Premium Heart

Photo by, Elle Riccardi

Meet Premium Heart

Between Nick, David, Ryan, and Keith there is a whole lot of magic. The Four make up the hard-rocking thoughtful band Premium Heart. Originating in NYC the band’s music manages to match its unrelenting energy and intensity with pristine clarity. In our latest interview, we chat with Premium Heart about their latest album Kosciuszko and some other fun stuff.

A self-portrait by Dave of Premium Heart

Would You Rather

only be able to buy things with coins or by trading random objects? Please explain.

Ryan: Definitely coins. Even though they'd be really heavy, I'm a big collector and Toy Story fan so I have a pretty hard time letting go of anything around me, no matter how trivial.

Nick: I'd rather have to carry around coins. If I get enough of them, I could put them into a pool and dive into it like Scrooge McDuck.  

Some Questions with Premium Heart

If you could create your own Ben and Jerry’s flavor, what would it be?

Dave: The Good Morning (Coffee ice cream with butterscotch and Oreo crumbs)

Ryan: "Just Two More Spoonfuls" - Chocolate ice cream with salted peanut butter swirl and fudge chunks but it'd be just a little bit larger than a regular pint because I have no self control

Nick: Passion of the Christ. Rum raisin and passion fruit  

What was the creative drive behind your upcoming album “Kosciuszko”?

Dave: For me, at the time, it was one of the only escapes I had from my life and where I could truly feel myself and be happy. That feeling was my drive.

Ryan: When I joined the band and started adding to the stuff Nick and Dave were working on, I was really struggling to make sense of a lot of stuff going on. I was pissed at a lot of things, for sure, but there was also this sadness and disappointment in a lot of people around me and the mental gymnastics they used to defend the indefensible. I tried to capture that worried sadness and wrap it in a punchy anger, both lyrically and through my bass, and try to make some sense of it. I was feeling really overwhelmed by so many emotions and I tried to send the message that that's not just ok, but normal to feel and that no one listening was alone. Plus, we wanted to try to establish a platform and a safe space to be able to speak out about issues that mattered to us and donate all the money we could. All the money we make selling this record goes to the ACLU. We don't want to be a band with a conscience, we want to be a conscience with a band, you know?

Nick: Kosciuszko is more or less about the unique loneliness of living in New York during a uniquely lonely time. Me and Dave had been playing in Ghost Pressure for years, playing in Long Island and getting sick of Long Island, and playing in Brooklyn and Manhattan and getting sick of that, too. Trying to stay involved but feeling disconnected. We wanted to make new music more than anything so we set out to do it. The passions and goals of other Ghost Pressure members weren't exactly lining up with ours, so we wanted an outlet where we were free from any expectations. There are a lot of lyrics about escape, and loneliness, and what New York City is supposed to be as opposed to what it really is now. We tried hard to contextualize everything in the upsetting political climate we were in since 2016, especially since Ryan joined up. Of course, politics just got crazier since then. We're in a tragic age, and we want to acknowledge it, I guess. We've just been donating money from our releases and trying to kind of push the needle back with whatever we make. We're all working guys, by no means rich, but we get by. None of us ever really made a dime doing music anyway so we all agreed that it would be best to put the money toward organizations like Black Table Arts, the ACLU, and so on. At least they could put it to good use

What are your thoughts on streaming platforms? Have they helped or hindered the industry?

Dave: Hindered. Physical copies of music are at an all-time low. Record stores are losing business and the musicians themselves aren’t getting what they deserve.

Ryan: I think the streaming platforms could be good at elevating independent and often marginalized voices outside of the "safe" corporate structure of major labels, but for the most part, they're just ruled by profit-driven algorithms that give even less power and money to the people that deserve it. I think overall they're a hindrance. 

Nick: The music industry has been in disrepair for a hundred years, streaming services are just the newest way that it's become a mess. What's upsetting is that at the turn of the millennium, there was all of this promise about music sharing being the way of the future. It was easy to imagine sweating record company executives and a global, supportive music community. Like everything else that tech companies touch, the big streaming companies stuck themselves in the middle of that community and removed the humanity from it to some extent. I think that the music communities exist, but there's so much in the way. You have to devalue your work to play the game and take music as a wash. All of the money in the music industry is already accounted for. I wish there was more of an emphasis on local music in general. I think that kind of grassroots organizing is crucial to bringing real change to the music industry, but it's so hard to look around your own neighborhood for music when the whole world's output is one degree removed. It's easy to just go back to what you've always known, what's comfortable.  

Was there a spark or catalyst that brought this project together?

Dave: Nick and I started writing an album together because we had a lot of ideas and other projects we were in were stagnant at the time. Everyone in the band has done music together at some point and it just made the most sense for this band to happen.

Ryan: Nick and I played in bands together years ago and I was pretty out of the local scene for a while and I was dying to get back in. So when Nick and Dave had a new project they were starting, especially after I saw them do a really great Nirvana cover set right after the Kavanaugh hearings, I knew I had to jump at the chance to work with them. And once Keith joined, it took it to an entirely new level. It was a perfect fit from day one.

Nick: We've been writing and playing together for ages in different projects. It was just a matter of time before this bunch got together. I trust them all, as people and as artists  

Is writing lyrics a cathartic experience for you?

Dave: Yes, sometimes it's the only way I can express how I really feel about something.

Ryan: Yeah, they've been a really huge help for me, especially lately. This is the first time I've ever written for someone else's voice and it's been really great collaborating with Nick on lyrics and it's made me much better at expressing myself. Usually, I just end up giving long, dramatic speeches to my friends, but now, I get to just get Nick to yell those things at them through a microphone instead.

Nick: Not really! I find it very hard to put words to my thoughts. That's kind of why I like music, sometimes you can get the point across without saying anything at all. Sometimes you can make a different point by writing music against what you're saying. It gets confusing and I overthink it a lot. Ryan and Dave help me a lot with that. Lyric writing is very collaborative with us, thank goodness.  

Have you done/do you plan on doing any live streams during the lockdown? If so how did it go?

Dave: We have been focusing mainly on writing and what our next steps are going to be. But maybe in the future.

Ryan: Same as Dave. I miss playing live a lot, but it's been cool focusing on writing lately.

Nick: That's not really in the future for us right now. We’re trying to keep making new stuff. It's hard to fake the kinetic energy of playing live. I understand why people are doing it, but it seems like a waste to me. There's plenty of other things to do, creatively.

What are your hopes for the NYC music scene post lockdown?

Dave: We have been working on a lot of new songs and ideas. I’m excited to get back on stage with a bunch of new stuff and finally get to play some of these songs live. But only when it’s safe to do so.

Ryan: I'm hoping people realize how much live music rules; I know I'm certainly gonna be going to way more shows once it's safe. I'm just hoping the venues and the people who make live music happen, like crew, staff, etc, can get the help they need to make it through this. I'm definitely going to try to never take them for granted again.

Nick: I hope normal people have a renewed value for the small guys. But I'm a pessimist, so I imagine that it's going to end up with Billy Joel making a billion dollars at MSG and all the small spots will be boarded up. I hope I'm wrong.  

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Dave: Just want to thank you guys for taking the time to listen and hear about us!

Ryan: Make sure you check your voter registration and vote if you're able! And not just now, but stay engaged and hold people in power accountable to make our society more equitable and fair for everyone, no matter who's in power or what level of power they're at.

Nick: I think everyone should be practicing their empathy toward other people. It's in short supply right now. It's hard for everybody now, but it's harder for some. Black lives matter.