Photo by Julia Khoroshilov. Find more of her work here.
The rise of The Nude Party has been astronomical, to state it minimally. The past two years have seen the sextet transition from opening gigs in their state of origin, North Carolina, to performing tracks from their since-released debut record across the globe. This summer alone has seen The Nude Party perform at two notable international music festivals, England’s The Great Escape and Australia’s Splendour in the Grass, in addition to one of the most celebrated stateside feats: Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Their summer of globetrotting has taken them back to the United States once again to perform at one of the nation’s largest music festivals, Lollapalooza, which commences later this week in Chicago’s Grant Park.
The Nude Party’s addition to the lineup comes at the perfect time. Lollapalooza’s lineups have become increasingly devoid of guitar music year after year, likely leaving listeners whose musical palettes do not exclusively align with Top 40 mainstays wondering if attending the behemoth four day feat is even worth it anymore. The Nude Party, with their signature gritty, psychedelic twang, makes that answer a confident yes.
Those four sun-soaked days in Grant Park – days that are often hallmarked by universal dehydration, public transportation woes, and waiting almost an hour in line for an overpriced grilled cheese – can often feel like enduring an epic battle, but bands like The Nude Party are a wonderful reminder as to why Chicagoans continually march to the front lines year after year.
Ahead of their Lollapalooza set, The Nude Party discusses new information about their debut record, fulfilling moments from the past year, what Lollapalooza goers can expect from their performance, and, yes the (gone too soon) children’s television show Zoboomafoo.
First and foremost, congratulations on the recent anniversary of your self-titled record. What are three facts about it that no one knows yet?
Thank you! We did the whole thing at an amphetamine pace, from set-up to break down in three days, cause it’s all the time we could afford. The brunt of the workload was done at home in pre-production. The pedal steel was a very late addition. We formally met Catfish about thirty minutes before he sat down to rip the solo on Chevrolet Van. The only coaching he needed was, “do more,” and “do more!”. He’s hands down the greatest pedal steel player in NYC. This album is the first rock’n roll album to top the Billboard Pop charts for more than 6 weeks since Creed’s seminal 1999 Christian-grunge classic “Human Clay.”
I first saw The Nude Party open for the Black Lips at Cat’s Cradle in May 2017. Just over two years later, you’ve achieved global recognition. If you could describe all that has happened between now and then using three album titles by any artist of your choosing, what would you select and why?
Battle of the Bands – The Turtles
Metamorphosis – Hilary Duff
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
Your performance at Chicago’s Lollapalooza Music Festival is this weekend. What are you most looking forward to about it?
Chicago puts out an inordinate amount of excellent bands and good folks. I’m looking forward to seeing all our lovely Chicago friends, munching some deep dish, and popping some cold ones in the front yard.
Festivals are the perfect environment to discover new music, so chances are that Lollapalooza will be the first time that some folks will see The Nude Party live. What can those audience members expect from your live performances?
Expect everything to be mediocre and you can’t be disappointed.
Is there anything you’re able to share about your Lollapalooza set ahead of time?
We’ll be trying out some new songs, gauging interest, taking exit polls and clarifying our positions based on data from the public.
Over the course of the past year, what have been your favorite songs off the new record to perform live?
I like to do “Gringo Che” cause I put my guitar down and play tambourine like I used to in the early days. “Live Like Me” gives Shaun a chance to sing as I play lead guitar bits which is a fun change.
If you could time travel and perform at any music festival of the past (i.e, Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain, the original California Jam, etc), what would you select and why?
Too easy! Woodstock ‘99. I’d be hawking Fiji.
2019 has taken you all over the world. During that time, have you discovered any international artists that American readers should know about?
People ought to know The Fruit Tones of Manchester, England. Both Traffic Island and The Murlocs of Melbourne, Australia. The Fat White Family from somewhere in England. All fantastic.
If your latest record was a person, what would they look and act like?
Will Smith’s genie from the Aladdin remake.
Let’s pretend it’s ten years in the future, and a feature film is being made about The Nude Party. Who would you cast to play yourselves?
Whoever is playing the Power Rangers on TV now. I’d have them into the studio and they’d naturally gravitate to their correct roles. I would like to think that I am Red Ranger but that’s a big responsibility and it’s not really for any one person to select themselves as Red Ranger. It’s a position bestowed upon you – like a knight or a race car driver. So, that remains to be seen.
This is a wild card space. Here, you can say anything you’d like.
Bring back Zoboomafoo. That monkey was real.
2019 has already been huge for The Nude Party. Which moment(s) have you found to be most fulfilling so far this year?
Standing on stage at Bonnaroo was a pivotal moment. I remembered volunteering there as a teenager in 2013, looking up at Jack White, Jonathan Wilson and all these amazing bands… thinking they were so many thousands of miles above us. Being there this June, playing a great night time slot on a big stage, and looking out at all the other young people smiling and loving life and waiting there to see us play. That really moved something inside. It put a lot into perspective.
The Nude Party’s Lollapalooza set will take place on Friday, August 2nd, at the Lake Shore stage at 2:00 pm. To listen to their work, click here to visit their Spotify page.
