band

Comprised of Cincinnati, Ohio natives John Vaugh, Ben Lapps, and Matthew Carter Alvarado, PUBLIC began their musical careers in 2012 with their first EP Red. They’ve played for major festivals such as Forecastle, CMJ, and SXSW and are recognized for their TikTok famous song “Make You Mine”.

PUBLIC’s newest single “Splash” features a funky bassline and a strong catchy pre-chorus that according to some listeners can sound like “drown your best friend and eat your parents” but still catchy all the same.

Though the actual lyrics “charm your best friend and meet your parents” are not nearly as morbid, according to PUBLIC themselves, this upbeat and lively tune came about during a tough time in their lives.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CROWDSURFER: What was your inspiration for “Splash”?

Matthew Carter Alvarado, Bass, Synth, and Vocal: The initial idea for “Splash” came about in January 2018. The band had been going through a rough patch – we were wearing ourselves thin grinding on tour, didn’t have a team other than our parents and each other, and we weren’t quite sure how much longer we could maintain our career for.

On the way to the recording studio, I recorded an unintelligible voice memo of what would become the chorus melodies for the song, the only coherent words being “Splash of Sun”.

Fast forward to 2020 and that same idea still seemed both relevant and relatable. Instead of dwelling on the inability to grasp what the future held, we wanted to twist that dark idea into something vibrant and joyful, finding energy and hope in the prospect of someone or something bringing a light to our lives.

CS: What was the process like making this single? Was it one that seemed to write itself or did it seem to take more thought?

Matthew Carter Alvarado: Compared to co-writes we had done in the same room as other songwriters and producers, we had definitely felt some difficulty finding our groove when trying to coordinate across our computer screens. However, when it came time to write with producer and now close friend, Lindgren, we immediately felt like we were on the same page.

As the band boys went about diving into the vocal melodies and themes, Lindgren was on the other end composing the instrumental demo of the track. I think it was the first time we had felt both relieved and excited to have so much chemistry across a platform like Zoom that had once seemed so flat and lifeless.

It was a giant breath of fresh air having a product come together so quickly and effortlessly and gave us a good kick in the right direction, both mentally and emotionally, for future co-writing opportunities.

CS: How has quarantine been treating you? How has creating music changed during a global pandemic?

Ben Lapps, Percussion: It feels very strange to be at home for such a long period of time!

We have practically lived on the road for years, so we’ve definitely had to adjust during the quarantine. Personally, it has been very good to be home spending quality time with my wife, Phoebe. In that way, it feels like a special time. But at the same time, we absolutely miss being able to play live shows and see our fans.

Creating music has been a very different experience. We are basically writing everything over Zoom. Our newest single, Splash, is actually a song that we wrote over Zoom. It has actually given us more opportunities to work with people all over the world. Never would have guessed that we would be doing so much writing this way, but after a few sessions, I feel like we really started to understand how to make it work.

CS: What is a message you would like to give your fans?

John Vaughn, Guitar and Lead Vocal: First, I want to thank them for being supportive. Pretty typical, I know, but as an artist, it really does mean the world. It’s not something I think you can understand if you haven’t gone through the grind. But our fans really mean the world. We love them and we want to keep giving music that makes them smile.

With that note, be sure to watch PUBLIC’s music video for “Splash”!

And a big thank you to PUBLIC for taking the time out of their day to answer our interview questions!

The day after the Band of Brothers Road Show wrapped, we got to sit down and talk with PUBLIC about the tour, their music, and what’s coming next.

CROWDSURFER: First of all, I loved the show last night!

PUBLIC: Thanks! Thanks for coming out!

CS: It was the final show of the tour. Was it a different energy, or was it bittersweet? How were you feeling?

John: I would say both of those things, as some of the things you didn’t know you cared about on the tour hits you on the last show.

Matt: I think bittersweet because you spent so much time with the same people. And at the same time it’s like, this is the moment to really crank and move on to bigger and better things. Exciting things like writing new music.

John: Saying I was ready to move on sounds negative towards the tour, but it’s not at all. That was a great thing to go through, but now I’m ready for the stuff we have coming up ahead. I feel energized and tired at the same time.

CS: What’s it been like being on tour with American Authors and Magic Giant?

John: We felt very taken care of by the AA guys, they just were always asking how were doing and encouraging us. They are also on Island Records as well, so they were always just encouraging us a new band like “We’ve been through it before, you guys are crushing it.”

Matt: They’re very aware of what we’re going through right now so they give advice if they feel like they can.

CS: I love it, so much support. So you recently released a sequel music video for your hit single Make You Mine. It’s got a different vibe from the original, and I absolutely loved it. How did the idea to follow up the first video come about?

John: So our team that put together the first one, we had a great time with them, we just had a great time and it did so well. And they pitched us an idea for a sequel and at first I was like that seems gratuitous and people are gonna hate that. But when they were pitching it, and also with the zombie route, that’s when we were kind of like –

Matt: That actually sounds fun.

John: Because it starts off the way you’d maybe expect with a romantic proposal, but then stuff goes really wrong.

Matt: And John bites a dude in the face…

John: Yeah, I just get that bloodlust you know? [laughter] I think for me in this one, I was more like, let’s just have fun. We had a blast, we love this production team, let’s make a movie.

CS: There are a few different versions of Make You Mine out. Do you have a favorite?

John: I think mine is the Rino Sambo remix. It’s got kind of a beachy vibe to it, it’s got some MIDI horn stuff going on.

Ben: I like the acoustic version. The acoustic version is really nice.

John: Honestly, my favorite is the original.

Ben: Yeah, as it should be. It’s the way we wanted it and originally imagined.

CS: So, as we said, tour is over. What’s next for you?

John: We’re going to be doing some really exciting writing sessions with some people that we’ve looked up to for a while. I think we have some TV stuff coming up…

Matt: [whispers] We can’t talk about it though.

John: We’re gonna do MTV Cribs.

Ben: But it’s of our van. Pimp My Ride.

[laughter]

John: So those are fictional things, we’re gonna write.

Ben: Because there are more songs to be made that aren’t Make You Mine.

CS: On that note, it’s been a few years since Sweet Lemonade–

John: Thank you, nobody talks about that EP!

Matt: It’s so underrated! We think all of those songs are fantastic songs.

John: We play two of those songs live almost every show. They’re great songs. I think that EP is a very good representation of how our music has evolved. It’s more poppy, there’s disco stuff going on in there, too. It’s just good.

CS: How would you say your sound has changed since then?

John: We’ve got some unreleased stuff that’s really interesting, I think.

Matt: Yeah, and I don’t think we’re scared to go outside of what we would be labeled as. We’ve always kind of geared our sound to whatever we found interesting at the time. I think we write music because we love writing music, and it kind of comes out in different shades sometimes. I think recently it’s been a lot more disco funk, pop disco funk, than anything else. A year from now it could be alt rock, but it’s still gonna be PUBLIC.

John: I think it’s more common for bands and artists to be multi-genre right now. I’m hoping that it’s a little more accepted that we do stuff that’s not – like oh they’re a pop rock band but this song is pretty funky. So I think that’s what we do because that’s what we love.

CS: You’ve been friends since grade school. How have you grown as friends throughout all these years of being a band?

Matt: I think being friends has really helped with the growth of the band. I think specifically, on tour, when things kind of get really stressful we’ve always had a mindset of bringing it to the table. It’s always kept us closer than ever rather than pull us apart.

John: I feel like the enemy of, not just band but anyone doing something intensive for a long time, is repressing stuff. It’s like a relationship. If you keep something inside it’s eventually just going to poison you with resenting that person. People hear why certain bands break up, and like, it gets really hard. But we laugh really really hard still, and I think that keeps us together and keeps us fresh. We see a goal and we wanna get there and we believe in each other.

CS: Well thank you for taking the time to talk! Can’t wait to see you at your next concert.

Matt: Make You Mine 3?

CS: Exactly.

Photos by Lauren Hayes.