Turnstile wrapped up over two years of touring since releasing Glow On in 2021 (our #1 album of that year), and as they reportedly begin to work on their next album, vocalist Brendan Yates has given an in-depth interview with Norman Brannon (Texas Is The Reason, Thursday, etc) for Norman’s fanzine-turned-Substack Anti-Matter.
The interview opens up with Norman asking Brendan about a particular interview that claimed, “Most of the time, Brendan Yates isn’t an interview kind of guy.”
“I think that’s their interpretation of how the interview went,” Brendan laughed. ” I’m probably naturally a little bit uncomfortable talking about myself, and a lot of times, that’s just what interviews are. Sometimes it’s nice to have that moment, and sometimes it’s kind of uncomfortable. I’m not sure which one that was, but I’ve had ones where it’s just very uncomfortable—the ones that aren’t a mutual conversation.”
He talked about opening blink-182‘s arena tour:
We did an arena tour last year not because it was the “biggest” thing we could do, but as an experience thing. It’s always gotta feel right, but it’s about finding that perfect sweet spot where it’s going to be uncomfortable, but it’s also going to be a totally new eye-opening experience in different ways.
He talked about being comfortable enough to not worry about Turnstile being accused of being a hardcore band that’s “too soft”:
I think, fortunately for me, after a few years of getting into hardcore, I realized it’s cool to be yourself and you don’t necessarily have to be hard. Because I think, going in at first, the initial black-and-white perception is that this is not a place for you to be vulnerable. Even just growing up, before I started going to shows, with skating, there were always friends who would call you a “sissy” as soon as you started talking about your feelings or something. But once I was traveling more, and having groups of friends around me where I realized I didn’t necessarily need to have my guard up, you could be more comfortable. Like, who are you trying to present tough for?
Even when Turnstile formed, I always felt a sense of younger and older generations being like, “That’s not a hardcore band. They’re singing like this, or they’re, like, wearing colors” [laughs]. But I think the comfort you get is when you realize that you can define the world around you how you want to define it, and you don’t have to necessarily shape your world to anyone else’s definition. Like, when we were talking about the growth of Turnstile. Every album is a learning experience and such a step towards becoming more comfortable in your own skin. It’s constantly an effort to tap into the truest version of yourself.
He talked about people’s perception of how far they’ve come:
I think we’re often surprised by other people’s perceptions of the level they think the band is at. Like, for example, even playing those late-night shows, that was something my family members saw as a different level. But to us, we had to load in that day, and bring in all our gear, and play the show. We didn’t even have a touring crew with us until this year, and we hired our friends—who have done an amazing job. But even the idea of having a guitar tech or a tour manager was foreign to us two years ago. In some ways that’s changed now because we have a pretty solid, small crew of people, but at the same time, these are people that I’ve known for so many years that it almost feels like an expanded group doing the same thing but in a different shape.
The only thing that feels different to us is the opportunities and the places where we can exist; that still kind of blows our minds. Like, how are we the only band on this jazz festival in Norway? Or an all hip-hop festival where we’re the only band. I think what’s almost always assumed is that things feel different for us—like the whole world changed. But I think, while the opportunities have changed, everything else truly feels exactly the same as far as who we are or where we’re from. Even geographically, we’re all still in the same area we grew up in. It’s hard to explain. As far as the process and the essence of what this band is, I don’t think we could change that if we tried.
He also talked about finishing school while on the road with Trapped Under Ice, the inter-personal dynamics needed for a band to achieve longevity, the balance between being in a touring band and making a living, and much more. Read the full thing at Anti-Matter.
For more on Anti-Matter‘s recent online comeback, Norman spoke to us about it on the BV podcast:
