On the next episode of the Backstage Pass podcast, AP founder Mike Shea corrals the neo-glam trio of Palaye Royale for a revealing inside look at their unknown history. The Royale clan—brothers Remington Leith (vocals), Sebastian Danzig (guitars, keyboards) and Emerson Barrett (drums)—have been building a sizable following of fans with their mix of bluesy, ’70s rock shored up with some high-fashion flair. Clearly, Palaye are not a band defined by black band tees and skate shoes.
So imagine what it was like when they arrived on the first day of Warped Tour in 2016 and most of the bands were giving them the side-eye.
“Every band who have been competitive with us that have toured with us have broken up or are no longer a band,” Danzig reveals. “We’ve toured with everyone on the spectrum of I See Stars and Get Scared, and people [were] like, ‘Why are you here?’ Everyone at first glance was like, ‘I don’t want to like you,’ and even the audiences were too, and we found that we’d go onstage, do our thing and people say, ‘They’re really good. I can’t deny it.’ There were some people who said, ‘I don’t like your style of music, but you’re a really good band.’”
“When we did Warped Tour, [bands] saw us on the first day and thought, ‘Aww, they’re not going to last this summer,’” Leith remembers. “Then they saw us at merch all day and carrying all our gear…”
“Wearing scarves,” Danzig interjects.
“Wearing the clothes we were wearing,” Leith continues. “And we did that all summer with a smile on our face. And then [these bands would] come up to us on the last day at Warped and say, ‘I didn’t think you guys would last. But I’m really proud of you.’ So everyone, don’t judge a book by its cover.”
When Shea asked what made those bands think the Royale wouldn’t last, Danzig fired back, “Because we didn’t look like them. Because we like to get dressed up, people like to think we’re prima donnas.”
“Any insecurity that someone points out in you is just something they haven’t developed within themselves,” Leith says.
Check out the podcast where Shea asks the brothers about everything from their control-freak ways when it comes to touring to the preconceived notions they’ve had to deal with. Shea, shocked that the band doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, offers to write it for them. Which leads to stories about their colorful backgrounds including (but not limited to) being national chess champions and hockey players; stealing food from 7-Eleven to survive; squirming when a legendary L.A. svengali wanted them to have sex with a prostitute in front of their mom; having Disney and Nickelodeon stars with drug problems crash at their home and accusing Charli XCX of stealing all their personal belongings. “We’ve had an interesting life,” Leith says.
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