Home Alone With Nashville Punks Datenight

The video for Datenight's "No Use" looks like it was shot in the time that one of their parents went to the store to pick up some milk. Led by singer and guitarist Grayton Green, the young Nashville band of 18/19 year olds trade in a music that gets to the point quick smart, and the video, set around a home. doesn't mess around and is done before Mum's SUV is pulling into the driveway.

Their latest EP, Sonic Youth: 18 Years on Earth, released on local label Designer Medium – who have also released records from the equally impressive Nashville act Spodee Boy – is noisy, catchy, and fun. Comparisons have been made to The Replacements and The Clean and but there is also the sound of three young punks growing up in a city that is best known for country and western.

Watch the video below and read a quick chat we had with drummer Thomas Borrelli.

Noisey: Was the video made when somebody's parents went out?
Thomas Borrelli: The original idea was to have the video shot by our friend's 14-year-old brother with his drone but it got too complicated and so we just filmed in Grayton's kitchen. We found a camera in Isaac's basement and filmed while Grayton's dad was out doing stuff. Our friend Joseph makes a PB&J on my snare drum. We basically goofed off for a few hours and filmed it. The kitchen was small and Grayton's horse-sized dogs made it complicated but we figured it out.

If you are too young to go to bars where is the best place to take a date in Nashville?
Everyone hangs out at the Circle K or Dragon Park. It's been the spot to hang out for ever. It's also close to our houses. We also hang out at a pizza shop called Two Boots a lot. They do this thing where If your band plays a show there, each member gets a free-pizza-for-life card. So Isaac and I eat there a lot. Grayton lost his card though. I don't know we'd probably just take a date to a show at Two Boots and eat free pizza or something.

Is Grimey's the record spot?
Grimey's is awesome. They sell a lot of local bands' tapes and 45s and they have shows there too. We played there for cassette store day in 2016 with a lot of other bands. We've all grown up going to Grimey's and the records we all bought were probably from there. If a kid isn't old enough to get into a touring band's show, most of the time they can see them at Grimey's.  But there are a lot of other cool record stores here too like The Great Escape. They sell a bunch of old action figures and comics and stuff.

Do articles such as '10 Reasons Millennials are Moving to Nashville' make you sad?
Yeah this is a good one. A lot of people are moving to Nashville for some reason. Not really sure why. Maybe it's because of the TV series Nashville. Who knows. People who have recently moved  have complained about how live music is everywhere which is pretty crazy. A lot of venues have shut down because of it. If you ever come to Nashville, don't go to Broadway, 12 South or The Gulch. Ya welcome. I guess these kind articles make us more angry than sad.

Does East Nashville make you sad?
I don't really know. None of us live or hang out there. If you like eating at restaurants it's pretty cool but other than that there's not too much to do.

What's up with your label mates Spodee Boy? Is there a Spodee Girl now?
Yeah we both have tapes out on a record label here called Designer Medium.  As far as spodee girl? Spodee Girl is the same band but with a Spodee GIrl singing along side the Spodee Boy. We've played shows with them around town though. They're good friends of ours.

'Sonic Youth: 18 Years on Earth' is available now on Designer Medium. 

Lead image: Joseph Coakley