By DJ Main Squeeze
Cover Photo by Sarvey Tahmasebi
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with LA alt-rock band Night Talks over Zoom to talk about the chaos and new beginnings the last few years have given us. They are no stranger to navigating big periods of change together, as the three of them met in an after-school music program 13 years ago, and explored themselves through the lens of what Soraya, the vocalist, lovingly calls a “very high school kid rock band. Like, ‘oh yeah, these kids are definitely going to play some Cheap Trick songs right now!’” They all laughed when they told me they used to be called Black Top Saints. The affection for each other and their artistic journey was contagious to say the least.
The trio planned to release their newest album, Same Time Tomorrow, in 2020, and when the release and tour were put on hold, they invested that time into making fun, sweet music videos to accompany the record.
“When we couldn’t play live shows and do music, I got super into movies like a lot of people,” Soraya told me. “I became a film bro, but not in the toxic way. By doing the music videos ourselves, we got to work on something on a much smaller scale, compared to film production, but still create something cool.”
“When we couldn’t play live shows and do music, I got super into movies like a lot of people,” Soraya told me. “I became a film bro, but not in the toxic way. By doing the music videos ourselves, we got to work on something on a much smaller scale, compared to film production, but still create something cool.”
“When you’re sitting in your apartment, there’s not a lot to feel creative about,” said Jacob, the band’s guitarist and occasional synth player. “You open all your apps and just be like, ‘oh cool, I don’t wanna sing about that.’ It was just a way to stay inspired and stay creative and we had no idea what we were doing and it’s been super fun. We bought the camera, and they’re like ‘Jacob, do you know how to do any of this stuff?’ and I’m like, ‘no!’ I just figured it out, I learned editing, color, all that stuff.”
“I’ve always been a very big David Lynch fan. I think my favorite genres are spooky and horny, and any combination of the two”
Soraya and I spoke more about the crossover between music and movies. “I’ve always been a very big David Lynch fan. I think my favorite genres are spooky and horny, and any combination of the two,” she said. “Another thing I had was a list of every movie an old dude has been like, ‘I can’t believe you’ve never seen that!’ You’re like twice my age, so just give me a sec, guy! We like to have fun and not take our art visual stuff too seriously, and I think people enjoy it.”
“We were making a video today, about 10 minutes before this interview, and it was just clipart flying across the screen,” said Jacob.
The band releases monthly Artist Playlists on their Spotify page, mostly curated by Soraya, which showcase a vast range of influences like Wanda Jackson, Nine Inch Nails, FKA Twigs, and Metric, just to name a few.
Those influences are musical but also tie in to the band’s interest in film. “I was just listening to a podcast interview with Emily Haines from Metric on the Bob Lefsetz podcast,” Soraya said. “She was talking about them collaborating with Olivier Assayas, I forget which movie, but they’re in the movie as a band. That was cool, and I think that would be a fun thing to do! The other thing they did was they actually worked with Howard Shore on the score for Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, and I also think that would be really cool!”
It’s clear that the group is excited to get back into touring after being stuck at home during the Doom Times, even if a lot of good came from that transitional time. The joy and silliness they bring to their videos definitely translates to their fun, upbeat live performances. “We played in Phoenix; that was our first time down there, and everyone was just super excited to be alive!” said Jacob. “We were just jumping on any show we could; there was a show in a backyard sort of situation. It was a sword swallower’s backyard; that was a whole other thing. I remember everyone was sitting down, lounging around. We played this one song that we haven’t put out yet that’s very fast, very dancey, and everyone just started jumping up and dancing around us. We finished playing the song, and everyone is yelling, ‘one more, one more!’ and we didn’t really have one more that would match that energy, but they were begging us so we played one more and everyone was kind of like ‘oh…’ I know! That’s what I was trying to tell you guys! All of our funnest shows have all been in LA, we’re all hometown kids, we love it here.”
Being around live music and other people again has really improved my quality of life, and I think it’s safe to say Night Talks feels the same. “We went to this festival in LA in July called Palomino – a lot of country acts. Willie Nelson, Jason Isbell, stuff like that, we all like stuff like that even though we don’t play it,” Jacob told me. “We’re standing there, everyone’s in their country boots, us included, and this guy walks up. He goes up to Josh, who has what’s considered a mullet, he’s like, ‘dude, where’d you get your hair done?!’ I couldn’t believe it, Josh couldn’t believe it. Girls always come up to him like ‘oh my god, how’d you get your bangs so bang-y?’ The guy is like, ‘I need that mullet! I need it on my head right now!’ He took a picture of Josh’s head, and then asked for the person that cuts his hair. So I wanted to leave off on this – if anyone looks up pictures of Josh’s hair and wants that mullet, he can set it up.”
The band has some shows around LA and Brooklyn this upcoming fall, and is eager to add more on the roster. They recorded recently at Avast! Studios in Seattle, and expressed a ton of interest in including Portland on their tour radar in the near future. We gushed about our love of our respective city’s local music scene, and I already have a few bands in mind I could picture them playing with.
“On a serious note, we appreciate anyone who still cares about music and who likes the kind of music we make,” Soraya concluded. “And all we can ask is for you to tell a friend if you like what you hear.”