REAPER
First single from Joyboys In The Grindhouse
Credits:
Devin James Fry, guitar and vocals
Grant Himmler, bass, synthesizers, and programming
Garrett Hellman, guitar
Marc Henry, drums
Produced and recorded by Grant Eppley at Hen House Recording in Austin, Texas
Video by Lightstream Media. Filmed by Evan Michael Crowley and edited by Chandler Jowell
Cover photo by Dylan O'Connor
Devin James Fry on the writing of Reaper:
"This hurt a bit to write, and still occasionally to listen to, but that's what clued me in that it might be worth doing.
Am I what the reaper reaps, or am I the reaper? Who has control?"
These were my rock bottom mirror questions. It took me a few of those moments, over a span of years, to finally make the decision to stop drinking alcohol, which was damaging me and my relationships.
After one such moment, I stepped outside and into a genuinely
terrifying hallucination, as I sing in the second verse:
Midday, in the haze of a trash fire
hover neon mouths singing
once you were in love, now you're in fear
Who has control?
I came to see that last bit as a question of self-determination, kinda: if I am going to die, and of course I am, I would like to stand a chance of that event taking place on my own terms. Not while I am absent from my own skull. Likewise, if some process or relationship begins or ends in my life, I would like to have a say in that, if I may.
By drinking to intoxication as I did for years, I was willingly forfeiting my experiences, and increasingly my existence, hour by unrealized hour, letting it all become fodder for an anonymous, meaningless reaper.
I want to live my own life -- up to and including, if possible, the leaving of it.
I'd rather be my own reaper, thanks.
More about Name Sayers' new album:
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Joyboys In The Grindhouse
Produced by Grammy nominee Grant Eppley (for Spoon's Lucifer On The Sofa)
Mastered by Steve Fallone & Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound NJ
Featuring guitarist Wayne Kramer and rappers Chris Conde and E-Turn
Singles: "Reaper," "Lioness,"
"Three Will Grow Back (ft. Wayne Kramer, Chris Conde, and E-Turn,"
and "Gravedancer (ft. Chris Conde)"
Joyboys In The Grindhouse will be released in July of 2023.
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Name Sayers is pleased to announce the July 2023 release of Joyboys In The Grindhouse. The album marks a pop evolution for the band, incorporating elements of psych rock, hip hop, synth pop, and cumbia, and featuring guest appearances from guitarist Wayne Kramer of The MC5, Brooklyn rapper Chris Conde, and Orlando rapper E-Turn. The album was produced by Grammy nominee Grant Eppley (for Spoon's Lucifer On The Sofa).
Name Sayers' personell includes Devin James Fry on vocals and various instruments, Grant Himmler on bass, Garrett Hellman on guitar, and Marc Henry on drums.
"We made some brutal pop songs," says Fry, "and celebrated everyone's creative input along the way. Joyboys dips in and out of sonic worlds while still being very much a Name Sayers joint."
The band has a history of organizing, producing, and promoting successful destination shows, including supporting the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and Matt Sweeney collaboration, Superwolves, in the towering main chamber of Longhorn Caverns, and the Black Angels' Alex Maas, in the picturesque desolation of a Texas ghost town.
The taut lyrics of Joyboys In The Grindhouse touch on sex, psychonautic tour experiences, self-medication for social anxiety, and the resiliency which can result from sustained political resistance.
The album's title nods to both a wry sense of camp that imbues the project and to Fry's hands-on profession as a surgical instrument sharpener. Fully 49 songs were written, demoed, and culled to the 11 that constitute Joyboys.
"In making a record, as in sharpening," says Fry, "you grind away what you don't need."
The album cover, meticulously photographed in the style of a Dutch Old Master by Dylan O'Connor, features such disconcerting preparations as a chocolate-drenched ham, dangerous utensils, wires suspended in melting Jello, a salad dressed with cigarette butts, and other details.
"It's a Carravagio of ruin, like most of life," says Fry. "You either laugh or die even sooner."
Joyboys In The Grindhouse will be available as an audiophile 180-gram LP, as well as digitally and on CD.
-June 2023
