Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”) and his band members of Princess Goes chatted about their new album “Come of Age.”
Aside from Hall on the lead vocals, the band is made up of Matt Katz-Bohen (Blondie) on the keyboard and guitars, and Peter “Pete” Yanowitz (Wallflowers) on drums.
Song selection of their new album
On the song selection approach for the new album, “Come of Age,” Pete said, “We just went with our best. We’ve been writing a lot since we started five years ago, and we just started building with one song to the next. At the end of it, we had 12 songs, and it felt like a record, so we decided to do it.”
Matt added that the process involved a lot of meditation, soul-searching and therapy amongst ourselves. “We had therapy sessions, and we each played the therapist at different times,” Matt said jokingly. “We treated it like a couple’s counseling session.”
Songwriting inspirations for the record
When asked what inspired the songwriting for this project, Michael said, “I don’t know. We just try to keep showing up. As far as the specific inspiration goes, we are inspired by our desire to continue making music.”
Michael continued, “I don’t know if we had in mind a specific inspiration, or a specific theme or a specific idea, we just kept writing. Perhaps it was ‘Let It Go’ that set the tone, and we knew that one was going to be on the record. It was a big and anthemic song.”
“I think themes just emerged,” Michael admitted. “In retrospect, you can look back at the way things are evolving musically or lyrical themes, but that’s something that revealed itself after the fact. It was more about getting out of the way and allowing it to happen.”
Michael went on to describe their new music as “beautiful, dark, and hypnotic.”
Influences
Pete listed his bandmates Matt and Michael as his biggest inspirations to get up each day and make music. “You are constantly inspired by your friends, and these guys have endless ideas… and right now, they are the biggest influences on me,” Pete said.
Matt listed Greek singer-songwriter Monika as an influence, and he praised her record “Secret in the Dark” for being a “brilliant album.” He also praised Danai’s song “Apo Mesa Pethamenos” as a “beautiful song.”
Michael shared that he draws inspiration from Víkingur Ólafsson’s album “Philip Glass Piano Works.” “I am really really digging this,” Michael said.
Favorite songs on the album
On their favorite song on their album, Michael remarked, “Whichever one we are playing.”
“They are all killer, no filler,” Pete admitted. “We like all the songs on the record. We think they are all equally badass,” Pete added.
New video in the works
The band revealed that they have a new music video that will be released in the near future. “It will be for the title track ‘Come of Age’,” Pete said. “We filmed a cool video for it the other day,” Pete foreshadowed.
“Besides being in the studio making music, one of the most fun days we can have involves shooting a music video. It allows us to collaborate outside our trio and work with a director. We’ve been so lucky to work with some amazing directors that bring brilliant ideas to the table,” Pete elaborated.
U.S. tour dates
In the future, the band will be playing more shows in the U.S. “We had already done some U.K. and European shows,” Matt said. “On Saturday, January 6, we will be playing the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.”
“We will be crisscrossing the country,” Matt said. “We love the Troubadour; that’s one of our favorite venues,” Michael and Pete concurred.
Brooklyn, New York show
Most recently, in September of 2023, they played Elsewhere Rooftop in Brooklyn, New York. “Elsewhere was freaking awesome and just amazing in an industrial neighborhood. I think that was our first outside show, so it was a beautiful sight with the sun setting, and it just felt like magic in the air,” Matt expressed.
The band expressed that they would love to someday perform in Greece. “I love Greece,” Matt exclaimed. “We can play the Acropolis or just anywhere there,” Matt added.
“Our dream would be to also play in a butterfly exhibit. That would be pretty cool,” Pete said.
A learning experience from playing live shows
Michael opened up about what he learned from performing concerts. “Playing live shows and playing songs live allows you to know a song in a way that you can’t until you play it in front of an audience. Living through the journey of the song with an audience is next level,” Michael explained.
Playing The Paramount with Blondie
Matt recalled performing at The Paramount in Huntington on Long Island last August (of 2022) with Blondie, as a member of her band. “Those two shows were awesome,” he said. “That was a fun time. It had a good vibe.”
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, Matt responded, “I have been asking myself that question since 1997; I definitely had an email address back then. Although we are in the digital age, we just put out a beautiful vinyl.”
“We love vinyl; it’s a work of art. It has beautiful artwork on it, and it plays on a record player which allows you to hear the music. Vinyl is just art, and it seems like there is a still a place for that even now,” Matt said.
“Hopefully, we can keep making records, sharing the music, and building the community person by person and ear by ear. Hopefully, we can figure out someday how to work this social media stuff out,” Pete added.
Pre-show rituals
Their pre-show rituals involve eating “potato chips.” “We need to take those off our tour rider. We’ve been eating too many potato chips,” Michael admitted.
“We also have minor breakdowns, which last a few seconds, that we just need to get out of our system before we go on stage,” they jokingly laughed.
Stage of their lives
On the title of the current chapter of their lives, the band concurred, “What is happening? What’s Going On?” to quote the Marvin Gaye classic.
Dream collaboration choices in music
They listed Taylor Swift and the Greek singer Monika as their dream collaboration choices in music Michael noted that he would have loved to have spent an afternoon with the late Johann Sebastian Bach so that he could have given his band some tips and pointers.
Success
On their definition of the word success, Pete said, “Being in this with Michael and Matt, as well as growing our band and growing our music and collaboration.
Fans
For their fans, Matt concluded, “Thank you all so much for coming along with us on this ride; the best is yet to come.”
“Come of Age” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about the rock band Princess Goes, check out their official homepage, and follow them on Instagram.
