The What Nows?! is a five-piece punk-tastic ska band from Reading, PA. I discovered this band on What Do You Know About Ska-Punk’s Volume 4 and immediately fell in love with TWN’s track on the collection, “Bad Tastes”. The infectious introductory gang vocals immediately suck you into a world of fast-paced vocals and skankier horn sections, leaving you wondering “there has to be more where this came from, right?!”
Why yes there is, fellow ska-punk lover. After listening to “Bad Tastes”, I shortly discovered their album released last year, “Misread Allegory”. Their album features more of their fantastically addicting horn and guitar lines, along with uniquely memorable lyrics like “time’s wasted, but so am I” and “back then fate was written in the stars/ looking back, we may have been dyslexic”. If your life and playlists is missing some punchy, “move somebody in the name of ska” music, look no further than this fantastic band from Pennsylvania!
I had a chance to ask The What Nows?! a couple of questions about their music, what’s to come, and of course the burning question of what their favorite snack is to eat before a show. Read on to learn all about it!
Band: The What Nows?!
Members:
Andrew Berg – Lead Vocals/Ukulele
Chris Boylan – Back-up Vocals/Guitar
Devin Hill – Drums
Dylan Hinnershitz – Trumpet
Austin Harak – Bass
Band Social Media:
Where can we find your music:
Bandcamp, as well as all streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc)
Established: 2009
Describe yourself in a few sentences or less
We’re a ska-punk band from Berks County that’s just trying to have a good time.
What is your process for music writing?
Sometimes it starts with lyrics and a chord progression all at once, and other times it starts with just a chord progression or a riff that gets added on to or changed by other members. It didn’t take long for us to click and we feed off of each other really well when we write as a result.
How do you feel your music has changed since you first began making music?
When I started writing music I did it on an acoustic guitar. Now I have a guitar that needs to be plugged in and pedals that make my guitar sound real heavy, but I still play fast and scream about my problems so not all that much, I guess. – Chris
The band and it’s members have changed quite a bit over the years. The current line up is the most fun and easiest to work with. My process for writing lyrics hasn’t really changed. One line pops into my head and I build from it.
– Berg
What has been your most memorable moment performing your music?
The first show I played was a house party/benefit type of show in the middle of nowhere PA. We played a song I wrote and it got a bunch of people moving. It was a cool feeling and made me think that maybe I’m not total garbage at this haha. – Chris
My most memorable performance has to be my 21st birthday. We got to open for Big D and the Kids Table out in the Scranton area. The crowd was awesome, as usual because Scranton’s scene is awesome. It was a great night but also emotional because it was the last show for the guitarist, bassist, and three piece horn section at the time. – Berg
Tell me about “Misread Allegory”. What is the story behind it and what did you enjoy most about making the album?
The album is comprised of a lot of old songs that Berg wrote with prior band members, with a new perspective on them coming from the current line-up, and there’s a few new ones in there too.
When we came up with the album title, we had been undecided for a long time. So while we were in the van on our way to a show, we debated for 45 or so minutes until we agreed on Misread Allegory. There’s more to it than smart people words I swear, but the meaning behind it is open for interpretation. 🙃
Recording the album was a good time even though it was kind of stressful. We had a few good laughs over some hilarious flubs.
Favorite thing(s) to snack on before recording? Before a show?
Halls honey lemon cough drops for both haha. But if we’re actually hungry before a show, basically anything from Wawa or Rutter’s. Rutter’s seems to be the spot we stop at now on our way to a show. Their corn fritters are dope.
Anything new and crazy and exciting we can expect from TWN in the coming future? What are you most excited to do music wise this year?
More music for sure, especially since the question specified in the coming future and not this year haha. But seriously, be on the lookout for some new tunes coming from us, because it’ll happen hopefully sooner than later!
Other than writing new music, we are really excited to play Camp Punksylvania this year. It’s going to be an awesome time and you’ll see some of us up there for the whole weekend!
Where can people see you for your next show?
Our next show coming up wasn’t announced yet so I don’t know if we can talk about it, but it’s a beer festival! Follow us on social media to stay updated on our shows because we’re always getting added to stuff last minute.