I had the opportunity to catch up with electro-rock/alt-pop quartet Vinyl Thief before a recent performance at Communion Nashville. Comprised of childhood friends Grayson Proctor, Logan Purdom, Sam English, and Andrew Broadway, the Nashville-based band was gearing up for the release of their first LP, Fathoms, which was just released this week (finally!). I have been listening to it nonstop, and let me tell you, it’s been worth every second. Vinyl Thief’s sound is so current; with their infectious songs, excellent musicianship, and Grayson Proctor’s soaring vocals, I can only expect that they will soon be at the forefront of this New Wave Revival we’re experiencing.
Eo8: What have you been up to lately?
VT: We joined The Joy Formidable on a tour not too long ago, and played SXSW (for the second time); we’ve mainly been writing a lot and playing shows…our first sold out show was at High Watt in April, which was really exciting for us. We’re about to release our first LP, Fathoms, and will be playing shows and touring to support the album.
Eo8: What can we expect from Fathoms?
VT: [Grayson] It’s a lot of different things; since it’s our first full length album, it was hard to pinpoint an exact direction. We embraced all of our different influences, and that went into it. We’re all inspired by a variety of different music. Sam brings the funk, he’s into Stevie Wonder, Parliament, James Brown, stuff like that. We like Ryan Adams, HAERTS….we have a celebrity band crush on HAERTS. We were at an In-N-Out Burger after we played SXSW this year, and saw them there, just waiting for their food. It was surreal, we had a fangirl moment, and they were probably just trying to get some ketchup.
Eo8: Do you still have day jobs?
VT: We still have day jobs; Grayson is a light guy, he does lights for bands on tour. Sam does soundtracks/writes music for video games. I [Andrew] am a substitute teacher. I [Logan] play guitar in a band called Vinyl Thief.
Eo8: What do you do for fun or to stay normal on the road?
VT: We love to go for runs, it’s fun to explore the places we go to on a run. We have a friend, A.J., that tours with us a lot and plays bass for us; each time we head out on a tour, he has a new thing he’ll get into, like one tour was a “buffet tour,” every buffet he could find, he was like “we’re going, we’re nailing that buffet.” I [Andrew] am like the “dad,” I drive and make sure we get where we are going on time. Logan’s like the “mom,” he brings the snacks, he’s the Snack Master. He knows his stuff. Those kinds of little things keep it fun.
Eo8: Grayson, I am in love with this fantastic floral shirt you’re wearing. Who influences your style?
VT: [Andrew] St. Lucia’s album cover. I [Grayson] do love St. Lucia and they love floral. Bruce Willis is my number one style inspiration (laughter). My wife is in the fashion world and she rubs off on me.
Eo8: Are you doing something special to release Fathoms?
VT: The album comes out on July 22nd, and we will be in New York playing a show at Brooklyn Bowl on the 21st and at Mercury Lounge on the 23rd. We play in New York a lot but it’s our first time to play either of those venues.
Eo8: What’s the most exciting thing you’ve done this year?
VT: Besides playing SXSW, we all spent some time at a lake house in Texas and hung out, bonded, had fun, and wrote music. We fished a lot. Fun fact about Logan: he’s a superb fisherman. [Logan] I’m going to add it to my resume.
Eo8: Speaking of writing music, what does that process look like for Vinyl Thief?
VT: It’s mostly collaborative, each of us brings something different to the table. We’re all in a room together, we spend 90% of our writing time working and just hashing stuff out, and the other 10%, that’s what’s awesome. But that’s ok, you have to go through that to get to the good stuff.
I encourage you to give Fathoms a good listen. Or many good listens. Vinyl Thief is even better performing live, so definitely go see them if they come your way.
