10 Questions with ... Johnnyswim

1. How would you use to describe last year? What were some of the highlights?

Last year was one of the toughest years for us, and also one of the most successful and most fun. Highlights were definitely playing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. That was kind of like a dream come true. Being kids and watching it every year, and finally getting to see New York City from that point of view was pretty epic. That was probably my highlight. It was a difficult year, too. It was a growing year. We worked a lot. We created a lot. We were on the road a lot. We were tired a lot. It prepared us for an exciting 2017.

2. Growing up, did you both always want to be musicians?

Yes, we were musical before getting together, but we didn't realize, when we met and first kind of started having feelings for one another, that either one was musical. We kind of just liked each other first and then found out that we were both into the same things on the second round of getting to know each other.

3. How did you come up with your band name? Was it difficult to figure out something that represented you two and your sound?

Johnnyswim does not represent ourselves as individuals or as a sound whatsoever. We were having a discussion one day with a publicist or actually it was somebody we were set to meet up with to help us kind of navigate the future of starting a band together

This person was telling us how important a band name was; it's the forward-facing piece, that it needs to be exactly that, something that represents you and your sound. People hear the name of the band and they get it. They know what you're going to do and they know what they're going to get into. We thought that was silly!

We picked Johnnyswim out of thin air to prove a point that band names don't matter. To further that point, we made it one word, so that it would seem to have some meaning. If it represents us, it's just because you've heard the music before and you can attach the name to it.

4. How does your latest collection, Georgica Pond, show the musical growth you've had since your 2014 album Diamonds?

One of the key things we wanted when we went into creating Georgica Pond was to have patience and to take our time. A lot of it we produced together. It feels like it's a slightly more mature approach. Us being together and working on music together, we don't know one without the other. There wasn't a ton of challenges for us 'cause it's really how we built our whole relationship.

5. What kind of things are challenging and/or easy for husband and wife bands?

For us, we have a lot of fun. It wasn't like we were already a couple and then we were like, "Oh what if we wrote some songs together and then, you know, start from there?" When we first met, we were friends and we had a ton of fun together. We'd write songs and we had fun writing songs, then we'd play for people.

6. How do you go about writing songs together?

Writing songs together, one of us will walk in the room and have an idea. And it goes from there.

7. You're currently touring in support of Georgica Pond, how's it been going?

It's going amazing. We've had our highest ticket sales. It's the most successful tour we've ever had. It's the most exciting. Our fans are so passionate. We love our fans so much. I love that you come to a Johnnyswim show and it's so diverse. The whole demographic, age, race, sex, everything.

We leave in a couple weeks for our first European tour, where we will headline shows going from Sweden to London, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands to Brussels.

8. Who are some of your favorite artists?

Kasey Musgraves, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill, Chilly Gonzales, to name a few.

9. When you aren't performing or working in the studio, what do you like to do for fun?

We love having people over at our house, cooking together, talking, sharing life together. That's how we unwind, being with family. Not just the family we're born into, but the family we choose as well.

10. At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message in your music?

We hope people feel seen, that they feel known, and that they feel loved, when they listen to a Johnnyswim album. When to come to Johnnyswim concert. Not all art should have the same purpose, but all art serves the same role in that we capture a moment of feeling, whatever the feeling could be, of the litany of the variety of the colors of human emotion, interaction and experience.

Interview by Leah Brungardt