photo by Jo Barajas
The trio also touched on their writing process, their dapper style, & their love of Fugazi
What is it about briny sweatbeads that taste so good and sting so sweet when thrashing to screamo? Epoxy, New York’s underground post-hardcore band, answers this, and more. Influenced by noise and alternative legends such as Unwound and Fugazi, Epoxy evokes a fervency to mosh from the next generation. The three-piece consists of ballads and licks from Alec Publicover, coiled bass from Cashel O’Malley, and cataclysmic percussion from Ben Leach.
Rather than pogo-ing around in torn-up band tees and ratty Chucks, Epoxy takes the stage in polished suits. Like businessmen, they enter their office, crank up the overdrive, and pursue hot-blooded, harmonious demolition. More than just every girl’s crazy ‘bout these sharp dressed men, contrary to ZZ Top. Previous shows with local NYC groups COMET, Dutch Kills, and more have drawn in crowds from all walks of life, reaching show-goers beyond the expected screamo attendees from Bushwick.
Epoxy released their fourth single “Song 2” on this past Friday, off their upcoming album, Civilians. I sat down with the boys to discuss their evolution and the focus behind their music. We also enjoyed spit-taking over IPAs, as we retold absurd memories from over the years. I’ve been close with Epoxy since ‘22, watching them grow from sets in New England pizzerias to now a slaughterhouse of sound.
What audience are you trying to reach with your music?
Epoxy (in unison): Crypto guys. The population of Miami. Podcasters. Dime Square bartenders. Guys in Austin. Otakus. Kill Tony Listeners. Meme account admins. Alcoholics. Degenerate alcoholics.
How did you learn how to scream without hurting your voice?
Alec: YouTube – it’s an amazing resource. You can learn everything there. I was always doing voices, even as a very, very little child. I recorded myself making creaking door noises. I had this little tape recorder when I was six and I would try to mimic the sound of a door.
Can you mimic it?
Alec: Creeeeeeeeeeeek. Sounds like a scream, it’s the same thing!
Ben: Bobby Hill ass.
Epoxy (in unison): imitating Bobby Hill [King of the Hill]
What has been a very memorable moment for you on stage?
Cashel: We played a birthday show for a friend of ours and Mike Myers showed up. We were really excited. It was Austin Powers…Austin Powers is here. He walked in, I saw him, we were playing, looked at us, then turned around and walked out. It was really one of the greatest moments.
Alec: Yeah, ultimately it’s actually good. I’m okay with Mike Myers not rocking with it. So he showed up late and then left after five seconds. I love Mike Myers.
“I’ve been in a lot of bands where I didn’t fully go for it.” -Cashel O’Malley
You’ve just released your fourth single, “Song 2.” Tell us about it.
Alec: It was the second song we wrote as a band.
Ben: I think “Song 2” is the song you sent me that made me think…yeah, I’ll be in this band.
Cashel: We had to reverse-engineer strange program drums that didn’t make any sense, but turn them into something very real.
Alec: It’s what bonded us as a band, we were all equally excited to figure it out.
What’s the meaning behind the name “Epoxy”?
Alec: A good band name is a word that means something interesting and sounds interesting, phonically. We’re at a point now, with music and art, where people are using genres not as worlds to explore, but as pieces of construction themselves. They’re stitching together a lot of stuff, and art is really referential. Epoxy is a type of polymer that is both a bonding agent, but can also be a construction material. So it’s sticking things together, then being a vessel in and of itself to let something new come into it.
Cashel: He used to work in fabrication
What is the writing process for Epoxy?
Alec: I wake up in the morning at around 10:30 or 11 am. I immediately smoke a joint, and then I get back in bed with my guitar. And that’s how most of the songs are written.
Ben: Then Alec will play a riff…in about 15 minutes, we’re basically done.
If you could share the stage with any band, who would it be?
Epoxy (in unison): Fugazi.
Alec: Oh, god. They come back and they ask us…
Cashel: I could die the next day.
What’s the meaning behind the suits?
Alec: The suits are totally iconic, also no one wears them anymore. There’s a contradiction: they’re totally general, but you stick out. We wear suits to make us feel like avatars. The frontman from Gorillaz talks about how rock and roll bands are like cartoons, and that’s why he made Gorillaz: to make a good cartoon out of a rock band. That was inspiring to me, but instead of cartoons, the suits make us feel like video game avatars. Immediately, people walk in and see us and project whatever they want onto us.
Ben: I work in finance.
Alec: It’s like how Kim Deal would come off of her serving shift to a Pixies show.
Ben: Clock out, rock out.
“We want to make visceral music” -Alec Publicover
What is coming up next for Epoxy?
Alec: We have an album coming out. It’s called Civilians. It’s going to be released this fall.
Any final thoughts for the band?
Alec: Who?
Cashel: Show yourselves. Just kidding, thank you.
Alec: Thank you, thank you.
Ben: I love you guys. A big thank you to everyone.
