Words by Teresa Sayegh
Photos by Kirill Bykanov
By the time I got my media pass, the line had eaten forty five minutes I didn’t have. It’s day one of Governors Ball 2026, it’s 80 degrees, and I am speed-walking across Flushing Meadows. On my arrival, the press lounge is buzzing. The Backfires are already inside; members Alex Gomez (vocals), Harry Ruprecht (lead guitar), Matt Walter (bass), and Dylan Spiro (drums) are set to take the Governors Ball stage for the first time.
New York based rock band The Backfires formed on a study abroad trip in London and formalized in a Mercury Lounge green room. Drawing inspiration from both UK and NYC scenes, The Backfires released their debut album This Is Not An Exit earlier this year and are in the process of mixing their upcoming album. Super 8, the band’s latest single, is out now on all streaming platforms. No matter what, the band keeps on creating.
You were supposed to play last year and it got rained out. When did they tell you?
Alex: Oh, dude, it was so tragic. So we loaded in. It was Saturday. We had just played a festival the night before in Maryland. We drove through the night to get here to New York to play the festival. Rode in at like nine. It’s kind of gloomy outside, and we’re just setting up on stage, pretty chill vibes. 11:45, we’re supposed to get on the golf cart to go to the stage. And then someone messages us a screenshot of a tweet…doors are pushed back like two or three hours until four o’clock. And I was like, this is the first time I’m hearing this. I message the artist relations person, they’re like, oh yeah, we’ll talk to you. And I was like, okay. Then we called our manager and our manager was like, yeah, you’re not playing anymore. So, it was a bummer. There were a lot of other bands in the same boat, obviously. We were kind of in this gloomy little circle in the artist village like, alright, well, this is what it is.
Do you think you were more prepared this time? Is there a new setlist?
Matt: We have new songs, that’s for sure. So that’s fun.
Alex: We played a couple festivals since then, so it’s getting easier.
As a NYC band, how does it feel playing Gov Ball? Does it feel full circle?
Alex: I think it’s interesting because with New York, this festival brings so many people from out of town. It’s really cool to get to play on this platform with all these artists that aren’t from here. And it’s really cool to get to play for a lot of New Yorkers where this is maybe the only show they’re going to this year…they get to see like 20 artists in a weekend. That’s cool.
Alright, build your own dream Gov Ball lineup… three headliners, dead or alive. Go…!
Harry: Oasis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles.
Dylan: Maneskin, James Arthur, Led Zeppelin.
Matt: Out of left field- Kendrick Lamar, and he brings out the resurrected Biggie Smalls. Queens of the Stone Age. And The Beatles.
Alex: Frank Sinatra, The Ramones, The Eagles.
If you could bring someone on stage with you, who would it be?
Harry: Paul McCartney? That’s not controversial, right?
Dylan: Paul McCartney is gonna aura farm us.
Matt: I like Courtney Barnett a lot. She’s awesome.
Dylan: Freddie Mercury.
Alex: I think I’m just going back with Frank. I think that would be pretty cool.
You’ve been playing a lot of festivals amongst bands you grew up listening to. Do you ever get starstruck?
Alex: I think there’s an aspect of it where everyone’s just a normal person. Everyone is also just there because they make art, and you’re all trying to do the same thing. Even if they may be part of the reason that you’re doing it, there’s still a person, you know? Why do they have to be this other idol? It’s all relative. I bet some bands that we’ve played with in the past think that of us. And we’re like, what are you talking about?
Your album name came from a sign backstage at Mercury Lounge. That’s iconic, so many bands have roots there. Is Mercury Lounge your favorite venue?
Dylan: Yeah, have you seen the sign? There’s a sign on the stage that says ‘This Is Not An Exit.’
Alex: We played there all together in February 2022 – we basically say that’s the beginning of the band. Our first real show in New York, all living together, doing it for real. And it was just there. It’s always there and no one ever notices it because it’s an exit sign.
Matt: Well, it’s not an exit sign.
Dylan: Yeah, it’s not an exit. It’s actually the opposite.
Matt: It’s a beacon. It’s a cultural beacon.
Alex: Especially because we were living in New York and we would go see friends play there, my eyes would always just drift to that side, and I’d be like, oh, that’s cool. Touring bands come through there too. So you get the up-and-comers of the New York scene but also, I remember seeing Briston Maroney play Mercury Lounge in 2019 and I was like, this guy’s the coolest guy I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
What’s the last concert you saw that genuinely floored you from the crowd?
Harry: Oasis ruined every other concert I’ve ever been to. It was maybe the best thing I’ve ever seen, I ever will see, at Wembley Stadium in London. I’ve brought up Oasis a lot today, but this one’s true.
Dylan: Maneskin at MSG. Life changing.
Alex: Catfish and the Bottlemen at the 9:30 Club in DC.
Everyone talks about what NYC takes from you. What has it given you?
Alex: Hopes. Dreams.
Harry: It gave us our new album in the form of rehearsal space, that’s where we wrote a lot of the songs. It’s brought us all together in a place that we can all agree to live for a long period of time. We spent the last year and a half making an album together and it’s finally about to come out. So I think NYC gave us that.
Best New York night you’ve had as a band?
Harry: The first time we played Mercury Lounge, I think that was the big thing. Maybe this too.
Dylan: Yeah, this, Gov Ball 2026.
Harry: Mercury Lounge was the first show we played when Matt, Alex, and I moved here to live together. We didn’t know what to expect. A lot of people came to support us. It was a bit overwhelming in the best way. Very memorable.
Did you guys decide to become a band at a Catfish and the Bottlemen show? What’s the version of the story only you know?
Alex: Yeah, it was more of me. I hadn’t really seen a whole lot of rock music growing up and I hadn’t seen really any music growing up outside of DC. My mom listened to whatever music she picked up at Starbucks and my dad just listened to the weather traffic radio. A friend invited me to that show. So I went and I was just like, oh, this is fucking sick.
When I was younger and I found a new band nobody knew, I always felt cool. What’s the band you listened to at 13, 14 that made you feel like nobody knew this but you?
Alex: Atlas Genius.
Matt: Mine is probably Green Day or something like that.
Dylan: Foo Fighters.
Harry: Metallica.
No skip album?
Matt: Abbey Road or Skinty Fia — Fontaines DC.
Alex: Last 20 years I’d say AM — Arctic Monkeys. No skip.
Dylan: Favorite Worst Nightmare — Arctic Monkeys.
Harry: Morning Glory — Oasis.
I can tell you guys have good music taste by the covers you chose. “Off With Your Head” and “Miss You” were amazing. How do you choose what to cover?
Alex: I think it was just us having fun. We made an effort to pick a song from each different decade. “Miss You” covered the 70s. “She’s Electric” covered the 90s. “Heads Will Roll” covered the 2000s. The Marías, no one notices the newer one. So we were like, that was cool.
Harry: Originally Alex phoned me saying he was going to put a cover on Instagram playing the Marías on acoustic guitar. I was at the studio so I said we could just record it there, and then it morphed into this five-week thing.
Alex: We did the one and in August I was like, oh, what if we did three more covers and put it out for Halloween and called it Costume Party? Like we’re dressing up as our favorite artists.
Harry: And then the tape machine, I was learning about the tape machine at the studio, and that morphed into, oh, this is like a test run to see if we can record our next album on tape. Then, we did that. Now that’s coming out too.
Do you guys like when people compare you to other bands? Do you see the comparison?
Alex: Yeah, I think it’s whatever gets people in the door. We’re just trying to share our music with people, and if they want to compare us, cool. It’d be cool in another record or two for people to be like, well, it’s for fans of The Backfires. That’s the goal.
Matt: Genre is dead too. To say you’re an alternative band is almost meaningless, it’s so broad. And pop is like, well, how many monthly listeners do you have? Spotify really changed the way that people listen to music and the way people consume it.
Are there any new or up-and-coming bands you want to put on Alt Citizen’s radar?
Matt: I’ll skip the NYC part, but Mercury, they’re based in Nashville, we played a show with them, and they’re fantastic. And Foxtide, they just put out a new record, they’re great.
Harry: Double Standard, our sister band. Or Phone Boy.
Alex: For NYC, Torture and the Desert Spiders. Shout out Torture Tuesdays.
You have an album coming out, does that put things on hold or are you always writing?
Matt: I really want to be writing, actually.
Alex: We wrote the record, then we recorded the record, and now we’re putting out the record, it’s pretty constant. There hasn’t actually been time to work on new music yet because we’re still mixing the album. Once that’s done, we’re right back to it. I think we just enjoy playing together.
What do you want people walking away today to know about the Backfires?
Alex: Our goal with our music is to bring people together. If you listen to a song and you go to a show and you meet a friend at that show, that’s how you build your community. That’s what we’re in the business of doing. That would be pretty great.
Dylan: Yeah, I agree with that. That was good.
Listen to “This is Not An Exit” and “Super 8”!