Tribe Society and X Ambassadors discuss the industry with The NewsHouse

Tribe Society

The NewsHouse: You guys formed out of the band Gentlemen Hall. Is Tribe Society a reimagining of it, or are you focusing on more of a different style?

Brad: This is a big turning point for Gentlemen Hall. We used to have another singer, but he left, and then we moved to New York, and just kind of started over, started fresh. It’s a little different in sound because we’re always exploring and stuff, so it kind of became its own thing with the five of us instead of the six people in Gentlemen Hall.

The NewsHouse: You guys clearly have a lot of influences. In your first mixtape alone, you covered seemingly everybody, from Eminem to Smashing Pumpkins to The Beatles. Who would your dream collaboration be?

Brad: Wow, that’s such a personal question.

Phil: Yeah, that’s different for all of us.

Brad: Max Martin?

Phil: Maybe, Max Martin is kind of a specific thing.

Brad: I always liked Kid Cudi.

Phil: Yeah, because Gavin went to high school with him.

Brad: And he’s just kind of chirpy.

Phil: Yeah, he’s just kind of on our level (laughs).

Brad: He’s the man. But I don’t know if he’s the dream. We should probably go all out. Tupac? Maybe Rick Rubin?

Phil: Somebody like that would be just crazy, just cause he’s like a legend, he started hip-hop back in the eighties and has been responsible for so much in music.

Brad: I’m more starstruck by amazing producers, to be honest.

The NewsHouse: Who would you root for: Batman or Superman?

Brad: Personally, I like Batman more, he makes the effort and is more of a genius rather than born into being a superhero, and he’s just a classy guy.

Phil: Yeah, I’ve always liked Gotham City, so I’m going to have to go with Batman.

X Ambassadors

The NewsHouse: You guys have opened for artists such as Imagine Dragons and Panic! at the Disco, but have also been at festivals and are now touring on your own. What’s it like opening for people and now being on your own?

Sam Harris: It’s a different kind of challenge, because when you’re opening for a tour, you’re playing for fans who don’t necessarily know who you are and, when headlining, you’re playing for people you know are your loyal fans and you want to give them the best show possible.

The NewsHouse: How does it feel to be back in your home state of New York?

Sam: It feels very nice. We saw the leaves changing color on the way over here.

Casey Harris: It was nostalgic.

The NewsHouse: Do you ever miss it?

Sam: Oh yes, all the time. Even the really cold, depressing parts of it.

The NewsHouse: What has your craziest fan encounter been?

Noah Feldshuh: Remember the two ladies in Rochester?

Sam: Yeah! We came back downstairs after playing the set, and these two security guards came up to us with two IDs, and they were like “Are any of these two women your wives?” And I was like “No, none of us are married.” And they said “Yeah, well they gave us their IDs saying they were your wives so they could come backstage.” So yeah, that was the funniest thing that’s happened recently. But for the most part, we do have really respectful, awesome fans who are the best. Yeah, we’re really lucky.

The NewsHouse: Do you have any guilty pleasure songs you like to listen to?

Sam: There are no guilty pleasures in this band. We listen to a lot of pop music. We are all big T Swift fans. I was digging the new Avicii record. I love Rihanna. I love my girl RiRi.

Noah: I like the song “Dime Store Cowgirls” by Kacey Musgraves. I’m not even kidding.

Sam: No, no, she’s a great lyricist! Let me think … I think the new Bieber track is pretty fresh. Yeah, I like the Biebs. No guilty pleasures, though. It’s all pleasurable.