When did you decide that a career in music was for you?

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Honestly, it’s only fairly recently that this has begun to feel like a career, as opposed to simply an artistic passion! So, probably around the release of our last full length album, zero_one!

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Who are your musical inspirations and why?

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For this album, System Of A Down, Noisia, JoeB, The Prodigy, Clipping, and Nine Inch Nails come to mind! This album has political dystopian themes, a lot of nuanced sound design, thoughtful lyricism, and some really hard hitting dancey drums!

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Can you tell me 3 things about yourself that people might not already know?

 

We have a Ninja Turtles arcade cabinet in our studio, we used to live in the same building in NYC, and our band goes bowling on every day off of tour.

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What song of yours best describes you and why?

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Maybe “I Wanna Be A Machine”? It captures a lot about our own frustrations with the way our desire to make as much music as possible can become stymied by both of our lifelong issues with ADHD.

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​What has been the best gig you have done to date and why?

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As a band, probably Montreal! The show was amazing, it was our final tour date of our very first tour, and the crowd was louder and more enthusiastic than any we’ve ever had. They were singing football chants for us!

 

 

If you could perform a gig at any venue where would it be and why?

 

Maybe Budokan arena in Tokyo? So iconic!

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What has been your best achievement to date and what would you like to achieve in the

future?

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Perhaps getting our song in the credits of Universal/Blumhouse’s Five Nights At Freddy’s? It felt like a major moment of the industry looking at a song made alone in a bedroom and co-signing it, saying, “this matters.” And it was super cool to visit the movie set! In the future - maybe a music award? A Grammy would obviously be incredible!

 

 

Tell me a story from backstage or after a gig?

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Backstage is honestly pretty boring! We sound check, we hang out drinking tea and snacking for a couple hours, we change into our costumes, perform, take a shower, and get back on the tour bus!

 

 

What do you like best about being a musician and why?

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It’s a creative job, but it’s also a problem solving job. The main thing we’re accountable to is to make fun art! It can be a lot of pressure, but it’s really rewarding to feel like we did a great job executing on a great idea.

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If you were not in the job you are now what would you be doing?

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Probably working in animation or game design!

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What has been the best gig you have been to as a fan and can you tell us about it?

 

We went together to Weekends With Adele in Vegas. We wouldn’t describe ourselves as Adele fans, just casual listeners, but it was one of the greatest concerts we’ve ever seen! From the vocal ability, to the incredible onstage charm, to the visual storytelling of the show - truly one of the best to ever do it.

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What would your ideal festival line up be and why?

 

Neither of us has ever been to a music festival, so it’s hard to say! Our first one will be Rock For People in the Czech Republic, and it’ll be as performers!

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What would you say is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

 

Our manager Dave likes to say, “Great works of art are never finished, only abandoned.” Technically Leonardo Da Vinci supposedly said that first, but Dave’s the one who gave it to us in the form of advice. It’s a good reminder to get out of our heads, and that at a certain point, overworking a track provides diminishing returns.

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What things make you happy and what things annoy you?

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We love a great movie and overeating a huge tasty meal. We’re annoyed by transactional behavior in social relationships.

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What things do you like to do when you are away from music?

 

Movies, restaurants, video games, reading books and the gym!

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Do you think social media and the internet are a good thing in the music industry?

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Yes and no! It’s so much easier for new and emerging artists to blow up now, but it has also done a lot to turn the game of being a musician into the pursuit of attention moreso than the pursuit of art.

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How important do you think your look and image is when it comes to being in the music industry?

 

Well early on we decided we’d perform as these five characters called the “Tombsonas.” So, although our image as individuals is fairly unimportant, the image of ‘the band’ as presented to fans is something we pay a lot of attention to. We also both have very stylish significant others, who have helped us upgrade our personal style offstage!

 

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Can you tell us about any tattoos you have and the significance of them to you?

 

We got matching tour tattoos in Little Rock, Arkansas on a day off on tour with our band and crew. That was a really nice commemoration of our traveling work family!

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What would your ideal day consist of?

 

Zero deadlines. Maybe a nap!

 

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If you could say one thing to your fans what would it be and why?

 

We don’t take you for granted, and we care so much about giving you an incredible experience as a listener and concert attendee.

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Who are The Living Tombstone and what are the differences between you as a music artist and you away from music?

 

The Living Tombstone are an act born on the internet, shaped by two best friends, and making the kind of music that gets them excited. Outside of that, Yoav and Sam are besties and neurodivergent chronically tired dudes in their 30s. 

 

 

What was the first record or song you purchased and why?

 

For Yoav it was The Gorillaz debut CD album. For Sam, it was two cassette tapes: Bat Out Of Hell II from Meat Loaf, and This Fire from Paula Cole.

 

 

What would say to someone thinking about becoming a musician and getting into the music industry?

 

Make bad art! So many people never finish ANY art because they’re scared it’ll be bad. When you’re starting out, it probably kinda will be, and that’s okay! The most important thing is that you finish it and put yourself out there.

 

 

If you could collaborate with any other band/singer or musician who would you choose and why?

 

A real pie-in-the-sky answer, but Kendrick Lamar. We love him.

 

 

If you could have written one song from history which would it have been and why?

 

But if we wrote it, we wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy it purely as a listener! So none!

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What things make you uncomfortable?

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Exposure, self-promotion, being the topic of conversation. I know - we didn’t pick a great career for that!

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 If you wrote a book about yourself what would it have in it?

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A very long “Special Thanks” section.

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What has the rest of the year got in store for you?

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Our first international tour, our second full length album, and a ton of great music!