegoles, Mujer Cebra, Enajena, Garbage People, Capricho, Steve Lacy, Sir Chloe, Alice Phoebe Lou, 100 gecs, PJ Harvey, Dresden Dolls, IDLES, Lambrini Girlz, Cadena, and Agua Pura to name a few.
E&D: Are you looking forward to playing at the Reading and Leeds festivals at the end of the month?
Alexia: I am sooooo excited!!! We’re playing with so many great bands!!!!!! I can’t waiiiiiit. I’ve heard great things about it.
E&D: You’ve got a few other dates in the UK and Europe, are you looking forward to those as well?
Alexia: Absolutely! I looove playing in the UK and Europe, anything to get out of the US!!!! I love walking around their walkable cities and enjoying the weather, even the really hot weather, I feel like there’s great architecture and cool stores and great nature spots near the venues. I am so hyped! It’s also fun to see how the crowds are different compared to the US.
E&D: What have been some of the most memorable shows that Destroy Boys have ever played?
Alexia: Madison WI, Lolla, Irving Plaza in NYC, The Bellwether in LA, I remember this one in Jacksonville FL for some reason, Riot Fest, Rimini, Rock for People, Sziget, and a random one in Germany I think called Taubertall. SO many great shows, I can’t possibly list them all haha!
E&D: What have been some of the best live shows you have ever seen?
Alexia: Mannequin Pussy puts on a crazy show, I love watching them live. I really enjoyed Deftones recently. Code Orange and Drain were great. Turnstile rocks. And Bjork’s sets are other worldly. Remi Wolf and Noname had greaaaat shows at Coachella last year too.
