{"id":95376,"date":"2025-09-30T19:51:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T19:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/95376\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T19:51:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T19:51:18","slug":"for-joe-keery-and-post-animal-life-on-the-road-is-a-certified-bromance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/95376\/","title":{"rendered":"For Joe Keery and Post Animal, Life on the Road Is a Certified Bromance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Joe<\/a><\/p>\n

All photos courtesy of Post Animal.<\/p>\n

When Joe Keery<\/a> started Post Animal<\/a> with a bunch of his friends, he became a bona fide celebrity. But it wasn\u2019t because of his psych-rock band. Even as bands with a similar sonic palette\u2014Tame Impala, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard\u2014were getting bigger by the day, it was Stranger Things that launched Keery into the stratosphere.\u00a0 But even as their frontman went Hollywood, the Chicago outfit kept trucking ahead. Iron, their latest album released this past summer, reunites the original quintet for another record of jangly, kaleidoscopic indie-rock tunes. From the winsome vocal harmonies on \u201cPie in the Sky\u201d to the analog synth riff on \u201cWhat\u2019s a Good Life,\u201d Iron presents Post Animal at their most\u2014ahem\u2014ironclad.<\/p>\n

Keery, meanwhile, has maintained his own solo project under the mononym Djo<\/a>. His profile as a musician has grown exponentially since its inception, especially since his third album, The Crux, which dropped on April 4th. This month, he\u2019ll embark on another sold-out string of U.S. dates playing large theaters with Post Animal, who are billed to open the tour. Ahead of this new leg of shows, I caught up with Keery and Post Animal\u2019s Jake Hirshland over Zoom to discuss the cities they\u2019re excited to play, the art of sequencing setlists, how it feels to have the gang back together, and their penchants for collecting old guitars and funny hats while they\u2019re on the road.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

JOE KEERY: How are you doing?<\/p>\n

GRANT SHARPLES: So you guys have a tour coming up pretty soon. Are you feeling pretty good about it?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Yeah, excited to get back into it. I feel like it\u2019s always kind of funny when you take a break. You\u2019re always a little worried. I don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019m like, \u201cDo we still got it?\u201d<\/p>\n

JAKE HIRSHLAND: Yeah. It\u2019s like, the momentum is prized. But at the end of the tour you are\u2014<\/p>\n

KEERY: So primed.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: You\u2019re primed, you\u2019re greased up, and that\u2019s one of the best feelings ever. So when you take a little break, you\u2019ve got to ease back into it. But honestly, those tours that we were just on were so fun. I think everyone is looking forward to one more.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: How long have you guys been off now?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Since Lollapalooza, I guess? It\u2019ll be about a month or something.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Are you guys incorporating new songs into the setlist, or sticking with what you\u2019ve been doing so far?<\/p>\n

KEERY: We\u2019re both trying to add some stuff, right?<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Yeah. Post Animal is adding some stuff. I think you are too, right?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Yeah. We\u2019re going to do a couple new ones. We haven\u2019t gotten into the room to rehearse yet, though, so that\u2019s where the rubber meets the road.<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Yeah. How far out do you guys usually rehearse before you go out on the road?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Pretty close. I kind of wish we had a little bit more time, to be honest.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: What\u2019s the process when you\u2019re reconfiguring a song from the studio to a live setting? What things are you thinking about as you\u2019re doing that?<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: It really depends on the song, but a lot of times when you\u2019re in the studio, you\u2019re not writing, you\u2019re not giving yourself limitations, you\u2019re not thinking about the live performance and letting that stop you from adding things. So a lot of it is like, \u201cHow do we make all these parts happen with the hands that we have available?\u201d And sometimes that\u2019s a matter of getting creative, and sometimes that\u2019s a matter of adapting things, I guess. And sometimes it\u2019s just about practicing a tone and trying to push yourself to do everything. Sometimes it\u2019s kind of tricky, but I think that\u2019s a really fun process.<\/p>\n

KEERY: Yeah, I feel a similar way. I mean, it\u2019s nice to release yourself from feeling like you have to do it the exact way. So thinking [of] it as an adaptation is a cool way to think about it. It has to be exactly right, but I feel like if it\u2019s a little bit different, it\u2019s almost better because then people know it\u2019s really happening, which is the case for both of our bands. We\u2019re pretty keen on not really relying on tracks.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Yeah. What parts can be different? What parts do you have to keep exactly the same? What\u2019s the goal for each song? That choice is different from song to song, basically.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Speaking of the songs, what are some of the ones that you\u2019re either excited to incorporate into the setlist or ones you\u2019re excited to be playing again?<\/p>\n

KEERY: I\u2019m really excited to work this song on the deluxe called \u201cAwake.\u201d That\u2019s just a fun, different sort of format of a song than we have, and we\u2019re going to try to maybe work up \u201cListen,\u201d which is like a B-side from Decide, which would be cool. We\u2019ll see if we can figure that out. The goal for us is, there are certain parts of the set that feel like a nice fun moment or they feel like they stand out or stand alone, so we want to try to make as many of those as possible, I guess.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Definitely, dude. I\u2019m excited for you guys to do \u201cAwake.\u201d<\/p>\n

KEERY: I hope we can figure it out. It\u2019ll be interesting to see because on the recording, it\u2019s actually just a sample that we ended up chopping. We took the first note of every section and repeated it, so it has kind of a monotonous thing. We\u2019re also maybe incorporating, like, an MPC trigger thing for me, which is cool.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: On the keyboard?<\/p>\n

KEERY: No, we\u2019re going to have a little pad, or it\u2019ll be on top of the Nord. For other songs too, yeah. We\u2019ll see if it works.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Nice. What about for Post Animal?<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: We have this song called \u201cWhat\u2019s a Good Life?\u201d There\u2019s that one, and then there\u2019s this song, \u201cDorien Kregg,\u201d and they\u2019re both on our new album.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: You\u2019re a synth wizard.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: I\u2019m not, but I\u2019m trying to be. We got some real synth wizards in our midst.<\/p>\n

KEERY: He\u2019s underselling us all.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: I feel like I\u2019m doing two-a-days on the keyboard, like NFL practice. I\u2019m trying to figure out how to do it, but it\u2019s basically a fun challenge.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Well, as far as setlists go, how do you go about constructing them? When you\u2019re sequencing something, what do you have in mind when you\u2019re putting them together?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Well, there\u2019s always guide points along the way where you\u2019re like, \u201cOkay, we know we\u2019re going to do this.\u201d And then you kind of break in and flesh things out from there. My goal for the setlist is to maybe be a little less different every night. We were doing full overhauls. There were big changes. No one probably noticed it except for us in the band. But it allows everybody in the band and in the company to get into a groove. I don\u2019t know if you feel this way, but you\u2019re trying to curate the vibe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: It\u2019s really hard to come up with a methodology that you can actually stick to. Everyone has a different opinion, and then a show will happen and it will change everyone\u2019s opinion. No one is right. Should you come out really hot, or should you end with a song that people know?<\/p>\n

KEERY: That\u2019s why it\u2019s fun. Just switch it up all the time. You can always try different things, especially if you have light ADD and you\u2019re like, \u201cI can\u2019t do the same thing twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: But you do feel it when it\u2019s maybe not quite right. We\u2019ve done a lot of that, where we\u2019ve been talking about the sets after the shows, when there\u2019s too much of a valley. There is a way to feel it out. It\u2019s hard to know how to correct things, but sometimes when you bring up something, everyone has already noticed it. Everyone is on the same page about at least what just happened.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SHARPLES: What are some moments where you feel like that happened, if you\u2019re willing to share?<\/p>\n

KEERY: I feel like it\u2019s mid-set lulls. Our set was always designed to be high-energy, and then we got into a little bit of a groove. But we have a lot of mid-tempo songs, and we don\u2019t have a lot of groovy songs in the set right now. That\u2019s the nature of the album that we just released. So it feels like if you take too long, people start to chill out a little bit. What were some other ones in that middle zone? It was like everything before \u201cGap Tooth Smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Like \u201cChateau.\u201d<\/p>\n

KEERY: Yeah. It was like \u201cFly, Figure You Out,\u201d \u201cChateau,\u201d \u201cRoddy,\u201d these slower songs, even though they\u2019re songs that people know and probably know better than most of the catalog. So you feel obliged to play them even though sometimes you\u2019re like, \u201cIs this the best flow?\u201d I guess that\u2019s the restriction of only having so much music out.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: I wanted to ask about cities too. Are there any cities you\u2019re playing for the first time or any that you\u2019re really stoked to be playing again?<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: You\u2019re probably playing a couple for the first time.<\/p>\n

KEERY: A lot\u2014Atlanta, Nashville, Asheville, Dallas. L.A., we\u2019ve played, but I\u2019m excited for that. We played in Oakland, but the venues are definitely a step-up in size. We had such a fun run this spring, and we\u2019re all really looking forward to getting out and doing what we were doing, but on a bit of a bigger scale.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Yeah. Oh my god. And we\u2019re going to play some outdoor, amphitheater kind of places, and that\u2019s a totally different experience. Even if you\u2019ve played in the city before, you haven\u2019t done a spot like that. It\u2019s going to be really good.<\/p>\n

KEERY: As a group, we do a pretty good job also of exploring all the cities that we\u2019re in. We have a pretty active crew. There\u2019s a group going to a museum. There\u2019s a group taking a run. There\u2019s a group that\u2019s chilling at the venue doing laundry. Everyone is exploring. That\u2019s a real benefit of this.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Definitely.<\/p>\n

KEERY: Going to guitar shops and stuff. There\u2019s going to be some good ones on this tour. Nashville and Asheville, some cool southern cities. Texas has amazing guitars. That\u2019s where people find them under their beds, guys who have had their guitars in their closet for like, 60 years.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: You hoping to pick up some new guitars on this trip?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Unfortunately, my addiction continues. I\u2019m hoping to.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: [Laughs] Oh, you got one right there.<\/p>\n

KEERY: I\u2019m hoping to keep the addiction alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Got a few. Bits and bobs. DooDads.<\/p>\n

KEERY: Are you hoping to get anything?<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: I don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll see. It was tempting in Europe, but it\u2019s hard to get the things back.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: It\u2019s all different, I\u2019m sure. A lot more cumbersome.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Definitely.<\/p>\n

KEERY: You have to have the right connections at the border. That\u2019s what I figured out.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: I definitely had a heavy suitcase of clothing.<\/p>\n

KEERY: Oh, we\u2019ve certainly got a lot of clothes. You\u2019re hitting the coolest thrift stores in every single city. It\u2019s hard not to be like, \u201cHey, this shirt is really cool,\u201d and then all of a sudden you have 10 shirts that you\u2019ve got to fly home with, sometimes more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: And some funny hats.<\/p>\n

KEERY: I certainly got a lot of funny hats on this trip.<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/a><\/p>\n

SHARPLES: [Laughs] So, guitars and funny hats?<\/p>\n

KEERY: We\u2019re simple people, really.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Joe, I know this is your first time being back with Post Animal since 2017-ish, so how does it feel to have the gang back together?<\/p>\n

KEERY: Oh, man. It\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s kind of hard to remember, actually, what was the impetus for the idea other than just being like, \u201cOh, we should do that.\u201d It\u2019s funny that we hadn\u2019t done it before, but it happened in the perfect way. We have this great piece of art to show for this time that we spent together, which is such a fun little memento to have. We\u2019ve all been on these different journeys separately as artists and people, and to all come back together and to have different levels of expertise that we all bring to the table, it was super natural. It was a true labor of love. It feels kind of selfish in a way because we\u2019re just also hanging out and having a fun time doing this stuff. When we first met, we all really bonded over being involved in this creative project together, so it was an extension of that.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: Do you feel like you\u2019ve each grown as live performers since you first started out?<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Definitely, yeah. It\u2019s a totally different ball game for everyone, which is fun.<\/p>\n

KEERY: I mean, when we first started out\u2014<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: We were not very good. [Laughs]<\/p>\n

KEERY: I was playing drums pretty poorly, honestly.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: Now people are getting fairly good at doing it.<\/p>\n

KEERY: Yeah, I think so. Everyone has had enough time. It\u2019s hard, though.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: It\u2019s cool to have this big show to play with and have the ability to cross-pollinate the two bands. There\u2019s a lot of time for everyone to experiment with things. From start to finish, you could even see a difference in how everyone was performing. It was almost like a time warp.<\/p>\n

KEERY: Yeah, I felt that way.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: It felt really cool to watch. Night after night, it would be a completely different level of performance, at least from where I was watching.<\/p>\n

SHARPLES: What are you each most looking forward to on this next leg?<\/p>\n

KEERY: I\u2019m really looking forward to spending time with our gang. I mean, I\u2019m really excited for the shows, not to make that sound secondary. From start to finish, it really does feel like a big show and a big extension of our friend group. I\u2019m excited to be back in that world again. It\u2019s like everybody has gone and retreated to their homes and spent time with their loved ones and stuff, so it\u2019ll be really great to get everyone back together.<\/p>\n

HIRSHLAND: The alchemy of the two groups of people\u2014the connections run so deep, and it\u2019s a really fun group to be with for an extended period of time. It\u2019s always nice to tour with people, but it\u2019s rare that you have that kind of a thing going on with every single person. I got my own relationship with each of these people, and it feels super good to just be hanging.<\/p>\n

\"Joe<\/a><\/p>\n

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