The Nude Party have toured consistently since releasing their self-titled debut album last year. Originally formed in North Carolina, they've since packed up and moved to the Catskill Mountains in New York. Known for their wild live shows, they've been able to travel the world, as well as support the likes of The Growlers, The Oblivians, La Luz, Night Beats, and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. Before they're here for Splendour in the Grass next month, we spoke to Connor from the band about touring, their recent dates in Europe, and how their new music is progressing.
So you guys just wrapped up touring Europe for a second time, how did it all go?
It was great, we had a lot of fun over there. We played some good shows and we thankfully got to cover a little more ground this time than our previous one. We got to play in some countries we hadn't been to before. It was a success.
Were there any memorable stops while you were over there?
I really enjoyed being in Ireland. We got a day off there. We got to drink a lot of Guinness, which we found out we really enjoy, and the shows were fun. Irish people are a lot of fun.
How was the most recent Europe tour different than the first one?
Well, this one was a bit longer. The first one was, I think two weeks. This one was almost a full month. Last time, we just did the UK and France, but this time we did the UK, France, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and we also went to the Netherlands and played a festival outside of Amsterdam. New places, new experiences for us. That was really nice.
Have you noticed a difference between shows in Europe comparing to back home?
I guess it's kind of interesting when you see people that don't speak English singing the words to your songs. That's kind of a fun thing to see. For the most part, it's a similar experience. I think people might be a little more reserved in Europe, but for the most part, it felt pretty similar.
Where is somewhere the band really want to go to? Well, apart from Australia since that's coming up?
I mean, that's been our list for about five years now I think. I really want to play in Spain and Portugal. I think that's next, hopefully.
You're coming up for Splendor in the Grass, what are you most looking forward to doing in Australia?
I would really like to hold a koala bear. I hope we get time in Byron Bay to explore a little bit. We've got some friends that have been there, and I hear it's a cool little surf kind of community. Would be fun to get some beach time maybe, but we'll see.
Oh yeah, you definitely gotta do the koala thing. That's like a staple for tourists.
Yeah, that's what I hear. They're so cute. I think I'd really enjoy holding one.
When you're on the road and you have shows that are very close together, do you have time to explore and squeeze in some fun?
Sometimes we'll try and do a day off every now and then between shows. For the most part, our experiences of cities are kind of just the venue and maybe the surrounding couple of blocks and like a bar nearby or something. If you consider that experiencing it, I guess sometimes you do, but you don't always get to see a lot of what you might want to see in a place, which can be a bummer. I guess just getting to be at a place is kind of part of the experience, so it depends.
And you've played a lot of shows since the first album. What do you enjoy about touring?
I guess it's nice just to kind of be in a routine and be around people and hopefully be playing in front of new people that haven't seen us before. Travelling with your best friends is pretty awesome too. I think that's something that doesn't usually get very tiring if you're with good people, so it's been fun for us.
What do you enjoy more, the process of putting together a record or the touring part?
They both have their benefits. I think I kind of enjoy writing and recording music more. It's a big rush I think, when you're creating something new and are excited about something. Then it's also fun to perform that in front of people once you do have something that you're happy with. I think hopefully we'll get more time in the studio for this next record, and can really explore some creative options, because the last one was a bit rushed.
How is work coming along on the next record?
It's coming along slowly. We've been touring pretty heavily this year. We haven't had a ton of time to get in a room together and focus on stuff. We've got a lot of ideas and material that we kind of need to just streamline and trim the fat off of, but we're taking two months off at the end of the year to really focus and write and just kind of lock ourselves in a room and see what we can come up with. I'm not sure when it will come out, but we'll probably have it written and finished by the end of the year.
Is the band feeling any pressure about putting together a new record, or are you going to let it happen organically?
I guess there is a little bit more pressure, but I think, for the most part, it's kind of a good pressure because we actually have a platform to put it out on with a record label. I guess having people expecting it, is almost better than how it was before where we just recorded a record and no one was really interested in putting it out or anything. It was just kind of, we just have this thing completed, and we didn't really know what to do with it. This time we know it will immediately be put out to people, and put out in the right way. I think in that regard there's less pressure.
What's the band got coming up before you get to Australia?
Well right now we are driving down south, we are going to play a show in Nashville. Then we play Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Then we play Mountain Jam, a festival in upstate New York, it's actually the original site of Woodstock, in Bethel, New York, so that will be pretty awesome.
That all sounds awesome. Thanks so much for chatting with me.
Yeah, we're excited. Awesome, nice talking to you, Amy.
That's all right. Thanks Connor.
Written by Amy Smolcic (@amysmolcic)
SITG sideshow dates:
July 18st - The Curtin, Melbourne (18+)
July 19th - The Lansdowne, Sydney (18+)
More information is available HERE
Watch 'Chevrolet Van':
Follow The Nude Party:
