The rules are simple...there's a hat, this hat is filled with many questions ranging from the personal to the off beat. We pass the hat, and artists gets a chance to answer the question they choose from said hat. Fun is had by all.
We recently sat down with Nightly at their last stop in Philly a few months back. Originally from the area, the duo relocated to Nashville, singed to Interscope Records, released a the electro pop-tastic EP, Honest, and have been busy ever since.
Without further ado, here's our Chat in the Hat with Jon and Joey of Nightly:
---
Jon: What’s your best party trick?
I don’t think I have one…
Joey: I know what your go to party trick is. John’s a dancer. John gets the party started.
I don’t think that’s a party trick?
Joey: Well to go from no dancing to dancing, that’s kind of a party trick
Joey: Describe your new album with animals
I would say there is a definitely a good portion of orcas in it, the apex predator of the sea maybe you’ve heard of it. Huge fan of orcas. Also, there’s probably a good amount of sloths in it, in terms of mellow-ness and good vibes. Also I would say the canine as well.
Jon: Why…just because everyone loves dogs?
Everyone loves dogs, and I love dogs a lot, and I love our music a lot.
Jon: What is your zombie apocalypse plan?
We’re going to our Uncle Paul’s he's like the doomsday guy. He has a ton of guns, he has his house prepped. He has a crow’s nest and an RV fully outfitted, the food that lasts forever. He lives in a suburb of Nashville, so I’ll just go there and beg to be saved.
Joey: What is your favorite 90’s show?
Probably Seinfeld, that’s an easy one. George Costanza is probably one of the best characters in the history of shows.
Jon: Favorite 90’s album?
Well, Smash Mouth’s "All Star" came out in '99 so there you go.
Jon: What is your favorite song / album right now?
It changes week to week. Right now I’d say "High" by Sir Sly or “Face Like Thunder” Japanese House. We’ve been listening to the new Kendrick album.
Joey: What isyour recording and writing process like?
John and I worked with a producer in LA called Keith Varon on this EP. Every time was different. John would come in with a lyric or melody idea and sometimes we would just vibe on guitar with some drum loops and see what we got. The best songs seem to happen like when John comes in with “oh what about ‘I love you but I got to let go xo’” and we were like “ok cool”. He had that idea and we wrote and tracked that song in like an hour and a half. So that’s best case scenario but a lot of the time we just start with a guitar loop and just kind of vibe on it for awhile and add in some drums and synth stuff and see what comes out.
Jon: Outside of music what are you known for with your friends?
We have a pretty cool dog, Rocky. So that’s probably what we’re most famous for with our group of friends.
Joey: What’s the stupidest thing you did in your teens to look cool?
Oh man there are so many. I definitely did the goth phase where I had the giantpants and the sex bracelets up my whole arm. I wanted to frost my tips but my mom wouldn’t let me so we got this hair mascara to make them look frosted then it would just wash out. I could go on and on. I used to wear a fake magnet earring. My dad bought it as a joke, but then I wore it cause I thought it was cool. Never skateboarded my whole life, but went through that phase of wearing all skater gear.
Jon: Pick a new name, occupation, and hair style for your bandmates:
We have our drummer is Nick Sainato and his alter-ego is Rick Donato. He would own a grilled cheese truck cause he’s super picky about grilled cheese. He would probably have the bald horseshoe look. Joe maybe would own a donut shop.
Joey: oh man a new name for Jon…
I think my name was almost Patrick
Joey: I was thinking maybe we would go far left with it and go with Florence Nightingale and you own some type of Burlesque bar and your have hair that you straighten down to your butt.
Joey: What is your guilty pleasure song?
I’m like the biggest Celine Dion fan. So any Celine Dion song. But obviously “My Heart Will Go On” will always own a special place in my heart.
Jon: What’s your favorite thing about Philly?
I love everything about Philly. I’m not going to say the thing I miss the most is the people, cause that’s corny. But I love how people are up here, it’s just different that people in Nashville. If it came down to one thing it might be the Italian food, it’s hard to find really good Italian in Nashville.
Joey: Worst job you’ve had
I’ve worked a lot of jobs. At one point I was working 5am-2pm as a waiter and then I was working like 3p- later as a landscaper. So that double job was probably the worst, but I didn’t dislike any of them. I’ve always worked as a waiter, washed windows, worked at an arcade, that was dope.
Jon: What do you do to pass the time on the road:
Joey: We listen to a lot of podcasts and music. Jordan (our tour manager) and I, late at night we always do freestyle rap to keep ourselves going. We’re really bad at it, but we have a good time, which is the important part. We watch a lot of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Late at night when we get into the hotel it’s always on.
Joey: What were your first impressions of your bandmates?
Well Jon and I are cousins so we’ve been best friends since I remember. Stevie we met in college, he's really funny and smart. Nick I met at church, we met at a church service and I heard Nick play and we knew we had to get him.
