1) How did everyone originally meet and decide that being a band as a profession was going to be the way to go?
It happened quickly and organically. I had been working on Palm Springsteen solo in LA (where I live) and I started playing some for friends, and they we’re really psyched and asked me to play a show. I played two shows with a guitar and drum machine, and my friend Hayden came by one and said we should work on some tracks on his studio in Glassell Park. Kyle, the drummer, is one of my long time friends from high school, and we took a trip to New Orleans together and I showed him some of what we’d been working on. We decided to get together in New York and play some shows during the summer (2016). Luca was Kyle’s roommate, and we recruited him to tickle the ivories. We had one practice on July 3rd, then played a show on July 4th. The rest is history. (Also to note for history’s sake, America and Palm Springsteen share the same birthday, which is a super important fact.)

 

2) Who came up with the portmanteau as the group name?
I did. When I originally starting writing music for Palm Springsteen I was saving the project files as all the “sick” band names that I was coming up with impulsively (also Dad Party, Santana Monica, etc). When I finally got asked to play a show, most of them had been saved as Palm Springsteen so I knew it was meant to be.

 

3) How would they describe their sounds? Does labeling themselves as a ‘band that sounds like something or someone’ even important these days?
Obviously it’s natural to try and and define a band by what they could or do sound like, especially to people unfamiliar with the sound, but often I think it’s detracting. Honestly, I still don’t know what to tell my mom. We’re simply blow-pop in space.

 

4) What was the impetus behind covering “Wipeout Beat”?
Alan Vega is one of my heroes, and his album Saturn Strip is often overlooked. He was a true visionary. I had been working on a cover of Wipeout Beat for almost a year and then the day before it was released, Alan passed away. It sadly turned from a homage into a tribute. Rest in peace, kung fu cowboy.

 

5) Any favorite sources they can cite as influences to their look and sound?
David Bowie’s bulge in Labyrinth, both look and sound. Mostly sound.

 

6) Was Deckard (from Blade Runner) really a replicant?
Such a tough question! I take the Voight-Kampf myself all the time and I’m still not convinced.

 

7 and final question) If you only had one pull quote or 30 seconds to boil yourselves down to an audience as a final takeaway what would that be… 

Wherever you go, there you are. – Buckaroo Banzai

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