Palaye Royale appear on the cover of the Spring 2024 Issue — head to the AP Shop to grab a copy.
It’s been over a decade since brothers Sebastian Danzig, Remington Leith, and Emerson Barrett began their journey as Palaye Royale. Leaving behind their homestead of Las Vegas in 2011, they set out for LA, eventually sleeping in their mom’s borrowed car while they toiled away releasing independent music. Until, in 2015, Sumerian Records came calling and the risk paid its reward. In becoming rock ’n’ roll raconteurs, they have focused on embodying characters, penning universe-extending graphic novels, and showcasing it all in music videos. It’s been a hell of a ride for the unapologetically raucous trio.
But, in feverishly moving toward their wildest dreams, things wound up complicated. “It’s been positive. It’s been negative. It’s been all around,” guitarist and eldest brother Danzig starts, he and his brothers speaking online to Alternative Press, until the inevitable admission: “We’ve never really taken an actual pause as a band.”
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Ambitiously driven from a young age, in their teens, they formed Radio Disney-regulars Kropp Circle. But, wanting to embody those rock ’n’ roll idols of old, the idea of Palaye Royale emerged, and the hard work truly began. Hungrily devouring every support slot or show, they quickly built themselves an arsenal of four albums. Each equally pulled from rock’s gilded back pages as much as the mid-2000s dramatics and theatrics of My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco, up to 2022’s Fever Dream. They soon fostered a voracious fanbase, thanks to their attention to detail — including sewing their own outfits — and chiseled features, as life hurtled by in a dazzle of hotel rooms and stages.
Forging this far ahead while executing a vision deeply rooted in their formative inspirations — their mother, rock photographer Stephanie Rachel, first introduced them to acts such as the Rolling Stones and David Bowie — is a testament to their drive. “Palaye is the story of the tortoise and the hare,” Danzig says. “We just keep on moving — that’s what we’ve always done. Sometimes we make a lot of noise through it all, but I feel like we’ve never been one of the bands to have that spike. You look around to your peers, and especially for myself, it’s like, ‘Why isn’t it working?’” Soon, this makes way for some snarling attitude from vocalist Leith: “I’d rather fail as ourselves than succeed doing something that we fucking hated.” “It gets us in trouble sometimes,” Danzig gleefully adds. “But I would rather be true to our identity… Somehow we’ve made it this far, so let’s keep pushing forward.”
2024 is the year things are clicking into place. The forthcoming new era of Palaye Royale is all about taking back control. Signing to MDDN last year, now they’re doubling down. “Before I felt like it was us beating our heads up against the wall… It took a million steps to do something that should just be, ‘All right, cool, let’s do this. It’s your band. What do you guys want to do?’” Danzig says.
Palaye Royale’s career has been about building themselves into a decadent fortress. But within these cavernous, palatial digs sit three kings on their thrones awaiting proper recognition for their artistry. “I think that’s important for us to get across now so we’re taken seriously as more than just a fun rock band,” Leith adds. Between late December 2023 and January 2024, they rush-released two EPs of stripped-back, tender cuts (Sextape and Songs For Sadness). Not fitting their forthcoming fifth album, they showcased a new side to Palaye. “It’s great when we can sit down at a piano and sing this beautiful song and prove there’s more substance to [us] than just loud guitars and putting on a crazy show,’” Leith says. “For me, it’s easier to write a sad song… I’ve always leaned more toward the somber, slower stuff — that’s where my heart truly lies, and that’s where I can get all the substance of everything I’m feeling and how I want to present it to the world.”
As talk inevitably falls to the future of Palaye Royale, the three of them wildly animate. “We’ve been sitting on this music for a full year,” Leith reveals. “And we’ve had so much time to prepare and execute. There’s a reason every show is being played; promotion; videos; everything going into it has had so much thought.” “I think this album is the first time we were all consciously aware of what we wanted to achieve, other than just throwing paint on the canvas like Jackson Pollock,” drummer Barrett adds.
For the as-yet-unannounced PR5, the album is a whiplash when slotted next to the recent EPs; swaggering braggadocio streams through its concrete defiance — a product of a band in their most invigorated and vitalized state yet. Sessions began in May 2023, and by June it was complete. “I love our band because it’s fuckin’ sloppy — it’s a beautiful mess, but this is the first time it’s an organized mess. I can’t wait to launch it into the world in 2024. It’s going to be our best fucking album yet — obviously!” Leith promises.
Littered with Barrett’s theatrical touch, it digs even deeper into Danzig’s affinity for Britpop — with one particularly Oasis-channeling chorus — alongside Leith’s twisted reflections of his and his brother’s lives to date. It’s even got some pop-infused declarations of love with tinges of Tom Petty. If the debut offerings of Boom Boom Room’s A and B set the group’s intentions, with 2020 follow-up The Bastards their ambitious leap into rock’s murky excess, and 2022’s Fever Dream their conceptual offering, PR5 is their arena-ready manifesto.
But, for the time being at least, the softer side of Leith won’t be paving over their hard-worn rock ’n’ roll attitude: “I’ve got the rest of my life to fucking sit on a stool and sing sad songs,” he laughs. “But I’ve got about 15 years left in these fucking knees to jump around venues, so I’m going for it!”
On March 2, Palaye Royale played a special acoustic benefit in LA for their mother, who was diagnosed with stage 4 brain and lung cancer in 2023. It marked an unspeakably life-changing moment, and a turning point for the siblings. It’s given the trio reason — and purpose — to reevaluate everything around them. Reflecting on this time, Barrett says, “It brought us closer than we’d ever imagined.” Danzig adds, ”Our mom getting sick saw us all looking at each other and being like, ‘Shit, we’re lucky we have each other.’ We still fight like we used to, but we’re getting more respectful.” “I feel like if we were all happy and agreeing all the time, I don’t think the best music would come,” Leith reasons. “I don’t think I ever want to be on the same page as the guys. It’d be nice every now and again, but it’s the conflict that makes Palaye what it is.” Or, as Barrett says: “When shit hits the fan, and it’s the craziest thing you’ve ever experienced in your life, why wouldn’t it be that way? It’s us.”
For all the positives coming out of their stringent do-or-die attitude, they now recognize that there is a limit. Leith admits that before his mom’s diagnosis, he’d hit such a point of perfectionism that, “If it wasn’t going my way, I felt like Van Gogh. I was about to chop off my fucking ear,” he says. “But it took our mom being sick for us to realize, ‘Fuck, a lot of this shit doesn’t matter.’”
Their mom remains a pivotal supporter of the group. Unconditionally believing in their dream, she always knew her sons were going to achieve something great. What she couldn’t have bet on is that her courage throughout the boys’ troubled childhood allowed them to construct a universe for their loyal legion, the Soldiers of the Royal Council: “We were able to build a safe place and existence due to our powerful, strong mother,” Barrett muses.
“Her sheer determination and willpower to help us not be so destroyed by reality enabled us to make our own world and universe, which, in turn, we founded the Soldiers of the Royal Council, where this band’s become a safe place for [our fans] because it’s a safe place for us,” he continues. The group’s fandom salaciously devours everything Palaye Royale offer, and as the stakes get higher — with gossip and personal lives taking center stage — the Soldiers of the Royal Council remain devoted. “The relationship with our fans hasn’t changed from day one. We still feel this unbelievable connection with them, and they have been so supportive in every single aspect of our career and our personal lives as well. Every year it feels like the family gets closer and a little bit bigger. Our fans are truly as much a part of this band as we are, and we owe them everything.”
Palaye Royale have matured. Being swept away in becoming rock stars means they were often letting their emotions frenzy without considering the implications. History is littered with musical sibling combos that inevitably implode, but the boys are now zen, gleaming with lessons learned. “People like stirring up shit, and I’m like, ‘Is it really worth it?’” Danzig asks. “If there’s things you passionately care for, fight for it. Of course, conflict is good — but it doesn’t need to be every conversation.” “Chess not checkers,” Barrett chimes in.
“Even six months ago, I feel like my relationship with Emerson has flourished,” Danzig smiles. “So much more so than it has in a couple of years, and it’s awesome. It’s like we are understanding how strong our bond is.” For the trio, day in and day out, Palaye Royale are their lives. “I can’t even fucking take a vacation anymore,” Leith laughs. “This is all I got.” In the wake of their mom’s illness, they’ve taken that long-overdue pause through 2023 into 2024 (“[In] 2022 alone, we played Dallas four or five times in one fucking year — I wasn’t even home that much,” he exclaims). But even wild horses couldn’t stop Palaye from getting back out there: “I’m excited to get back on the fuckin’ road. I’ve missed the stage — I hate home,” Leith deadpans.
Between the lockdowns and their mother’s diagnosis, it’s given them a chance to check in with their mental health, particularly for Barrett. “I’m 27 now, and I was on tour since I was 18,” he explains. “So that fucks with your mental health… You just keep burning the candle no matter what.
“I think that’s always been built into us. We’re resilient, sometimes to a fault. We’ll burn ourselves out just for the art of it,” he admits. “But I think this has been a good process to gather ourselves as friends and as brothers. We can go back out into the world and tour for years and be proud of what we do and not get offstage and get in fistfights… Well, maybe a couple of times. It keeps us fun,” Barrett chuckles. “Yeah, where’s the fucking entertainment in that? It’d be boring as shit if we didn’t punch each other,” Leith smirks.
Palaye Royale’s future as a band was always in the cards. They’re keenly focused on manifesting the next slab of tarmac to tear up — bigger stages, more devoted fans, grander ideas. When success for them once was materialistic — awards and arenas — these days it’s simply about being able to be Palaye Royale as brothers: “[It’s] a fucking gift, and I never want to take that for granted because you never know what can happen in life,” they say via email.
Growing in such a high-stakes environment has tested them. But they’ve survived, ready to recognize who they are now. “It’s weird to see your brothers grow up and change,” Leith says wistfully. “Sebastian’s fucking married now. It’s crazy. I don’t know when I’m gonna have to plan to start being a fun uncle! We’ve gone through so many changes in our lives, and because on the road you’re so focused on going city to city and making sure you have enough money to eat, you don’t realize how much time goes by.”
“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Barrett says. “We’ve lived so much life. I think all of us feel like old men at this point.” The brothers laugh. “And we’ve learned how to communicate with one another, which is the core essence of brotherhood and friendship, which gets lost when you’re so zoomed in. Things become ridiculous. It’s a fairy tale, and sometimes it’s a twisted, dark, fucked-up fairy tale. But throughout it, I’m very grateful to have met influential, sweet, kind human beings.”
The year ahead looks to be as grueling as ever, but this is what they’ve been chasing for a decade now. Barrett smiles: “I think to consider what we do as work is one of the most beautiful gifts that I could ever ask for.” His older brothers have given him a life straight out of rock ’n’ roll mythology, and while it’s not been without scrutiny, he gleams softly at the weight of it all. “I would never step on a stage without my brothers. There’s something special about that. A lot of people around us think we’re fucking lunatics, which I agree completely.” They all laugh again. “But there’s a lot of beauty in our insanity, and I think it’s just the sheer determination of making heaven on Earth.” With this, Barrett deftly homes in on the last few years for him and his brothers: “We’re honored to do what we do, but it has been a fucking whirlwind, Jesus Christ.”
Photos by Paris Mumpower
Styling by Tabitha Sanchez
Makeup by Kendell Cotta
