KH: Absolutely, absolutely. And we both lost our fathers within a year’s time. And I think the shift that happened for me, I really can’t speak for Josh, is I just really stopped caring as much about what people think about me. I’ve let that go, which is so freeing because you just realize the intensity of how short life is. The original idea behind all of the music we’re releasing is I was going to release a comedy album, and I was like, “Well, if it’s really well written and people are relating to it, why can’t it just be the album album?”
JB: And speaking of relating, out of all the songs we’ve ever written and people will come up to us after a writer’s round or a show, and they’ll be like, “Oh, I related to that one song so much, thank you.” We’ll ask, “Is it American Love,” or something that’s really serious. They’re like, “No. Brunch Drunk is my life.”
KH: And we’re like, “Wow.” I mean it’s funny, we’ve spent so much time writing serious songs, and maybe the lesson learned here is authenticity. I love to be the life of the party. I love people, I love bringing people together, I love parties. I’ve never met one I didn’t like.
After coming off of a pretty bad year, for both of you, this song seems like it was a cathartic release.
KH: Oh yeah. I think everything that we’re releasing from now on, I don’t know. It’s funny, I was thinking back, for me personally, I haven’t had this much fun in the studio or in writing rooms as the next batch of songs that we’re releasing. And again, I think it comes down to cathartic writing and being able to release some of this stuff, but also just letting go of who maybe we thought Nashville wanted us to be and just kind of coming into our own and being willing to let the music do what it does.
KH (cont’d): I think there’s a cool thing going on in country music where country music is sort of taking itself back, at least lyrically. We’re writing, we’re getting honest again, and it felt like maybe for a couple of years we hadn’t done that. And so I think maybe there’s a place for it now and it just ultimately feels right. I think it ultimately again comes back to that idea of when we say Nash Trash, the focus is on the Nash. Nashville has such a way of crafting a song. And so I think if you’re honest to that and you’re really, really, really pushing yourself to write within these boundaries that are country music, wouldn’t you say that in its own you can almost write anything you want as long as you figure out how to write it within those four walls.
JB: Be as relatable as possible but-
KH: Yeah, but be willing to honor the craftsmanship: the hook, everything in the verse, leading back to the chorus. I think that gives you some wiggle room as far as content, but it really is a challenge to write within the parameters of great, great writers that came before you, sort of set the stage for it. So I think there’s a balance, and I think Brad Paisley‘s a great example of someone that can really check you for ticks and then turn around and write a million songs for his wife that are also super relatable and chart worthy. So yeah, I think there’s some wiggle room as long as you’re being honest.
Because of this honesty with your fans, do you think this allows you to bring in different influences? “well, on this song, we’ll bring in a bit of hard rock, and over there, perhaps a dance beat!”
JB: Absolutely, and I think we both love country first and foremost, but we have multiple influences.
KH: I think we’ve always talked about the lyric essentially now, it’s really hard to say what country is. It’s become a little bit genre-less in the sense of what you can do on a track. You can have really crazy solos, you can have a really cool track whereas maybe 10 to 15 years ago, it wasn’t as much of that. So now I think the lyric is what ultimately is what is going to bind people back to country.
JB: I think country music has also always kind of had the finger on the pulse of — country music’s gone worldwide at this point. It’s becoming bigger in the UK and Australia, but it’s always been a very uniquely American genre. And I feel like it’s always had its finger on the pulse of where America was. And it’s always been changing just like everything else. But at one point it was very Western, very cowboys, and not that it isn’t that or can’t be that still, but America as a country has changed and so it wouldn’t be authentic to not mirror that. So genre-wise, I feel like pulling from different influences serves that purpose too.
Speaking of being honest and fun, Instagram is pretty hilarious, especially the memes of you guys.
JB: Uh-huh (affirmative).
KH: [laughing] What, are you referring to the SpongeBob? [laughing] I just think it’s like … I want to reference someone from a different genre, but I think there’s something so incredible happening with the artist Lizzo because essentially what we’re finding continually is people want to have fun, and they want to feel good.
KH: And it’s okay to write the breakup song because that gets people through a breakup. It’s okay to write the love song because people fall in love every day, but that isn’t always what’s going on. There are also people dying. There are also losses. You lose your job, you lose your car. I mean, my God, there is war all over.
And so I think it’s important to write the sad songs, the deep songs, but I think it’s just as important, and America is continually saying, “We want the fun song.” And just because they’re a fun song doesn’t mean they have to be any less well-crafted or any less honest. But I think you’re watching the phenomenon of ultimately the public speaking out with what they want. I mean, I don’t know the exact thing on the “Truth Hurts” song, but I know that it took a really long time to do what it did.
Yeah, it’s two years old, and suddenly it’s the biggest thing ever.
KH: Right. And so it’s less about her and the song as it is about … It was very eye-opening to me because I think the people are very clearly telling the record industry what they want, and sometimes maybe that’s not heard.
What’s next after this? A new EP, an album? Are you going to get some avocado toast?
JB: Yeah. We’re in the studio recording a few songs right now that we’ll release one after the other over the next few months of the year.
KH: Yeah, so we’ll release this track now. We’ll release a Christmas song. Should we tell him the name of it?
JB: Sure.
KH: It’s “Here Come White Claws.” So it’s sort of just, which will be obviously a parody on “Here Comes Santa Claus,” but everyone in our friend group and fan group really like White Claws, which is the phenomenon sweeping the country much like Santa.
You guys are going to be SO popular in Brooklyn!
KH: But after the Christmas holidays, February 1st, we’ll release the video to “Brunch Drunk,” which is, I promise you, equally as trashy as the song.
JB: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Yeah, but it’s my kind of trashy, so I’m looking forward to it.
KH: We were meant to be friends. This friendship has been brewing.
We’ll make sure to have a couple of Bloody Marys for you guys when you come up here.
KH: Oh, we’re coming.
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