INTERVIEW: New Era, Collaborations, Touring In Post Pandemic Times & More With PVRIS’ Lynn Gunn

We had the privilege to sit down with PVRIS’ Lynn Gunn to discuss several topics, including the band’s new music, the upcoming era & the many collaborations during crazy times before the band took the stage in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Please find our discussion below

First and foremost, how are you doing?
Good. We had a great day yesterday here and explored around and had some food. We’re nice and rested for today. We were parked here and then all kind of ventured out and explored the city a little bit.

We saw some photos from the UK shows, those were very big as well. Did you bring the whole decor for the mainland shows as well?We brought what we could. Different venues have stage sizing so sometimes we can’t bring everything. But we try and make every show work with what we have.

Congrats on the new music, it’s all very exciting, with a new label as well. What can we expect from this era?
A lot of fun. There’s a bit more humor sprinkled in, which I think has been lacking in PVRIS’ music and visuals. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I think that’s the next thing that’s gonna be featured a bit more.The album’s pretty high energy and we got a lot of touring booked up, and it’ll be busier, but it’ll be good.

We are playing Sad Summer Fest and then we have some unannounced stuff that’ll be very cool.

What made you decide to go with Hopeless Records for this era?
I think that both us, as a band and Hopeless as a label are kind of in similar spots in their career where they wanna keep growing past the boxes that the community around them has put them in. Just as far as what you’re allowed to make.

So I think that we both have something to prove individually and together. There’s a lot of great energy between the two of us working together. And I also think that they’re doing a really great job at diversifying their label sonically and overall who they’re signing and that was something that really spoke to me and that felt important.

So I think that we’re just both in similar places where we kind of wanna keep pushing boundaries and growing and exceeding the boxes and labels that people try and put PVRIS in as a band and Hopeless in as a label.

Expanding is something that they’re really trying to continue doing and keep breaking those expectations down. So I think it’s a really good time to be teamed up with them, our intentions are really similar.

Can we expect more collaborations in the future or was it just to keep busy in a strange time?
A little bit of both. There is a lot of downtime in the pandemic, but also, with the album being out but not really being able to tour off of it, it felt exciting to keep releasing music and also have other styles to bring into the catalogue a bit and bring my voice into other genres and other sounds and keep breaking those expectations of where my voice should be and what it should be sang over. So, iit was a little bit of both, but I think in the future it’s just gonna be focused on the album for a while. But if the right collaborations come up that feel like they’re absolutely undeniable..

We’re particularly fan of the one with Bad Suns, Maybe You Saved Me. Can you tell us something about that?
I’ve been a big fan of Bad Suns for a long time and our whole crew really loves them and when they asked me to do it just felt right to say yes because they’ve been the soundtrack for many, many drives for us on tour and they’re really, really sweet. So, it was a great pairing and the song’s amazing, so when I heard it, I was like “yeah, absolutely!”

The fact that you’ve been creatively involved with so many songs, has that changed your outlook on songwriting and what you wanna be doing with PVRIS?
I don’t think anything’s really changed. I think those collaborations kind of allowed another outlet to be able to express those things. So now I think it’s just further elaborating on that with PVRIS and continuing that. It feels like it gave a little bit of permission, even though it’s non-existent, but mentally in my head.

Let’s talk about the most recent single, GODDESS, what can you tell us about the song and what can you tell us about the music video?
The song actually started as a joke, it wasn’t intentional, we didn’t sit down for a PVRIS song. But I was in the studio and I felt kind of down and frustrated and I just didn’t feel great. So we thought about what do we do to hype ourselves up?

What do we do to have a little fun today and Goddess kind of just flew out in the studio. Then after giving it some time and not listening to it and going back to it, all of us were kinda like, “wait a second, this feels good.”

And I was staying at the studio overnight and had access to the recording room and the control room. I could plug in any instrument and record it.

I remember like jokingly making the riffs of Goddess that night. I was just joking around, making riffs and then I saved it and forgot that I’d even started the session. And then JT, when we worked together, he went in in the morning and he had found the session and he said, “I don’t know what you did last night, but I fucked with a little bit” and then he hit play and it was the whole instrumental for it. And it sounded way cooler than what I started. But it was everything I tracked together and he thought we should write to it.

And then I was like, “this is great, this track’s awesome. Let’s kind of put it on ice for a second and maybe focus on other stuff.” And then, that day I was feeling down came and he was like, “let’s pull this up and let’s get the energy back up in the room.”

When can we expect the music video?
Very soon, it’s just been finalized. I shot it right before I flew over for rehearsals out here. It’s kind of a continuation of the Animal video and kind of living in that world still. Tthat’s all I can really say. And there’s several clones in it. More clones than you’d usually see in a video.

How does it work for PVRIS to record an album? Do you work with multiple sessions?
That’s usually how I work best. I think the first two albums, ideas were started, kind of scattered around, and then to record the album, we were two months, or three months in the same location, tracking everything and getting it right, but I definitely work better in the moment. I definitely take in the environments that I’m visiting so I would definitely like to work that way and kind of work more spur of the moment and have more time to get inspired, process what you just got inspired by, write about it and just kind of cycle through and keep doing that versus sitting down for one dedicated chunk of time and just being expected to like process all of it and get all of it. So I definitely think more separate periods of work feel really good.

How does that work when you’re on the road?
It doesn’t happen so much anymore, but I think once we’re back in the groove of touring, post-pandemic, I’ll get back into the swing of it, but I used to start a lot of stuff on the road. This tour has been a lot of remembering how to tour.

But it’s really fun to start stuff if you’re back here in the green room, in between when you have downtime and just start ideas. You can always go home and finish them.

Has it become much more difficult to tour in your experience? Or is it just picking up where you left off?
As far as resources and being able to put on the best show we can, it’s definitely hard. I think a lot of bands are in the same position. You have to rebuild a little bit. But after sorting that out and having that kind of checked off, it’s been really easy being back cause we’re just really happy and excited to be back out on the road and grateful to be able to keep doing this.

Luckily we have an amazing crew and team around us to figure out how to make everything still possible and still as high quality as we can get it.

Do you feel this pressure from the world as it becomes more expensive? Obviously, you write the music that you wanna write, but is there a little voice in the back of your mind where you have the commercial needs of your label and crew in mind?
It’s gone. Anytime that starts to creep in, I just really shut it down immediately because I think people want something that’s real. I don’t think it has any value to create something just to make money. You obviously hope it’s gonna do well and be able to feed everybody but it is never the main priority. And if it becomes that, I’m gonna quit and move to the mountains and make clay pots.

Is there something you’re hoping to accomplish on this cycle?
Firstly, I just wanna enjoy it and get back out and be able to do it, and not lose sight of that. Secondly, staying inspired. With the album coming out, I hope to connect it with more people and the right people that are supposed to listen to it and people that reflect where I’m at and where they’re at. So continuing to do this and being aligned with the right people and audience feels good.

Favorite European city to visit on tour?
Usually it’s Amsterdam. Yeah, I’d say Amsterdam or Vienna. But Prague’s really cool. Budapest is really cool, but every time we’re in Amsterdam or anywhere in the Netherlands, we’re really happy.

Favorite song to play live?
Currently, a very fun one is Deadweight or Gimme a Minute. They’re both journeys, vocally and on guitar they’re really fun. So you get a little bit of everything and it keeps me on my toes. I always fuck something up, when we’re playing it, but it’s fun.

If you could collaborate with one artist that you haven’t yet, which artist would you pick?
I would love to produce for Florence or Rihanna or The Weekend. Or working with The Weekend in any way. Or Post Malone.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Are we talking classic flavors? Because there’s some really cool ice cream shops near me that do some weird ones. So then, goat cheese and cherry. And then of like regular flavors, probably mint and chocolate chip.

Stream PVRIS’ most recent single Goddess below and let us know if you are excited for the upcoming PVRIS era! Don’t forget to catch PVRIS on the road later this year, as they head out on tour with Fall Out Boy for a string of shows in Europe!