Live Well is an emotional punk band from the greater New York area. The music is nostalgic and feel good, with deep rooted lyrics.

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

Paul Masbad- Lead Vocals, Guitar

Max Johl- Guitar, Vocals

Matt LePerche- Guitar, Vocals

Luis Castro- Bass, Vocals 

Neil Stafford- Drums 

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Live Well? How long has the band been around?

Live Well is just under a year old! We played our first show in late April of 2018. Some of our former bands are For Lack Of a Term, And The Traveler, and Firestarter   

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

“Live well and have enough” is a phrase that Paul’s mother would always tell him. While on a road trip (before the band was even a thing) Paul and Max got road trip/best friend “Live Well” tattoos. Seemed like a no brainer when coming to picking a band name.

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

Paul writes the songs and then works them out with Max, typically making demos recorded on voice memos they send to the rest of the bandmates. From there everyone jams on the songs and really brings them to life.

The themes of the songs vary from suicide, overdoses, addiction, love, loss, racism and so much more.  

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

We all have varied music interests that all inspire us. From bands like Pinegrove, Joyce Manor, Press Club, Saves The Day, to Basement, Thrice, Blink 182, to J. Cole, Drake, Bad Bunny, and John Legend 

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

Nope. It actually all came from Paul

Paul and I (Max) went on a month long road trip in my crazy mini bus in late 2017, taking his awesome podcast “Dear Stranger and Friend” out around the country doing interviews in person. I had always been a fan of Paul’s songs and would sing them constantly. While on the road I suggested filling those songs out in a full band setting. After we got back we started jamming and the rest of the band took shape. Neil, our drummer, is my roommate and would listen to us jam in my room and we finally asked him if he would be interested. I was talking to Matt (guitar and backup vocals) at a party about how I was making music I was so happy about with Paul -- who he hadn’t met yet -- and asked him to come jam. Then a few weeks later Matt brought Luis (bass and backup vocals) in to rehearse and we all hit it off almost instantly.     

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

We actually always all sing together. A nice vocal warmup always focuses us and gets us in a good mindset to play a set.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Just how much fun we’ve had in this first year! So so grateful for all our friends and fans we’ve made <3

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

Joyce Manor, Pinegrove, Press Club, Bay Side, Thrice, Basement, Saves The Day, Mom Jeans, Foxing, Mineral, and so many more… and because they are RULE (duh)

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Just want to say thanks so much for reading! If you are a person of color start a fucking band, if you are in a position of privilege at all always try to always be an ally. If you have done something wrong in your life it’s OK try and forgive yourself, find forgiveness, a community that will help you grow and just always try to live each day better than the previous. We love y’all.

Find us <3!

Instagram: www.instagram.com/livewellband

Spotify: http://smarturl.it/LiveWellSpotifyPage

Facebook: www.facebook.com/livewellbandny

Twitter: https://twitter.com/livewellband

YouTube: http://smarturl.it/LiveWellYouTube