Brooklyn indie rockers Phoneboy – who we saw last year supporting our phriends Beach Weather at The Foundry and playing The Fillmore’s big room with Grayscale – have officially been on the road for more than a month now, touring behind the release of their third full-length, Heartbreak Designer, which they wrote and recorded while relocating from the suburbs of New Jersey. And they will be returning to Fishtown to headline The Foundry at The Fillmore this Thursday, June 5th. I recently got a chance to chat with all four members of Phoneboy — Wyn Barnum, Ricky Dana, James Fusco, and Jordan Torres – about their latest album, their current headlining run, their new home, and all of their phavorite Philthy phoods!
Izzy Cihak: Your third full-length, Heartbreak Designer, has been out for a little more than a month now. What have been some of your favorite fan reactions to the new music?
Phoneboy: The reactions at shows have been incredible. Whether it be hand-knitted keychains or paintings of the album cover, tons of people have been giving us super cool and unique album-themed gifts. When you release a new project, there’s always a little voice in the back of your head telling you that no one is going to know the words when you play a show. Seeing (and hearing) that the fans are proving the voice wrong is amazing.
Izzy: I know that you consider the album to be the start of the next chapter of Phoneboy. At the moment, do you have a favorite album track, or one that you think best embodies this new chapter?
Phoneboy: We think a track that defines this new era is “OMG.” There’s a blend of vocals from Wyn, Jordan, and Ricky, and it captures the feeling of nostalgia that we were trying to achieve. That being said, I’m not really sure if we can pick a collective favorite track!
Izzy: Heartbreak Designer is your third album, so I’m curious if you have any favorite third albums in your own music libraries?
Phoneboy: This is a great question! Dude Ranch by blink-182 has been in the rotation since the band started; I literally hear Josie playing it from the front of the van as I’m typing these out. That era of blink heavily inspired how we write hooks and how we act on stage. 22, A Million by Bon Iver is another honorable mention. This record definitely proved to us that you can do some heavy experimenting and still have the same core sound.
Izzy: I heard that you wrote and recorded the album in the midst of moving from New Jersey to Brooklyn. How have you been liking living in Brooklyn? I’m guessing you’ve spent kind of a ton of time there, but how’s it been treating you as official residents?
Phoneboy: Brooklyn has been great! Granted, moving out while recording might not have been the smartest idea. But now that we’re settled in, it’s been lovely. There’s always something to do, a new place to eat, a new block to walk, etc. Plus, we’re less than 15 minutes away from the studio. A win win!
Izzy: I just watched your “24 Hours in Atlanta” doc, which is totally cool. How did that concept come about? Do you have any particular favorite tour/“on the road” music docs that you’d had in mind?
Phoneboy: Thank you! Going back to a previous answer, we always throw on The Urethra Chronicles, the blink-182 tour documentary. We’ve always wanted to do a tour doc that was funny and casual like that. On this tour, we finally had the chance to do it with our amazing videographer, Niko Stycos. We pitched him the idea and he was totally game; he ended up making it more stylish and real than we could’ve imagined. We have a couple more from some different cities coming soon!
Izzy: You actually put out a lot of really cool music videos from the new album (I think “Better Than You” is my favorite.) What kinds of things seem to most inspire the visual elements of Phoneboy?
Phoneboy: Appreciate that! We pull a lot of our inspiration for the music videos (and the music itself) from our favorite movies. In particular, we all love horror movies. Most music video discussion is along the lines of, “What if it was a *insert horror movie* type situation?” For this new batch of music videos, we looked to Jordan’s longtime friend Lianne Richards to direct. Being a huge horror movie fan herself, she absolutely killed it; we couldn’t be happier with the end result.
Izzy: You’ve been on a headlining run for the better part of a month now, so I’m curious to hear about some of the standout moments on these dates behind Heartbreak Designer.
Phoneboy: This tour has been insane! Atlanta was a highlight night for sure. People were crowd surfing constantly and the mosh pit was massive. On the off day from Vancouver to Spokane, we stopped off the highway and jumped into a river by the North Cascades. It was so beautiful and peaceful (something that is tough to find on the road). Also, Ricky went skinny dipping in the hotel pool on his birthday. There are pictures from that night that will never see the light of day.
Izzy: What are some of your favorite things about being on the road, in addition to playing the shows themselves? You’ve done kinda a ton of touring in recent years.
Phoneboy: Seeing all the different landscapes across the country is so cool. On every tour we do, we try to hit at least one National Park on the way. So far, we’ve hit White Sands in New Mexico, the Grand Canyon, and Joshua Tree. This tour, we’re stopping at Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio. So stoked. Also, we love trying food that states are famous for. On this run, we tried boiled peanuts in Georgia. They rocked.
Izzy: You’ve actually played Philly, or Philthy, kind of a lot, and I know you’re obviously from not so far away to start with, so I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the city. Any memories that particularly stand out?
Phoneboy: Every single time we play in Philly (or Philthy), our standards for how good a particular food can be is raised. Best burger? Johnny Brendas. Best pizza? PIZZA Shackamaxon. Best cheesesteak? Ishkabibbles. The list goes on. We love Philly so much. Can’t wait to be back!
Izzy: What can be expected of the live show when you return to The Foundry in the very near future? I saw you supporting Beach Weather there last year, but I’m yet to see you headline.
Phoneboy: We’re going to play a lot of new songs and a lot of old songs. We will be going crazy on stage. If the audience doesn’t match our energy, we will riot in the streets.
Izzy: I know you’re going to be on the road with Double Standard, who I absolutely fucking love (although this will be my first time seeing them). What are your thoughts on the band?
Phoneboy: We love Double Standard! They recorded their EP at Diamond City Studio, the same place we recorded Heartbreak Designer with our producer, Ayad Al Adhamy! And we’ve had mutual friends for a while through The Backfires. When we heard they were looking to hit the road, it was a no brainer for us. So excited for those shows!
Izzy: Finally, considering that it’s now officially summer, I have to ask if you have any favorite things about summer? Are you a fan of the season? Is there anything you look forward to about the sunniest time of year?
Phoneboy: I (Ricky) love Summer. James and Jordan love the fall. I asked Wyn what his favorite season was and he said, “September.” Regardless, we all think summer is awesome. Everyone wants to hang out whenever they can, and the beach is a godsend. Can’t beat 90-degree weather at the Jersey Shore!
*Get your tickets here.
