These two best friends, Tyler and Harlow, have a palpable connection on and off stage. We got to catch the duo after their ACL performance to discuss mobile games, making pizza and their tour with Cage the Elephant. Check out our interview below.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This is your first time at ACL! How’s that been?
Tyler: It’s been awesome, definitely a dream festival. We’ve been watching the live streams for a long time, so it’s really really great to be here.
You guys just had your first show opening for Cage the Elephant yesterday; tell me everything!
Tyler: It was electric; the crowd was awesome, the Cage the Elephant boys are awesome.
Harlow: Giant room.
Tyler: Yeah, huge huge venue. Lots of people that had never heard of us before, and that’s a great thing.
Is it nerve-wracking to be in such a big venue?
Tyler: It absolutely is.
Harlow: We were walking around before the show and we were just kinda…
Tyler: (accented) we were prayin’ over every seat
Harlow: We were prayin’ over ever single seat in that house!
Tyler: Just makin’ sure everbody had a great time and a safe night…
Harlow: Amen.
How do you keep yourself sane on the road?
Tyler: call of duty mobile. We play a lot of phone video games.
What’s your gamertag?
Harlow: biggiecheese.
Tyler: I’m jeanparmesean.
Harlow: Our drummer is oscarbites, and our bassist is pteradactyltom.
Have you guys been consuming any good media these days?
Tyler: We always want to read. And then we get in the van.
Harlow: It’s hard to read in the van.
Tyler: And then you get to the hotel, and it’s also hard to read there. Our tour manager, John, has been playing a bunch of, what do you call it, like electronic, soft dub house music. It’s honestly pretty awesome.
Harlow: He also plays really nice jazz. He was playing jazz in the greenroom yesterday; it was really nice.
Tyler: Tom (bassist) and I have been watching the new Monster show on Netflix. It's about Ed Gein, the serial killer. It’s pretty messed up, pretty dark and disturbing.
Harlow: I’m watching a show about the Ottoman Empire.
How would you guys describe your sound to someone who was just starting to listen to you?
Halow: maybe…maybe like…homosexual.
Tyler: I was gonna say gay. No, guitar music for the queer community. For the LGBT.
Harlow: Well our instagram bio is “a band for girls,” so. And “girls” is so gender neutral in that way. We're talking about when you say “oh it’s me and my girls.” We’re talking about those girls
Tyler: It’s for the people you're going to Dairy Queen with. It’s music to listen to while you drive to Dairy Queen with the girls.
How do you think your upbringing in Atlanta influences your music?
Tyler: When we started, we were playing a bunch of house shows with a lot of diy emo bands in the Atlanta scene like Palmer Hill and all those bands. That influenced the way we look at live music specifically, and we come to every show with the intention of connecting with the fans as if we were in a basement with them. And we try to maintain that energy as the rooms and the crowds get bigger.
I saw y’all breaking it down up there; any personal favorite dance moves?
Harlow: It’s all in the hips.
Tyler: Sometimes it’s in the ankles depending on what you’re doing.
Harlow: There’s a shimmy to it.
Tyler: A shimmy; a bending of the knees. It’s different when we’re playing music. When we’re playing it’s a lot of shimmying, but when we’re listening to music…I mean, making a pizza. That’s the real dance move.
Making a pizza?
Tyler: You toss the dough up….put the toppings on…get a little pizza stone….get it in the oven…get it out of the oven…
Harlow: Then you gotta fold the box…you gotta make the box…you gotta serve it…“thank you, awesome, come again, have a great day…oh, it’s push not pull…”
Tyler: emphasis on the serve.
What kind of pizza are we making?
Tyler: I’m making a spinach feta pizza.
Harlow: Are you familiar with cheese bread? I’m making that.
Tyler: No sauce?
Harlow: No sauce, just a lot of cheese.
Anyone you’re looking forward to watching today?
Tyler: I’m going to see mk.gee. I’ve never seen him before; I’m not even the biggest mk.gee fan, but all of my cohorts are hipsters.
Harlow: mk.geeheads.
Tyler: They’re telling me I’ve got to go see him, and that it’s gonna be awesome.
Harlow: Unfortunately, I have to run home. I have to catch this Bills-Pats game. And I’ve gotta doordash a burger. It’s gonna be really healing for me. That’s what set I’ll be watching.
This is a favorite question of mine; why are you writing?
Tyler: I’m making music for my mom. That’s the honest answer. And because I'm a dramatic person. I got a lot of heavy strong feelings and music is the way I get them out.
Harlow: Yeah, I have a lot of things to say…But I’m making music for gay people. I’m making music for fat people.
Tyler: I’m making music…for the kids…
Harlow: uhm, yeah, sure.
Tyler: Not in that way. Like when I was listening to music a lot as a kid, and it helped me a lot; I wanna be able to do that for other kids. I think it’s important. I think it’s really, really important.
Harlow: me too, for little fatties. Little porkers.
Tyler: Little buttermunchkins…
Harlow: I mean, we’ve both been there.