Meet Joybomb – the explosive alternative rock and roll sensation hailing from Memphis, TN.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Grant Beatty (guitar, lead vocals); Conner Booth (bass, backing vocals); Lyric Brock (guitar, backing vocals); Xander Sinclair (drums)

For starters, what bands were you part of prior to this project? How long has this project been around?

Grant B: Joybomb is essentially the evolved form of the same project I’ve been kicking out since high school. Back then, it was a trio called The Jarheads. By college, we were trying to blend our southern roots with what we called “progressive punk,” lol. So, you know, a little bit of experimentation and dissonance with melodic power punk and a healthy skepticism toward verse-chorus-verse-chorus song structure.

The other dudes in Joybomb have been in a multitude of bands and a couple still are! Shoutout Melinda, Slumdog, Walt Phelan Band, and ¡El Chavos!.

The moniker of Joybomb came as a rebrand in 2014, a year or so before I moved to Memphis from my home of Starkville, MS. My original bassist moved up with me and we continued treading water with a couple of lineups. We did an EP in 2016 that we shelved for necessary reasons (heavy producer drama), which turned out to be a blessing because when we started recording what would become American Cult Candy in the spring of 2020; we got to treat it as a kind of re-debut in ’22..

What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Bummer stuff mostly. Bottomless consumer culture, chemical escapism, absurd political theater, and tragic romance. The occasional sweet sentiment or two.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

White Reaper, Spiritual Cramp, Amyl and the Sniffers, Billy Tibbals, The Cruel Intentions.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Hm. The movie School of Rock did it for me when I was 11. Going to Warped Tour probably helped as well. 

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

This question reminds me that we’re slacking. Tequila?.

What has been the biggest highlight of your music career so far?

I reckon being nominated for best local band in the Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis two years running is pretty cool.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Van Halen or Mötley Crüe in their day would be sick for the sheer insanity. I feel like, sonically, we would make a lot of sense with Alkaline Trio, The Get Up Kids, Taking Back Sunday, etc. in the early aughts. Now? Probably those bands listed above as inspiring.  

Is there anything else you would like to add?

To your readers: we hope you dig Modern Scripture! Let us know where we should tour next.