INTERVIEW: little image
Photograph by Tyler Krippaehne
NOVEMBER 11TH, 2022 | BY ELINA CARRASCO
Dallas based trio, little image made the best of their isolation and put their heart into their music, including their new single “Blue.” The group got their start in music during their high school days. Eight years later they found themselves touring arenas with Panic at the Disco, Bad Suns and Switchfoot. The alt-pop group consists of Jack Simmons on vocals/guitar, Troy Bruner on drums and Brandon Walters on bass/synth. We sat down to talk about their tour life, writing process and their overall goals as young musicians.
You guys performed your first headlining show in LA last recently, how did that go?
Jack: It was a very special, fun, intimate show, it was great!
How does LA compare to your hometown Dallas, Texas?
Brandon: A little scarier I think, just because you feel like people in LA tend to be a little more “industry.” People are a little desensitized to what- good music. So I feel like you gotta really earn it. Last night felt like we pushed through. It was really great. There’s a different energy in Dallas where we’re from so we can’t wait to go back.
You mention “good music” , what does that mean to you?
Troy: LA has great music, I think the industry side of it gets so in the way, you know? Like when you’re a kid, first hearing a record, there’s nothing like that out here anymore. I think good music just for us is something you can attach yourself to, without any strings, it’s just something you believe in and love and it makes you feel something. We want that for our people and our shows.
Jack: different cities just take it differently, you know, cause they either see live music all the time or they don’t see it at all. So yeah it’s special both ways, but it’s always fun playing those cities where they don’t really see a ton of live music.
So say you’re in a city with a crowd that doesn’t experience a lot of live music, how do you handle a bored crowd?
Jack: I would say we kind of just become one with the crowd. We just kind of make everyone comfortable, cause you can tell if there’s an uncomfortable feeling in the room, you have to break down that wall. Like hey we’re all just here vibing, you know? Dance, don’t dance, it’s gonna be great and we’ll just go as hard as we can. If they’re not into it, we’re so into it that it doesn’t even matter. If one person is vibing with us, that’s all you need.
You guys got into music in high school and now you guys are opening for bands like Bad Suns, Panic at the Disco, Switchfoot and Colony House, how does that make high school you feel?
Jack: We can’t believe it.
Troy: We wouldn’t have believed it.
Brandon: It's so humbling, it doesn’t feel real.
Have you guys had a moment where you were taken aback by all this, can you think of any specific times?
Jack: The St Louis show was pretty surreal
It was the first show we played with Panic and it was our first arena show. It was kind of just like how did we get here? The whole time leading up to the show we were kind of just like ‘this is not happening, that’s not a real thing that’s happening.’ It didn’t even feel real until after, it took me a whole day of processing.
With these big arena shows, how do you guys deal with pre-show nerves, do you still get nervous?
Jack: We get pre-show nerves for sure but when we get on stage it kind of goes away. Like it kind of builds up momentum then you’re on the stage and for some reason you’re just relaxed
Brandon: You just have to put yourself out there. To me that’s the worst part of the night, is the 30 minutes right before. Then you get out there and it feels like the stage is your home. You’re there to invite people into that space. That’s what we’re about, we want people to feel like they’re a part of the band, yeah it’s cool.
Does that play into your writing? Is the process internal or are you trying to send a specific message to your audience?
Troy: It’s kind of a mixture
Jack: Yeah I think we just want people to experience something for themselves, you know? There’s something so special about releasing music because it gives someone something to relate to in whatever their way of translating it is. So of course every song comes from a personal experience or something we’re passionate about but it’s out there for people to tell us ‘it means this to me’ and it doesn't even matter what it means to us if it means so much to someone in that way. That’s a beautiful way that we like to present our music.
Troy: We want people to feel something bigger through the music. We’re trying to write something that makes you feel something outside of us. We want you to feel good but we’re all about asking hard questions and digging into your life
Who has been your favorite band to open up for?
All: Switchfoot
Brandon: Switchfoot has been our favorite growing up and those guys are just so sweet.
So when you went on tour with them how did you break down that wall between a fan and a mentor and turn it into a coworker type relationship?
Brandon: I haven’t been able to, Troy might be able to tell you.
Troy: we’re kind of just friends with them which is even weirder.
Jack: They've been so kind and they always reach out to offer help however they can. They’ve been where we’re at like in the early stages of a band. It’s really special.
Brandon: they’re just so intentional and you know this is hard, we all have lives and there’s a lot that goes into touring and being away. Just having dudes that have been there and done it for so long, that are willing to offer advice and real life conversations, that doesn’t happen a ton.
With touring being so stressful, how do you guys keep yourself grounded and keep it fun?
Jack: It’s impossible to have a routine everyday, but one thing we like to do everyday is get coffee. The one thing that we can do together is sit down and just be with each other. Another thing is being open and honest with communication, it’s easy to get under each other's skin. We like to nip it in the bud and hug it out.
What can you tell us about the new single “Blue” coming out soon?
Jack: 2020 was obviously the worst year in the world ever but it gave us an opportunity to hone in on what we wanted to make and finish what we started. We started writing pretty much before the pandemic, it gave us time to hone in the record.
Troy: There's really no time for recording on tour, so we’ve been in the slow process of making it come to life. It’s pretty exciting and it’s been a three year journey. We’re ready to put it out.
Brandon: We wrote “Blue” pre-covid and during covid, “Blue” changed like six times. The meaning of it changed throughout so it’s cool when you go back and see how music got you through those times and you get some clarity.
Jack: It’s cool how your perspective on songs you’ve written can change. That song involves so much, we added the bridge and we had a whole new meaning for the song. It’s just cool that as you grow your mind sees it a little different.
Troy: For us the new record is a big step in creating a world for people to live in. For the whole band, it’s about being a part of something much bigger than yourself. That’s the vision behind our next step, to make it accessible for everyone. Asking those hard questions and digging into life. Everyone’s here to embrace humanity and that’s what inspires us most.
What do you want people who see this to know?
We just want people to feel loved and accepted and in a world where disagreement makes people feel like they’re not accepted. At our shows we want everyone to come together and feel loved no matter what.
Troy: No polarization.