CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 153: PARK RD ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM

Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

New Zealand rising stars PARK RD have released a new single. Every Night is taken from their forthcoming debut album and hears them delivering big The 1975 and Spacey Jane vibes. 

Futuremag Music caught up with Leo Crawshaw-Bond (Guitar / Vocals) to talk about the upcoming album.

FMM: Well, thank you so much for joining me. This is such an exciting time because your band, PARK RD, is about release your first single of the year. How are you feeling?

Leo:Super excited. I love the song. It's probably my favourite one we've ever made, so I'm pretty stoked.

FMM: Do you have any big celebrations planned for the release?

Leo: We're having a party in Auckland and potentially a gig in the same night.

FMM: You mentioned that this is one of your favourite songs. What is it about this song that makes it your favourite?

Leo: It kind of all came together in a really cool way. We were in the studio, and the rest of the band were recording vocals for another song, and I was in another room just, like, making a beat on my computer, and I was really getting into it. I was like, oh, yeah, that's good. Angus, our lead guitarist, came in and it just all came together. We kind of just made the song in, like, an hour, and it's ended up just really hitting.

FMM: That's impressive that it was done in about an hour because I've watched the music video as well and you did a live recording, and it's so catchy. It has so much energy and looks like you guys had fun performing that as well.

Leo: Yeah, the video was super fun to make. I'm really stoked with how it turned out.

FMM: I love the video because it's such a unique concept when you listen to the song and the meaning and then you see the music video. So, tell me more about the music video and how that came about?

Leo: Yeah, so we had this crazy idea that we shot to Dylan Pritchard, who made the video. We had this crazy idea. There was supposed to be aliens and stuff in it. We went way too far, and then he kind of cut it down and was like, okay, we'll include some of the stuff. It ended up having this whole plot to it, which I think turned out really cool.

FMM: Yeah, I agree. I think it turned out really cool as well. I really enjoyed watching it.

Leo: Thank you.

FMM: Now, this release is special because it's not just a single. It's also a preview into your upcoming debut album.. You've released some EPs and singles between 2018 and now, so why is now the perfect time for this album?

Leo: We kind of just thought it was time for an album, really. As you said, we released a few EPs, a couple of EPs and we wanted to go into a project, and it just felt like it was time for an album.

FMM: And other than this single, Every Night, is there any of the other singles we might see make an appearance on the album?

Leo: Yeah, there's going to be one or two more singles, I think one more at the moment called Call Me Up, which also has a really cool music video as well.

FMM: I love that. If the music video is anything like the Every Night music video, it's going to be very fun to see. Can you tell me more about the upcoming album? Is there any main inspirations you guys draw from or what do you reckon this album represents for PARK RD?

Leo: I think the album represents the band as a whole. Every member of the band really put their all into the album, which was kind of a new thing because our last EP we made was more in studio kind of vibes. This time it was like most of the songs came from band practice, from us actually playing the songs as a band and then bringing it to the studio. Som I think this album really represents us as a band on a whole. Everyone put their piece into it, which I really like.

FMM: And I think listening to your music, that comes through as well, seeing those unique tastes and differences come into the final project.

Leo: Yeah.

FMM: So, PARK RD, your music has been described as being similar to The 1975 and Spacey Jane, who are both incredible bands. How do you feel about that comparison when people say they’re the vibes that you're giving off?

Leo: Yeah, well, I think everyone in the band has a really different music taste, but those two bands seem to be the ones that we all kind of agree on. So, I guess that really comes through in our music, but, yeah, Spacey Jane, they were both pretty big inspirations for us. We were lucky enough to go Spacey Jane's New Zealand tour in 2022, I think it was, and it was really inspiring to see them, justtheir whole set up and how they perform.

FMM: Yeah, because you've done some incredible festivals and support acts as well, and you guys recently supported Milky Chance when they were in Auckland. How was that experience?

Leo: That was really fun. They were really nice guys. Yeah, it was really cool. Sold-out crowd, which was really fun to play, too. We were like the only opening act, so everyone was kind of there at the start, which was super fun. I love the Powerstation. It's like my favourite venue. Yes.

FMM: Yeah, that would have been so cool. Part of me was like, I wish I was in Auckland, so I could see you guys open up for Milky Chance.

Leo: Yeah, they were really cool. Such a tight band.

FMM: Other than your release party, that's coming up in Auckland, do you guys have any more shows this year that we can come out and support you at?

Leo: Yep, we're actually playing at the Powerstation again, opening for the band Camino, on the New Zealand tour, which will be super fun. Then we're playing at Homegrown Festival in Wellington in March, which is, I think it's our last festival of the summer, so that'll be a really fun one.

FMM: Amazing. Sounds like you've got a lot in store for the new year between releasing that album and doing some amazing tours.

Leo: Yeah, it's going to be fun. It's going to be a fun time.

FMM: For anyone coming across PARK RD for the first time, can you give a brief introduction to who's in your band? Who the members are, what roles you guys play?

Leo: Okay, so we got Carlos Martin on the bass, we've got Angus on the lead guitar, he shreds. We've got Te Kapua, who plays the drums, and Tom, really tall guy, is our lead singer. And then I'm Leo.

FMM: How long have you guys been playing together for? We've been playing together for, I think it's been five years now. But, we've all known each other since… I think I met Tom when we were like, ten and met the other guys a few years after that. We've all been friends for a very long time.

FMM: That helps when you guys have been friends for a long time, because that way you can perform music, but you're doing it with people that you love as well.

Leo: Yeah, exactly. We're all kind of just friends before anything.

FMM: So this upcoming album, if there was one message that fans could take away from it, what would you hope they take away?

Leo: A good question. A message they would take away? I don't know.

FMM: What do you hope they get out of it?

Loe: To me, it's a bit of a journey. To me, we wanted to create a world inside an album, so I guess that was our goal. Something that someone can listen to and for 40 minutes, they're just like somewhere else.

FMM: And tell me more about this world. Was there a certain theme that you guys are going for or what does this world look like to you?

Leo: Yeah, I think Tom, who wrote most of the lyrics for the album… I think it's really like, to me, it feels quite a young, like, I don't know, growing up sort of thing. I don't know. He would know more than me, but it feels like growing up kind of thing. A lot of it's about love and romance. Just a lot of things you experience young.

FMM: And that's what will make it so relatable to the listeners as well.

Leo: Yeah, I think so.

FMM: Well, we're definitely excited to hear the album because if Every Night is a sample of what's to come, then I'm sure the rest of the album will be great as well.

Leo: Thank you. Yeah, I'm so excited.

FMM: You've obviously got a big year in store, so you're releasing that, you've mentioned that you've got a couple of festivals and shows. Is there any other goals that you guys have as a band for the year?

Leo: Yeah, well, we're hoping to get back to Australia. We were there for SXSW last year in October, so we really just want to get back over to Sydney, come and play some shows. But, yeah, we got the album release. A lot of tours after that.