Interview with Ty Vaughn of Broadway Calls

Photography by Erica Shultz

Ty Vaughn of BROADWAY CALLS
Interview by Scoot

Here’s a sit down with Ty (vocals, guitar) of Broadway Calls from last week, right before they entered the studio to record their forthcoming EP! Chatted with him several times while they were down recording this past weekend, and it sounds like the world has a little treat coming to it in the form of what should be an amazing new Broadway Calls release. Peep what Ty had to say, and start the countdown to new sing-along-jams!

Last we heard, there might have been rumblings of the Blasting Room, and a new full-length. This week news came out about an EP for the fall first. Did you guys decide to hold back on the full-length until after the tour?

I wouldn’t say that we’re holding off on the full-length, because we’re still getting together and writing for it twice a week. It became obvious to us pretty recently though, that if we were going to release a new LP this year, it probably wouldn’t come out the way we’d want it to. We don’t want to compromise or feel rushed at all for our third record. It’s a really important one to us. We’re taking our time and making sure we love every song.

What stage is the full-length in now? How are the songs sounding?

Right now as a band we have around 15 songs. I personally have 4 or 5 we haven’t put together yet, and I know Josh and Adam have some as well. The songs are pretty diverse. We want it to feel a little more like our first record. Good Views, Bad News was the best record we could have made at the time, and we love that record. While writing and recording that one, we wanted to make a straight up pop punk record with no frills, nothing outside the lines. We figured that the best way to describe BROADWAY CALLS is mid-tempo pop punk, so we just made an entire album of that. And like I said, we love that record, I just think we want to show a little more dynamic on this one. GREEN DAY and THE DESCENDENTS are obviously huge influences for us, but they aren’t our ONLY influences. So we’re going to take it back and think about how our first record was made, while moving forward and writing songs that matter to us now.

You guys are recording the EP with Jack from COMADRE down here in the Bay Area. You also recorded your half of the TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET split there, as well as a couple tracks for the COMADRE/ MIXTAPES (new one just released as a benefit for Japan). How did you guys initially hook up with the COMADRE kids, how has your relationship evolved, and what made his studio the choice for this recording?

Oh man, I think you (Brett) were there when we first met the COMADRE guys. I don’t remember what town it was. Somewhere in the Bay Area. We were in COUNTDOWN TO LIFE at the time. Barely out of high school. The COMADRE guys were in a band called HEART CROSS LOVE. We played this show together in a hot little garage somewhere in the suburbs. It was so much fun. That was probably our second tour ever….something like that. We just kept in touch and not long after that, they started COMADRE. We’d continue to play shows together and hang out whenever we were in Northern California or they were in the Northwest. We did a really fun tour together once with them and LIGHT THIS CITY (Ben and Laura went on to form HEARTSOUNDS) so we’ve all loved each other for a long time. Even though we don’t get to hang out as much as I’d like, I really consider Jack one of my best friends. His studio is called The Atomic Garden, and it rules. It’s our home in the Bay Area, and when we decided to record an EP it was an obvious choice.

You guys are looking at a fall release, presumably around a Fest tour, correct? And if so, how is that tour looking, and do you plan on that being your next major “on the road” outing?

That is correct, and yeah I think that will be the next time we do any long stretch of consecutive shows. I really wish we never had to stop touring, but it’s definitely time to get some new music out and play some new songs live. We’re all really excited about the new stuff, and with Adam back with us it feels like a new band. I’ve heard some things and talked with some friends, and the tour around the Fest sounds like it might end up being with some close friends of ours that have really been having a good time lately. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much, but I’m preparing mentally for what could possibly be the most fun I’ve ever had on tour.

Being a few releases into the game, and seeing where BROADWAY CALLS sits with so many people, where do you picture yourselves five years from now, ideally?

I really hope it gets bigger and bigger ya know? But if it doesn’t, and we keep having fun and loving it, I have no idea why we’d stop. We did that tour with THE BOUNCING SOULS right when our last record came out. They were celebrating 20 years as a band. It was so inspiring to see them go out and play every night. They were loving every second of being on stage. We’ve only been a band for five years at this point, and I feel like we have so much we still need to accomplish.

If kids love BC, what bands should they be peeping right now?

I always want kids to check out the older bands that may have been before their time. Bands like THE MUFFS, AMERICAN STEEL, THE EXPLODING HEARTS, SMOKING POPES, THE GAMITS… all those bands have been very important to us and our sound. Of course the standards like THE RAMONES, GREEN DAY, THE DESCENDENTS, ALKALINE TRIO, THE LAWRENCE ARMS, KID DYNAMITE, LIFETIME, and SAVES THE DAY. All of our friends like THE MENZINGERS, THE FLATLINERS, CHEAP GIRLS, DEAD TO ME, DEFEATER, MAKE DO AND MEND, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS…. I know I’m forgetting a ton of bands, but if you haven’t heard of even one band on this list, you need to get familiar immediately.

Any last words before you guys head into the studio?

Thanks a lot for supporting us. I mean, the readers and AMP magazine. I hope you like the new EP, and I hope you come see us play the new and old songs soon!!

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