These days Turnstile may be considered one of the hottest prospects in hardcore just about anywhere in the world, but the five-piece from Baltimore are a true DIY phenomenon. “Our band came from a group of friends coming together who simply started playing,” frontman Brendan Yates explains. “For our demo, my best friends just picked up instruments and learnt there and then.
“Franz [Lyons, bassist] had to be in the band, but at that stage, we already had a drummer, so we convinced him to play bass even though he had never touched one in his entire life. He learned to play while we were practising for the first ever Turnstile show.
“To be able to play music with people I care about and who truly inspire me is incredible – it’s truly at the forefront of everything we do as a band.”
From the release of their first EP their intentions were clear – you don’t call your debut release ‘Pressure To Succeed’ for nothing – and four years later the band put pen-to-paper with Roadrunner Records. “I think my idea of [signing to a major record label] was way crazier than how it turned out,” Brendan reveals.
“Everything has felt like a very natural progression; everything has been so seamless. We play shows and make music. It’s really fun, and a cool outlet for us. Naturally, we built relationships by playing shows and travelling and meeting people. We met the guys at Roadrunner eventually and when the time felt right the next step was to do a record together. In my childhood fairytale of how it would go down, you imagined the whole process being concentrated in certain moments.”
“We never had that feeling of, ‘Woah! We just got a play on the radio’,” he continues, “and that being your first big break. In fact, it’s all felt very natural. That’s not to play down the experiences we’ve had as a band – to meet so many inspiring people, come as far as we’ve come and played to people all over the world has been absolutely amazing.”
The band are currently readying themselves for another album cycle. Their acclaimed debut ‘Nonstop Feeling’ arrived in 2015, and three years on Turnstile are returning with a follow-up indebted to hardcore, punk and hip-hop. “I think sonically, and musically, the record is like every Turnstile record,” he says of ‘Time & Space’. “We explored different avenues of sound and instrumentation – lyrically I wrote songs about how I feel, that’s what I’ve always done.”
“Every record is always about the things that happened to me at the time in which I created it,” muses Brendan. “It’s about my experiences and my past, the personal space between me and everything else. Relationships or things I spend my time doing. The overall theme is being able to disconnect myself and being able to evaluate myself, question a lot of things and discover what’s good for me as a person. That’s the essence of ‘Time & Space’, from a lyrical perspective”.
Despite producing a litany of albums, EPs and singles throughout the last few years, at their heart Turnstile are a band who cherish most the thrill of a live show. Their performances are notorious. Unrelenting in energy, they’ve been transforming rooms into a state of utter carnage since their formation. It’s what makes the band special, admits Brendan, and taking this sense feeling and making it work on record is a consistent challenge.
“I think naturally recording in a studio, you’ll never get the same kind of energy. All you can do is try everything to make the music feel alive – that’s the case with a lot of music. It’s a very different kind of recording. I feel like the essence of the band is our songs being played in a live environment.”
Continuing, he reveals how the band have progressed over the years. “The more we play as a band – the more we play as a unit – we naturally evolve. There are a lot of slow songs, a lot of melodic sections, a lot of high energy stuff. In essence, these are things we’ve done before, but this record, in particular, is widening the spectrum and evolving everything we’ve done as a band. This all comes from the individuals that make up Turnstile, what we’ve been going through and the music which is currently inspiring us.”
Another vital component in Turnstile’s world is skating – a hobby each member of the band holds close to their heart. ‘Skate Culture’ is at the very heart of the five-piece – and Brendan is quick to point out its importance.
“We played in little skate shops as recently as this year,” he remarks proudly. “It means that you’re always doing something refreshing and trying different things – in terms of both scale and diversity. Most of us in the band grew up skating, so I think naturally the two things go hand in hand. There’s such a special relationship there – and so we take any opportunity we can to see those things align.
“Brady and I would see each other skating down the street long before we were ever in a band – it was the foundation of our relationship. It’s at the root of what we do. It brings people together – music and skateboarding are the two main pillars of what I was interested in as a kid.”
In contrast to playing small skate shops, Turnstile have transitioned to larger venues with marked enthusiasm. Playing supporting slots with the likes of New Found Glory would be a challenge for any band, but Brendan feels they’ve stepped up to the mark.
“We naturally adapt to playing larger venues and the energy of them,” he says confidently. “It’s an exciting part of being in a band – having the diversity. It breathes more life into everything to play on a huge stage. It’s very different to playing in a little skate shop or a basement. Making sure that you adapt and feed off the energy of each other and other people in the room. Everything is tailored to your environment. It’s a different kind of thing to do, but we absolutely love taking on larger venues.”
With the release of ‘Time & Space’, Turnstile feel destined for bigger things. Their music is firmly rooted in hardcore but possesses the melody and song-craft that could see a more permanent place on the airwaves. It’s a fate that Brendan acknowledges, and his personal ambitions extend well past his native Baltimore.
“We’re taking everything as it comes,” he proclaims. “My main goal, if anything, is to play in different environments. We want to take cool opportunities and play in diverse situations – to have the opportunity to take Turnstile to certain locations in the world would be incredible. I want to be playing far out places that I’d have never believed I can play.
“That, and bringing songs to life in a live environment, is really the essence of the band and what we try and do. If we continue to be inspired by creative people, take our chance to play some fantastic locations and take our music around the world, then that will be enough for me.”
With a new album rife with raucous punk inbound, Turnstile are showing no signs of slowing down. Wherever you are in the world, you can expect to hear from the boys from Baltimore very soon.
Turnstile’s album ‘Time & Space’ is out now. Taken from the March issue of Upset – order your copy below.
