Rochester, NY emo-infused pop-punk band Dead Pets sat down with us to discuss their debut EP ‘Such Sights To Show You’ – read all about your new favorite band below!
Hi! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us – can you tell readers your name and what you do in the band?
Hey y’all! I’m Jordan; I play guitar, sing, and make the art for Dead Pets.
How did Dead Pets come to be? Give us the origin story!
Once upon a time, in a land called Rochester, NY a band known as calicuzns existed. Two best friends named Christian and Jordan played in this band for a long, long time. Being best friends and loving music, the two decided it was time to do something they had been putting off for far too long: start an emo/indie-leaning pop punk band. After that, we added a little Quincy and a little Kyle and a star was born!
Your debut EP “Such Sights To Show You” came out in October! What made you want to drop the project on Halloween?
We picked Halloween because we wanted a date that would stick out in people’s minds while also leaning into the horror theme of the release. The first single, “Slow Blinking“, had a music video that dropped about a month prior to the EP. That video is sort of a combination of a slasher movie and found-footage horror. So, we just kept the theme going and dropped the EP on Halloween!
Is there any meaning behind the EP title “Such Sights To Show You”?
“Such Sights to Show You,” is a quote from Hellraiser where Pinhead is essentially telling Kirsty to come with the Cenobites to get tortured for eternity. It seemed like a fitting name for an EP about existential issues and, again, we wanted to lean into the horror theme. The goal is to keep putting little horror-themed Easter eggs and references into all our releases and videos.
Can you pick one song on the EP and tell us the story behind the song & what the song means to you?
“I Wanted to Leave” is about having a savior complex and taking years and years to recognize a pattern of codependency in your relationships. It’s about having the people closest to you be so self-destructive that you can’t see any way out of the situation but to suffer alongside them, ultimately enabling the pattern to continue.
This is something I still struggle with. I guess the moral is that the way you react to issues in your life determines how those issues play out. If you keep landing yourself in situations where you’re constantly shouldering the burden of other people’s problems, do yourself a favor and Google codependency!
What are three goals you hope Dead Pets accomplishes in 2024?
We have some things in the works (including a split) that we’re super excited about, but it’s always hard to say when things will happen exactly. Could be this year, could be next year! But we absolutely would like to go on our first tour as Dead Pets, release LP1 (hopefully!), and just keep making new friends through music; that’s always the goal!
Okay, time for a fun question! Can you give us a 10 song playlist of some bands/songs that inspired you the most when writing and recording your EP for Dead Pets?
Super American – relax and float downstream
steve. – Officer Inbred
Jeff Rosenstock – Polar Bear or Africa
2nd Grade – Trigger Finger
Joyce Manor – Victoria
Tigers Jaw – I Saw Water
Prince Daddy – A Random Exercise in Impermanence
Young Guv – Patterns Prevail
Charmer – December
Teenage Halloween – Racehorse
Thanks again for taking the time to speak with us! Anything else you’d like to add?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Christian is the perfect crossover of Travis Barker meets Tre Cool.
To keep up with Dead Pets, you can follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Don’t forget to stream their EP ‘Such Sights To Show You’ wherever you listen to music!