Interview: David Boyd of New Politics
10.07.15

The rollercoaster ride of the past five years since their self-titled debut has seen New Politics crisscrossing the globe as a supporting act for major names from 30 Seconds to Mars to P!nk. And while their critical reception has been varied, the guys are back at it for a co-headlining tour this time, in support of their third full length Vikings. The new album is an obvious mashup of influences, alt-punk and hip hop and pop synths living comfortably amongst its eleven tracks forming a sing-along-worthy, energetic backdrop for what should be a great live show. Lead vocalist David Boyd took a few minutes to chat with us about the new record and his own background before their tour kicks off next week here in Seattle.

Seattle Music News: How’s your day been so far?
David Boyd: It’s been good. I just got back from Nashville. Been out there rehearsing for the tour.
SMN: Nice.
DB: It’s been some long days and short nights. So I decided that, I would really rest my body.
SMN: Well thanks for taking some time out of your day for us. We’re excited to see you in Seattle next week.
DB: Absolutely. We’re all super excited to be there.
SMN: Oh yeah, I’m sure. I see that you released a new album, which I actually listened to few times this week. It’s awesome. You guys have done a great job.
DB: Thank you.

SMN: Did life on the road for touring have a significant effect on the content for this album?
DB: Yeah, absolutely. Definitely. I think we wrote most of the idea, all the demos, while on the Monumentour, which was about a year and half ago with Paramore and Fall Out Boy. We were in a really great place I think mentally and just as a band. I think we were very inspired. We had a lot to write about and we had a lot of new things we wanted to try out. I think it just came very natural, writing this album. It was actually great.

SMN: What is the song writing process like for you guys? Do you start with the lyrics first, or do you start with the music first? Who does what?
DB: It really varies because even if it starts with a lyric line or an idea, a concept that comes from a lyric, sometimes that lyric will change a little bit later on. It comes from somewhere and then it roots from there. It could be anything. It could be a drum beat, some catchy line, or vocal melody and then from there it really, really changes a lot.

SMN: It seems like it’s really hard to pin you guys in one genre, as you incorporate grunge, and pop, and rock, dance. If you had to describe your music in just three words, what would it be?
DB: You’re really right. I’m actually struggling a little bit with that one, because for us it’s just about writing songs that we relate to. It’s a fictional story of experience and truth for us. Experiences or things that have happened, or things that we have heard or experienced in some kind of form even if it was through a friend or this or whatever or something that we’ve heard. And then it becomes some sort of a concept in writing. I don’t know how other bands do it, because a lot of bands get very good at sticking to one thing. Of course everything has its pluses and minuses. But us, we don’t have that at all if it sounds right and it resonates with us we go with it, full throttle.

SMN: So we’re looking forward to seeing that come out at your show next week. What should we expect from your live show?
DB: It’s very similar to our music, we just go with the flow and it becomes what it becomes and the crowd is a big part of that, our fans are a big part of that. It’s like breaking the ice and becoming one with the crowd. You know the stage is just sort of an illusion. Like 5 years ago we were – I’ve been – walking on the crowd, I’ve been jumping on speakers, climbing racks and break dancing, splitting the crowd and going down and dancing or singing in the crowd together. It’s something we have always sort of done and now we’re trying to understand a little bit, not understand and analyze it but try and build on that and put in new things and that’s what we are trying with this show here now.
SMN: Cool!
DB: I’m so excited. Up in Nashville four days ago we started rehearsing with the lights and stage and adding some of those things and I’m just like “Oh my God this is going to be so amazing” I was just blown away, its just cool now with the coloring and the back drop.
SMN: I am excited to see that then.
DB: Oh Lord now you’re just going to be expecting “when are they going to come down from a rocket?”
SMN: Yeah, “When are they going to swing off the moon?”

SMN: So you mentioned being a break-dancer, so you clearly dance. What pushed you into creating music over just staying as a touring break-dancer?
DB:  I think honestly it’s a little reverse. I started realizing that I became a break-dancer because in my environment, growing up as a teenager there were no musicians around. But music was always my thing regardless of dancing. And when I say music and it’s not specifically me doing music, it’s the happiness that music brings me in life. As far as I can remember if it was my parents at home, being at home listening to my parents’ music. It would be Michael Jackson or the Beatles or Elvis or ABBA or whoever, it didn’t matter. I’d sit in front of a speaker and listen. That did something to me from very early on. It got me thinking, it gave me emotions of happiness, of caring, of being sad, all these different things. Whatever I felt I was going through in my life was the thing I related it with.

That was when I realized that art in general just has that effect, with what you’re going through in your life. To me dance was the next best thing, but you know I just did that very intensely for years and years, and hours a day that’s where I put all my energy and when I got older I started dancing with musicians and doing theater and that’s where I met musicians. Because I always had an interest for it I eventually started writing and trying to recreate that feeling that music had given me and maybe I could reach other kids. And then about seven or eight years ago I met Søren [Hansen] at his studio and we just clicked and started writing songs when we were free and all these great ideas were coming and really worked well and clicked. And we gave each other what the other didn’t have but we both wanted the same things so it worked out really well.

Eventually we had all these songs, we entered a competition and ended up winning. There were some people from England reaching out, and we started playing shows in France. It all happened within a six-month period it just went “whoosh” and then this guy from a label brought us to America and we ended up signing a record deal here. We moved here to do this and that was five years ago and now we have been just trying to puzzle it all together slowly and we have been getting better at our craft and learning and growing. The main thing is just writing songs and touring and that’s just where we’re at in this stage in our life. I’m sure it will take its turn for the better, and we’ll do stuff slowly to stay creative but at the moment we’re just having so much fun. We’re very blessed.
SMN: That’s good to hear, that’s very good to hear.

SMN: Okay, well I just have one last question. If you were stranded on a desert island and you could take one book, one movie, and one album with you what would it be?
DB: Oh my God. I would take, the book I would take would be Alice in Wonderland the original and then I would take, God what movie would I take if I was stranded on an island, it would have to be probably Forest Gump. And then an album. Oh my God, that ones really hard.
SMN: I know, especially since you just talked about music.
DB: I would probably have to go with either The Beatles’ essential album, or Led Zeppelin greatest hits. It would have to be between those two.
SMN: Ah Zeppelin okay, that’s a smart way of doing it. Well thank you so much for taking time out to chat. We’ll see you next week with Andrew!
DB: Thank you, you too.

Be sure to catch New Politics and Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness with The Griswolds and Lolo, October 13 at Showbox SoDo.

Get tickets here.

Interview by Sunny Martini