Like most of these interviews, I first learned of the band, The Midnight Punkz, through Instagram. With their catchy harmonies and great song lyrics, I can seriously see this band rising to the top in no time. Here’s what they had to say.
Q: Who are the members of your band and how did you get together?
A: I always love this question! The members of the band are Stevie Ashe & AndreI Johnson. We met in 5th grade at an elementary school in Yorktown, Virginia but we did not start playing music together until after we graduated high school. Funny story how we got together is, my old bassist was talking about Andrei in his new band and I actually texted Andrei the day after he told me that. So that’s where it really all began!
Q: Forbes Magazine, https://www.forbesmagazine.com/, branded Richmond, VA “ the underground music city everyone needs to visit”. Do you agree with them? Tell me what is so unique about the city and its music culture.
A: We do agree with them. Richmond has a very diverse group of bands that are very unique and that is awesome. They have so many underground house shows that not many people know about but they should definitely look into because it’s amazing. The city has a lot of indie artists with a unique sound and a few bands who we believe are trying too hard to sell out and make it haha! We may be a little guilty too but we have a backed off of that and realized writing a structured pop song is not us. But yes, we highly recommend people to check out the local scene.
Q: What artists do you feel your music most relates to? What genre do you think your band fits in or is it more of a melting pot of styles?
A: We feel our music is like a baby birthed from The Cars, The Cure, MGMT, The Strokes and Prince. If you listen closely, you can hear those influences in our music but it is still original. The recent singles and album I just recorded and released did not express those influences. I had a bunch of material written before I met Andrei and those songs were from that time. But our new sound is completely new and different with a variety of sounds and influences.
Q: Your single, Baby Blue, was released in September 2019 and produced by Will Beasley, Will Beasley Recording, who told me the band has a lot of positive energy which made it so easy to work with you. How long did it take you to finish the song?
A: That’s awesome! Will is a great dude! Funny story about that song. It was one of the last songs I wrote for that album. I had a crazy dream one night about a girl with a ghostly appearance and blue eyes and she was cutting through my skin! I woke up the next morning, went to the studio, laid down the drum beat bass line and some guitar chords and showed it to Will. He loved the shuffle groove and actually threw down that, as I like to call it, sexy little lick you can hear in the intro and all choruses. He then told me we should move my guitar lick to the keys and we did and it sounded amazing! The melody and the lyric in the pre chorus “Baby blue eyes still cut like a knife” were lyrics driven from that dream. I do not know who the girl was, but those lyrics hold a special place in me. So that is how that song came about. It was written, tracked and finished in a day!
Q: Your latest single, West Coast, released last November has great melodies and catchy lyrics. The lyric, “Love to the end of the summer because the night just started and we’re only getting younger” is my favorite line. Tell me what is this song about?
A: That was the first song I wrote for this album! This song is about having a long distance relationship with someone I have actually never met and sadly we don’t talk anymore. That lyric flew out of my mouth when trying to write a melody and I was so happy. Everybody is always talking about how they are only getting older and saying man I wish we could go back to the good old days and I’m just like, Dude, you’re still young, live that shit up, you’re not going to be here forever but at least pretend like you are! We only got one shot at this thing! But yes, the girl was from the west coast so I guess you could say that’s my “west coast” lover haha!
Q: When can your fans expect to see a full length album?
A: They can definitely expect to see a full length album by summer of 2020 so be ready for something fresh! We are going all out on this one and we are so stoked to share it with the world!
Q: Where do you see the band in 2020 and in 5 years?
A: Andrei and I talk a lot about this and when I say a lot I mean A LOT. I see the band playing as many shows as possible in 2020 and hopefully hitting the road and so does he, which we will make it happen so be ready for it! In 5 years, I see us headlining Lollapalooza or some big ass festival like that! We are the type of band that likes to work hard and make shit happen. We set very high goals for ourselves that one day we know we will accomplish. Let’s just say we’ve thrown around the idea that we want to be bigger than the Beatles were but we all know that’ll never happen haha! Our main focus is writing good music that everybody can refer to, sing and dance to. Because if people aren’t singing your lyrics back to you, have you really accomplished anything?
You can follow The Midnight Punkz on Facebook and on Instagram @midnightpunkz. You can stream their music on The Midnight Punkz on AppleMusic and The Midnight Punkz on Spotify.
Thanks to the band for speaking with me and I hope great success for them in 2020.. Stay tuned for interviews from Frog the Band, Jason “Hoss” Hicks and Meggie Brown Music.. And I continue my blog series on super fans with Beliebers.
Until then.. Your Music Stylist – Linda Dias
Music To Your Ears 