Interview with Alexia from Destroy Boys
By Sophia Koolpe — 
Monday, December 6th, 2021. I will remember this date as one of the best nights of my young life as I had the opportunity to interview Alexia, the lead singer and one of the guitar players from one of my favorite bands, Destroy Boys! Currently, the band is on tour with their new album, “Open Mouth, Open Heart.” Released in 2021 and available on Spotify and Apple Music, this album is emotionally raw, unapologetic, and demonstrates the band’s mastery of instruments and comeback from a COVID-19 lull in performing. In addition, it showcases Destroy Boys’ cohesiveness in their sound and their ability to create songs that speak on identity, relationships, personal struggles, and fighting for a better world. In interviewing Alexia, I gained an insight into how Destroy Boys got started, how they see themselves in the music scene, their relation to young people today, how they have grown as artists, and what they hope for in their music.
Sophia
I’m just gonna start out with this question, because as college students we always get asked, ‘what’s your fun fact about yourself?’ So, if you were a type of canned food, what type of food would you be and why?
Alexia
My favorite canned food is low key corn. I love creamed corn, just eating it. But I feel like I would be baked beans. A reason? Yeah, I feel like baked beans or regular beans because they are versatile, good with every dish, but could upset your stomach. Yeah, that’s a funny question.
Sophia
Yeah, it’s a fun question. I guess moving into the music aspects, how did you get started in the music industry?
Alexia
Through Destroy Boys basically, like we started this band when we were, when I was 16. And yeah, and I mean, we were more like DIY in the local stuff for a long time and then it started getting more serious. Since we wanted to make it our career. And so as far as when we entered the music industry, one could argue from the get go, but I would probably say in 2019 when we got managers, I feel like that was kind of more of the mark of when we entered the music industry. I feel like that was a transition into a career, you know?
Sophia
What were you listening to when you were 16? Has it stayed with you or has it continued to grow?
Alexia
So I listened to Vampire Weekend. I listened to a lot of indie rock. I listened to Operation Ivy. And let me think of things I listened to when I was 16. Yeah, indie rock, a lot of indie rock, and sort of Dead Kennedys, local punk bands from Sacramento. And those kinds of things.
Sophia
Are you still listening to them? Or have your influences changed since you’ve become more established as a band?
Alexia
Yeah, I’ve gotten more into New Wave music. And that was honestly a genre that I really liked, but I kind of didn’t know where to find it. That’s how I felt about punk before I started getting more before I did find it. It’s kind of weird because I was like, oh, like I was always drawn to like alternative rock and punk music, but I really didn’t know how to find it exactly. Like, yeah, I didn’t know like, oh, what’s correct to be listening to you know, wherever and that’s silly. But yeah, so I was in a more new wave. I listened to more hip hop. I listened to more Neo Soul alternative stuff. I listened to alternative rock and Nirvana and shit. So I think that my taste has expanded.
Sophia
What does punk mean to you?
Alexia
It’s hard to put a definition on it right. And I was reading this Pussy Riot book and they were talking about once you give punk a definition, it kind of loses its power a little bit. So like, honestly like fucking anything could be punk, like doing whatever you want and say, you know, doing whatever you want, like, not hurting people. Or yeah, like, not with the intention to hurt people. Because I feel like sometimes like, you know, you could say something that’s like, you know, fuck the cops. And then some people might be like, Oh, that hurts my feelings, but you know, fuck off. So I feel like punk is doing what you like, whatever it is that you want to do, like doing it your own way, making your own path. Not necessarily by yourself. As much as punk is individualism, it’s also community, which is really interesting, like such an interesting sort of paradox there. But yeah, I feel like that’s what punk is.
Sophia
And how do you think that you’ve brought that attitude and I guess your inspirations into your new album?
Alexia
I think that we’ve stuck to writing whatever we wanted, right, basically, you know. And yeah, I mean, like, this album is what we want to make. It’s what we wanted. I love it. I’m so proud of it. And I think that even though it might sound less “punk rock”, like, compared to our other albums, it’s still us doing whatever we wanted to do. Us making the music that we wanted to make. And so I think that’s the attitude in the music. And I think it’s very honest and raw. Our album was pretty vulnerable and revealing. That’s punk’s influence on the album.
Sophia
And with COVID Bringing changes, has it affected your music at all or your music playing and what have you found to help you to cope with it?
Alexia
Oh, I’ve become a way better guitar player. I’m a lot better at guitar. And I was and I mean, that was huge. Like, I’m just so much better at guitar now. than I used to be. And I kind of understand music theory a little more. It affected the band. Just like not being able to play shows was really weird. Now playing shows again, I feel like I’m a little rusty. I feel a little better now. But you know having to get back into that was sort of like, you know, it’s like if you’ve ran for a year, you can’t just run a marathon. You have to kind of get up to that level. So that influenced it. We got a lot more time to write, which was cool, because there wasn’t any pressure to release something soon. And I mean, even if there was the pressure, like I don’t know how much I would pay attention to it necessarily. Because I like music. If it’s not ready, it’s not ready, you know? But it kind of gave us a lot more time to write and think about our intentions with the band and gave us some time to sit back, reevaluate some things and come back to it with a better head. Yeah, it was nice. It was really nice, honestly.
Sophia
How do you get inspired to write? Do you have a certain thing that you like to do before writing?
Alexia
It varies. My songwriting style has changed over the past couple years. I used to write pretty much all lyrics first, and then write guitar or write the lyrics, write guitar and put them together later. Now, it’s usually like, Okay, I’m in a mood. What guitar chords sound like this mood, find those guitar chords. Okay, how do I feel? And then play the guitar chords, sing over it, hit record on voice memos on my phone, and just go for like 10 minutes or however long. Yeah, just go over and over again, like play over and over until I start to find lyrics that I like. And that’s lately how I’ve been writing. Usually it comes from, I feel like garbage or oh, I feel like lust or I feel whatever. I’ve been writing guitar and vocals together a lot. But then I’ve also been coming back to songs more so writing leads over it. I do that now. Like before, I wasn’t good at guitar or I was fine. But now that I’m better at it. I come back and write new things for it and make them more complicated, more dynamics to it. I write harmonies, those kinds of things. I don’t really write lyrics by themselves as much. I almost treat them more as poetry now.
Sophia
What work are you most proud of?
Alexia
I’m proud of all of them. I’m proud of all of them for different reasons. I definitely think that if I was going to show someone an album, I would show them the most recent one, but I also might show them Fences. But I think that they all have their merits and I mean each album and every single and stuff that we’ve released marks such a point of time and my life or Violet’s life that I’m proud of all of them. I’m proud of what they are. I’m proud of the progression. I love listening to our older albums like Make Room and Sorry Mom and then just listening to my voice and being like, oh my god, I sound so different now, I sound like an adult now. I think it’s less nasally, a little less teenager and that’s really funny to me. And I’ll probably keep thinking that as time goes on, you know?
Sophia
That’s really cool to be able to see that progression, and realize your sound is maturing and things like that. Do you still get stage fright by the way, when you play a new show or anything like that?
Alexia
Honestly, no, I don’t.
Sophia
Did you ever when you were performing?
Alexia
Yes. I get stage fright for like the first show of a tour. And I get nervous for if we’re opening, if it’s unfamiliar, then I might get more nervous for that. Like if we play in an arena, I’m definitely going to be nervous. But when it’s our own show, I feel pretty comfortable. Like now. Yeah, suddenly here I feel really excited. Because this is also the 10th show of the tour or something like that, 11th 12th or something. But then like if we were going to play with like Bikini Kill or something at the Hollywood Palladium, I’d be like, fucking literally shitting myself. Like, I’d have really bad stage fright, really bad. It’s better now. But yeah.
Sophia
How was the tour going so far?
Alexia
The tour’s been great. I’m having a great time. I love the bands that we’re on tour with. It was kind of rough at first because I was fucking exhausted and especially like not being used to playing shows like this, like not having done that for two years. I forgot everything that comes with it. So it was a little rough. But it’s been really fun. I’m so happy to be here.
Sophia
What’s the ultimate goal you create for your music that you see for yourself?
Alexia
Well, there’s different goals for different people. My goal personally is to process my own feelings like my selfish goal. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Like, for me, the music I want,I just want to listen to it. Like I want to write something that I want to be proud of. I want to process feelings through that. That’s what I want. Then I also want to help other people and you know, there have been a lot of songs that have helped me a lot. And I am honored to do that for other people. I was actually thinking about this the other day. This is what ends up happening is I process my feelings and then I end up processing other people’s feelings for them. I think through music, you know, and so you don’t have to go through the breakup alone. I haven’t really written a breakup song actually, but you don’t have to feel the pain of like, of drudging through the void to have your feelings. I will figure out that for you and present it to you so that you have something to listen to that will guide you through it. So that’s what I feel like. The goal lately is to kind of like, understand a feeling, understand an event. And you know, process that package for other people.
Sophia
Would you say that you relate to all of your songs in one way or another?
Alexia
Oh, yeah.They’re all about me, they’re all personal. I find it hard to write something fictional. I just can’t. That’s just not my vibe. I don’t really read a lot of fiction books either. I like nonfiction. Yeah, I want to read something real. And like when I find out that music, that people’s lyrics like don’t mean anything. It hurts. It honestly makes me like it less. Unless it’s like, that’s the point. But yeah.
Sophia
Has there been a moment that you’ve realized that you touched so many people? When was that moment for you?
Alexia
Yeah, I mean, it happens, it gets reinforced like it a lot of different ways, which is awesome. Like just the messages I get on Instagram of people being like, your music helped me like, your music saved me stuff like that. Like seeing people in the crowd like, especially during Fences. That’s like my favorite song, I think. And it just seeing people like just screaming the fucking lyrics. Like them knowing what the lyrics are then screaming them I’m like, damn, like, you’re hurt. Like, I know that you’re in pain, you know. And so seeing people, seeing people resonate with it in front of me. Really makes it hit. Yeah. Yeah, that’s really incredible.
Sophia
What is your favorite part of performing?
Alexia
Honestly, I love just talking to people I love like in the crowd, like when we’re on stage. I love how every show is different. And I like the experience of it. Like just being there with everybody and experiencing whatever the show is, every show has its own feeling and mood. I love being entertaining. And I love singing and I love just putting on a show for people. It’s a lot of fun.
Sophia
And just one last question. If you were a sea creature, what sea creature would you be and why?
Alexia
My first thought is like a sea lion. Because I feel like I’m just trying to have a good time. Or I feel like between that and like an eel because I love to just be in the darkness and look a little silly. Yeah, so two very different creatures, but both of them. Yeah. Cuz they’re fun. Yeah.
Sophia
Thank you so much for your time. This was really incredible!