Chicago – Portland twosome PRIORY has been making music lovers dance with their recent album Need To Know, and they certainly had fans dancing in Barbados over the Four of July weekend! The Oregon indie dance duo, comprised of Brandon Rush and Kyle Sears, has been making music since 2009, but it was the 2014 release of “The Weekend” that set off a firestorm, earning them an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Best New Bands met up with Priory at Bonnaroo for a quick talk with Brandon and Kyle about their music, crowd surfing, and craft beers.
One of my favorite tracks on Need To Know is “Lost Gold.” What is this song about?
Brandon: I mean, it’s a story. It’s uh, kind of personal.
Do you want to talk about it?
Brandon: No, not really. [everyone laughs] But I think it’s self-explanatory, and you can go different directions with it. It’s definitely about you know, being in a relationship that people don’t want to see you in.
I also love “Paper Tiger.” Did someone not taking you seriously inspire this song?
Brandon: Yeah, definitely.
Are they taking you serious now?
Brandon: Hopefully not because we don’t take ourselves very seriously. [laughs]
I was listening to Tears For Fears yesterday.
Brandon: We were actually side stage watching that!
Kyle: They are awesome!
You just answered my question! [laughs] I was going to ask if you were fans because I swear I hear 80s influences in your music, like in “Put ‘Em Up.”
Kyle: We’re obsessed with them!
Brandon: They are one of the great duos. Kyle and I engineer, produce, and record everything ourselves, and those guys [do] too. Big fans! We were on the same management for a while, too.
Okay Brandon, talk to me about this infamous crowd surfing incident! I heard you broke a rib.
Brandon: Yeah, I shattered a rib. It was the last gig of our Kooks tour, and there are fifteen year-old girls in the audience. Well you know, their demographic is probably the majority thirteen to twenty, and there are all these young teenage girls in the audience. So I go out to the front of the stage, and I raise my hands up, which is kind of the universal sign for “I’m going to crowd surf.” They all raise their hands and start screaming, so I’m like, “They got me!” I run back a few steps because it was a big jump. It wasn’t one of those “stand on the rail and fall into them.” It was probably like a six-foot separation. I just launched myself out there, and they parted like the Red Sea.
Kyle: I mean he had arms out. It was like Batman.
Brandon: They had arms out, too.
Kyle: But instead of the reaction of keeping him from falling to the ground, they just went down.
Brandon: I saw little teenage fingertips at my sides, like, “Oh, he’s falling.”
I assume you’re better because you surfed today.
Brandon: Yeah, I’m fine now. I’m completely fine now, but sometimes I get nervous because either a crowd is too young – there’s no such thing as too young, but if they’re really young – or if they’re really inebriated, I’ll give them a quick precursor, like, “We’re going to do this. Let’s have a moment. Everybody put your hands up! Dudes come to the front. You guys ready?”
Kyle: Spoon-feeding.
Brandon:Spoon-feeding!
Brandon, I know you’re into beers since you used to run a microbrewery. What beers and breweries are you digging right now?
Brandon: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is my all-time favorite. I love it! And their 120 Minute, but their 90 Minute is incredibly balanced. I want to give a shout out to Foreman Brewery and Loowit, which is actually one of Kyle’s favorites too. Shadow Ninja from Loowit is fantastic. I really also like this place called Gigantic. Their Gigantic IPA is great. They’re out of Portland.
Kyle: So in Portland, we actually have more microbrews per capita than in Munich. We are like a world haven for breweries.
Are there more breweries than coffee shops?
Kyle: I think there are probably more breweries than coffee shops. I don’t know that for a fact, but I’m just going to say it. [laughs]
Brandon: They’re different parts of the day. We love them both equally.
And what new bands are you digging right now?
Brandon: Catfish and the Bottlemen are great.
They played after you. Were you able to catch them?
Brandon: We weren’t able to, but we wanted to.
Kyle: They’re sweet guys.
Brandon: We’ve been following each other around festival circuits. We took their spot at a gig at South By because they weren’t able to make it. We just keep missing them. We love what they do.
Kyle: And they know the Kaiser Chief guys – who we just toured with – because they’re from England.
Brandon: The music community is really small.
They played Chicago not too long ago, and Van was sick. He felt awful that he wasn’t one hundred percent, so he apologized profusely and bought everyone a round of drinks.
Brandon: That’s huge! That’s awesome!
Kyle: What a badass!
Well Brandon and Kyle, you’re pretty badass too! You can keep up with Brandon and Kyle by following PRIORY on Facebook and Twitter. Need To Know is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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