The Disassociates “A rag tag power punk band from California who banded together because we are starving artists who want to quit their jobs to pursue music.”

Introducing a pop-punk act with a uniquely brilliant anthem of a debut single – The Disassociates take on the heavier topics with a bright sense of melody and pace, for the instantly catchy I Don’t Wanna.

We were blessed with the chance to interview the band, to find out more about the themes behind the song, what got them making music together, and plenty more. Here’s how it went.

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Hi guys – a real pleasure to chat! To introduce things, who are The Disassociates, why this name, and what prompted the start of the band?

Jordan (guitar): Thanks for having us. The Disassociates are a rag tag power punk band from California who banded together because we are starving artists who want to quit their jobs to pursue music. 

Are you guys musically trained or just self-taught friends who connected through music?

Michael (drums): We’ve all been musically trained at some point, and we all took various lessons for years.

Brilliant debut single, my congrats. I Don’t Wanna shifts gears beautifully from the quiet introduction to the pop-punk ferocity of later, all the while keeping things deeply poetic and painfully honest. What was the creative process like for this song, and what do you hope people take away from it?

Brie (vocals): Thank you! I was stuck for a while creatively trying to write lyrics that I thought other people would want to hear. That really held me back as a writer. One day, out of nowhere, the hook came to me when I was stuck in traffic on the 405. From there I just gave myself permission to be fully honest and to write straight from my own weird little head.

In the next day or two following I wrote some of my favorite and most true-to-life music ever. It’s everything I want to say in my “real” life but only feel safe to say when it’s a lyric.

I hope people feel seen when they hear this track. I can’t be the only person who feels or thinks this way, I can’t be the only person who can laugh and cry in the same breath, I can’t be the only person who wants to shout from the rooftops that they are struggling and that the struggle can be annoying! This song is for anyone and everyone who can relate.

There’s a certain joyful colour to the music and performance, which juxtaposes the profound darkness of many of the lyrics – was this an intentional contrast, to soften the blow, or is it more about enjoying the escapism of music whilst keeping things real?

Brie: ooh, this is a fun question. I kind of see myself as an angsty or sad clown. I like to strike a balance between being funny and being dead serious – that’s true in all things, not just songwriting. I try to keep front-of-mind the motto “if it’s not funny, it’s just sad”. I don’t want to write songs that are just sad or just clever or just anything.

“I kind of strive to create a tolerable emotional whiplash because life is an emotional tilt-a-whirl.”

I want people to wonder “am I supposed to cry? Is it okay to laugh? Ugh, that IS infuriating!” because the whole point of the song, and really the album, is that those things can co-exist. So yeah, if the song wasn’t upbeat or catchy it would kind of just be a bummer.

You reflect on Instagram about sharing such deeply personal lyrics. Do you ever really worry about sharing so much in your writing, or is authenticity important?

Brie: There is a part of me that fears certain people hearing certain songs or even certain lyrics, and there’s a bigger part of me that worries about people taking away the wrong message from the lyrics and missing the point entirely, but the biggest part of me is creative and crazy and isn’t going to let what anybody thinks or says inhibit me from doing or saying whatever the heck I want whenever the heck I want.

This is an account of my life; it feels and sounds like this. If you don’t dig it, lucky you, you don’t have to live like this. But I will say I still get flustered when I think about the time that I played our songs for my boss. That was a little embarrassing.

Where can fans catch you performing live soon, and how does the stage experience compare for you to studio time?

Michael: We’ll be performing at our album release in January in LA and around Bakersfield. The album recordings are very much true to our live shows, high energy and full of life. 

What would be your dream venue or event to grace the stage of, and why?

Jordan: Red Rocks is a dream of ours for sure. MSG is on the bucket list. We’ll play anywhere, please book us.

Is there a longer project on the way, or any other exclusives you can give?

Justin (bass): Our music video for I Don’t Wanna is coming very, very soon, our next single 30 mgs is coming next month, and our full-length album is coming early next year.

What’s something about the band that would surprise listeners?

Michael: We all have very different musical influences and interests. If you combined our tastes, it really wouldn’t sound anything like what we sound like as a band.  

Do you guys ever disagree creatively, and if so, how do you overcome that?

Brie:

“When we disagree creatively, we try to break each other mentally until someone concedes. Then we talk smack about each other for months afterward.”

What’s your plan of action for 2024?

Justin: Play as many shows as we can, hop on a tour or two, play some festivals, really get The Disassociates live experience out to the world. 

What’s the best part of being a Disassociate?

Michael: It’s all bad. Please send help. 

Is there anything else we should know?

Jordan: We are really serious about wanting to quit our jobs to do this full time. Please support us so we can do that. It’s for the good of the planet.

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Find all things The Disassociates or follow them on Instagram & TikTok.