The Future Era of Belmont
By Mickayla Whitt
Graphic by Emily Lantzy
The Chicago five-piece band Belmont recently signed to Pure Noise Records and released a new single, “By My Side.” The group just completed the Nella Vita tour with Grayscale, and at their hometown date in Chicago, I had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about the tour, as well as what is coming next for the band.
So you guys just signed with Pure Noise. Does that mean there’s some new stuff on the horizon?
Alex Wieringa: Very much so, very much so! We’ve got a lot of new things coming up within the next couple of months that we’re super stoked about.
For sure! You guys just released the single “By My Side,” how has it been playing it live and getting to see the crowd’s response?
Sam Patt: It’s been great!
AW: The response has been awesome for sure! I feel like every show has been a bit more and more people jazzed about it as we play it.
Jason Inguagiato: We soundcheck with it, so it's fun to see who knows it at soundcheck and stuff.
SP: It was released on the tour, so we couldn’t really practice it before the tour, so we’ve been practicing it like 3 or 4 times at soundcheck every day.
So did you guys not play it the first couple dates until you released it?
All: No.
AW: It was actually a complete secret until we released it since it paired with signing to a new label.
Has it been hard having to play a new song, or are you excited about getting to play it?
Brian Lada: Kind of!
AW: It’s been hard, but it’s also been super fun. We work out the kinks every night and stuff, and I feel like it keeps getting tighter every time we play it, so.
BL: We’re definitely just starting to get used to it.
You guys just finished playing a hometown show, how was that?
JI: It was definitely a great show; it was great getting to see some familiar faces and everyone going crazy.
AW: I actually saw you crowdsurfing a couple of times! That was sick seeing you up there so many times! I saw you got dropped during “Overstepping” though, are you doing okay?
Yeah, I’m doing okay! It wasn’t too bad of a fall.
AW: That’s good! I’m glad you’re alright!
For sure! So, it’s been about a year since your self-titled album came out, has it been fun being able to ride out the era of a debut album?
BL: It’s been absolutely amazing getting to see how much we’ve grown.
SP: It’s gotten comfortable, but it’s still great.
AW: Yeah, we’ve done a lot of touring since we released the album. Every tour, it’s just like more and more people respond to it. Like some of the songs on the album become some of our most hyped songs.
So kind of like staple songs?
AW: Yeah exactly! It’s like, we toured for Between You & Me pretty much exclusively for like two years almost, so just touring off like five songs to being able to have, y’know, a solid six or seven more songs you can play every night feels great.
JI: It’s a lot more fun too!
Can you tell us about anything new on the horizon?
AW: We do have a couple of more singles on the horizon that are gonna be released periodically throughout the next couple of months, so we have some fun stuff to keep track of.
SP: Yeah, we have a few more songs to drop and an album next year, so that’s the timeline, kind of.
Any tours in the plan currently for that album?
AW: Oh definitely, things are really starting to come together right now for next year.
SP: There’s definitely going to be a lot of touring next year, like the amount of touring we did this year... at least the same amount or more.
JI: We’re just trying to keep it going as much as we possibly can right now really is what it is. As much as we can do, we’ll do it.
AW: We’re a band that strives to be on the road six to eight months of the year, like we wanna be out there!
That’s so much! I was exhausted after following only two weeks of the last tour!
JI: I felt that!
AW: We all may also have a death wish while doing it, but it’s still one of my favorite things about being in a band.
SP: We’re conditioned for it though, you gotta think like even if it’s a ten hour drive, if three people go in on that, it’s so much easier!
Speaking of touring, you guys are about to tour with Real Friends soon, are you getting pumped for that?
SP: We get to go to Europe for our first time!
AW: Across the pond!
JI: I’ve never been, so it’s gonna be great getting to see some places I’ve always wanted to go.
AW: Have you ever been?
I have!
AW: Do you have any tips?
Fix your sleep schedule as SOON as possible.
AW: True, I didn’t even think of that.
BL: Oh god, we’re all so bad!
AW: I think out of all of us, I’ll have the least amount of problems.
JI: Oh, you’ll be fine.
AW: I can sleep at like any point in time honestly. Anywhere, anytime, all day.
So are you guys doing EU in general, or just the UK?
SP: It’s like mainly UK with Belgium, Netherlands, and I think there’s another place?
JI: Germany!
AW: We have like a week and a half in the UK to explore and everything is super close, so I can’t wait to explore.
BL: I can’t wait to sightsee as much as we possibly can!
Do you think it’s going to be different playing in a completely different country?
AW: It’s gonna be super interesting with the crowds for sure. It’s going to be kids that we’ve never seen on a completely different continent, which is going to be super cool.
SP: You never know what shows are going to be like here, and we have an established fanbase, so it’s going to be sick getting to see what it’s like over there.
AW: It’s people on the totally other side of the planet and their mindset may be different. Like the music and our set could be interpreted completely different.
BL: I think it’s going to be great seeing some international fans.
AW: It’s just kind of crazy knowing people in different countries want to hear our music and see us live. We’ll have to see the response since we don’t know yet.
SP: Exactly, hopefully it goes well.
JI: Grayscale is on the tour too, and those are our homies now, so it’s gonna be sick!
I’m sure it’s going to be interesting getting to move into the next era. Are you guys ready to move on, or are you not ready to say goodbye to the self-titled era?
AW: I am totally ready to move on from self-titled.
JI: I’m not sure if I am!
AW: I wanna move on and I wanna make cool shit.
SP: Exactly! Only cooler shit is coming.
AW: I mean, we’re never gonna truly say goodbye to self-titled. We’re always gonna play songs off of it for the rest of our lives.
BL: I’m super excited to just move on to the next thing and keep it rolling.
AW: The rush that rolling onto a new album gives you, like the fun of having people find your music and growing as a band too. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.
Well, the last thing I have to ask is somewhat cliche, but I have to know. Favorite and least favorite song to play live?
SP: I love this question; okay, let’s go down the line! I would say my favorite is probably “Convalescence” because it is a fun song to play on guitar and the crowd goes hard for it and we always try to get people to do a circle pit beforehand or something. So that’s really fun. Least favorite is probably “BMC.” I like that song a lot, but I personally feel like the energy kind of goes down a little bit before it, so that’s probably my least favorite. But that being said, I love “BMC” as a song, so no hate, no hate!
JI: Favorite? Probably “Pushing Daisies,” it’s always really hype and the crowd goes stupidly crazy. It’s so sick! Least favorite, “BMC,” easy. I play the same fucking chords the entire song, it sucks!
Do all of you just hate “BMC?”
AW: I LOVE “BMC!”
SP: It’s just us two I guess!
JI: What about you, Brian?
BL: Right now I’d probably say “By My Side” is my favorite just because it’s new. It wasn’t my favorite, but it’s recently my favorite. Literally just because it’s new and there’s a lot going on. Least favorite, we played it for half of this tour and other tours, and it’s definitely “Solitude.”
SP: I love “Solitude!”
BL: Only because on drums, it’s really tiring and my hands are always cramping up.
AW: He’s going crazy when we play it! Respect, dude! Playing “Albert” for me is such a pain in the ass because there’s so many demanding harmonies. And I’m singing and playing the whole time it’s so much going on.
SP: There’s a lot of demanding harmonies!
AW: My favorite is probably a tie between “Hollowed Out” and “Pushing Daisies.” My least favorite is “731.”
SP: Damn! I have a fun time playing that
AW: In my opinion it’s just kind of slow, I’ve also just been playing it for so long. That’s been a ride or die track. Out of the set we played today, tie between “Pushing Daisies” and “Hollowed Out” is my favorite just because they’re both so incredibly hype and very punchy right from the start.
With new things on the horizon, Belmont are on the path for even greater things coming. Be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming music from them, go check out the new single “By My Side,” and see them on tour with Sleeping With Sirens across the USA in 2020!