An Interview With Goodbye Honolulu On The Release Of Their New Single "Typical"
If you're a (self-proclaimed) 'millennial rock & roller' living in Toronto then you've definitely heard of Goodbye Honolulu. If you're like us, you're huge fans of this grungy, vintage, rock band. If you don't know these Torontonian boys, Goodbye Honolulu is kind of like your artsy cousins who live in Montreal or your older brother's indie friends. Before the four boys became Goodbye Honolulu, they played in separate bands and started their own record label - Fried Records. Eventually, Max, Fox, Emmett and Jacob joined forces to become the beloved band we call Goodbye Honolulu. They say their music is "not exactly pop and it’s not exactly punk", and if you listen to their songs you'll understand their unique, slacker garage rock vibe.
Goodbye Honolulu plays amazingly sweaty, high-energy live shows - if you've been to one, you know what we mean. In 2016 they released their debut album, Heavy Gold, but fans don't have to wait long for more! The boys released their single "Typical" a few days ago, and their new EP, No Honey, is set to come out September 1st 2017.
Purple Glow Mag had the honour of talking to these local rockstars about their music, as well as getting a sneak peak of the music video for "Typical", which you can view below!
Photo by: André Varty
1. Hey guys! To start, we’re dying to know … How did you come up with the name Goodbye Honolulu?
Hey Hey! Foxy Martindale was the one who came up with the name Goodbye Honolulu. He thought it sounded really cool, and thought it’d be a great name for a cool Rock ‘N’ Roll band. Him and Jacob actually started that band a bunch of years ago. At the time, we were all playing in each other’s bands, and just decided to stitch them all together and play as Goodbye Honolulu!
2. Your new EP No Honey is set to drop September 1, can you tell us a bit about it?
No Honey started about two years ago, when we met Mike Turner (original Our Lady Peace guitarist). We met him through some mutual friends, and we clicked instantly. We got along really well, and we would record during off hours at his studio, The Pocket Studios. We’re really stoked on how No Honey turned out because it definitely still has elements of our live shows, but we had so much more time to try out different effects and instruments and really got to expand the songwriting and make a slick sounding bunch of songs for y’all! We’re really stoked to have it come out, and have everyone hear what we’ve been working on for so long.
3. What’s the inspiration behind the single “Typical”? And why did you guys choose this song to be the first single released off the album?
"Typical” is actually the second single from the EP. “Mother To A Brother” came out at the end of January, and it’ll definitely be a part of No Honey. The idea behind “Typical” is feeling really hopeless, and feeling stuck where you are, while making plenty of mistakes. Pretty much trying to navigate through life in your 20’s.
4. What are some bands that you really look up to as a group and that inspire Goodbye Honolulu’s garage rock sound?
Oooh, well we definitely love the all the stuff coming out of California via the whole Burger Records scene. All the bands that were coming out of that scene a few years ago were huge influences on us, and us wanting to pursue music and just even jam and write together. But to be honest, we just love the good ol’ classics. The Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks, good well written Rock ‘N’ Roll is what helps us get up in the morning.
5. What was it like touring the USA with the super cool Madrid rock band Hinds? How did that happen?
That all started when we opened for Hinds in Toronto at Lee’s Palace. We hit it off, and in January of last year, they just sent us a DM asking if we wanted to come tour the states with them! Touring with Hinds was awesome. The shows were nuts, tons of great people, super cool fans, we had a great time. That tour was also rad because we went to Six Flags with them in Atlanta, which was great. Those girls are rock stars.
6. One thing Purple Glow Mag loves about you guys is that you started your own 100% local Toronto record label called Fried Records! Fried Records already has signed on such a rad roster of young local artists. Where do you see the record label going from here?
Fried Records has really grown so much this year from the initial idea we had for it. We have about 14 different bands on the label right now, and we just want to keep putting out great music. Our favourite part of Fried Records is the all ages shows that we put on. We want those gigs to keep getting bigger and bigger. Safety’s our top priority, and we want to create a music scene that’s free of assault and discrimination. The ultimate goal for us is to have a storefront, selling music, books, art and clothing.
7. And finally, what big things can Goodbye Honolulu reveal are in store for fans this upcoming year?
We have the EP, No Honey coming out September 1st, we’re playing in Montréal on June 21st at Divan Orange, and we’re opening for New Swears on July 15th at Lee’s Palace! We will be playing a lot more shows this year as well as next year, and we’ll be releasing a lot more music and videos too! We’re never gonna stop. We’ll see y’all very soon! We can’t wait! <3
- Jacob, Fox, Max & Emmett
Keep up with Goodbye Honolulu and Fried Records here: