Tulsa-based quartet, Broncho, made a splash way back in 2011 with their quirky, fresh, and irresistible debut, Can’t Get Past The Lips, and have remained both a fan and critic’s favorite. Along the way, they’ve also found some famous fans, traveled the world, seen their songs placed in commercials, video games, and films, and developed a full-length album catalog of quirky, burrowing earwigs and infectious pop ditties. Before COVID came along, the band maintained a steady schedule of recording, rehearsing, and touring. Seven years since the release of 2018’s masterpiece, Bad Behaviour, the band has been busy dealing with adulting, parenting, paying the bills, and the things that all of us do, and now, they are set to return with a stunning album of mature, slightly more somber, shimmering songs assembled for their April 25th release, Natural Pleasure. We caught up with affable, warm, and sardonic frontman, vocalist, guitarist, and benevolent leader, Ryan Lindsey. Lindsey has been getting busy living. He is now the father of two young boys, a responsible house dad, and still a working musician honing his craft and exploring the depths of his fertile, creative mind.
I was able to catch up with the busy bee and diligent multimedia creator as he and the band readied for Natural Pleasures‘s release, press, and a pending tour that will have the band touring the US from top to bottom, and all points in between. Here’s how it went down:
Where have you been the last seven years? We’ve heard rumors that you became a father and have been enjoying the life of a simple working man.
I have two kids–a one-year-old and a three-year-old in January—all hands on deck, and all villagers at the ready. With the first baby, I needed to get it going, but it was a slow burn on the record. I had planned for that to happen, and then COVID-19 happened, and I thought, ‘I can take my time. Before I knew it, by the time I got to the second kid, I needed to finish this now.’ A year ago, the record was finished. We made a few revisions, then had to get it mastered and create a plan. It can take time. It’s weird to hear those numbers–seven years. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. And, it feels like the right time— it’s trippy to hear a real number from the real world.
Is it hard to go on the road now that you have young kids?
It’s hard to leave. I did one tour when Oscar was six months old, and that was hard for me to leave home. When we were thinking about touring for the record, you have to get out there. It’s part of the deal—the way to do it. My way to do that and make it easier on the family is to go to the West Coast for two weeks. Let’s go to the East Coast and knock it out. Come back home, change diapers, and give a bottle.
On previous albums, there are a lot of your songs that seem to describe longing, lust, relationships, and betrayal, yet you seem very well-adjusted and happy. Do your songs describe genuine relationships, crushes, or people, or are they just characters?
None of it is autobiographical. It’s stuff we’re pulling from the atmosphere. Sometimes it makes so much sense, yes, this is the right line. It’s almost like someone in the ether or something is telling me what to say. It’s sometimes like it’s us trying to interpret the gibberish I’m singing to a melody or writing a song. It’s on the loop in my head. Sometimes, there’s something we’ve experienced that helps it make sense—different matters and situations.
If I were singing about a real person or a real experience, I would be too paranoid, looking over my shoulder. I’m talking about a problem that’s real. Ultimately, I’m not sure either. I know that it came to me. “Like ‘Funny,” for example, is a song that has been around for a while on other records. It was “money,” and then somebody, my friend Jared, said there’s another song like that called “Don’t Take the Money.” It has nothing to do with money. I went outside and yelled, That’s funny to the sky. That new title then stuck. I cracked the code. It wasn’t money. That’s what made sense to me. It morphed into the idea that my girlfriend is pretty funny. I get caught stealing her jokes, so if there’s any truth to what we’re talking about, that’s the closest. She’s my head comedy writer and has not always gotten the credit, until now.
I love “Taj Mahal,” “Class Historian,” and songs like “NC-17,” which seem to describe a particular scenario or create an image or sketch. It sounds like you’re talking about a relationship, an affair, a crush, an attraction, or a breakup. I love the line in “Taj Mahal” that says, “people are still having sex.” That’s just brilliant. I can visualize people, either from my own life or imagination, in those lyrics and songs.
I like how you keep saying sketches. That’s where I am coming from. That’s what it’s like when I’m writing. I want to make art, and I love both of those things. That’s very similar to how I felt in the beginning, and you realize that you have something. Part of my brain tries to tell me that this is about to turn into work, or do we want to have fun? How do I not work and get the job done, and keep it in my subconscious? Talking about the record and doing interviews is therapeutic to me. I’m not thinking about where I was a year ago. Sometimes it’s easier to connect the dots, but I can’t do it at a microscopic level. What trilobytes are these?
You alluded to art, and you have a lot of concepts in your videos, much like in the 1980s and the heyday of MTV. You use videos well to prime the public for the album release. Is that deliberate?
I am in the future, and in that, not much planning is needed. We don’t have the restrictions and the well-planned, way-in-advance planning. It’s hard for me to function that way now, and even historically. It’s a nice place we’re in now, we can handle it. It’s all OK.
Each of these songs, and we’re getting ready to announce the record (Natural Pleasure), and each single needs a video, and we just started shooting. There’s one idea, but then you let things happen in the moment. Maybe a camera is there, and you can take a picture of it. There are always things that you never intended. Plans are just a way to get things started. Plans don’t need to be intricate, but not in my particular world. In the real world, maybe, but not in my world. The plan is just doing, showing up, and being there. Whatever capacity, and see what happens.
When you do a video, is there ever a script or concept behind it?
“I Swear,” I knew that the song was coming out on my birthday, and I knew that date. Nathan (Price, drums) was getting ready to fly to LA. Oh, do you want to shoot a video quickly? I knew we were under a time crunch—the only place or plan was to find a sandy beach, Lake Keystone, and you throw a lot of filters on it, and the brown water takes on another hue, turns blue. Honestly, I hadn’t been out there in a while. We drove straight to the most perfect beach. I had never been there. Whoever gave us the song idea also drove us.
I love self-driving cars—a two self-driving pod. One would be for the gear, and the other pod can take us to the hotel. The problem with the self-driving cars is that computers and humans are trying to crunch numbers, and human error combines with computer error. It will be great when it’s all on a computer for things to work. I get that people just like to drive. People may start to feel like they’re losing their freedoms. I don’t know if we’ll get there.
I just saw that there’s now a robotic phlebotomist. I don’t know if I’d like that thing taking my blood.
I’ve seen robots doing surgery, even brain surgery. Those robots seem pretty focused; that’s a different level of focus from a mere human.
How would you describe a Broncho fan? What do you find when you meet them?
They’re all over the map. They kind of seem like a broad representation of humanity. It’s never the same, and each person I speak to or meet is different. All ages seem to be represented. I’m not good with numbers or guessing ages, but it’s a broad range.
I’ve heard or read a wide range of comments on how people felt about the show: some wish I had introduced the band. Certain types of people want me to do certain things. They want or need that, and we don’t always think about things like that. The show is just where we’re living – maybe with an agenda or a list of bullet points. That being said, a guy in Vancouver asked me to introduce the band, and I started to introduce the band – Penny (Pitchlynn, bass), Nathan (Price, drums), Ben (King, guitar), and me. We can take people’s feelings into account and try to give them that.
Do you get questions about your lyrics or the meaning of the songs?
Yes, that’s a good question, and yes, I get questions about lyrics. We created a lyric sheet insert for the new vinyl, Natural Pleasure, and we will also post it on our site. This happened: We were playing a song that we hadn’t played in a while, and I looked it up online. I saw a lyric site, but the lyrics were wrong. I have had that conversation with other bands and artists. There seems to be an epidemic (of misprinted lyrics). It used to be funny to hear people sing the wrong lyrics, I’m like, that’s not quite right. If you buy the vinyl, you’ll get a lyric sheet. I’m also planning on putting them on our website. It’s on my to-do list. Maybe I’ll get around to it this week. The record’s coming up this week (April 25th)—a virtual place. We are not opposed to listing our lyrics for the fans.
How did you discover your phrasing and vocal style? Lots of people comment on your unique, off-kilter style of vocal phrasing.
It’s just about making sense, and it probably starts with each song. How do the vocals best fill the space, and does it feel good? It’s all about trying things out. It always begins with a scratch or guide vocal and dummy lyrics. It’s just gibberish. I love those takes because they’re so natural and spontaneous. So, if I don’t have the lyrics, I’m trying to get back to that place. I try to get them naturally. That’s where my mind is about that, and that’s the path. Whatever direction we go, I have to get back to it. There’s a lot of magic at the beginning of any idea. Often, we end up using the original guitar, bass, and drums, and it’s usually most of the song. We try to use as many of those original parts as we can and keep them.
“Get Gone.” That one started in my living room. We were just what it’s called, maybe it’s like jamming to some people, but it just happened. We had that piece. I came back to it six months later. This feels good to me, and I had almost forgotten it. I found that session. It’s reverse engineering. An alien craft. How did they do that? Why didn’t gravity affect it? We’re trying to figure it out and put some new things on top of it. The long way around ends up being fun to me. Sometimes, some songs come to me super quickly, and other parts can take longer. Every song is so different. Some songs take forever, and some don’t. The same thing they say about babies–they’re all different.
I remember when I was in the hospital. Someone said that babies are tiny humans. They’re not, they’re their own species. Their heartbeats are different – super fast. We worried about our first kid. He had a rapid heartbeat, and we took him to the ER. They were checking him out, and his pulse was fast, and they were alarmed. Then, the doctor came in and said it was normal. How don’t we know that? Isn’t St. Louis big for heart surgery?
Yes, Barnes-Jewish Heart and Vascular Center. Very well known. You’ve been to St. Louis many times before, correct?
Yeah, I’m a Cardinals fan. I met Ozzy Smith as a kid, and he was my favorite player. He came to Tulsa for a baseball card signing event, and my dad took me. I had the starting lineup cards, and they weren’t worth anything. My dad tells the story well now, and it means a lot more to me as an adult. You pay money, and you get a signature. Everyone there (at the baseball card signing event) was a collector and was trying to make money by selling the autographs. But when it got to me, Ozzy liked the fact that I had a startup card, even if it was worthless. The security guy told us to move along, but Ozzy told him no, and that we could stay. He asked me about my Little League team and said he had a son my age. That was great, and I still have the card.
Do you remember the first record or music that you bought with your own money?
Yes, it was Boys II Men. I bought it for my girlfriend. She had a friend break up with me because it wasn’t a CD, it was a cassette. Yeah, it wasn’t the proper format.
What was the first band that made you think that you could play music or be in a band?
It probably gets foggy, but when the first Weezer (referred to as The Blue Album, DGC, 1994) came out, that was something that felt attainable. If I go back and look at it, it’s four guys who look like my brothers, and they’re making great music together. More importantly, I was into it (Weezer) – I was into it to my core. Every song on that record hit me so hard. Weezer came out when I was in middle school, and you’re just fresh out of elementary school. Those guys were older than me, but I felt like they could be my age. I had a locker, and it was a kind of magical time. That’s when I felt a genuine excitement about music, got the bug, and I thought I might try it.
Pinkerton (DGC, 1996) is so good, too. That opened my mind. I think when I first heard it, I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I do. When I look back on it, those kinds of albums often end up being my favorites after they’ve grown on me.
You’ve had a lot of song placements in movies, TV shows, and games. Is that something you try to do? How did you get in front of music supervisors?
That just happened very naturally. We just seemed to be even from the beginning. There was a music supervisor whom we had become friends with. I like to connect with music supervisors. They end up being a friend of a friend. We connect. Oh, well, Tom Wolfe (music supervisor) is one, and he’s gotten a lot of placements. I remember that he got that. It’s a very vital and cool role in the music industry. You can want any song, but then you’ve got to get it. That can be tough. I try to make it as easy as possible on my end. I see where they’re coming from. Clearance from everyone is good, so you don’t get sued. We’re pretty simple.
We’re self-released on this album (Natural Pleasure), so my default (answer) would probably be yes.
Broncho has toured and opened for some big bands. What did you learn from touring with Billy Idol and Queens of the Stone Age? What did you learn from Billy or Josh?
Yeah, they were all so nice. It’s good, and because we’re nice anyhow, subconsciously, I used to wonder if that’s not the way I’m not supposed to be? That’s just the way we are, but when you see successful people being friendly too, you notice and understand that you can be that way too and still make it. Treating everyone nicely, the people working the shows, the staff, etc. They’re being nice to other people.
I had an excellent encounter with Steve Stevens; he’s the coolest. He’s always around and not hiding in his cave until he’s there and just appears for the show. He wants to play, be at the soundcheck, jam, etc. That’s the big takeaway. They love playing, and they’re still doing it. They love what they’re doing. I haven’t been around any jaded bands yet. Maybe I have, but I blocked it out (laughs). Everyone has been great, and they all come from the same place we do.
How did those artists become aware of you?
With Queens of the Stone Age, it was a mutual friend, JD McPherson, a songwriter and guitarist. He played Josh (Homme, QOTSA, Kyuss, Them Crooked Vultures, Eagles of Death Metal, etc.) Just Enough Hip To Be A Woman (2014). We were on tour with Guided By Voices at the time, and they were awesome people who always gave a full-on performance each night.
Anyhow, we were opening for GBV at the Teragram Ballroom in LA. I decided to go out the back door for some air. I opened the door, and there was a body out there, and I nearly ran into him–it was Josh! I immediately hugged him. He talked about making a record, but how would that work in terms of timing? They were doing stuff, and we were doing stuff, but anyway, he invited us on the European tour. It happened naturally. Leading up to it, I was like: Please make this happen.
We had toured Europe before, but I wanted to play in the huge places just to experience it, to get a different experience. I love all sizes of venues, from tiny ones to arenas, like the Portugal The Man tour, to large ones. We played in Montreal at the Bell Centre. That will always stay with me. The arena does different things to the sound and acoustics. I love exploiting a big room. It’s a math equation, and on a night-by-night basis, you can still be in the minute and try to remain in zero gravity.
The thing about Europe is that you cannot drive there. Just let someone else take you. In the States, I just want to get there, and it’s on us. What’s crazy (in Europe) is the compact roads, and it’s almost choreographed, not dance, but motion, and all these shapes are going in at the right time. Here it’s like you’re here, and you want to be here. Here you’d be offended.
Especially when traveling in Asia, like China, it was incredible. Every amount of space on the road is being taken up. Back here, I’m less offended at any car turning into a place I am. It’s Asia, man, they know the dance and the choreography. They’re planning for them to be here.
It’s interesting how they drive in places like Mexico City. The colors are part of the magic, especially as you fly in. You can see the color palette. It’s so colorful there, and driving the streets. One of our friends is from there. Sometimes she says we should go, and other times, she’s like: ‘Don’t go there.’ Those pyramids in Teotihuacán, Mexico, were incredible. We stayed at this hotel, and the maître d’ was excellent in taking care of us. He got a car for us. Let’s get the vehicle at 6:00 am; 8:00 am doesn’t sound early now, but back then, that was too early. On our last day, we took an Uber to the pyramids, and it was perfect. Then, we were back in time for happy hour.
How will touring Canada or Europe be now?
We’re going to Canada, and they might not let us in (joking). It’s crazy.
Natural Pleasure has a more mature, sad, somber, or mournful feel to it. Do you feel like it’s a departure from previous albums, or is it still along the continuum? How do songs like “I Swear,” “Think I Pass,” and “Imagination” differ from your more poppy, uptempo numbers?
I didn’t even think about it. I love sad songs, minor chord progressions, and what I feel inside. I don’t mind a cry. I’m sure that’s a significant influence on me. When a song comes out from me, none of it’s intended or planned, and they can have a sad emotion even if the song is the opposite. “Think I Pass” seems funny to me. It’s a joke in a way to deal with the idea of saying no to something.
“You Got Me” is about something I love, and it’s something about me, and it should be the most loving, joyful, but it does have a sad chord progression. When you love something and you’re holding it, you can convey a sense of peace. This specific point of view seems somber, but they’re just feeling what they’re carrying. You don’t always have to have a smile to be happy. A lot of those songs that came out during the pandemic. That had an outsized influence on where the songs seem to be coming from.
Which of Natural Pleasure’s tracks are you most proud of? I know that’s like picking a favorite child.
I could make a case for every song on there. I feel that strongly about every song and every moment I had with each song in the process. Whichever one I was working on. I try to have that moment with every song. I want to have that moment each time. It’s hard to pick one or two or three. Each had a moment, and I believed in it. I like how this record has moments that I’ve never had on any other record, like the classic ’90s unplugged set feels good. We played at Byron’s 40th Birthday Party (Byron Helm, Broncho sound system designer), and we played the entire new album for him. It felt great. When you’re able to do that, you can expand your set in a way you didn’t do previously. You can do whatever you want, and either people will get it or not. If we get it, they will likely get it too.
What was the strangest gig you’ve played? Either a fantastic or disastrous gig?
It’s hard to think about. I knew I’d get this question. There are times when I think I will know. Nothing comes to mind immediately, but we did play at a festival in Mexico City and were opening for a British band; I just can’t remember their name now. So, we went there and opened for them, and the show felt weird. We couldn’t tell if anyone was into us.
Then, later after the show, we went back to this bar, and these guys came in. They told us that we played a great show. They loved us, and they bought us drinks. One of them said something about London towards the end. They thought we were the British band, the headliner. They were thinking of the headliner, but confused us with them. We went from that was a weird show, to that was the best show. Turns out we weren’t the best band that day. There will be a time when I remember the band’s name or a show, and I’ll text you.
Everyone has a weird story about a fan, a crowd, a promoter, etc., right?
Most of the time, you play, and then you’re out of there. I was in a band called Starlight Mints, and that’s how I started touring. I started with them. We played Irving Plaza in NYC, and this girl comes up right after the set on stage right.
She says, ‘You guys are my favorite band ever.’ She conveyed her love and this powerful emotion. ‘Can you tell me anything that will inspire me?’ I said, “Keep jamming.” She stopped, and I watched all the joy and all the excitement leave her body, and she said, ‘Keep jamming?’ I think about that every once in a while. She was so disgusted with my inspirational quote (laughs). I guess that was my shallow end.
That’s like in that Madonna documentary, “Truth or Dare” (1991), when Kevin Costner goes backstage after her show and she asks him what he thought of the show, and he says it was “neat.”
Oh, yeah, I remember that (laughs). That was funny.
Are there any other musicians, artists, or producers you’d like to work with?
Not necessarily. We’ve worked on some random things. I’d never heard of them until we played a show with them, but there was a band we played a show with- yeah, the Repitalians. I did a song with them. We talked about it. They sent us an idea. Can we record it at this festival when we’re together? It happened naturally. I love that collaboration. I haven’t heard the finished product. I love the song and how they worked. It felt good with the way I work. I liked that experience, and their interpretation of what I laid out. Let’s record your reaction to it.
What’s Tulsa, Oklahoma, like, and why do you come back?
Yeah, I’m a born and raised Oklahoman, just like Garth Brooks. A lot of people think we’re British. I love that and the fact that someone would take us from being there (the UK). It’s fun to be ambiguous, and people don’t know what to make of us. I like being interpreted differently. It’s a good curveball, and we have a good conversation. It keeps you on your toes about judgments and makes you think differently.
We in Tulsa are welcoming to the south and the east. We are on the treeline to the east, especially on the eastern side of the state. We can welcome anyone. I-35, I-40, or whichever road gets you here. There’s convergence; everyone is coming through. Going through our genealogy, we discovered roots in Missouri (we came through there) after leaving France, following migration from Scotland and Ireland. They made their way to the US and eventually arrived in Oklahoma, but after settling in Missouri for a while. One of our great-great-grandparents was on the Chisholm Trail part of the land run, and that’s how we ended up in Oklahoma. I’m delighted to live here. When I was younger, I wanted to go to New York City or Los Angeles; those were the two main options for entertainment. Then, when I started touring, I realized I did want to come home. That kept me from wanting to live anywhere else. And now that I have kids, it works out well. I want my kids to be around their grandparents. That’s worked out well, and that’s special. It would take something insane to make me live somewhere else. Tempting faith.
Do you still enjoy touring? How do you prepare for that now that you have two young children?
Yeah, I do enjoy touring, and I love playing shows. It’s harder just to leave town than it ever was. But it was hard even before kids. The jumping-off point was hard even before – leaving the cat, the girlfriend, the apartment. There’s always something. Then I start swimming, and you realize you can float, and you realize it’s what you do. That’s what I do. There’s always a little transition that happens. Something always happens. You’re in a vehicle, hauling ass down the freeway, and you’re trying to get there ontime. With kids, I think I can get up early and hit the road more easily than before. That gear will kick in. With kids, you have to wake up; there’s no debating it. I was always the last person in the vehicle. I was always slow and moved at my own pace.
I look forward to playing shows and seeing family – cousins everywhere, and one of my brothers lives in St. Louis. He has a cool business making birdhouse kits for kids to put together with their parents. They started making guitar kits and fundamental tools. Not fake tools, like a real hammer and screwdriver that are tiny. He’s very creative. We were in a band when we were kids. His company is called SparkJump (https://sparkjump.fun/). They do a lot of business.
You’re great at using social media. Is that something you like doing?
I like figuring out the way to do it that feels right for us. This feels good for us. Those are ways to add imagery to what’s already there. I know how vital Imagery is. It was for me when I was a kid. Visuals help the sum of the thing. When we do that, we represent the sound or music visually.
There were times when I didn’t feel good about social media when I had to do things that weren’t natural or didn’t feel right. I think artistically. Is our way the way you’re supposed to do it? I believe that finding your voice is a therapeutic experience. How do I make it fit? I see times where people just seem to be creating things. I like being able to figure that out and not rely on someone or something else. I like it being our fault, not someone else’s.
We’ve been fortunate to have Denny Schmickle, a graphic artist, who did our art for our first two records, and he helped us with the layout. We did all the photography for the last two. He was a massive part of our early artwork and T-shirts. We were lucky to have people who got us and helped us make imagery that was right for us. Then we need things right away, so we just do it. The band contributes. Nathan (Price, drums) is an artist and painter. He also does a lot of art for bands. He knows the proper file sizes and has given me an education in Photoshop, showing me how to export files correctly. It’s nice. Collectively, we all know just enough to get into trouble or out of trouble.
How does the album differ from the others? Some of the tracks sound raw, real, and like something captured on a Tascam at 3:00 am.
Did you say Tascam? Yes, exactly. We’ve always been about whatever happens with a song idea, and we try to be just true to it. That’s always the objective. Whatever feels right, and that’s it—not holding to any rules. Broncho doesn’t have to sound like that. We move to one song, and then you have a collection. I like when I can hear them all together—sequencing them and taking it all in.
Ultimately, with this record, we have to go in and redo something. How do we get up to speed? Then we went to work with Chad (Copelin), the producer. We track in a real studio. I like this stuff from a demo stage. There’s a lot of Tascam going on. This is the best version. Several of these songs had a different version. Here’s one from my garage. That can be work, or I like that dingy, dirty version over there. How do we make that listenable? Does it feel as good to other people? Is it something that needs to be fixed, and how do you go about fixing it? In the end, does it still feel good? Then, if it does, you did it right.
“Save Time” went through several iterations. I love that song. Some of the versions just didn’t hit me right until the version that ended up on the record. That was done in the studio. Both worlds can have their victories.
We ended up running everything through a buddy’s reel-to-reel Tascam tape. We like to run everything through the machine before we get mastered. Chad will have a tape machine. There are times when we know. Sometimes we send things to people to try out.
Yuki Matthews (producer, Shin’s guitarist), who plays in a lot of bands, ran that record (Just Enough Hip To Be a Woman, 2016) through his Tascam. You may look back at it later and say none of that mattered, but maybe it made a difference (sound-wise). Something eventually clicked. We’ve got all our CDS mastered by Dave Cooley (a mastering engineer and audio restoration expert). I love the way things sound. We had him master it, cut it to vinyl, then record the album from that vinyl. We would record our favorite records onto vinyl. I love the way it sounds, plus early on, we should also record MP3s we like to vinyl, but it never made much sense until we worked with Dave. He’s into it and knows exactly how to do it.
Timing, it didn’t make sense, but now it does. We can do it. I like the way you can manipulate tape. You don’t know. There’s magic that can happen; there’s a physical confrontation. I like that part of the tape and vinyl, and the way it hits your ears.
Are there a lot of bands you like?
I don’t search for many new bands, but I do hear about them. Things get through. Most recently, I’ve been listening to Chappell Roan. I kept hearing about her and the drama. I was clocking all of this. And I heard “Naked in Manhattan.” It hit me. I listened to her on Apple Music and played her top songs over and over. This was before she released her new song. When they came out, it messed up what I had been listening to. This wasn’t on the real record. It wasn’t recorded. There’s a reason people are talking about her. It’s good. She’s from Springfield, Missouri, and I have family there. That’s the most memorable music experience I can think of recently. Those songs are good.
I like all kinds of music. We just moved into a new house. I could hear this music. It sounded terrific, and I thought it was a concert on our street. We were eating dinner, and the babies were baby eating. I walked out expecting to see a show. It was two doors down, and a neighbor was blasting a Barbara Streisand song. I found out that she was getting retribution on a neighbor and their noisy kids, so her revenge was blasting “Babs.” That was beautiful.
What’s it like being a band in 2025? I guess the traditional label system is long gone. What is the system now?
It went from this is ‘ how you do it’ to ‘I have no idea how you do it.’ One of our options is to do it ourselves. We have fans at different labels, and we sent it to a few of them. A couple of reasons that it didn’t happen are that we were too late in the timeline for many labels. Most everyone already has their year or release schedule figured out. If we wanted to do something, now we have the label. You have to hire PR and other folks.
You’ve played St. Louis many times. Which venues or dates do you remember?
El Lenador was our first show in St. Louis at some restaurant on Cherokee Street. We played the Bluebird, and then we started playing Off Broadway, the Old Rock House, etc. I love St. Louis. I used to go there often when I was a kid. My mom’s best friend lives in Charleston, Illinois, close to St. Louis. We used to go to Six Flags and a Cardinal’s games anytime we were in the area. They’re like family to us.
What would you do if you weren’t doing music? What would you do instead?
Outside of art, I like the idea of being a plumber. I enjoy solving problems with someone’s toilet (laughs). It’s rewarding to tighten things, mainly when it works and solves the problem. Come in as a handyman plumber. I love simple fixes when it seems unsolvable. Hey, this thing was lost, and now it’s fine. I’m your local handyman plumber.
Is that the Broncho dance I’m seeing in the video for “Funny?” Where was this video filmed?
“Funny” was recorded in Nathan’s garage. We used to have the Jacuzzi warehouse (Broncho’s old rehearsal space and warehouse), but it’s no longer there. If we can’t have it, no one can. The people who owned the building needed to leave; it was an unhealthy environment. Honestly, it needed to be condemned. Jacuzzi material. All the boxes lying around had cancer warnings on them. Now we all have our own little, individual warehouses.
That’s kind of a version of what we can do for the song, but it was freezing cold outside, so let’s do it inside the garage. You’ll never know if it makes any sense. We just chop it up. And then, it’s like I kinda like it. We enjoy working at the last minute—the extension deadline.
It’s usually at least a phrase in there that they can pull out. It may make them feel a certain way. It might not hold up in court. I like that world, but I’m not even sure they know or that I know. It’s a fun little amusement park where they come in.
What can fans expect on this upcoming tour? What’s the set going to be like?
We plan to play the new record from start to finish and then rip into some old stuff. We played that set at Brian’s Birthday party. Let’s do it again, and again. I wish we were on tour right now. It was a lot of fun, especially to play the new stuff.
Broncho’s newest album, Natural Pleasure, will be released on Broncho Worldwide on vinyl on Friday, April 25th.
Broncho’s 29-date North American tour begins in Tulsa on June 14th, and the band will return to St. Louis with a show at Off Broadway on August 16th.
- Can’t Get Past the Lips (2011)
- Just Enough Hip to Be Woman (2014)
- Double Vanity (2016)
- Bad Behavior (2018)
- Natural Pleasure (2025) (vinyl/cassette)
- 1. Imagination
2. Funny
3. Cool
4. Get Gone
5. I Swear
6. Original Guilt
7. Save Time
8. You Got Me
9. Think I Pass
10. Surely
11. Way Into Magic
12. Dreamin
