Eight years ago, Live Well entered the punk scene with a bang. They first released three short demos about their attempts to find their place in the world. They left listeners wanting more, and they quickly delivered. Their debut album, Perfectly Temporary, was a thrilling exploration of life, regret, and hope. And it was all set to a nostalgic sound of early 2000s emo-punk. After Perfectly Temporary, Live Well released a few more singles, and that was the last we had seen from them.
Until now. They made their triumphant return with ‘GOOD ONES’ in August. It found Live Well in a deeply confessional place, singing about racist microaggressions. Building on his own experiences, singer Paul Masbad proved with this release that Live Well is not only back, but they are better than ever. ‘GOOD ONES’ was the first in a three-song EP called MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE. The EP takes the classic punk sound and pairs it with unique, thoughtful lyrics. Despite the length of the EP, Live Well shares a powerful message through their music.
With the EP out in the world, Masbad joins us to discuss the new tracks, as well as everything that led the band to this point.
History of Live Well
Welcome to The Honey Pop! Could you start by telling us how Live Well formed as a band?
After coming home from the cross-country road trip that Max and I took in 2017, things kind of started to fall into place then. In my memory, it started off as “hey, lemme produce this record for you we can get a full band together and it’ll sound awesome” to “oh hey, want to play this show next month? (which was April 2018)” to “so we’re going to record the album now, and Ace Enders & Nik Bruzzese are going to produce it!”. At the time, I was trying to be like Jim Carrey in that one movie, so I said yes to everything. And now we’re here. Best “yes” of my life, to be honest.
Since you noted that a cross-country road trip cemented your friendship, it’s fitting that you get to travel together to play shows. Do you have a favorite memory from any of your travels together?
I was actually just going through the photos I took on that road trip. I, unfortunately, didn’t take a lot because my phone was, like, bent in half the whole time. But one of my favorite memories from that road trip is actually an amalgamation of a few. Max and I would stop the bus every so often during sunset. We’d pull off on the side of the road or some abandoned lot and climb up to the roof of the bus and watch the sun go down. Those are some of my cherished memories with Max.
With the band, though, I’ll always remember the first time we played down in Atlanta. We probably just played to the sound guy and the bands on the bill but none of that mattered. It was one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had on the road. We kept saying we had to leave back to New York early but the night just kept going and going, and the time to leave kept getting pushed back. We really all just savored that moment of our first tour, of my first time playing music out of state. There was a lot of camaraderie and brotherhood that night.
MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE: The Process
MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE is your first released project in six years. How have you evolved as a band since your last release?
The obvious difference is that we’re a lot older now; more mature, some would say. Max and I both got married. I lost my mom to cancer two years ago. There’s been a lot of personal changes in our lives. We all live in different places and have different priorities. I think we take things a little more seriously now. I feel like we’re all laser focused on what we want to accomplish and achieve. And I feel like that comes through in the recordings and the way we perform.
Was there a specific album or artist that influenced the sound of MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE?
It’s hard to say. I know the demos for these songs were recorded 6 years ago, so I can’t really remember what we were influenced by back then. I know when I was recording vocals for these 3 songs, I was really trying to tap into a different part of my singing voice. I’ve since quit smoking and feel like I have a little more control over things than I used to. I’ve been listening to a lot of pop music lately and trying my best to sing along to that stuff. I guess the biggest influence for me was male pop singers like Justin Bieber, Harry Styles, or even the Jonas Brothers. Do I think I reached that level of talent? Probably not. But I tried.
How did you decide these songs were ready to release?
I think we were always planning on releasing these songs. The pandemic put a halt to that and then life kind of got in the way. When we finally found ourselves in a place where we all wanted to meet up and play again, it was second nature to start working on them again and getting them ready for release. The thing with Live Well, is that everything feels so easy and so natural. When it comes to decisions like releasing new music, it doesn’t even feel like a thought. We’re all very much on the same page.
MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE: The Lyrics
You mentioned that you started working on some of these songs six years ago. How do you relate to the lyrics differently now than you did when you started them?
It was fun to revisit the lyrics, actually. It was like meeting an old friend at a bar. The beers are crisp but light, the stories are the same but exaggerated, and the laughs (or cries) are just as hard. Listening to them back was a surprise too, in a sense. I couldn’t believe we wrote these songs. The lyricism in a lot of them kind of shook me. But I also felt so fortunate to have this experience. To be able to be in conversation with myself as an artist is such a blessing. Not often do people get the chance to interact with their past selves. Glad I got to do it here. In some ways I’ve moved past and achieved things I wrote about 6 years ago and in other ways I haven’t. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.
Revisiting ‘KIDS’ six years after you originally wrote it must have been interesting, given the theme of imagining a future for yourself. What is a major goal that you’ve achieved, either personal or professional, since you originally wrote the lyrics?
When I originally wrote ‘KIDS,’ I thought the future I was outlining was something that was too far out of reach. But since then, I got married and I’m planning out to live that exact future I describe. The second verse of that song is all about a beach I frequented when I lived in LA and how I found some peace sitting by the ocean and wishing I could share that with someone. I actually ended up spending part of my honeymoon at that beach. So singing these lyrics again knowing I’ve made some of them come true has given me some hope for my own personal future. It’s pretty rad.
A lot of the lyrics on this EP are about feeling powerless or lost. How did it feel to write about these experiences?
It honestly felt good. It was a cathartic experience writing and being able to feel some release from those negative feelings. I think art is amazing in that sense. It really gives us all an avenue to heal ourselves in ways most people don’t think about.
Beyond The EP
Looking ahead, what is a goal you still want to achieve with Live Well?
That’s kind of hard to say. I’ve been able to fulfill a lot of my dreams playing in this band 6 years ago. I don’t want to speak for any of my band mates, but I do think they still have some dreams and goals they’d want to achieve. I honestly feel so grateful to be playing, to have the opportunity to continue to play. I’m just happy to be surrounded by my best friends helping facilitate some of the things they want to accomplish.
Along with the release of your EP, you’ve also started playing live shows again. What has it been like to reconnect with a live audience?
Honestly, it was a huge surprise. I didn’t think anyone would really care or even notice that we were playing shows again. But it’s been nice to talk to people who were glad that we came back. Some people even remembered seeing us 6 years ago and came to see us again. It weirdly felt like a family reunion. It was great to get the band back together, but it was even better to see a lot of old friends and catch up with them.
What is a passion or hobby you have that is separate from music that might surprise your audience?
I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Almost every day. During the summer I usually go like 5-6 times a week. It’s an insane commitment. I love it. 6 years ago, the most I did was lift a cigarette to my mouth; now I know a bunch of ways to throw people over my shoulder and put them in headlocks or armlocks. I’d say that’s a pretty surprising thing for any of our fans from back then to hear.
It’s no wonder the members of Live Well developed some cool new skills in their time away from music. But one thing will never change, and that’s their ability to blow us away with a release. If you haven’t yet, check out MORE THAN YOU CAN GIVE here. And then meet us on our socials to discuss all things Live Well. You can find us at @thehoneypop on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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