Approximately a year ago, I interviewed Teenage Halloween (TH) outside Gasa Gasa. Now they’re back in New Orleans, touring off their new album “Till You Return” and I was able to catch up with the band at the same venue (As of publishing this the venue is now closed due to what I will only describe as unclear reasons but likely finances).
I don’t know where the term “emerging adult” comes from and I don’t really care but I think it’s an apt summary of most people’s early ‘20s. You’re emerging. You’re still fumbling through life finding your place, who you are and what you need.
An interview can only reveal so much about a person or a band. It’s less than one hour out of 8,760 that are in a single year. But after listening back to the interview I had with TH last year, to today, it seems as though they’ve gone through immense growth over the course of those 8,759 hours, give or take.
Especially Luk Henderiks (vocals/guitar), the primary lyricist for the band. Last year they were joking about having a lot of “slurricanes” (otherwise known as a Hurricane, a popular cocktail in NOLA) while spending time in here, to this year talking about jump rope as means to stay active during tour. TH isn’t sleeping in a RV bathroom anymore like in their earliest years. Now, they’re occasionally sleeping in hotel rooms (wild concept I know).
I don’t bring this up to disparage the band’s history or drinking or anything like that. I write this to point out that an interview is only a moment. Maybe there's no marketable change or progress to point out here. However, the art they create, the new album they released, and the noticeable change in attitude towards touring does seem to mark definite “emerging.”
Out of everything mentioned from political action to folk punk to Beethoven’s 5th, the thing we talk about most is collaboration. That’s where the time goes.
Transcript version available here.
(Audio) Revisiting Teenage Halloween