Atta Boy took eight long years between their first and second LP… so it’s not entirely surprising that it was more than a decade into their career before the Americana-tinged indie pop outfit embarked on their first proper tour… The L.A.-born quartet formed in high school and released their debut album, 2012’s Out of Sorts, before they were even old enough to drink. After close to a decade of inactivity, the lifelong friends decided to get the band back together to record follow-up Big Heart Manners, which dropped in 2020. However, just two years later, with a dedicated online following in tow, they put out their third and most-recent full-length, Crab Park, which had Atwood Magazine proclaiming, “Atta Boy possess unrivaled artistry.” This August Atta Boy found themselves opening dates for Americana icon Shakey Graves, and they’re currently on their aforementioned first-ever tour, splitting their time between headlining shows and gigs opening for indie folk group Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners. Tonight we’ll get the chance to catch an Atta Boy headlining performance when they play The Lounge at World Café Live, where they’ll be supported by The Wonderfool, the solo project of CAAMP’s Matt Vinson. I recently got a chance to chat with the band about their first experience on the road.
Izzy Cihak: You famously took quite a long break between LP #1 and LP #2, but you’ve been active again for almost five years and have released two full-lengths in that time, so I have to ask what have been some of the personal highlights of Atta Boy since your return?
Atta Boy: Well, getting to go on the road, meet our listeners, and share our music with them in a live setting has been really special. Opening for Shakey Graves and Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners have also been unreal experiences in their own ways. They’ve all deeply inspired us as musicians and performers—and not to mention we feel so lucky to see them put on amazing shows every night. We feel very spoiled. It’s a bonus when we meet new listeners through those shows, and we’re grateful to have the opportunity to play to audiences that wouldn’t necessarily have heard of us.
Izzy Cihak: And it has been a little while (not that long…) since we’ve heard from you, musically, when Crab Park dropped like exactly two years ago. What have you been up to since then? Is there new music on the way, by chance?
Atta Boy: Yep, it’s been nice to explore what Atta Boy sounds like in different phases of our lives. We are constantly gathering ideas as individuals and working on new music, but taking a little more time with it than we normally would, as a way to be more intentional and less rushed around what we want to explore sonically.
Izzy Cihak: So, I apologize for this question in advance, which I’m sure you get a lot… There’s another band called “Attaboy,” and the two of you seem to get mixed up on Google a lot, so I have to ask if you have any interesting mix-up stories between the two of you? I remember when Neal Francis and NEIL FRANCES had a similar situation a few years back and wound up bonding over it.
Atta Boy: We did hear that a listener of ours ended up to one of their shows expecting to see us. We’ve never been in touch with them but hope they’re finding joy in what they’re doing 🙂
Izzy Cihak: You have a number of upcoming dates throughout October and November, both supporting Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners and headlining, and we’re fortunate enough to get you on a headlining date. What can be expected of your live show this time around, in terms of setlist, production, and just the general vibes of the night?
Atta Boy: We try to represent the three albums equally throughout the setlist, but we hope it can provide enough variety that people who have connected to only a song or two of ours can explore other tracks in a way that feels like we’re sharing it with them personally, instead of having to deep dive into the records, which we know is sometimes tedious for people in this sound-bite world we live in right now. Production is very minimal because we’re still self-funded, so we tend to put on an intimate and hopefully engaging show.
Izzy Cihak: You seem to play sort of a mix of venue types, but it looks like The Lounge at World Café Live is one of the only “listening rooms” on this run, so I’m curious how you like playing seated rooms like this in particular?
Atta Boy: This will actually be our first time playing this type of room, but every venue has its own character and we always look forward to the new experience each one provides!
Izzy Cihak: Your upcoming Philly show, in addition to a few others, will feature The Wonderfool handling support duties, so I’m interested to hear your thoughts on Matt Vinson and his music. Are you fans of his, whether this solo output or CAAMP?
Atta Boy: We’re stoked to share the stage with Matt and the band. We really admire his tunes and think it’ll fit right in with what our listeners might like, so it’s a gift to have such a talented musician support us. It’s always fun to make new friends on the road too, so I think we’re all curious and looking forward to meeting all of them.
Izzy Cihak: Your upcoming Philadelphia show is the night before Halloween, so I’m curious if you’re a fan of the holiday?
Atta Boy: We all love Halloween and have always wanted to play a Halloween show, so it’s something we’re all excited about!
Izzy Cihak: Do you have any favorite music for that time of the year, whether spooky sounds or just favorite sonic vibes for the fall?
Atta Boy: It’s still Brat Summer for us, but some honorable fall mentions are Timber Timbre, Songs: Ohia, Sharon van Etten, and Big Thief.
Izzy Cihak: What’s next for Atta Boy, after these dates wrap in early November? Anything you’re especially excited about in the last part of 2024 and the first part of 2025, in addition to the holiday season… or maybe even during the holiday season?
Atta Boy: I think there will be some reflecting on what this first experience touring has been like for us as a band and how we can continue to follow that in a way that feels healthy for the band. A major priority will be getting started on our next record. I think we’d all like to hunker down in the winter and explore some new tunes, and ideally plan some shows for next year!
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