Around the time that a band starts to gain popularity in Arizona, they’re faced with a crossroad: Stay or go.
Indie band Breakup Shoes didn't just to stay — they take full ownership over being a Phoenix band.
Before the COVID-19 social distancing practices, The Show met with them in an alley, down some stairs and next to the pool tables at Valley Bar.
Songwriter and lead singer Nick Zawisa began by talking about why the band resisted the temptation to move to Los Angeles.
NICK ZAWISA: I think that it's really important for me to be celebrating the fact that we're from Phoenix and live here and operate here. A lot of bands that have kind of reached the point that we're at right now would consider moving to Los Angeles or doing that whole thing. And I don't really understand that too much. Just on a personal level, I love living here, and so we can always travel to LA if we want to play a show out there. Whatever.
STEVE GOLDSTEIN: Is it because it's your hometown? Is that, was that, what is it? Just you, sort of ingrained in you?
ZAWISA: Yeah, it's the hometown. And like, downtown Phoenix is just becoming a really fantastic city, like day by day is improving and becoming just a place to be on a national level. So, yeah, it just feels cool to be a part of that rising thing.
As far as fitting into the indie scene, I think that, like us, being nice people is a really significant part of our music. Like there's a lot of pretension in indie music, and people want to be the cool band they're searching for, like affirmation from a publication like Pitchfork or something like that. There's a lot of attempts at being cool, whereas I don't find being cool the most important part of making music in any way for me, at least, and so I'd rather be sweet than cool.
GOLDSTEIN: OK, well, you come across as incredibly humble. I mean, does that, does that impact your music in any way? Because some would say, well, you need a little bombast, man. Come on, get that ego out there.
ZAWISA: Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I feel like, for the genre that we're making, I don't need it. It's just earnest music. And that's, I mean, I could see an argument for maybe a little more confidence in it, but a lot of us don't feel that way all the time, and so the people who are maybe lacking in self-esteem a bit, too, related to the way that I feel a lot of the time, on, on the lyrics and on the tracks so.
GOLDSTEIN: So, Nick, what are you and Breakup Shoes gonna play for us now?
ZAWISA: We're gonna play our song “IDK.” It was the first single off of the record we put out back in September. Yeah, it sounds like a fun one. It's quite sad lyrically. Hope you guys enjoy.
[MUSIC]
GOLDSTEIN: I want to ask you about kind of craftsmanship, because there are some people who are so into that aspect of it, whether it's how things sound, how the instruments are played, how the writing goes into it.
Not that you have to prioritize this. But are you? Are you into more of the writing aspect of it? We want to talk about your lyrics in a moment. But from that standpoint, or is it about the sound?
ZAWISA: I definitely prioritize lyrics. That's the first thing I write. I, of course, care a great deal about how the music sounds. Over the years, I've started to care more about how people will perceive them and like whether or not it's a relatable song, or something that people can connect to.
Because I think that's one of the coolest things about writing songs, is that I'm talking about deeply personal experiences, but everyone has had similar experiences, and they can feel seen and connected to the things that I'm saying, even though I'm writing about a very specific situation that happened to me.
GOLDSTEIN: Why are you able to be more vulnerable in your music than you would be in your everyday life?
ZAWISA: Definitely, but at the same time, I can be very vague in my music, and so it's vulnerable, but at the same time, I'm not, I'm not letting people fully in.
GOLDSTEIN: Does the music, though, let you lean in, in some ways that you couldn't otherwise, or does it just sort of depend on the song and how you're feeling at that point?
ZAWISA: Oh, absolutely, yeah, I write something when I'm in, like the deepest part of the emotion that I'm feeling. So when I'm telling people afterwards about an experience, I've already kind of started to process and deal with that, but I write the songs when I'm like, peak upset or sad or whatever emotion I'm trying to communicate. Just writing itself is fairly therapeutic and lets me start working through those things.
GOLDSTEIN: So once some of the finest artists, you know, grab onto it right away, but for a lot of us that can be really difficult to relate to, because it's at that point you want it's at that point you almost want to get away from that. So how is that? How does that help drive your music on the fact that you're not avoiding it, you really want to use it for your art?
ZAWISA: Yeah, it's almost a weird thing where, like, now, if I experience a breakup, or something like romantically, isn't going well, or it's almost like sickly, like an opportunity in my head, and it's almost like I'm I'm more glad to experience this range of emotions, as opposed to, like, everything floating and going fine.
GOLDSTEIN: So Nick, what are you and the guys gonna play for us now?
ZAWISA: We’re gonna play the second single off of our record that came out called “So Money, Baby.” This song is called “Accessory.”
If you’re in a band or know of one you’d like to hear on air, send us a note at [email protected].
