Dear Boy and the Noise Want You to Forget Your Troubles and Turn It Up
Interview★ Leanna Hubers ★ @leannagirly ★ 7 Minutes
Dear Boy and the Noise are carving out their own place in the current rock scene. Following the release of their EP Addictive, frontman Kody Edwards spoke with Love Street Magazine about the band’s unique songwriting process and their goal of bringing a raw rock ’n’ roll feel back to the industry. Kody says the band’s mission is to make noise, have fun, and give people a chance to forget about the hardships of life.
Dear Boy and the Noise via Jeff Vader @jeffvaderphotographyLEANNA: I'd love to start with the new EP that you guys came out with. Is there a specific Influence that set the tone for Addictive?
KODY: Yeah, I'd say so, yes and no? Because with us, obviously, there's four of us, so we all have our own inspirations when it comes to writing and recording. We do it very separately.
Richard is our songwriter: he'll sit in the studio and create a vibe. He'll then send it to me. I write the lyrics and melodize it, and then we get together, we sort of piece together what we like from it, separate what we don't, and then the other boys come in, Noah does his drum part, as his flair, Max does his bass part, adds his flair. I guess the tone that was set for the whole album was really off our own backs.
I think personally, with music, you can be inspired by a lot because it's been around for so long. Do you know what I mean? And I think that's the beautiful thing about it is anyone can take parts of songs and go, oh, that reminds me of this or that. You know, that sounds like it had this influence. I can't speak on the other boys, but for me personally, I just kind of feel a vibe, and then I just sort of write lyrics to how I feel that song feels, and then I'll melodize it to how it obviously fits within that song. Sometimes I'll record it on my phone or just at home, and then I'll listen back to it a day later and be like, oh, what have I just done there, and then try it again?
LEANNA: Yeah, that's a really cool process.
KODY: Yeah, to be honest, like, it's always been that way. He and I (Richard), we'll get together, then the other boys come in, and they are there flat. But first, we already have a foundation and a fundamental, if that makes sense, before we put it to the microphone. But a lot of the time I've made most of our songs in traffic, just sitting in the car on the way to work or something, and then something comes out, and we go and put it to a demo, and yeah, it progresses into what it ends up being.
LEANNA: Did you have, like, a vision for the overall sound of the EP? Like, did you have something you were chasing for that? Was there a goal, or did you kind of just, like you said, chase a sound or bounce off of each other, like getting that from Richard and then working?
KODY: The overall sound was, I think for us, it was designed to bring that classic feel of rock and roll back because, sort of, in the industry at the minute now, I'm not saying we're pioneers by any chance here, but there's not a lot of what we're doing out there at the minute.
I feel personally like we're mixing and blending classic rock and roll, that raw feel, with a modern twist on it as well. It’s still got that old-school vibe to it, but it's still within its time, do you know what I mean? It's still this year, this era.
So I feel like at the minute that we're doing what we're doing because, well, we love it for a start and we're inspired by it. The sound was driven by just pure chaos. Like, we just wanted to make noise, which is exactly what clues in the name, Dear Boy and the noise. We wanted it to hit you like a freight. That's what we've always said. Like, if you ever get a chance to watch one of our live shows or come and see us, it's like a freight train. Like, you're like, "Wa, what just happened?” Do you know what I mean?
And that's what it kind of inspires from. It's just to be loud, proud, and get everyone going and energetic. As a performer and a frontman myself, my goal has always been energy, electricity,. Like, I want to be the most electrifying frontman that's ever ever existed.
And…oh, that's a stretch, because there's plenty of legends in the past, but a man can dream, right? That's it for me: I just want to be electric. I want the whole thing to be electric. Like every time anyone comes and they spend their hard-earned money on coming to see us, just know that you are going to get the most electrifying performance you'll see from a grassroots band in a long time.
I believe that, anyway.
LEANNA: Yeah, absolutely. I know you guys opened for Bad Nerves somewhat recently. I feel like your guys' vibe really matched well.
KODY: Yeah, definitely. That was an incredible experience, and we are so grateful to Bad Nerves, Nudie Jeans, and Gold Moment Magazine for including us in that.
That was just such a huge monumentous occasion for us, like, as a band, because we're obviously, you know, a homegrown, small band, just trying to run the circuit. So for us to have an opportunity like that, and watching them after us was like super inspiring as well. As I left their show I was like “I want to get in the studio right now.” They’re incredible. I do think that our energy on that night together was nuts.
So, yeah, it was a great night. We got our first-ever mosh pit, which was incredible, and obviously, you know, Bad Nerves, and Nudie Jeans, they just do what they do best. Tear it up. So, yeah, it was wicked.
LEANNA: So moving back to the EP, is there any song that is very personal to you that you resonate with the most, do you think?.
KODY: Yeah, I get. Um, yeah, I guess so. It's difficult to answer that one as a personal or resonating one, because they all resonate with me in the same way. After all, my songwriting in the band really comes from my appreciation for women and, you know, love. So it means a lot to me because when I write songs, I write them in a way that I don't want people to think too hard about what's being sung about.
As silly as this sounds, it's, for me, when people come to our shows, I want them to resonate with what we're obviously singing and performing, which I feel like most people can, because everyone knows love.
Everyone, you know, has a partner, whether it's female or male; it doesn't matter. Like, it's all the same bubble, you know? But my goal with it is to let people forget about the hardships in life. Come to a gig and enjoy half an hour, 40 minutes, an hour, whatever it may be, of just not worrying about the world. And just remembering the things that we all sometimes forget, which is, you know, love and good times.
Like we've got a song called ‘She's Sick’, which we open with, and I wrote that to basically reminds myself of the good times of disco and, you know, meeting a girl for the first time and you get that feeling and you want to show off a little bit. They all resonate and are quite personal to me because I think that that's really what I'm aiming for.
It's just for people to enjoy it. Enjoy the music, forget about the hardships of life. We all go to work every day. We all struggle; we all, you know, we face trials and tribulations, and I just think if we can go to a gig and just enjoy ourselves, we're kids. You know what I mean?
I just want to have fun in that and help everyone else to have a bit of fun.
LEANNA: I love your perspective on that.
KODY: Yeah, thank you. No, that's really the goal for me. That's how I look at it. I mean, everyone's different. There are four members of this band. They may all have their own different vibes and feelings.
LEANNA: So, as you look ahead, how do you see this EP influencing what's next for your band?
KODY: It's influenced us in a way to keep going the way we're going, keep bringing out those melodic, heavy, you know, hit you in the face, get your head nodding vibe. You know, you get the face, and you're like, ooh!: that kind of thing, that's really what keeps us going.
And that's what I feel with the EP’s influence on us. It would influence me specifically into the next one, because for me, the energy can only go up at this point. You know, we've set a tone, and now we grow off of that, and we become stronger, faster, and, you know, more electrifying.
LEANNA: Before we wrap this up, is there anything you, like Love Street Magazine readers to know about Dear Boy and the Noise or this EP? Or what's next?
KODY: Uh, yeah, I would say if you're into having a good time, you like that scrunch-face kind of music, you want Noah's drums literally to beat the life out of your chest? Check us out! Come watch us live! If you ever get the opportunity, follow our socials. Come and see us in person because, yeah, you won’t be disappointed; I know that for a fact. Keep an eye out for the new movements we're making because it's going to be pretty wild as well.
