{"id":76839,"date":"2022-07-22T12:32:27","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T10:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=76839"},"modified":"2022-07-22T12:32:28","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T10:32:28","slug":"tommy-joyner-from-pep-rally-talks-to-us-about-latest-single-south-street-the-allure-of-philadelphia-and-the-answer-to-the-question-hes-never-been-asked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2022\/07\/tommy-joyner-from-pep-rally-talks-to-us-about-latest-single-south-street-the-allure-of-philadelphia-and-the-answer-to-the-question-hes-never-been-asked\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommy Joyner From Pep Rally Talks To Us About Latest Single, ‘South Street’, The Allure Of Philadelphia, And The Answer To The Question He’s Never Been Asked"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We wrote about Philadelphia’s Pep Rally back in May, with their single, ‘Turn The Radio Up (Own The Night)<\/a>‘. Since then, the band, which is headed up by Tommy Joyner, have released another track, ‘South Street’, which tells of a road trip from Philly down to the West Coast, with various stops in between – and then back again. Clearly Philadelphia has a strong pull for Tommy, and so we asked him about his hometown, as well as finding out a bit more about the music of Pep Rally. Finally, he tells us the question he’s never been asked in an interview. The answer may surprise you!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for speaking to us! We enjoyed your single, \u2018Turn The Radio Up (Own The Night)\u2019, and we\u2019re also quite liking the new track, \u2018South Street\u2019. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re proudly from Philadelphia; would you say it runs in your blood? Does it have a very strong influence on your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the spaceship touched down and the aliens were overjoyed at how beautiful humans are, they\u00a0became so excited because do you know what’s out there? In space? It’s fucked up out there! There is awful nothingness and hostility everywhere and the Earth is full of humans and nature and it’s beautiful here. Philly is this beautiful place where music is still taught in schools. If you lifted the roof of every house in Philly you’d find a recording studio under 1\/3rd of them. It’s very common to sit in a room with a musician you’ve just met and think, “that’s the best ________I’ve ever seen play.” That vibe creates\u00a0every sound I make from the way that I sing to the way that I talk.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from yourselves, are there any other Philadelphia artists we should be looking out for?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s this guy Kurt Vile that’s really good. I think Shamir has a good vibe. Orion Sun are space explorers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Street\u2019 tells the story of a journey from Philadelphia to Los Angeles \u2013 and then back again. What were the main differences you found between Philly and what made you return? I love LA, but maybe that\u2019s due to my only having visited the west coast \u2013 sell Philadelphia to us.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Philly we are equal\u00a0opportunity lovers and haters. We don’t judge people by their colour, we don’t judge people by their religion, we judge people by the contents of their music collections. Your\u00a0friends won’t look like\u00a0you on the outside. They will look like\u00a0you on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who have been your major musical influences? And what about your influences in life in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old-timers Mark Jurkiewicz and Don Benson were my first and most\u00a0important musical influences. Through them I found acts like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, XTC and ABBA.\u00a0 My life revolves around the guitar, misunderstandings,\u00a0and understandings, those are the most influential things for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you could go back and do it all over again, what, if anything, would you do differently, and if so, why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d\u00a0have written the early records with Pance Pony (keys, cello)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s been your experience over the time of the Covid-19 pandemic? Has it been a time of inspiration or frustration?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you garden? I do, now. Well. I learned to love better. I learned how many people take their friendships for granted,\u00a0including me. I learned how important love is to me. I learned powerful lies are\u00a0and\u00a0I learned how important truth is.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, I ask this question of everyone I interview \u2013 what question do you wish someone would ask you in an interview but nobody ever does? And what\u2019s the answer to that question?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you a folder or a wadder? Well since you asked, I fold the toilet paper😂.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about PEP RALLY online on their official\u00a0website<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. You can also find Tommy Joyner on Instagram<\/a>. ‘South Street’ is out now, and can be streamed on Spotify<\/a>, and \u200eApple\u00a0Music<\/a>. You can watch the video for ‘South Street’ below<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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