Age seasoned with time can be major factors for gradual change.
For Joyce Manor guitarist/vocalist Barry Johnson, the combination has had a subtle impact on the band in recent years.
“It’s like your personality changing or your hair growing; you don’t really notice it happening,” Johnson said during a recent phone conversation with The Blade. “It definitely wasn’t a conscious decision. It’s just something that’s gradually been happening.”
The indie pop-punk band makes its way to Toledo on Saturday for a performance at Frankies Inner-City, 308 Main St.
The age factor Johnson refers to is reflected in his band’s fourth full-length album, Cody. The song “Eighteen” includes Johnson singing the line “I feel so old today,” and on the track “Stairs,” he sings, “Yeah, I’m 26, and I still live with my parents, oh I can’t do laundry, Christ, I can’t do dishes.”
Earlier in its career, Joyce Manor was all about playing loud, fast, and recording albums quickly. That changed with Cody.
Known for its short albums and even shorter songs, usually ranging 1-to-2 minutes in length, Joyce Manor’s fourth full-length album was recorded over two months and clocked in at a whopping 24 minutes.
“It was just completely different,” Johnson says. “It’s a different game when you’re spending that much time and making sure each part is executed perfectly.”
Cody Sizemore, talent buyer and promotions for Innovation Concerts, said tickets sold fast.
Joyce Manor’s career trajectory has taken it from a small acoustic act to a band with Epitaph Records knocking at its door — the home for bands such as Descendents, Weezer, and Dropkick Murphys.
“[Joyce Manor] has been killing it as far as branding and making a name for themselves,” Sizemore said.
Cody also brought personnel changes.
Drummer Kurt Walcher, who contributed to the band’s first three albums, was replaced by Jeff Enzor. The band also recorded its first acoustic track, “Do You Really Want to Not Get Better.”
“It felt like a new band,” Johnson says, adding fans also heard a more “reserved” sound after Joyce Manor released its cover of the National’s “Mistaken For Strangers” last year.
He noted, “It definitely has made me more curious and more confident to explore those kinds of ideas.”
Whether it was recording the songs at slowed down beats per minute or a maturer reflection on life courtesy of being older, Johnson believes Cody encapsulates exactly where Joyce Manor should be at this stage in its career.
“There’s something that happens to people emotionally when they hear certain chord changes,” Johnson says.
“There’s something magical about it and I don’t really understand why it’s so effective. I’m always trying to find the perfect one and there’s some kind of mysterious element there that fascinates me.
“[Producer Rob Schnapf] wanted to do things his way and we wanted to respect his process,” he said of recording Cody. “I think we came up with a great record.”
Saturday’s show starts at 7 p.m. and includes AJJ, formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad, as an opening band. Tickets are sold out.
Contact Geoff Burns at: gburns@theblade.com or 419-724-6110.
First Published February 3, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
