The South-West pop punk collective has taken many shapes over the course of their career, and a relentless touring schedule earning them a loyal fanbase nationwide. A collection of musical talent fronted by the bands sole lyricist and songwriter Joe Brewer, the band began an indefinite hiatus back in 2017 before emerging with regular online content over the course of 2021. Following a few stand alone live appearances, the band are firmly back in the saddle of the live circuit, and have already begun to hint that this is only the start of things to come.
In the last six months alone the newly formed Boycott (consisting of some of the south-wests finest session players) have embarked on two UK headline runs, opened for Cory Wells & Youth Fountain on the Bristol leg of their European tour and are now preparing for a final run of intimate dates across England & Wales starting next month with a newfound conviction and enough catharsis for any sized venue
We sat down with Joe to catch up on all things Boycott after a triumphant return:
How does it feel to be back out on the road with Boycott again after so long away?
“It feels so good to be back out playing live and touring One Man Boycott again. It’s more pressure this time round because everything is truly on my shoulders again but I’m enjoying that too, singing live with the band in full send is literally the reason I do this.”
What was the deciding factor behind coming back to the live circuit now?
“Stopping Boycott was never planned, live or otherwise. I’ve learnt to sum it up quickly by saying ‘I got distracted’ but I also ran into depression while not playing which made the return take much longer. I guess you can say that my mental well-being was the deciding factor in coming back to playing live.”
Are there plans for new music? Can you tell us about any new releases?
“Hell yeah there’s more new music on the way! After the recent single releases, I’ve got quite a few new tracks ~80% of the way to me being happy with them and a couple that are ‘finished’ and are in the vault. We actually added them to the setlist for our tour at the end of October, I can’t wait to see what people think but the plan at the moment is to start releasing again in ‘23”
What would you say has been the highlight in your career to date?
“To be honest, the way that I look at my career to date the highlight is more of an overall sense of gratitude for being able to play to people who can sing my lyrics back to me in multiple countries rather than one specific thing like touring the U.K or Europe or the US, the Counting The Seconds album or playing a prestigious venue. I guess on an emotional level I nearly lost it a few times while headlining Wutzrock in Germany but again that ultimately comes down to gratitude for people singing my lyrics back to me.”
Are there any upcoming shows in your calendar that you’re especially stoked for?
“Getting back out on the road this year has been amazing for me, at the moment I’ve got four more tours or runs of dates to announce before the end of ‘22 and I’m looking forward to them all, the full band, the acoustic tours, being in the U.K and back in Germany I’m stoked for it all!”
If you don’t mind sharing, why did you make the decision to step away from the live side of the industry in the first instance?
“I sort of touched on this earlier but I had written the next OMB release to follow on from Counting The Seconds and decided I needed to step back and take a break for a couple months in the winter to recharge and go again with a new release. I took too long, got carried away building a business doing something that I hate and trapped myself in it. Then along comes the darkness of depression and after a couple years trying to get out I got back into making Boycott, it feels at times that everything had crumbled in my absence but it only take a few people singing at a show to remind me this is what I am and I should never step away again.
You’ve been over in Germany recently? Tell us a bit about that!
“I’ve always enjoyed playing in different places around the U.K., it is very near the top of the reasons I play music, it just feels different and I get so much more out of it personally when I am away from home on tour.”
“Playing in different countries is kinda like that on steroids. I’m still so excited every time I get to do it, like I’m just experiencing it for the first time even if I’m returning to somewhere I’ve played before, I want to drink it all in and meet everyone I can.”
“I’ve been visiting and playing in Germany pretty much every year since the first European tour I did in ‘09 but this was the first time I’ve been back over there in I think four or five years so this was the first chance I’ve had since covid.”
“It was special to see old friends and play music again there – I teared up a few times on stage (I do that quite a bit) this time because it’s been so long but people still show up for me. I defiantly need to do more and I’m planning to get back to Germany in the next couple months.”
Which song means the most to you in your discography? What really captures the Boycott essence?
“I’m gonna have to give you multiple answers here; I really do connect with every song I write at least on some level because I wouldn’t be able to sing them convincingly otherwise but If I Survive, was loosely about losing my grandparents so that in a typical sense means a lot to me. ”
“‘Stockholm Swing’ means a lot to me because I think it was the best of me in terms of song writing… until now.”
“‘If Only You’d Stay’ is the first song I wrote for the band version of Boycott, it launched the band but also pushed the crowdfunding we did to nearly £6000 which afforded us to record the whole of the Counting The Seconds album with Romesh Dodangoda (a dream come true for me) so it’s kinda sentimental and means a lot to me for those reasons but also it has all the elements of a classic Boycott track; the ‘boycott bounce’, the hooks, the crowd vocals to sing live to, it’s all there. I guess if I had to name just one song not for if I thought it was the best track but captures the essence, I can’t go far wrong with If Only You’d Stay.”
Where do you see the project’s endgame? What goal do you have in your head when focusing on the band’s growth?
“This is something I think about often and there isn’t really a definitive answer but I know I love playing live with the band and people singing my lyrics back at me, so that is a major driving factor in how I want boycott to grow again.”
“Because of the long break I had to take, I do feel like I’m playing a bit of catch-up with my past-self ‘s achievements but longer term I want to get to a place where I can take One Man Boycott legitimately full-time, I want to be headlining bigger venues in multiple countries, multiple times a year.”
“Anything more is a welcome bonus, anything less and I hope I don’t feel like I failed but I want this to be how I earn a living, and I want to do that for the rest of my life.”
What artist inspires you the most in respect of your own work?
“I’ve always found it difficult to answer this kind of question because I’m inspired by so many unrelated artists and mostly unintentionally too, from Whitesnake to Eminem, Jimmy Eat World to Gabrielle.”
“I’ve recently taken to saying I’m a pop punk influenced artist because no matter how or what I’m writing I can hear those influences poking through the most, not one artist but things like Yellowcard, Good Charlotte, blink-182 (specifically Delonge’s writing), I came to State Champs late but people say I sound like them and I guess now I listen to them regularly they’re an influence too.”
If you can sum up One Man Boycott in three words, what would they be?
Sunshine, Pizza, Friends.