Tuesday X Talks New Tunes and Industry News

[All images courtesy of Seth Babbitt]

Music is one of the most ever-changing industries on the planet, but artists like Tuesday X are happy to move with the flow.

Formed in 2015 when sole member, Seth Babbitt, was a high school senior in western North Dakota, Tuesday X acts as an emotional, multi-genre pop project. Seth boasts influences such as Mac DeMarco and Tame Impala and his music sounds similar to Eels, Cursive, and Brand New.

Tuesday X’s track, “Them,” epitomizes Seth’s dreamy, emo music vibes with sparse but catchy vocals that leave plenty of room for intergalactic synths and tapping percussion. Although it is simple at first glance, it has a lot of heart and, like much of Tuesday X’s music, is different from anything you would find in the mainstream.

Below, Seth talks music, drugs, and industry revolution.

Alexa: Can you tell me a little bit about what you’re working on right now?

Tuesday X: Right now with this new album coming, I’m shifting my focus on getting my group back together and hitting the road for a brief tour through the midwest. Musically, I always have something I’m working on. I have probably an album’s worth of songs that are more or less finished on my laptop and another EP’s worth that aren’t quite done yet. The only problem is none of the songs fit together as an album sequence, so I’ve talked with a few friends about doing some split release tracks…as part of a themed series.

A: Briefly describe your process when creating music.

TX: I’m heavily influenced by my environment. A lot of my songs begin as melodic ideas I would have while…taking in the natural world around me. Once I had a solid idea in mind I would retreat inside my log cabin studio and plot it out on either my keyboard or whatever guitar I could grab first. After finding the chords and melodies I heard in my head, I would try my best to record it as fast as I could to preserve the original idea and build off of that. Lyrics typically come later and are usually given intense consideration and revision before being added to the mix. Most of my songs are from personal experience.

A:Tell me the story behind one of your favorite original songs.

TX: As long as I have been playing music, one of my most “popular” songs was one called “Winona Ryder” which I played with four bands, recorded twice, and ultimately ended up as a track on Tuesday X’s second album, “Toddler.” I was sixteen when  wrote the song and the story goes that I was watching Mr. Deeds (yes, the Adam Sandler movie) by myself one night with an acoustic guitar nearby, and feeling inspired by the actress Winona Ryder, I decided to write a song dedicated to her. Lyrically, it’s actually about my high school girlfriend at that time and built a legacy of its own for whatever reason. To this day, Winona Ryder is still my favorite actress.

A: How has your music evolved?

TX: I’ve been writing songs and playing in bands since I was fourteen, so in those seven years I played grunge, folk, classic rock, hard rock, punk, metal, soul, and shoegaze through the various bands I played with in high school. In fact, the idea of Tuesday X started as a lofi post-punk/shoegaze sound, which eventually drifted more into strong emo influence by the time of Tuesday X’s second full length.

Our last album, Nocturna, was a strong departure from that, presenting itself as a conceptual art rock album with psychadelic themes and minimal percussion as well as a three-part suite featuring a spoke story from a close friend. A lot of aspects of it are still fairly unconventional, but overall I tried to write songs that people could dance to.

A: What is the “underground scene” and what’s so great about it?

TX: The “underground scene” is any group of people in your community with a deep passion for music who want nothing more than to help promote their local talent and help anyone passing through who shares the same passion. What sets the underground scene apart from the mainstream is the importance of money. Despite money being a key component to making anything move forward, it is not the main focus for every band and promoter in the scene. The best people I’ve worked with care more about the music and well-being of the bands than turning over a profit.

The coolest thing is also how close-knit everyone can be. Growing up, I played in probably half a dozen bands at a time doing different styles and playing different instruments and I’d be in a lot of these bands with the same people, and we’d all be connected. It just feels wonderful when your best friends and biggest supporters are also the ones making everything with you!

A: How do you feel the music industry has changed while you have been a part of it? Do you support these changes?

TX: I started working with music seriously in the time when online music marketing was in the beginning of a transition. As I started releasing music on small platforms and worked with my local fan base, artists everywhere were utilizing newer possibilities of self-distribution online and labels (as luxurious as they still make everything seem) started becoming unnecessary in terms of promoting yourself as an artist.

I personally love the changes being made in the industry. With easier access to self-distribution and diverse contact throughout the internet, artists like myself have an easier time getting our music on bigger platforms [without a label]. If you ask me, this is the true artistic age because anything can be accessible now, and the boundaries of pop can expand with new and different influences making themselves available.

A:What changes in the music industry would you like to see?

TX: I’d love to see the drug culture fade. Everyone romanticizes it in art and it needs to stop. Whether its hiphop, rock, pop, any kind of music that glorifies hard drug use and overdose,it just breaks my heart. So many wonderful artists in the last few years have been cut short from overdose…. I wish people would talk more about the negative light of drugs in their music…. Please don’t use cocaine, that’s just bad for you, and please be responsible with cannabis and alcohol.

A: What are your plans for the future?

TX: I’d like to spend the majority of 2019 on the road touring when I get my vehicle running again. I want to play in as many places as possible and meet as many people as I can. Let’s party and jam!

A: Do you have a message for your current and future fans?

TX: Thanks so much to everyone for supporting Tuesday X this far! I’m excited fir what 2019 is going to hold for us musically!

A: Anything else you want to discuss or add?

TX: Please follow us on social media and keep up with us as we move through the year! We’ll try to keep you entertained and be cool and thanks so much ilysm!

Keep a lookout for Tuesday X’s new full length album, “Pop” coming out on February 12, 2019!