What are your names?
Matthew & Norelle Green, vocalist & guitarist of Stud Count

What is the band’s name?
Stud Count 

How did you come up with the band’s name? 
It’s a gag- when I was coming up in punk in the early 2000s, there was a lot of emphasis on “looking punk” in my circles. People used to straight up ask us how many studs/spikes we had on our jackets, etc as a kind of cred check. It was ridiculous in retrospect, but it’s funny to look back and laugh at. The joke is that, after playing in punk and hardcore bands for most of my life, this is poppiest music I’ve ever written; really leaning into the ‘77/powerpop roots that got us into punk in the first place. 

What is your genre of music?
Overall, we’re a punk band, though we draw a lot from powerpop, 90s alt rock, post punk and protopunk.

Give us a little bio about you.
Norelle: We’re a punk band based in Philadelphia. We started in the autumn of 2019 when Matthew wrote a demo of ‘77 style punk songs, originally intending to do vocals, and for me to play guitar and back up vocals. While practicing the songs on an acoustic in west Philly, Matthew suggested I try vocals instead and the whole sound really came together. We got with some friends, had our first practices and really just got started. Pretty quickly we were invited onto a bigger local radio show, released our first demo and played our first show which went super well. Then all of a sudden, quarantine hit and we spent some time outside the city writing and demoing for an LP, eventually releasing a promo tape with Denver’s Convulse Records, and then with Florida’s Smartpunk Records for the LP. We did our first tour around a bigger fest in TX recently, and now we’re rolling out the debut LP and just excited to get out and play more. 

What made you go into music?
Matthew: For me, there was an immediate hook the second I heard rock n roll as a young kid. I started diving into classic rock, and  pop punk bands that were popular at the time, eventually discovering The Ramones and other punk bands around 12. Wasn’t long after I started my first band with some friends, it’s all I’ve wanted to do ever since. 

Norelle: I grew up in a household full of music; my mom had killer music taste, my older brother played the drums etc. By 8 years old I got my first guitar, and started learning to sing. It’s something I believe I was meant to do. 

Who are your influences?
Everything from ‘77/proto punk a la The Stooges, Ramones, Buzzcocks to 90s girl rock (the Sundays, Cranberries). There’s influence left over from the hardcore/punk bands we’ve all played in before this as well. 

Are you signed?
Yes! We signed a deal with Smartpunk records, debut LP drops in July. 

You released your new single ‘Give Me Time’, tell us more about the single.
It’s the first song we wrote for the band, and we were thrilled to a video for it. We went to Nashville a few months ago to film with Matt Bender, and had a blast.

What is the meaning behind the single?
The song is about the heart ache felt over lost friendships. It takes time to process, even if you’re better off. 

What was the writing and recording process like?\
We wrote the bones of the song in our first apartment together back in like 2017, and just kind of put it on hold until the project took off. It was the first song we demo’d in our bassist at the time’s basement and of course it’s on the LP which was so fun to track.

Describe the track in two words.
A bop.

Who did you work with on the single?
Zach Miller (Gel) recorded and mixed the LP and he’s straight up the man. Matt Bender and Jimmy Heritage did the music video in Nashville, also sick to work with. 

Will we see an Album or EP this year and if so what can we expect from it?
Yep! Self-Titled LP drops July 22nd via Smartpunk Records. Expect the whole of our sound in a record; stuff to dance to, stuff to mosh to, stuff to sing a long to etc. 

Do you have any live shows or a tour coming up and if so let us know where we can catch you at?
We’re planning some dates for the autumn right now, just got done with our first tour in May/June! I believe we’re looking at the east coast for the autumn dates. 

What else can we expect in 2022?
To see a lot of us! Hopefully a lot of touring, maybe some out of the country if possible. 

Will we see any collaborations and if so, can you tell us more about them?
We don’t at the moment, but we’d love to. Plenty of contemporary and legacy acts we’d love to work with. 

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Hopefully touring a lot, maybe owning a home? Who knows, but it’s going to be good. 

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
“If it’s not good, it’s about to be. If it is good, it’s about to be even better.”

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Solid gear, sport cap water bottle, set list, extra picks, scrunchy for Norelle’s hair 

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Instagram
Twitter