Lately, all we want to do is lay around with you and talk about how absolutely phenomenal Broadside is. 

After first stealing our hearts with the release of their 2015 single “Coffee Talk,” Broadside have steadily risen up the ranks of pop-rock bands. Following the release of that year’s Old Bones and subsequently 2017’s Paradise, the band were making waves in the scene one single and one tour at a time- primed and ready to drop their next big album at the end of 2019. But when 2020 began, the band- much like the rest of the world- found themselves at a crossroads. 

With lineup changes, a brand new label signing, and nearly three years passing since their last release, they had several choices to make. But instead of laying low, or taking a year off as many of their colleagues did- they entered the year with a bang- dropping their latest studio album Into The Raging Sea that July. 

An album that took the band in a new direction than before- moving them further from their pop punk beginnings and into an ‘adult pop-rock’ sphere- Into The Raging Sea signaled not only a sonic shift in the band, but also a new level of maturity, songwriting ability, and overall finesse. 

Now, after two years of sharing the latest era of Broadside with fans online, the band has finally been able to not only hit the road and share their best record to date live, but also take their first swing at headlining shows across the country. 

We were fortunate enough to chat with frontman and lead singer Oliver Baxxter this past week about the record, what it’s like to hit the road in a post-pandemic world and what is next to come from the band. 

You can read our full interview below, and be sure to catch Broadside on a tour date near you- full tour stops listed below. 

Second Society Report: First off, thank you for taking the time to chat! I know you guys are super busy now as you’ve just begun your tour this past week. Which actually leads me to my first question, how is the tour going?

Ollie Baxxter: Tour so far has been going really well, actually. We were a bit nervous, because it’s our first headliner and you know, that’s nerve wracking, trying to pretend that you’re professional but still feeling like you just want to hang out all night and relax after. But really, it’s just non stop going. And even though we’ve watched our friends do it over the years, it’s totally different when you are deemed the ‘responsible band’ of the tour- responsible, I say loosely- but it’s been good. And just seeing how the whole world is after, you know, the past couple of years, just seeing how the venue’s held up and seeing how everyone receives [the] band has been just a blessing.

SSR: I know this is also the band’s first headlining tour- which is super exciting. How does the process of creating a tour or being on the road change when you’re a headliner vs being an opening act? 

OB: So there are a couple of directions you can take when picking a package. You can either go with the obvious bands to pull that sound like you or your friends’ bands, but we really wanted to focus on building a package that would give the opportunity to the newer, up and coming bands that we like. So it was kind of an opportunity to just grab a bunch of cool bands and be like, “Hey, come on the road with us.” 

But I’d say overall, the biggest difference would be that you’re kind of looked at as ‘The Headliner.’ So you’re the first in and last out. We want to make sure that everybody is happy with us- the venue staff, the whole crew, and that everybody’s on board and doing the utmost they can to make sure the tour rolls on. [In all] I’d say that we’ve taken on more serious responsibilities and we’re all wearing multiple hats this time around.

SSR: I know you guys have done one or two tours since the return to live events has happened, but how does it feel to be able to play all of those tracks live after the record being out for two years? 

OB: It feels really incredible. And honestly, at some shows the kids are going off to the newer stuff more so than the older stuff, which tells me that over the past couple years they found the band. And that’s really rad, because their first experience with us would be the newer record. So it’s really sick to be able to play a lot of new songs and see that people [know them], because just enough time was allotted to sit with them and learn those songs over the past couple of years. And now it’s one of those organic meshes where you’re like, “oh, okay, so they do like the record. It’s not just streaming numbers,” you know? It’s really flattering, actually.

SSR: In many ways Into The Raging Sea was a transformative album. It came out at such an interesting time in the world, but was a great mix of introspective lyrics and then also tracks that helped us all get out of our lockdown funk by dancing our troubles away. How did you and the band feel about releasing the album at that time into a world that was so different from the state you recorded it in?

OB: Yeah, it was really terrifying. There was so much going on [at the time], we were switching labels, you know, losing major key components to our band as far as members go, and so we were just in this strange transition of what already felt like a dice roll. So kind of throwing a record out into the world [we were] just hoping that it would be perceived and received well, hoping people would be fans of the band’s new sound, with the lack of a certain member, etc, etc. It really already felt like, “well, we’re already rolling the dice, so [what is] the worst that could happen?”

I [also] think the fact that people were at home, and we’re kind of like, “Well, I don’t have anything else to do, I’ll give this record a spin” did help us out ultimately, because it was like, it almost felt like “hey I know, everything is shut down. But let’s pretend for a second that it’s not.”

SSR: Yeah, just out of curiosity, like how long does it take in general, or specifically for this album, or past releases from the time of recording it to distribution, like how far ahead of when that album came out? Was it done on your guys’ end?

OB: So the album was finished for an entire year, and it was sitting, because we were transitioning from the old label and different people trying to get their hands on it. And then I finally had enough wits about me to get my own lawyer and see what my options were. So we sat on the album for almost a year before we really made a decision with it. And we fully acquired the album within that time, like the full ownership of it. So then by the time it was time to put it out, we got to choose. But it’s usually like a six to seven month period.

SSR: How did the band have to shift gears in terms of promotion with this rollout? Especially since touring was out of the question- do you feel like you had some fans fall off during this time?

OB: We certainly lost a lot of like show going fans, I think, just from the sheer fact that like our demographic and our fan base, they just got older. Some people have kids, you know, some people are just terrified to come back to shows, some people you know, feel ill or experienced financial issues. So we definitely lost a large wave of like show goers. 

But at the same time, I think we gained a bunch of new friends within the music scene. Like after our third record, bands were reaching out to us saying, “Oh, this, this record is really sick.” And so we were able to get on the This Wild Life tour from that. And that situation helped us because then we get to play to their fans who are a little bit older. So all in all, it was a bit of a trade off. 

SSR: Okay now to shift gears a bit- you just released your new single “One Last Time” last week. Can you tell us a little bit more about that new track? 

OB: We just wanted to write a solid summer banger- just like through and through. It’s one of those songs that at one level you can hear and be like, “Cool. This is a good song,” or if it’s not your style you can’t deny it has good energy. 

And then lyrically and contextually, it’s kind of just like “Hey, man, we’re approaching the fourth album and just need one last time to prove to myself that we should still be doing this.” And so it’s kind of like, not a last ditch effort, and not a plea or a cry for help, but maybe just like a straight up, honest approach to it. Like, I just want to write a good song. I just want to let you guys know how I’m feeling.

SSR: The song feels to me like an extension of Into The Raging Sea but also like the beginning of perhaps a new era. I saw you posted about tracking vocals but I know no official album announcement has been made… Can we confirm “One Last Time” Is this just the beginning of more new releases to come?

OB: Oh, definitely. We have songs recorded already and some mastered, actually. But I think at the moment because we finally have a lot of freedom, we’re going to just do this single release, see how that goes. [Then release] another single after single and then just build up to an album. That way we can choose from a bunch of different songs and choose what we want to put on the album as opposed to going into being like, “Okay, we need to write it all right now,” you know?

SSR: I’ve noticed over the past couple years that there have been a lot of bands shifting away from releasing just one single and then a full album, but kind of dropping singles over time. Do you feel like that is beneficial from a promotional aspect? 

OB: Definitely from a promotions aspect. Because if the songs are good- if they uphold when you treat the song as a single- it’s really empowering. And I’ve realized a lot of bigger artists will release singles that feel like they should stand on their own, so we’re kind of mirroring that.

And I think treating each individual song as their own individual scenario is definitely something that enticed us, and that’s definitely the route we want to go. And so far, it is good because I think if we release a new single or the next single, and it’s different from this first one, it really does get the listener thinking like “Oh, what the hell? Like, what are they doing? Are they just doing this for fun? Or is this going to be another all over the place record?” And I think that’s the beauty of it is that we don’t really even know!

SSR: Speaking of songwriting, what is your songwriting process? Do you start with one particular section and then work around that, or are you lyric driven?

OB: Definitely music first. I am a big R&B and rap fan, so I like to just freestyle everything. So I like to hear a song, hear the vision, and see the energy behind the whole concept. We’ve been putting a lot of attention into production, and just making it sound cool with synths and horns, etc. so anything that really guides and creates a voice of its own, before the actual voice comes in- that’s kind of what I’m looking for nowadays. 

And [honestly] to me, everything sounds the same. And it’s boring- so when something stands out, it really stands out, and that’s kind of where I want. That’s where I feel most comfortable. 

That’s kind of my whole approach to this [also] because I’m not doing anything new. You know, I’m just another white guy singer, but at the end of the day, I do have something to offer and I feel like that’s what makes the best artist is people who say, “I have something that I want to add to the puzzle,” not take away or side stand you know, I’m not I’m not a side standing kind of person. At least I don’t want to be anymore.

SSR: What do you hope listeners take away from your music? 

OB: I’ve always just been a big, big advocate of perseverance. Everybody’s going through the worst stuff at all times, no matter what, like, everybody has something that really sucks in their life. And I feel like the most important thing that you can remind yourself is that there’s only one way through things- and that’s right through it, you know. You can wake up every day and find something that will kill you.. There’s always something, but the best approach is, “I’m going to just close my eyes and walk blindly forward, because I have faith that I can get somewhere.” Like, yes, it all sucks. The world is on fire. But we’re all on fire together.

SSR: That is a good way of looking at life, too. I definitely think that there are a lot of tracks you guys have released that portray that message too.

OB: Right. I don’t want to heal people, I’m not that kind of egomaniac. I just want to bridge people- I don’t want to fix people.

SSR: The best thing music can do is remind people, they’re not alone. So even if a song won’t take away their pain, it makes them realize ‘Oh, I’m not the only person that’s struggling right now.’

OB: Right, exactly. 

SSR: Speaking of meaning, have you ever released a song that you wanted to be interpreted one way but fans sort of ran with a different meaning?

OB: Yes- like with the song “The Raging Sea.” I think a lot of people take it as an R&B song. So they just kind of take it as “oh, maybe he’s talking about something very specific,” and I don’t feel like the message was properly conveyed on my end. But I mean, when we wrote that song, I was really suffering, you know, suffering as a man and as a person, and as an artist. 

And it’s funny, because some of the songs- like when I talked about ‘Seasons,’ I talked about dealing with bipolar [disorder] and I didn’t ever really go into what it’s like to deal with that in my family. Instead, I created a metaphor- “I don’t believe we can change like the seasons, but you’re still here.” The idea being growing up and meeting a new mom every single day, because you never know what emotion she was going to wake up with. So I feel like I could have done a better job of conveying those types of songs, because those are the types of songs that those types of people want to hear. They want to connect to those, and I don’t love going on stage and talking about it, because then it takes away from the song because then they’re just going to listen for the little blips that say like “I have bipolar.” So I wish that I would have done just a little bit better job of working through songs like “Seasons” and “Clarity.”

But, I’m not I’m not bummed how people perceive them, I think [over the past few years] people have had nowhere to look but within, and a lot of people realized a lot of things about themselves that they don’t like, and I feel like having other people say like, “Hey, I don’t like myself that much either sometimes,”  it’s a nice thing. [Especially] because on the other end of that you just see all these fucking gorgeous people online, dancing and making money on TikTok, and you’re like “why is this not my life?” You know? So I like to be out here speaking for the other end of that spectrum.

SSR: Since you just mentioned TikTok- I know over the past two years a lot has changed in regards to how music is released or teased/promoted on social media. Do you guys feel pressure to change how you’ve done releases/promo as a band to fit in with that trend?

OB: Yes. Every tour we’ve been on post-pandemic, there’s been a band that is like up on their TikTok stuff and it’s just a constant reminder of how bad we are at that. It’s like, I know how to be in a band, I don’t know how to, like lip sync to a camera, you know? And a lot of bands are learning how to lip sync to a camera before they’re learning how to be in a band. So on the flip side of that, they come to the shows, and they don’t know how to plug in an instrument, but they do know how to get 40 million views. So it’s a trade off. But it’s definitely something we are gonna just miss the boat on if we don’t up our game. There’s definitely an intense amount of pressure to create music in that capacity and create content in that capacity, because whether we like it or not, people- even myself- are finding about new artists on TikTok so, you know, we just got to get over a little ego, pretend we’re not 30+, and, you know, get it rockin’ on TikTok somehow.

SSR: Do you think that if you don’t get on the trend of promoting on TikTok or via Instagram reels that you’ll see people falling off your fan base? 

OB: I personally do because eventually people will have this circle that they create within their mind of who they want to spend money on, who they want to support, and what shows they want to come to. I don’t want to be replaced, and that’s the thing with being in this scene. It always feels like you’re constantly running. You’re either running from yourself, you’re running from another band, or you’re running towards an opportunity. 

There’s always going to be something that you have to translate your art into… and there’s just way too many numbers, way too many people and users on TikTok to not [follow suit.] And of course, you can’t talk to a single label person now without mentioning TikTok. It’s insane. 

SSR: I’ve seen a lot of artists also become more vocal about feeling like they’re pressured [into TikTok.] And I’ve seen a lot of artists like that were on the rise right before the world shut down, not make it through the pandemic because the numbers weren’t there. I know like there’s a huge pressure on having a big following.

OB: Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s all following now. These bands that are being discovered on TikTok are essentially being discovered off a music video. And because it’s all numbers, [labels] see the numbers and they go, “okay, 22 million people are watching and like this song.” And then on top of that, the streams go up and you’ll see artists with like 10,000 plays but this one song has 32 million streams and the industry is gonna look down and be like, “Yeah, we’re gonna sign you right now,”  because they want to start collecting royalties on that. 

It’s wild. I’m also seeing like all of the coolest bands are even making TikToks now. It’s funny… you either give up, or you make the damn TikTok. 

SSR: Do you subscribe to the idea of “making it” and if so, do you believe you have? 

OB: I would definitely say we have not made it. And I would love to make it in the sense that I’d love to be able to pay my rent off the music that I’ve been doing for eight plus years. And I’m definitely not there yet. Everything pushing forward with this band is sheer passion and drive and hopefulness. And sometimes I have to self reflect and be like, “Am I just growing numbers online? Am I just a number that just keeps going up? Because they like ‘Coffee Talk’ or they like this or this?” It comes to a point where it’s like, what is my value and definition as a man and as a person on this planet? Is it just to be streamed? 

It’s difficult because we’re not one of those cool bands where people are throwing money at us, and we’re not getting the cool tours or the cool festival opportunities and we can’t really figure out why. So we just hang our heads and just keep playing shows and keep trying to write good songs and just hoping that by the grace of whatever, it turns into something. And I wouldn’t say it is a waste of time, but a lot of people in our position have stepped away because it’s just too much, you know?

SSR: What can we expect from Broadside for the rest of 2022? 

OB: So for the rest of the year, we’re going to finish up this tour and then definitely go home and go right back into the studio. We’ll definitely have another single coming out before the end of the year, and I think the focus would be to put the attention around that single, finish the year at home and in the studio and then start the year off properly with two new singles on the rise, probably an album announcement, and then hopefully, book a couple strong support tours. And then it’d be super nice to revisit headlining at the end of next year again, or summer next year, to see where we are at that point. But definitely we’re doing the like normal, revitalized band thing where it’s like, go back home, build it up again, and then come out. You know, especially after seeing the hype around the new single it really has inspired us like okay, let’s, let’s, let’s do the damn thing. One last time.

SSR: Is there anything else you’d like to share with fans before we go?

OB: Thank you to everybody for supporting everything that we’ve done. We’re one voice out of a million and it feels really flattering to even have anyone go ‘oh, what’s that? What did he say?’ and ‘oh I like this song.’

Thank you to anybody who still gives a shit about live music.

SSR: Thank you for taking the time to chat! We look forward to what is next to come and to hopefully catch a show soon!

OB: Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

You can stream Broadside’s new single “One Last Time,” out now, and be sure to catch them on their Into The Raging Sea Tour, hitting cities near you now. 

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Into The Raging Sea Tour Dates:

Jul 26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Beehive

Jul 27 – Denver, CO @ HQ

Jul 29 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen 

Jul 31 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s

Aug 2 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry

Aug 3 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium

Aug 5 – New York, NY @ The Knitting Factory

Aug 6 – Richmond, VA @ Canal Club