Interview With Physical DigitalInterview With Physical Digital
When I first saw Physical Digital perform at The Milestone last February, two things stood out to me: the band’s eclectic and unique choice of fashion, particularly, the bassist’s bone, bullet, and feather-rimmed hat (that pleasantly echoed something out of Culture Club’s frontman’s, Boy George’s, wardrobe), and the bands energetic, earnest, and melodic performance, including the lively incorporation of keys in a punk band, the restless tempo of the drummer, and the bright-eyed and enthusiastic glances and smiles the band members exchanged on stage as they delivered their performance.
But while it was their stage presence and performance that initially drew me in, Physical Digital’s dynamism, variety of sound, and genre-shifting within their discography were what cemented me as a fan. On a sunny, breezy day, sat up against a park bench, I spoke with Charlotte-based alternative band Physical Digital about the inspiration behind their unique and versatile sound, their songwriting process, and the band’s use of music as an earnest vector of emotional catharsis.
This whole-hearted group consists of Andrew Nixon, Physical Digital’s bassist and backup vocalist, Nation Marshall, the band’s guitarist and singer, Tabitha Bush, the group’s keyboardist since August of 2022, and the band’s most recent addition, Jack Knight, on the drums.
Physical Digital saw its beginning around three years ago, when bandmates Nation and Andrew would first meet at a show for Andrew’s former band:
“We met in 2019, maybe late 2018. I met Andrew at a show for his old band, Izar Estelle, at a skate park.”
Nation laughs as he recalls his “faded” state at the show, before continuing: “Anyway, we became friends, and we were jamming acoustically for like two years at my house, just playing banjo and acoustic guitar, trying out all sorts of instruments. Eventually, during COVID, in 2020 give-or-take, we decided to start Physical Digital as a band.”
Nation and Andrew would go on to record the first self-titled Physical Digital album in 2021, with the band’s former drummer, who would leave in January of this year. Tabitha Bush, the band’s keyboardist, would come to join in August of 2022, and would later recruit Jack Knight, who had been working as a drummer for several projects, as the most recent addition to the band on drums.
“The three of us were friends before, actually. Tabitha met Jack at school.”, nods Andrew.
“We both go to school for Music at CPCC, which is where I met Jack. I remember Physical Digital was looking for a drummer, and one day I asked Jack: ‘Do you know anyone who could fill in for us?’”, says Tabitha, chuckling with Jack as the two recall the exchange.
Jack laughs, eyes widening as he responds: “I was like, ‘Do I know somebody?’”. Despite already being involved in other projects, the drummer has been able to balance time to serve as Physical Digital’s new drummer since last month.
“Penciling everything in is difficult.”, says bassist Andrew in regards to finding time to work on multiple projects, or balance the managing aspects of a band as a musician. “It’s like playing Tetris with your time.”, he adds thoughtfully.
“My life has revolved around Google Calendar.”, says Jack. “You’ve got to always remember: stay on top of your game.”, he grins.
Physical Digital encompasses a group full of musicians from different backgrounds and inspirations: a keyboardist from a classically-trained background, two passionate, self-taught, melomaniacs in the form of a bassist and guitarist, and a technically trained drummer who’s acquired a variety of playing styles over time. The band’s conceptual myriad shines through in its distinctly unique and dynamic sound—upon initially listening to Physical Digital’s discography, one of the first things that will jump out at you is just how different one track sounds from the other. Take, for example, one of P.D.’s latest songs, In The Night: an upbeat, danceable, surf-punk track, and compare it to Little Tents, a track sporting mid-west emo sensibilities and quiet-loud-quiet shifts that echo the song structure of many Pixies songs. With just how much the band’s genre and sound varies from song to song, it leaves one to wonder who some of the band’s inspirations are.
“We all come from different musical backgrounds, and everyone has bridges that connect each of us together.”, says Nation. “I’m a big fan of artists like Duster, Alex G., Built to Spill… the inspiration for wanting to incorporate more of that digital, electronic sound definitely comes from bands like Starfucker, Crystal Castles , [and] Machine Girl. Andrew’s a bit more where that emo sound of the band came from, and Tabitha listens to a lot of classic rock.”, he adds.
“I guess my sound, you could base it off of like… if you combined Touche Amor with La Dispute and New York Dolls—maybe Agent Orange, too. I think it’s like a good mixture of hard-core emo and old punk.”, offers Andrew.
“I grew up on bands like Rolling Stones and Social Distortion before it quickly took a turn into emo.”, says keyboardist Tabitha of her earliest musical inspirations. “I love Pierce the Veil, I’m not ashamed.”, she adds gleefully. “Pixies and Modest Mouse are my top two, so I’m lucky these guys like ‘em also. Coming from a classical piano background, it’s fun to try to merge the two—all the little subgenres of rock with classical elements. You can hear a bit of that in In The Night, there’s some classical arpeggios there.”
As for drummer Jack Knight, inspiration has come from the different playing styles he’s observed or used throughout his previous gigs: “I pull in terms of my drumming depending on what my clients need...very recently, I’ve been crazy about progressive metal—Hacken, Leprous, Polyphia—there’s a technical aspect to those kinds of drummers, they have the mentality of knowing the songs, the song’s structure, and how to be creative and support a band as drummers. I grew up on 80’s hair metal, but I’m also big on artists like Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. I like to experiment with anything that doesn’t have real drums—with rap, as a drummer, I can pull of playing what drum machines make. Looking at drummers who do that is so cool, it adds that acoustic sound to the electronic.”
Meshing a digital sound with an acoustic one seems to be a recurring theme for the band, one which is even referenced through the band’s name itself, Physical Digital:
“The name ‘Physical Digital’ is based off of an old Jim Morrison quote..he said something like, ‘In the future, all music is going to be just DJ’s.’, and I wanted to play with that.”, muses Nation. “I like the idea of rock with a bunch of electronic shit in it…I want to incorporate weird technology in the band that changes the sound of the instruments. I want to play instruments and have them sound completely different and digital.”
“But, we want it to be real and tangible.”, adds Tabitha. “Like, this isn’t just us going on stage and singing along to a track on a Mac computer—in the future, we want to incorporate things like having a voice synthesizer live, or add-on electro harmonics pedals.”
The band’s hybrid approach corresponds with their song-writing process as well. While Jack and Tabitha are technically trained, Andrew and Nation come from a self-taught background. All band members agree that their diversified backgrounds are advantageous, as they each get to bring something different to their process that the other may have missed:
“Book-smart and common-sense smart: the same thing applies to musicians.”, Knight states on the different approaches to songwriting.
Tabitha agrees: “These two guys [Andrew and Nation] have amazing ears for anything, and can come up with complex riffs. Coming from a technical standpoint, it can be a barrier sometimes, but I love the challenge.”, she says. “Figuring out what key the song is in—‘cause sometimes, they might not know right away as they’re coming up with stuff—helps us figure out what we’re doing with the song, and from then on, we can all add.”, explains the keyboardist.
“It’s kind of fun, you have the initial creative burst, and then you get into the details. We’ll usually come up with stuff just jamming on one part of the song.”, says Andrew.
“A lot of the time, we start with a riff or a progression, it’s the circle method: you start with an idea, then you can circle around it, and do anything with it.”, adds Jack.
As for lyrics, the band discloses they are usually the final, albeit crucial, part of the songwriting process:
“Lyrics have always been the last thing, we’re typically writing them as we’re recording the song.”, says Andrew.
“Even when you have lyrics, that might not be everything you contribute to it.”, explains Nation. “At that point, there’s still like a barrier between you and the real world—words are coming out of your mouth—and you have to make sure you want to say that forever.” When it comes to the inspiration behind the band’s written content, the singer explains almost all of it has it’s basis in reality: “Most of it is real—very real. There’s not really a fantasy element to it, it’s all feelings or places that have happened at some point.”
Many of Physical Digital’s songs explore feelings of grief, catharsis, and overwhelming emotions, often juxtaposed against an upbeat, danceable rhythm. One of the first P.D. songs I ever heard—In The Night—features a memorable, groovy, surf-punk beat and tempo that had me listening to the song on repeat for a week back to back… and yet, as I found myself listening more closely past the surface of the song’s catchy rhythm, I was met with unexpectedly morbid and somber lyrics: “My friend died in the night…I don’t know where he’s gonna go, I don’t care, as long as he’s not scared.”
“[In The Night] is about the mixture of emotions that come with processing death: the stages of grief. It’s depressing, there’s a lot of sadness behind the poppy tunes. There’s a line from that song: ‘ When I look at the stars, It’s a fallacy, like melodies on Mars.’ I like that line, because it explores the concept of uncertainty through fallacies—like, the idea that there’s aliens living on Mars, that there are things making sounds; it’s a fallacy...there’s no way to know for sure whether or not it’s true.”, explains Nation.
“That song is so powerful and cathartic, it sounds like a sad woman singing…catharsis is a good way to describe our music, I definitely feel the catharsis of getting powerful emotions out.”, adds Andrew.
Tabitha nods thoughtfully. “I really like Stars In Your Eyes. I like when the two of them scream the lines ‘No stars tonight, only your eyes in mine’ back and forth.”
“You just have to express [it]... If you don’t get it out, it just kind of eats at you.”, says Nation.
Along with compelling and dramatic lyricism, the members of Physical Digital say making use of versatility in sound is another important characteristic of their music. Andrew says of P.D’s track, Little Tents, which features tempo changes from a “straight up groove” to “a little more ambient”: “Dynamic is another keyword for our music. Being able to be quiet and loud in the same song...we’re not confined to any one vibe.”
Members Tabitha and Nation are also fans of Little Tents for its use of cynicism and storytelling to describe the harsh realities of homelessness, as well as the idea that not everyone will be fulfilled by the same carbon-copy lifestyle—that alternative lifestyles, although not absent from hardships, can provide their own source of freedom:
“When [Little] Tents came on…the words really ‘haunt’ a sort of general feeling. It’s a song that evokes the feelings you might have if you were to be presented with the idea of a friend living in a tent, with a sort of ‘upbeat’ nature.”, says keyboardist Tabitha.
“Nothing can show you what being a human is, like seeing somebody in that state,” adds Andrew.
“It’s real, a unique kind of loneliness.”, says Nation. “This song’s a little more vindictive and sarcastic. The lines are: ‘He’s a sucker who lives his life so free, do you agree he should live like you and me?’. I’m saying, like, ‘He doesn’t pay for anything’, but with no money and in this fucked-up system, how does that change those implications?”, the singer muses.
As I mull over the bands’ intriguing responses to my questions behind their storytelling, something catches my eye—a pink, purple, and red clay and resin pin of a beat-up humanoid heart smoking a cigarette, resting on the lapel of Nation’s jacket. I recognize it as Physical Digital’s mascot, one that I’ve seen featured before on the band’s logo and merch.
“Oh yeah, I came up with the logo a while ago. I actually had drawn it out and everything.”, says Nation.
“The idea behind it—a smoking, beat-up heart—it’s supposed to be an empathy thing. Everyone has a heart that makes them do things they shouldn’t do or are bad for them. Maybe their emotions make them fuck up, or they smoke cigarettes, but at the end of the day, everyone has a heart and feels things. And you have to be considerate of that: both of how that makes others act and how your own emotions might take control of you sometimes.”, Andrew ponders.
“[As a band], we want people to have a good time, to consider your emotions. With music, I want it to be a good time—I don’t want somebody to come to a show and be depressed.”, says Nation.
“But at the same time, if that’s what you need, we want people to be able to find catharsis—either at a show or through our music.”, adds Andrew.
Nation agrees: “Right, if you need catharsis through music, come to us; if want to just come have fun and jump around, then, come to us.”, he smiles.
“I want people to be able to get whatever they need to get out of a show, out of us. Like, I want them to be able to say: ‘Whatever was pissing me off, whatever was bothering me, I got out.’”, maintains Andrew.
Tabitha shares the same sentiment: “Laugh, cry, or mosh.”
“I want people to feel understood: it’s important to me that people are heard, from all walks of life.”, Nation affirms.
“It plays into our motto: Heartfelt, Hardcore, Hard-of-Hearing. We’re not trying to say [something about] the music, like, ‘Oh, we’re so fucking hardcore’...what we mean is passion. To us, hardcore doesn’t actually mean the genre, it just means doing something to the fullest. That’s why it comes after ‘Heartfelt’.”, declares Andrew.
So, what advice does this heart-felt group have for an aspiring music journalist, and the world?
“Care about what you’re doing.”, Nation states sincerely.
Likewise, Andrew adds thoughtfully: “Have effort and purpose behind what you’re doing. Do what you love. There will always be time to do things that you don’t love.”
“It’s still hard work, though. You have to have the hard work.”, affirms Tabitha.
“Have the willingness to be uncomfortable. You have to be okay with all of that—you can’t bitch about it.”, says Andrew.
Just what’s next for Physical Digital?
The band was thrilled to tell me that they will be traveling to New York in June to record a new album—which will include both previously released tracks as well as new material—at hardcore-punk band Show Me The Body’s recording studio, Corpus, in NYC.
“We happened to be able to get a slot before they got booked out.”, says Andrew, “We’re looking for true experimentation: the ability to be loud and distorted, and for it to sound good. We’re also planning on putting out a live EP.”
“If you heard Show Me The Body’s music, it sounds good—it sounds great. Some of the best alternative rock music right now… it has an organic feeling, while still being big.”, Nation tells me, speaking on the group’s excitement on the prospect of evolving their sound while at this new studio.
As for touring, Physical Digital tells me the band is definitely trying to step outside of Charlotte and is going to try to play shows in neighboring cities like Asheville and Greenville, probably sometime in the Winter. Next summer, the band hopes they can launch a nationwide tour after the release of their next album, which will be recorded at the Corpus studio.
I’m excited to hear what the band comes up with next, along with the prospect of remastered tracks at an elevated studio. Their sound and musical ability are already great, and with P.D. mentioning aspirations of implementing experimental and electronic elements, I can’t wait to see what some of my old favorites will sound like in their evolved forms. I will definitely be on the lookout for their next release in the coming year.
If you’re a fan of bands who explore a wide variety of sound within their music and expand on genres, I would definitely check out Physical Digital’s discography, which is available on both Spotify and Soundcloud. I mean, seriously, these guys can do anything—from upbeat, funky, dance-punk, to mid-west, experimental, ambient indie the likes of the Pixies and Teen Suicide
Physical Digital will be playing on April 15th in Boone, and April 20th at the Milestone, along with Mike Venom and Scarlett. The band has another show planned for sometime in May, at The Skylark. Be sure to check out a show at your local venue, and remember: Stay heartfelt, hardcore, and hard-of hearing. ;-)