On Day Three of Outside Lands I caught up with Arcy Drive just after their set. The four-piece from Long Island, New York, includes guitarist and vocalist Nick Mateyunas, guitarist Austin Jones, bassist Patrick Helrigel, and drummer Brooke Tuozzo. Having performed at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and South by Southwest, the band has been touring the country in a converted school bus and is about to kick off a headline tour this fall in support of their debut album, The Pit.
For these “attic rockstars,” Golden Gate Park was a refreshing change from the usual festival backdrop.
“This is probably one of the coolest festivals we’ve been to,” Nick said, looking around at the greenery. “Usually when we come to a festival, it’s just a bunch of land and there’s no trees, so it’s kind of nice to just be walking in the forest and then going to different stages.” Austin grinned: “Definitely Bonnaroo vibes.”
Their upcoming tour will hit familiar favorites and a few long-awaited firsts.
“Vancouver should be good,” Austin said, adding that he’d heard the sushi there “is like the equivalent to Japan.” Other highlights include Sacramento, New York City—“our big New York show is going to be insane”—and Houston, a city they’ve never played.
“We had to cancel the Houston show,” Nick explained. “We went there once for a Turtlebox event, but never for an actual show.”
Even some cities they’ve played before feel new. “We’re considering San Fran almost like a new one,” they said. “We haven’t been here since Rickshaw Stop two years ago.”
When I brought up “Louie” as one of my favorites from The Pit, Nick walked me through its unexpected evolution:
“It was originally like a folk kind of song for my grandpa… more feely. Then one night we were playing it and it just wasn’t really working with the band. It was 2AM, we were ready to call it a night, and Austin was like, ‘Can we just make this song a banger somehow?’ He hopped on drums and made a weird beat with a cowbell, and then we just started. We played it all night, and it was really fun. It kind of came together spur-of-the-moment.”
Most of their songs start with an acoustic guitar, they explained, usually leading to a hook. From there, they work in lyrics and build the instrumentation around it. That formula, combined with a strong social media presence, has helped Arcy Drive connect directly with listeners.
“It’s cool because now you can just talk back and forth,” Nick said. “A video will do well, and then suddenly more people are listening to your music and showing up to the shows. Back in the day, it was harder for a band to have direct communication with people listening to them. Now someone messages you on Instagram and the next time you meet them in person they’re like, ‘I’m the one who sent this or that,’ and you’re like, ‘That was YOU?!’ We have fans we’ve met through social media who are now real-life friends.”
On the road, they’ve toured with bands including flipturn and Hey, Nothing, learning as much from their energy as from their hospitality. [Check out our Outside Lands interview with flipturn here.]
“Flipturn’s live show is like a rave,” Nick said. “Their sound is insane. They showed us what to do on our days off and were just so welcoming.” As for Hey, Nothing: “Their banter is like a comedy show. They’ve got a full band now, so their set is insane. We’re really tight with them.”
That experience has shaped how Arcy Drive plans to treat their own openers on tour. Switching gears, I asked them about their ultimate festival lineup, where it would be and who would play.
“Us on the moon, playing to a bunch of aliens,” Nick said immediately. On a more realistic note, Brooke imagined Hawaii, with Hey, Nothing and Wet Leg opening, and Jack Johnson playing just before sunset. “Actually, maybe I do want Jack Johnson to play,” Nick laughed. “He’s cool. He can come.”
Arcy Drive will return to the Bay Area in September for a headline show and left the nearby UC Berkeley students with a challenge:
“You’re in college. We’re playing. It’s a Monday night. I challenge you to have a more fun Monday night than this.”
Whether you catch them in Vancouver, Houston, San Francisco, or—one day—on the moon, Arcy Drive’s live show is pure, unfiltered fun.
Review and photography by Izzy Hory
