Pop-punk quartet Telltale have been racking up fans and streams on the back of their releases like 2022’s Lie Your Way Out and touring with acts like Goalkeeper, Sundressed and Trash Boat. Fresh off the release of the new single “Cardinals,” frontman John Carteret joined TGEFM for the latest in our Roll of the Dice interview series.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on the new single: “Cardinals”. For the uninitiated, could you tell us a bit about yourself, the single and how it came about?
Thank you for having me. My name’s John, I write songs and sing them in this band called Telltale. We’ve been together for a while now, basically watching the world burn and putting out a handful of EPs in the process. “Cardinals” is the second of a few singles leading up to something larger. I think this song is the truest to what people expect from us of anything coming out this year.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst??
Right around the time we started the band, Trash Boat, Boston Manor, and Trophy Eyes all released their debut albums. I think that rock-infused British/Aussie spectrum of the punk genre really made a mark on younger artists like us. As the Warped Tour era came to an end those three bands really helped push towards a more active, stadium-ready sound. That’s always what we wanted to strive for. Even in those early records you could hear their vision.
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
We’re pretty good at finding the paranormal. As a band we’ve been cursed by the devil in New Jersey, gotten stuck in a time loop on Pennsylvania Route 666, performed in a cult church as well as a haunted theatre. The church we recorded these new songs in was also extremely haunted. Things would move, we’d hear noises from the sanctuary (studio) upstairs after locking up for the evening, and could never shake the feeling of being watched.
I won’t call it a revival because pop-punk is something that’s never gone away, but there is a massive rejuvenation of the scene. What is going on out there that has gotten so many people back on their boards to ride this latest wave of pop-punk?
Maching Gun Kelly, Willow, Avril Lavigne, Demi Lovato, Blackbear. It’s cool that the mainstream has an interest in that stuff. It’s commodified the genre in a way that grassroots DIY culture never could. You see a venue sold out for the Emo Night Tour and then watch an exceptional throwback local do 50 tickets the next night. Newer “pop-punk” acts aren’t really “reviving the scene that once was.” I think the acts occupying those same alternative spaces are reforming other genres into that indie culture. Rock, grunge, pop, I guess it’s all the same really. The small fish have to innovate while the majors get to nostalgia-bait.
Telltale is from the Richmond VA area. It’s such an interesting, diverse and generally under-appreciated place that has bred so much amazing music. Why do you think the area churns out so many brilliant musicians and songwriters? How does the area feed into the music you are writing, if at all?
Richmond is such a central point for the East coast. It takes culture from so many different places and that’s what makes the scene special there. There’s countless hardcore punk acts taking their inspiration from the DC/Baltimore punks of the 90s. Then looking at an artist like Lucy Dacus you can feel the little bit of Appalachian folk behind her indie sound, or on the opposite end, Lamb of God adds a distinctive deep-southern rock into thrash metal. All this to say, genre-alignment isn’t really something we care about. Whether the first thing in your hands is a Banjo or a B.C. Rich Warlock, let the music speak to your roots.
Let’s talk a little bit about how “Cardinals” came into existence. What was going on at the time that helped kickstart the songwriting process? How did the process on this track differ from 2022’s “Lie Your Way Out” EP?
“Cardinals” was the first instrumental we finished after Lie Your Way Out. It’s gone through 50+ changes and 4-5 different lyrical themes since then. We spent a lot more time in that demoing phase this time around. There’s a certain point where you have to say “this is good enough, leave it alone.” But in the past we were forced to make that call due to time restrictions rather than our own judgement.
We all have a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
Around the start of 2020, Meet Me @ The Altar reached out to us about a spring tour. In the hectic pandemic fallout we just didn’t put the time into building that relationship. While the run that April would have never manifested because of lockdown, it would have been cool to see that connection bloom post-covid.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Scarlet House, Sace6, Diva Bleach. They all have that raw, grunge-fueled power with some insanely catchy melodies. The internet is quickly picking up on them too, so I’d tell people to get ahead of the game.
What’s next for Telltale?
It’s still too early in the year to really say, but we’re going to be busy. That’s for sure.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
No, I really enjoyed these questions. I do want to thank people for sticking with us though. More than anything I’m excited to hand the world something substantial.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
