Wavering between the sweetness of girl-group era ’60s pop and the delicious sludge of our time’s garage scene, Nashville’s Churchyard is ready to charm your pants off with their self-titled debut album. Songs like “Hug You from Behind” and “Doll Face” are the kind of sugar-coated pop that makes your shoes shuffle, while “Calm Down” and “Hounds” have a heady vibe that casts a spell between your ears. It makes for an intoxicating mix and an exciting first album from a band that No Country for New Nashville declares is “fast approaching the femme fronted Nashville garage rock throne.”
The band got together after co-frontwoman Alice Buchanan met her match in Meghan D’Amico on a visit to Nashville from Memphis. According to the band, it was “pretty much love at first sight.” After Alice moved to Nashville a year later, the two began to play together within the first week. Soon, bassist Rachel Warrick and drummer Joey Dykes joined the band, and they were recording demos and hitting the road.
We caught up with Churchyard recently to ask them a bit about their tour life and what Nashville has to offer aside from honky-tonks. You can stream Churchyard’s self-titled debut below, and scroll on for our conversation.
Who do you guys listen to most on tour?
According to our Spotify, on this past tour, we listened to anything from Selena Gomez, Wet, Mitski, REO Speedwagon, LCD Sound System, Bessie Smith, Zapp, Shamir… We really listen to everything!
What’s the weirdest moment you’ve had on your?
Oh man! Lots of things… it’s hard to say. On Halloween last year, our show fell through last minute, so instead of turning around and going home, we stayed out until 7am We walked ten miles and happened upon what seemed to be a sex party. Joey found an empty bar and made us wine spritzers, and we saw people do it under their costumes. IT WAS WEIRD!
What would you tell someone who thinks Nashville is just country music and honky-tonks?
We are lucky to have are a pretty tight music community here in Nashville. Some bands we can name for readers to check out if you haven’t yet: Idle Bloom, Natural Child, Pujol, Those Darlins, Roman Polanskis Baby, and Natalie Prass, just to name a few! The stereotype of Nashville has changed. It’s definitely moving away from the honky-tonk vibe.
But if you want to hit a great honky-tonk spot, go to Robert’s Western World on a Monday night when the fried bologna is hot and the crowds are thin.
