Photo Credit: Meg Shanks
Picturesque are pushing boundaries with their innovative sophomore album Do You Feel O.K?. The follow-up to 2017 debut album Back To Beautiful, which led the Kentucky natives to tour with Escape The Fate, Silverstein and Tonight Alive, Do You Feel O.K? is the product of a band who are broadening their horizons and refusing to be confined to one genre. We caught up with vocalist Kyle Hollis to talk about Picturesque‘s influences, how their friendship led to the band’s formation and more.
Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself and your band.
My name is Kyle. I sing in the band. I’m a basic bitch because almost all I do is watch The Office.
How did the band form and how long have you been together?
We were all a group of dudes in northeast Arkansas who liked playing children’s card games and music. One day we realised that card games aren’t actually what saves the world, like in anime, and because of Scott Pilgrim it’s music, so we decided that we wanted to be able to battle all of our significant others’ exes.
It all kinda started in this venue that Zach owned in Blytheville Arkansas. Surprisingly, for a minute, there was a decent scene in the area. We all played music in different projects and all just vibed with each other. We all decided to play in a band together. Then we ended up moving around the country together for a bit and wrote some music and eventually ended up in Kentucky. This all started back in 2012 I believe, but we didn’t settle on a name or record anything until 2014.
Can you remember the first time you realised you wanted to make music?
I cannot but I had been singing since I was a kiddo. We all grew up writing songs in our heads whether you remember it or not. Every little kid sings songs that they make up as they go.
Who and what are the band’s main influences?
We all have different influences musically, but the main thing we all share is being influenced by life, as corny as that may sound. We’re pretty much a story time band. So whatever has influenced us on a day-to-day basis or made me feel a certain way, I’ll use music as an outlet for that emotion.
What do you aim to achieve as a band?
Gainz. Being 100, just to make cool shit with my friends that we would be proud of and want to listen to.
For those who are yet to see you live, what can they expect from a Picturesque show?
A lot of energy and involvement. One thing, you need to come to one of our shows knowing that it’s not just our, Picturesque’s, show, but it’s yours too. So, we expect a lot from our crowds because we give every show everything we have and expect that kind of BDE back from fans and newcomers alike.
What’s next for Picturesque?
Releasing our new album Do You Feel O.K? on April 24th and getting back on the road when all of this COVID-19 mess is over.
Picturesque‘s sophomore album Do You Feel O.K? is due for release on 24th April via Rude Records/Equal Vision Records, available to purchase HERE.
