And so, a lot of the time, I found that I just needed to step away and be by myself. I have a really hard time asking for help, and I have a hard time articulating what I’m going through. So, there were days where I just wouldn’t talk to anyone. I’d avoid my phone, I’d avoid social media, and I would just kind of be in my own head. And it was a really dark and lonely place to be, but it was also necessary for me to get through that and work through the shit that I was going through. And so, the dog was there for me, but so was the silence and the solitude and the introspection.
Do you think you would have been able to write this record if you were still in a relationship?
I don’t know. It’s hard to say. I think a lot of the stuff that I was going through was deeply personal and needed to be worked out alone. I think there’s a reason that I was alone when I wrote this record. I don’t know if I would have been able to dig as deep as I did if there was someone else there to distract me or to lean on. I think there’s a lot of value in being able to work through your own shit on your own. I think I needed that for this record.
Teenage Engineering’s OP-1
How did you discover this tool, and how did it help with the writing process?
I discovered it through a friend who’s in a band called Charly Bliss. They had one and they were just raving about it. I was like, “I’ve gotta check this thing out.” It’s a really versatile, really powerful little tool. I’m not a very proficient musician – I can play guitar and sing – but I’m not a great keyboard player or anything like that. So, the OP-1 allowed me to make beats and make music in a way that I hadn’t been able to do before. It was really inspiring to be able to create sounds and create loops and create little snippets of songs that I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. It was very freeing in a lot of ways.
Did you discover any new musical influences while using the OP-1?
Definitely. I think the way that you interact with the OP-1 is very different from a traditional instrument. So, it led me down some different paths musically. I was listening to a lot of electronic music at the time, and I think that definitely influenced some of the sounds that I was creating. I was listening to a lot of ambient music and a lot of experimental music, and I think that definitely seeped into the writing process for this record.
Skateboarding
How did skateboarding play a role in the writing process?
I’ve been skateboarding since I was a kid. It’s always been a big part of my life. It’s a way for me to clear my head and escape from everything that’s going on. I think, especially during the pandemic, when I wasn’t able to see anyone and I wasn’t able to do much else, skateboarding was a way for me to get out of my head and just focus on something else. It was a way for me to feel alive and feel like I was doing something that was just for me. It helped me stay grounded and stay connected to who I am outside of the band and outside of the music. It was a really important part of the process for me.
Did you have any particularly memorable skateboarding sessions while writing this record?
There’s a skatepark near my house that I would go to a lot during the writing process. I would just go and skate around for hours, not really thinking about anything else. Just focusing on the skating and the physicality of it. It was a really cathartic experience for me. It helped me clear my head and get out of my own way. It was a way for me to release some of the tension and stress that I was feeling. I think it definitely played a big role in the writing process for this record.
Who Will Look After the Dogs? is out now via Polyvinyl Records.
But with comics, I found that freedom again. I can draw stick figures and make silly jokes and not worry about it being perfect or polished. It’s a different kind of creative outlet for me, and it’s been really refreshing during the process of making this record. Plus, it brings a different kind of joy and laughter to my creative process, which I think is really important. It’s a nice balance to the more serious and introspective work of writing songs.
Overall, I think exploring different creative outlets and finding joy in the process of making things is really important for any artist. It keeps things fresh and exciting, and it helps to bring a different perspective to your main creative work. So for me, diving into comics and finding that freedom and laughter in drawing has been a really valuable experience during the making of this record. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll even share some of those silly comics with the world.”
Collaborating with the Band
For sure, it’s a little bit different. When we’re writing songs, it’s just the four of us in a room together. I think that’s the best way for us to write music. But for a record like this, where we’re trying to expand and do a little bit more, we’re not just writing on guitars and drums. We’re using a lot of different sounds and different instruments. So, it was a different process where, when we were done those songs, we would take them to the OP-1 or take them to a computer and try and mess around with them a little bit more. It’s a collaborative process in that sense. We would be sending ideas back and forth, different versions of songs. It’s more of a collaborative effort in the sense of arranging the songs and figuring out what’s best for them.
So, it’s not just the four of you in a room, but it’s still a collaborative process.
Exactly. And I think that’s where we have grown as a band. We’ve always been very democratic in the sense of writing the songs together. But when it comes to arranging them and figuring out what’s best for the song, that’s where we’ve really started to collaborate more and more as we’ve gone along.
Reflecting on the Album
As you look back on the album now that it’s out in the world, what are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the fact that we were able to make a record that is a little bit different from what we’ve done in the past, but still feels like a PUP record. I think that’s always been important to us, to continue to grow and evolve as a band, but still stay true to who we are. I think we were able to do that with this record, and I’m really proud of that.
What do you hope listeners take away from the album?
I hope that listeners can connect with the songs on a personal level and find some comfort in them. I hope that they can see themselves in the music and feel like they’re not alone in whatever they’re going through. I think that’s always been important to us, to make music that people can relate to and find solace in.
And what’s next for PUP?
Right now, we’re just focusing on promoting the album and hopefully getting back out on the road soon. We miss playing shows and connecting with our fans in person, so that’s definitely a priority for us. We’re also always writing and working on new music, so hopefully there will be more to come in the future.
Es más una máquina de ideas que algo para hacer discos pop.
Hongos
Creo que los hongos aparecen una vez en ‘Needed to Hear It’, y es otra persona consumiéndolos.
Sí, supongo que mencioné los hongos esa vez. Realmente no estaba pensando en términos de letras. Solía fumar mucha marihuana cuando era joven, y me di cuenta de que odio fumar marihuana, así que dejé de hacerlo. No sé cuánto puedo decir sobre esto, pero he estado tomando medicación para temas de salud mental desde hace un tiempo. Y recientemente, mi psiquiatra sugirió que en lugar de aumentar la dosis, en realidad probara con microdosis. Así que lo intenté. Siempre me han gustado los hongos recreativamente, y nuevamente, quiero enfatizar que no estoy promocionando esto. Entiendo que soy un hombre de 36 años, y potencialmente hay adolescentes más jóvenes que leerán esto. No estoy tratando de glorificar las drogas, el alcohol, nada de eso, creo que es muy importante decirlo. Pero, he disfrutado de los hongos recreativamente, mucho.
Comencé a tomar microdosis durante gran parte de este disco de una manera más – quiero decir, fue recomendado por un médico, y fue muy controlado. No estaba simplemente tomando hongos. Tenía pastillas de hongos. Y las microdosis son muy, muy pequeñas y sutiles, pero me encontré sintiéndome – no quiero decir más feliz, pero tal vez menos mentalmente perturbado de lo que he estado en el pasado, y apreciando más – ciertamente, sacar a pasear a los perros, cuando comencé a tomar microdosis pensé, “Puedo caminar para siempre. Podría estar aquí afuera y disfrutar de la nieve golpeándome en la cara porque estoy realmente presente.” Simplemente me ayudó a sentirme más presente en mi vida. No sé si eso ayudó directamente con la creatividad, pero definitivamente ayudó a estar más consciente de mis pensamientos en ocasiones. Odio la marihuana para mí mismo – no hay juicio personal para nadie, simplemente no la fumo en absoluto – y esto fue algo que me estaba dando lo que siempre quise obtener de la marihuana. Nuevamente, realmente no quiero que parezca que estoy diciéndole a los jóvenes que salgan y prueben hongos porque realmente no lo estoy haciendo. No es para todos. Puede ser peligroso. Los uso con mucho cuidado, y es lo que mi cerebro específico necesitaba en ese momento de mi vida.
Dijiste que estabas más consciente de tus pensamientos. ¿También estabas más inclinado a escribirlos?
Creo que hablar sobre estar más presente y consciente es simplemente registrar esos pensamientos. Gran parte de la composición de canciones para mí es tratar de descubrir cómo me siento, como, sé que me siento mal o sé que me siento bien, pero no sé por qué, y estoy tratando de llegar al fondo de eso la mayor parte del tiempo. Estar presente y consciente fue algo que realmente me ayudó a entender mis emociones más rápido. Y debido a eso, pude, creo, articularlas mejor y de manera más directa que en el pasado. Los hongos probablemente son una pequeña parte de eso, pero gran parte también es la soledad, tener espacio tranquilo, hacer terapia y leer libros.
Videos de renovación de hogares en YouTube
No creo que hayas hablado mucho sobre esto, pero vi que mencionaste esto en el Substack de Dan Ozzi hace cinco años, diciendo que encuentras bastante reconfortantes esos videos de bricolaje. ¿Ha sido una constante durante tanto tiempo?
Sí, paso por fases con eso. Mucha gente apaga sus cerebros viendo reality shows. Yo soy un poco, para mi detrimento, obsesionado con la productividad; con la excepción del skateboarding, todo en esta lista está de alguna manera conectado a mí haciendo cosas. Crear, cuidar de un perro. Esa obsesión con la productividad se manifiesta como – si necesito apagar mi cerebro, quiero apagar mi cerebro y aprender algo. Así que termino viendo todos estos estúpidos videos de renovación. Es como, ¿por qué sé tanto sobre, por ejemplo, drenajes pluviales? ¿Por qué sé tanto sobre cómo verter una buena cimentación? Nunca lo haré en mi vida. Pero he absorbido ese conocimiento como una forma de apagar mi cerebro, especialmente si estoy rumiando sobre una canción. Es como la una de la mañana y no puedo dormir, solo estoy revisando este verso y tratando de averiguar qué está mal con él, y sé que no estoy avanzando en nada, es como, “Hora de algunos videos de renovación de hogares”.
Hago muchas cosas básicas de renovación yo mismo y construyo muebles – solo cosas realmente básicas, pero me encanta. Es algo que también apaga mi cerebro, de la misma manera que lo hace el skateboarding, porque tengo que estar concentrado en ello. Viendo estos videos, siento que estoy absorbiendo algo de ese conocimiento y siendo productivo, pero también alejando todos los sentimientos difíciles. Estar solo con tus pensamientos durante demasiado tiempo puede ser realmente desafiante y oscuro. Y a veces, para salir de esa zona, solo tengo que aprender sobre fontanería.
Esta entrevista ha sido editada y condensada para mayor claridad y longitud.
Who Will Look After the Dogs? de PUP está disponible ahora a través de Little Dipper/Rise Records.
Who Will Look After The Dogs? de PUP
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