Lelahel Metal Interviews Except You for DCxPC Live Vol. 26 Except You / Trash World Live at Lou’s
Interview Except You
Formed in 2020, Except You emerged from the ashes of disbanded projects. With a GRRL THRASH sound, they explore personal and political themes, now immortalized on vinyl. More ahead
1. Except You, tell us about the genesis of the band in 2020. How did each member come together, and what drove the formation of Except You?
Angela (singer), Pete (drummer), and Shawn (bassist) had been playing in bands together on and off for about a decade. In late 2019, all of their most recent projects had broken up. Angela and Pete were out one night at a birthday party, where we met Arlo (guitarist). He had been in the community going to our shows for years, and when we told him all our bands had just broken up and we were looking for a new guitar player, he said he played guitar. Angela looked at the battle vest he was wearing and saw patches like Anthrax and Exodus and thought "I can work with that." In early 2020, Pete, Angela, and Arlo started writing songs for what would become Except You, and in early 2021 Shawn joined the band, completing our line up.
2. With two EPs under your belt, "NEVER RELAX" and "CRUSHABLE," how has the band's sound evolved since your formation, and what themes or influences do you explore in your music?
We kind of came together knowing we wanted everything to be loud, fast, and heavy. NEVER RELAX and CRUSHABLE are kind of like a continuation of each other. Most of the songs on both EPs were written in the first couple years between '20/'21. Only "Jane's Revenge" is the outlier. We did figure out through writing both EPs that our sound is thrash mixed with riot grrl - which is how we came up with the way we define our sound (GRRL THRASH). Angela writes all the lyrics, and they explore personal themes, like sexuality and trauma, as well as political themes, like abortion and class struggle.
3. The vinyl release of both EPs in 2024 via Roach and Roll Records is exciting. How does it feel to have your music on vinyl, and what significance does this format hold for Except You?
The words "immortalized on wax" come to mind...we're so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to release our music on vinyl, and hope we can continue to do so with future releases.
4. DCxPC Live Vol. 26 is a live collaboration with Trash World. How did the idea of this collaboration come about, and what made this particular show at Uncle Lou's in Orlando special for Except You?
Scott is well known for doing some really cool live splits with DCxPC, so when he approached us to do one, we were stoked. We had no idea who he'd include on the bill, but Trash World definitely stuck out as our favorite of the night. We felt connected to their sound and performance, so it's an honor that they agreed to share this split with us. Aside from this show being our first in Orlando, we had some lifelong friends in the audience that made the night really special.
5. Having friends from Orlando in the audience who hadn't seen Except You perform before must have added a unique dynamic. How did their presence impact your performance, and what kind of energy did they bring to the show?
It definitely gassed us up. We always want to deliver a killer performance, but the energy was even higher because we had some lifers in the audience.
6. The show at Uncle Lou's was part of a packed spring season for Except You. How did this show stand out from the others, especially being the first in Orlando?
Honestly, this show was probably the most memorable from that run. It's likely because we got a live recording out of it that it's so memorable, but we even like, reuse that night's exact setlist as a mainstay since then. So, little things like that remind us it was a banger. Plus we got some fun pics in the dirty ass punk bathroom (that are on the live vinyl cover!).
7. Scott Eskew from Rats Ass Records played a crucial role in managing the show. How important was his involvement, and what does it mean for Except You to have a dedicated team behind your live performances?
Scott Eskew, Rats Ass Records, did a great job managing the show the night of the show by helping keep bands set up times on schedule and working the door
Scott Pasch, DCxPC Live, basically handled everything else from the start to finish. He was great from the word go. He offered us just the right amount of involvement in putting the show together, and handled all the details perfectly, from announcing the show to getting the final mixing done. We loved working with both Scotts and the engineer Josh "Danger" Dobbs. Everyone was so professional, but also totally punk and laidback. Perfect vibe.
8. The collaborative spirit of the punk scene is evident in this live album. What does it mean for Except You to be part of a split album with Trash World, and how do you see this collaboration influencing your future work?
Our entire band loves the concept of splits. It's definitely something we want to do again in the future, particularly because of the collaboration with another band, but also offer listeners two really amazing bands on the same release. How cool is it to pick up a split because you like one of the two bands on it, and then you find another dope band on it, too? We love that.
9. The show was recorded by Josh from Danger Room. How was the experience working with him, and what challenges or exciting moments did you encounter during the recording process?
Josh was really easy to work with. Some of us in the band have experience with studio and live sound engineering, and we were a little nervous initially about the kind of sound an engineer would be working with in that room (it's small, it's reflective, etc.), but he did great. The recording feels live and raw, but also everything is crisp and balanced. The best part is you can hear his voice at the end of NPFO - he just grabbed a mic and sang along, so his voice is on the record too.
10. Except You, you mentioned your first show in Orlando. How did the audience respond to your performance, and what was the general vibe at Uncle Lou's that night?
Lou's has the right vibe for a first gig in Orlando. The room fills out quickly, and people know what they're going to get there. Everyone was really complementary, and we met some folks we're still connected with, like the reviewer @hawtandpopular.
11. The album cover mentions a memorable photoshoot in Lou's bathroom. Can you share any fun stories or memorable moments from that session?
We always try to find fun spots to take Polaroids when we play shows so that we can later use them to make zines that come out with our music releases. In that little mini shoot, we took two shots - one that looks like scary mean thrash band, and one that looks like a bunch of silly goofballs - and they came out great. We ended up using them as the band shots on the title page of the CRUSHABLE zine, and also as the band pics on the live vinyl.
12. Looking ahead, what can fans expect from Except You in terms of future projects, collaborations, or live performances?
We'll be playing all over Florida between March and June of this year, including St. Pete, Miami, Cape Coral, and Lake Worth. We're also working on putting together our first east coast tour for the summer. Then we'll likely slow down with shows for a couple months to finish writing the next release - which we hope to make a full length.
13. Except You, in the spirit of your EP title "NEVER RELAX," how do you maintain the high-energy and relentless spirit of thrash punk, and what fuels your motivation as a band?
Each one of us has this well of chaotic energy. And everytime we play music together, that reservoir is tapped. It's kind of unexplainable - only to say that whatever is being released has a raw depth of feeling that is totally authentic. Some people just gotta have it loud, fast, and heavy.
