Johnny and Abigail Poppke (Peroxide Blonde – guitar/vocals and bass)
SPB: The US went into shutdown shortly after the band formed. How did that hiatus, for lack of a better word, change the band’s direction or concept (or didn’t it)?
Peroxide Blonde: Right before the pandemic, we had put out a demo and were just starting to play shows. It felt like we were gaining some momentum; then COVID hit and everything came to a halt. Initially, it was very frustrating. But we used the time in quarantine to our advantage: three of us (Johnny, Liam, and Abigail) live together so we started writing songs and demoing them at home. We added Mateo, our friend we’ve known since we were kids, to the lineup on lead guitar.
Once we all got vaccinated, the four of us went on a cross-country road trip in July. That trip was pivotal to us as a band -- being able to travel and see these small corners of the country has only reinforced our desire to get out and tour.
We stayed in West Virginia for our last night on the trip, not thinking much of it. We checked into our hotel at like 1am in this small town; the concierge noticed Liam, our drummer, wearing an Ulver shirt and what ensued was a two-hour conversation about everything from the local punk scene to Jimmy Hoffa to the Mothman. We had a similar thing happen out in Montauk, NY when we jumped this guy’s Mercedes at the inlet. He turned out to be from Manchester and had met Oasis -- one of our biggest influences -- in a pub at the peak of their success.
It’s these spontaneous, surprising moments you end up having with people when you’re traveling that gets us excited to tour. It’s one thing to write music in your house but the goal is to share it and to connect with people.
If anything, the setback of everything shutting down has made us hungrier to get out and play relentlessly once shows become more regular again. We want more of these moments, more of these chances to share our music and to connect with people. The entire band is on the same page -- this is all we want to do.
