Q&A with PRIORY – Who Remind Us How Great It is To Get Paid, Especially When Its The Weekend!

Alt-pop group Priory have just released their full-length Warner Bros. Records debut, Need To Know, which was released on April 7th. Recently deemed an MTV 2015 ‘Artist To Watch,’ the Portland, OR-based duo will embark on a North American tour with Britpop band Kaiser Chiefs, and make appearances at SXSW, Governor’s Ball and Bonnaroo.

Priory’s Brandon Rush and Kyle Sears met at a flophouse in Portland, sold everything they had (including their own blood ), and built a studio in a cement factory to make a record they felt represented everything they were capable of. Their anthemic song ‘Weekend‘ has been making waves on pop and alternative radio, climbing the Top 40 charts, and the band embarked on a nationwide tour last fall, including performances at Live In the Vineyard and Life Is Beautiful fest. They also made their late night television debut on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Deemed a USA Today ‘On the Verge’ artist and TIME ‘Artist You Need To Hear,’ Priory also performed on VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live and FUSE‘s Trending 10. ‘Weekend’ was featured on ESPN Sportscenter Gameday throughout the football season, and the band’s music appears in the latest Taco Bell commercial.

All Access Music writer, Nicole DeRosa got to catch up with Brandon and Kyle in the studio before heading back out on tour. Read more in their interview below!

Photo Credit: Jiro Schneider

Hi there! Where does this interview find you today? What’s on the agenda today besides our interview?

Hey! Today we are going 100 mph at our studio in Vancouver, WA. We have practice with the band in 10 and then we’ll be getting our gear together for a couple weekend fly out gigs and then off to Kaiser Chiefs tour. We’ll be gone for two months, so at some point we’ll need to pack our suitcases too.

For those not as familiar with PRIORY and your music, how did you get your start in music? Who or what was the catalyst for you to want to start a band with one another?

We have both played music since childhood. If we weren’t playing music ourselves, we were hanging out at shows. We actually met for the first time at a show in Portland. Our lives went in different directions, but we kept running into each other randomly.

“I guess by the third or fourth time we were like ‘let’s make some f’ing music’. At first it was dudes playing music and drinking home brew. Practices became longer and more frequent. Before we knew it, we were quitting our day jobs and pursuing music full time.”

You song, “Weekend” is so catchy and infectious! How did that song come about? Did the music or lyrics come first?

Lyrics don’t usually come first for us. Our process is almost never the same and fairly organic. We are both mulit-instrumentalists, so creating music often looks like two mad men running around the studio from one instrument to the next making sounds until something sticks.

I love the video for your single “Weekend”. Did you guys help come up with the treatment for the video?

Thanks. We love it too. We were part of selecting the director for the video, but we did not help come up with the treatment. During the making we did strap on a pair of skates and gave it a try…not as easy as it looks!

Who are your musical influences?

We have a lot of musical influences. To name a few: The Clash, T-Rex, Duran Duran (who we met recently at James Cole Winery. Pretty awesome moment), Amon Tobin, Queen.

Photo Credit: Jiro Schneider

Do you remember the name of the first album you purchased for yourself?

Brandon- YES! MC Hammer’s, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em

What was the first song you fell in love with and why?

Kyle- The Beatles, I Want To Hold Your Hand. My mom had an old turntable and we would listen to it before bed and my mom would do puppets.

Who would your dream collaboration be with, living or dead?

Leonard Cohen and the ghost of Joe Strummer.

Who is in your current playlist? Any artists, musicians or genres we might be surprised to find in there?

Catfishand the Bottlemen, The Drums, Wale, Jeff Buckley

 What’s on tap next for PRIORY? What are you most excited about in 2015?

We are about to leave for tour with the Kaiser Chiefs and are stoked for that. We’re looking forward to the summer music festivals-Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Project Pabst.

We also just finished shooting our new music video with Gentlemen Scholar for the song ‘Put Em Up’. (Brandon): ” That song means a lot to me personally, so I was heavy handed in the direction and creation of the video. It was an emotional shoot. I look forward to seeing the finished product.”

To learn more about PRIORY , visit them HERE .