Interview by Marisa Whitaker. Cover image by Deanie Chen.
Editor’s introduction: It’s a good time to be Meyru seeing as the band just released their fourth album this past Friday and seeing as they’re playing a big time show at freakin’ Sony Hall tomorrow night, Tue. 8/26 (with a 1K capacity dont’cha dare ask to be on the guest list!) as part of All My Friends, Vol. 01 as part of an all-star-locals lineup which just happens to be co-presented by The Deli no less, and even if Meyru have foolhardily disregarded the golden role of 4th albums by not putting out a double-live album as their fourth release despite the wise council of David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (a.k.a. the Foghat Principle) at least this rekkid’s self-titled for Satan’s sake which is always a sign a musical act’s getting down to brass tacks and telling it like it is for a change which for Meyru means admitting that their favorite activities are sleeping, eating, and going for walkies cuz obviously “The Dog” is a serious case of what psychologists call projection…
…but that’s OK cuz it’s gets at the charm and the appeal of Meyru which in large part is just how universal their yearning, contemplative, thoughtless, impulsive, despondent, hopeful, soaring, down-to-earth songs truly are cuz as you can see they cover the spectrum of human emotions plus a few canine ones to boot so it’s fitting they’d get producer Dave Cerminara to work on the thing what with having previously manned the boards for such deeply feelingful artists as Father John Misty, Bartees Strange, and Paris Texas and if any of their stuff make you a little bit misty well that’s probably by design (“girls like drugs” really does it for us, personally, baby please come over give me wings, indeed!) as is clearly the case with Meyru cuz their songs are all about “the feels” but not in a cynical, manipulative way with “Swimming, Floating” b being one particularly good example featuring the equally emotive Trophy Wife on guest vox as they outline two more of Meyru’s favorite hobbies…
…so with no further ado we present to you the fourth of our four interviews with each of the four artists playing All My Friends, Vol. 01 tomorrow night, or tonight if you’re reading this on Tuesday, or five years ago if you’re reading this five years in the future–with this interview being with Meyru frontman Nic Grunewald in particular–courtesy of our very own music-beat correspondent and resident gal-around-town Marisa W...
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Marisa Whitaker: How did you become a part of the Sony Hall show?
Nic Grunewald: We’re actually friends with the booker, Griffin [Bader]. We were out in LA recording, and he had booked our friend Riz La Vie for a while, so we’ve been trying to do a show with him for a bit. He just hit us up and was like, “Hey, I’ve got a good bill of some other good New York bands.” Sid [Simons], we’ve already played a show with. Thesaurus [Rex] and Glom, we actually had not heard of, but they’re awesome. We’re so very excited to get on stage with them. I’ve never been to Sony Hall myself, and I know Midtown is a little different for a New York City show. I think we’re excited to bring the scene up there.
MW: It’s kind of funny to me, in my interviews with the other bands, no one really knows about the other bands’ music. What do you know about and think of this bill?
NG: It’s pretty hilarious. The New York scene has been very vibrant for the past three to five years. When you get a show like this, and you see artists that you haven’t heard of, you realize how big the scene is getting. There are artists this size, or when you listen, you like them, or you realize you have all these mutuals with them, but you haven’t heard of them necessarily. I think that’s not because they’re not great or big or whatever. It’s just the scene is getting so big, so dense, which is, I think, really exciting. We opened up a show for Sid at Bowery Ballroom. That was a great time. He’s a good guy. And then Thesaurus Rex and Glom, we had not yet met. I think we’d heard a few things around the scene. We love their tunes. We’re really excited. They seem like down-to-earth dudes, and it’s gonna be a fun show.
MW: How long has Meyru been in the city?
NG: We formed in New York eight years ago. We moved here in 2017. Released our first record in 2019. God, I feel old. It’s crazy. The guitarist is my cousin [Steven Spiegel], and we’ve been playing in the same bands since we were six years old. We graduated from school and wanted to move to either LA, New York, or Nashville. We picked New York, and we started everything here eight years ago. Our best friend from high school joined us on bass [Tommy Gambon[, and then our drummer, Matt [Langner], we met on Facebook.
MW: How would you describe the band’s sound? Where do y’all fit in within the scene?
NG: I think we have a nice little place in the New York scene. There’s definitely this whole rock-is-back-in-New-York type vibe, which we love and appreciate. Then there are bands like Sid that I think are bringing that David Bowie meets The Clash kind of vibe back as well. And there are other classic indie bands. I think we really think of ourselves as songwriters and people who really want to make albums front to back. We don’t have any EPs. We barely have any singles. Today actually was the day our fourth album came out, our self-titled record. I’m driving right now in North Carolina, about to listen to the thing in the car for the first time, which is always the good first test of it.
MW: Oh, my god, congrats.
NG: Thank you. I’m excited about it. We’ll see how it sounds. But, yeah, I think we think of ourselves, above anything else, as songwriters. I think some people are like, “We’re one of the guys that put on an incredible rock show,” and we think we can do that too. Every member of the band is a songwriter. We really care deeply about writing intimate lyrics and melodies that hit you in the heart, that are honest. It’s not about the technical skill, doing something crazy, the image, or anything like that. We want people to love the songs. It’s always been about writing deeply personal and honest songs. That’s where we tend to talk about ourselves. We’re not the right people to talk about ourselves, but yeah.
MW: Who are some of y’all’s favorite bands in town?
NG: Our sister band, or brother band, is a band called Honeysucker. We just announced a fall tour with them, going to the northeast and a little bit of Canada. Honeysucker is great. They’re just starting out right now, and I think they’re different than what I’ve seen. Very indie disco. They’re a great vibe. Cal Maro is one of our original artists that we played a lot with, and who we really love. I think two bands that are doing incredible right now are Been Stellar and Geese. Those guys are very talented and are running some awesome stuff.
MW: Same with Fcukers, The Dare, and all these big bands that have broken out, it’s so amazing to see. What do you think is important about giving the scene and New York City in general a different experience with music? I’m more so speaking towards the scene because we always go to Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, and we all hang out at the same places. What’s important specifically about Sony Hall and giving fans in town a different experience?
NG: I’m excited for this show, and I’m excited for the scene right now. As you know, and in every piece of press right now, it’s like, if you have four dudes holding guitars, everyone’s like, “Oh, it’s The Strokes. We love The Strokes.” They’re a great band, and we’re so indebted to that whole 2000s Meet Me In The Bathroom scene, but I’m tired of reading about it. I think I’m excited that New York is creating its own new, fresh scene right now that has disco, neo soul, rap, and all these genres.
What we care about is being a part of something that is not trying to just replicate something that existed 20 years ago, but trying to create something new and fresh. I think that Tuesday night will be an example of that. I think these artists are all unique in their own ways, and hopefully, we’re bringing that same thing too. That whole era was amazing, but I’m excited to try to create something unique in its own right. It allows New York to stand on its own feet for 2025.
MW: What do you think is happening in today’s scene that’s even better than the 2000s era? And what do you think is still missing?
NG: I think there’s a lot of cool DIY shows. There have been some really cool rooftop and backyard shows that we’ve seen. There’s a lot of stuff like that that’s happening, and I would love for it to be highlighted more. There are also a lot of awesome venues. People are playing Mercury Lounge and Baby’s All Right as always, but now there’s also Night Club 101, Baker Falls, and all these small venues.
Bigger venues are coming back, too, like Sony Hall or even Irving Plaza, in the last few years. They’re all making it such a vibrant scene. A lot is going on, which is exciting to see. I think when we were here originally in 2017, ’18, ’19, pre-COVID, it felt maybe not as full or hard to break into. Maybe that’s just being a band for a while in New York, but now it just feels like there is so much going on and so many different places to get into.
MW: In a city that never sleeps, with a million things to do at all hours of the day, why should people come out on Tuesday?
NG: When we played that show with Sid at Bowery Ballroom, it was also with Nikita, a fantastic artist, it was so cool to see everyone in the New York scene out in one room at one time. It really felt that way, and I think Tuesday night is going to be that times ten. You’re going to be able to be in a room that has not only fans and these bands themselves, but all the other brother and sister bands, and those who are buddies with those bands. It’ll be an awesome crowd for those who want to be in the scene, or if you just want to meet new people, and to be around people that have great taste in music and are all about it. Tuesday night is the spot to be.
MW: I love that. Are y’all gonna do anything new or different at this show? I imagine some songs off the new album?
NG: We were playing a similar set for a few years now. We took it on tour on the East Coast, Midwest, and the South. We’ve been playing a mixture of the last few albums, but we know that our New York fan base has seen that set a lot now. We’re maybe a little nervous, but very excited because this is the first set that we are playing in a few years that is completely reassigned. We’re opening up with tracks from the new record, and we’re playing a cover, which we haven’t done a long time. If you’ve seen Meyru in New York, you haven’t seen 70% of these songs live before. We’re excited to get after it and bring a fresh set to the New York fans.
MW: Thanks so much for your time. I can’t wait to see you guys. I’ll be there at The Deli booth. Safe travels.
NG: Big fan of The Deli for a long time. Thanks for taking the time. See you Tuesday.