Pep Rally, known for their pop-rock sound and featuring the talented duo of Tommy Joyner and Emily Roane, is set to once again take the Philly area by storm with back-to-back shows later this week.
On March 6, the band will hit The Fallser Club in East Falls to play the Fallser Winter Music Festival before making their way to Ardmore the next day for a show at The Nail.
Before the musical two-piece hits the Philly area with their back-to-back performances, Metro caught up with Tommy Joyner to discuss the origins of Pep Rally and what to expect from their upcoming shows.
You’ve been in the industry for over 30 years, can you walk us through how Pep Rally came together as a project?
Well, first I want to say I’ve been lucky to be able to work on other people’s records for so long. I’ve had some major highlights — being in the room with Zach Bryan while he’s writing, recording Dave Matthews while he’s writing solo material, recording guitars and vocals for James Taylor, recording Ashanti and hanging out with Irv Gotti… but the funny thing is that as my career working for other people took off, I worked on my own music less and less. I mean, like, not at all. So you could say that this music has been brewing for quite a while.
I feel like I should say that all the the songs are new, we’re writing them as we go, so the material is fresh and now. We decided that the project should be uplifting and fun with big choruses that sound happy, but with lyrical content that’s more thoughtful and even troubling. Sometimes being angry is very motivating. I was writing the songs and learning to sing solo and then I met Emily and Pep Rally became this bad-assed two-piece rock band.
You previously said making music for yourself, as in with Pep Rally, re-energized you. What is it about this project that has done so for you?
It feels like we discovered a different way of making music. I mean, I still record ideas into my phone, and Emily, and I jam them out and workshop them…but when there’s just two of us, and we’re covering all the parts, it makes us think so hard, and we have become absolute assassins on unnecessary accompaniment. After making music the same way for so long, that has been incredibly energizing. The way we relate to the music as multi-instrumentalists has been a revelation, and the songs feel different to any music I’ve ever made.
Can you talk a bit about Emily, how you found this paring and your chemistry in pep rally?
Emily and I met at an open jam at Shere Punjab in Media. She’s from the Midwest, and I’m not from Philly either — I grew up in the South — so I think we have a similar sensibility and excitement about meeting other musicians in this incredible city. Emily is an excellent musician, she has a masters in percussion and plays drums, piano, and sings — all at the same time. We wanted to do something that has never been done, but it took meeting each other to realize that. And then we did, and POW!
Can we expect any type of preview of the new album at the upcoming show(s)?
You’ll hear some of the singles that have already been released like ‘Clubbing On The Moon,’ ‘Roll Around,’ and ‘Turn The Radio Up.’ We’re also workshopping a couple of new tunes, and we do a cover of ‘Stayin’ Alive’ that always knocks ’em dead.
What most excites you about these two upcoming performances?
We’re excited to see our friends and fans and get to party with our incredible growing fan base.
Pep Rally will be live at the Fallser Winter Music Festival on Thursday, March 6, and at the Nail on Friday, March 7. For more information, visit peprallymusic.com
