Beauty School Dropout In Conversation With FAULT Magazine

Monday 22nd May 2023

Beauty School Dropout is the best rock band that you may not know yet.

Or maybe you do– but either way, you should. From the first listen of their latest single “dying to be you,” you’re quickly transported back to the 90s and early-Aughts pop-punk era. The song is a smart meeting-point between The Used’s 2002 debut LP and Sum41’s sophomore record Does This Look Infected, weaved in with current production and lyrics that discuss struggles of self identity.

It’s unsurprising that the group was scooped up by Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus and signed under his new label Verswire (with Pete Wentz and Sherry Saeedi) just last year. Since, Beauty School Dropout has released their debut album (We Made Plans And God Laughed), have released genre-defying collaborations with Mark Hoppus, JXDN, and Royal & The Serpent, and supported JXDN on a 36 date U.S. tour. However, the band is currently playing their first ever arena shows, opening up for Blink 182’s first tour in nearly 10 years with all original members, before heading over to Europe in support of Maggie Lindemann.

While on the road with Blink, we had a chance to speak with the guys of Beauty School Dropout to talk about the themes in “dying to be you,” what it’s like working with pop-punk legends, and a taste of what the next era of music will sound like.

Congrats on the release of your new single “dying to be you” – how does it feel to have it out?

It feels great! Releases are always exciting for us because they feel like the start of a new era. This song in particular is the heaviest one we’ve dropped in a long time so we can’t wait to blast it live.

The song’s subject matter is extremely relatable, especially in today’s age of social media. As a band quickly gaining traction, how important is it for you to have these conversations?

Very. We keep an open line of communication with each other and try to be as transparent as possible about our emotions. Mental health is a conversation that is often overlooked, and we try to keep it at the front of our minds when we’re writing lyrics.

What do you hope listeners take away from the song?

Ideally a sense of comfort in knowing other people may be feeling the same mental health issues as them.

What’s it like being A&R’d by Mark Hoppus? What’s the biggest piece of advice he’s given you?

It’s an absolute dream. It seems like a simple one but he has always pushed us to stay as authentic to ourselves as possible which is not always the case in a label situation so that has resonated with us super hard.

It could be argued that Blink 182 changed the course of rock music. How does it feel to be on tour supporting such a legendary band, in their original lineup?

It feels so surreal. Both Blink and Turnstile are quite literally our favorite bands ever. It’s been such an honor getting to know the two groups. It’s been so cool to see Blink’s synergy on stage and how clearly happy everyone is that Tom is back and Mark is healed.

What’s been your favorite tour memory with Blink so far?

One of the first shows we had Mark came on stage in the middle of the set and started shooting photos of us which nobody expected.

What does a show day look like for you?

Pretty straight forward! We usually wake up, get coffee, go to the venue and head straight to catering for food. After that we all have our own routines that we indulge in but generally speaking we hit a workout, meditate, soundcheck, then get ready to perform!

I read in a recent interview you stated that your live show is your ‘superpower’ – in your opinion, what do you think it takes to put on a live show?

So long as you have a genuine love for what you’re doing it will always translate. We are always inspired to go as hard as possible on stage because that’s just what all our favorite artists do!

In a few short words, describe what you believe experiencing a Beauty School Dropout live show is like.

For a lot of people I imagine it’s like finding a home. That’s exactly what we want it to feel like at least.

What can you tell us about this new era of BSD music?

It’s better, faster, harder, stronger.

Listen to Beauty School Dropout’s latest single “dying to be you” HERE, and grab tickets to see them on tour HERE.