Public Figure Talk their New EP
Public figure is back and better than ever with their newest track - Sober Hungover
Photography by Jacqueline Day
We sit down to chat with Public Figure to discuss local bands, Trader Joe’s snacks, and the work on their upcoming EP; Create//Consume
So I’m here with Roger and Dolan from Public Figure! I really, really want to hear a lot about your new song. Can you tell me, like, starting out, what was the thing that made you want to write this song in the first place?
Dolan: Ohhh, I’ll let Roger take that.
Roger: When we came up with the concept of Create//Consume, which is the whole concept of the EP, we wanted to have these dichotomies; these opposites that actually turn out to be a lot more related than you would think. And the song “Sober Hungover” was actually completely conceptualized in the studio. We had ideas of what we wanted to complete with the whole project, but we weren't sure what the individual songs were that we wanted to do.
So we got in the studio, all of us in the room at the same time with our producer Joel, and we just got to it. The first line that happened to come up was “I’m way too sober to feel this hungover,” and we just went from there. I'm a firm believer that there's, like, the music itself is an entity, and it has something that it wants to be. I know that sounds kind of, like, woo-woo, but I feel like every song is like asking for it to be something. And when that kind of line popped up, I felt like, ooh, that's what this song wants to be.
Dolan: Well, it was cool because when we were in the studio, and he was coming up with melodies in his head, listening to the different parts of the song over and over (and over and over). And he said that line, and we were all just like, that’s it.
So walk me through that day; what was it like?
Roger: So the night before we got to the studio, we were actually in Nebraska. We played a four-hour set and got home around 1:30 AM, and our flight out to LA was at 4:30. So we got to LA, went right to the studio, and none of us had any sleep in like two days. So to get into the studio, be surrounded by our friends, and just be able to pull out something that we really loved really set the vibe for the whole time we were out there.
Dolan: I should also mention we were all high on Trader Joe’s almond butter pretzels. So, you want to write a banger? Yeah, that’s what you need.
Roger: Dude, I can’t even put a number on how many we ate, but if somebody wants to know what fueled us to write this EP, it’s one hundred percent Trader Joe’s almond butter pretzels.
So speaking of working in the studio, and working with your producer Joel, what was that process like?
Dolan: I think it's really cool because this was the first time that we went into the studio with ideas and like, didn't use almost any of them. We only used one, I think, and we went in with like ten demos. Working with Joel was really cool because he helped us really figure out the sound of what we wanted to do with this EP. He gave us a timeline to figure out how long it would take to sit and write all of it, and it was honestly hard for me at first. It was hard for me to be confident that every day we were somehow going to have a brand new song by the end of the day, and then somehow we did that five times. Honestly, my favorite part about the entire process was just having folks come in and sit with us, listen to ideas, come up with some of their own, and just be a sounding board for everything that we were doing.
You said you had the idea for Create//Consume, but which came first? Did you have a song that had the vibe for those dichotomies, or did you just know you wanted an album centered around that?
Roger: So, crazy enough, it came from something not even music-related. I had this idea to make merch that could even feel like a clothing brand, not like normal “merch”, and I was trying to find something that would be either a really short sentence or a couple of words that could encapsulate a feeling or an idea, and I was talking about it one day with my coworker at a coffee shop. We would always have these like, philosophical discussions on shift, and she would always talk about how you only have two options in life: to create or to consume. Like, if you think about it, everything that was once created will be consumed, and you have to consume things to create new things.
Right, like almond butter pretzels.
Was there a moment where you guys realized you wanted to do this whole music thing seriously? Or has that been a day one thing?
Roger: So I joined the band later on in the game, so by the time I joined, that decision had already been made. My introduction to the band was through our drummer, John Faist, who was very aggressive about this being a serious inquiry only. So I’ll let Dolan tell you about it leading up to that.
Dolan: Yeah, it’s actually fun that you asked that question, because in my mind, I had decided I was always going to be serious about it. And it was a series over time of learning that someone else’s version of “serious” wasn’t as serious as what I had in my head. Because it would come to a point where we would have an opportunity to do something, and I was the only one who was all in. People have lives; they have families, like at this level, music isn’t replacing our saleries, so you have to make smart adult decisions and decide if it’s worth it to risk these things for music. So when John and I were going through a lineup change, we really tried to drive home that we would do anything to try and make this happen, and whoever we wanted to try and do this with should have those conversations with their loved ones if it was worth it to try this too. There’s just so much sacrifice that comes with this, and I don’t think a lot of people tend to realize that.
So when Roger wanted to join and was like, " Yeah, I’m in”, we both told him no, go home, talk to your wife first, have that conversation. And he did that, and honestly, Lindy’s been one of our biggest supporters, if not the biggest.
Roger: And that’s why she got a song.
Speaking of relationships, what’s the relationship like between all of you guys?
Dolan: I would say what sets the music industry apart from other industries, in my experience, is that we literally live together on the road. You see each other's lowest lows, and you get to be with each other at the highest highs too. And sometimes both of those things occur within the same eighteen hours. And then you have personalities, and you gotta become close with each other, and there's a whole different dynamic there when it comes to respecting each other's space and kind of understanding people's cues. It really is just like any relationship, or friendship, right? But I feel like it's magnified when you're stuck in a van together or a tiny hotel room for weeks on end.
But you know you go through those things together, and then you just come out on the other side, and you're like, these guys are my brothers. Like even days where you’re like, I can't stand these guys right now, I would still do anything for them at the same time. And I think that's like a really cool bond to be able to share with others. And that extends to our manager, Zack, or producer, Joel, it just all touches.
So you have each other, you have Zack, you have Joel, you have your families. It seems like that’s your community. What does community mean to you?
Roger: Literally everything.
Dolan: I mean, it’s the foundation of it all, right? Because I don’t think we could do this without a community. You can only do so much, and even if you somehow know how to do everything, you still need a team. You need help. You need folks there to help expand that capacity and support. In additon to Zack and Joel, we have relationships with PR people, LD’s, and other bands in the scene; we have a creative director and art director in Jacqueline Day; she's amazing. She's taken our vision and made it real. Our community is just so endless, and it means so much. I’ve always asked, like, why are people making time to help us, you know? And I realized pretty quickly that it's just because we all wanna see each other succeed, and I think if that didn't exist, then none of this would be able to happen.
Last thing, what do you wanna leave anybody who's reading this interview or listening to this? What do you want them to either know about ya, or what do you wanna say?
Dolan: I think just after everything we’ve talked about, like with the community and with our support and everything, the only reason we’re out here doing what we do is because of a few bands or songs that we really related to when we were younger, and that really helped shape who we are. The only thing we want is to hopefully provide that to someone else someday.
Roger: If there’s one takeaway, I’d say you only get one crack at life. So find the things in life that makes you excited and just do those things. Figure out a way to make them work into your life and just do it.
Dolan: Yeah, if you’re not happy, what are you doing?
You can stream their newest single live here; as well as catch their music video for it here
You can see Public Figure live on tour:
Oct. 22nd Dallas, TX
Oct. 23rd Houston, TX
Nov. 1st Madison, WI
Nov. 2nd Minneapolis, MN
Nov. 4th Kansas City, MO
Nov. 5th St. Louis, MO
Nov. 6th Omaha, NE
Nov. 7th Denver, CO
