twentytwo is a Pennsylvania punk rock band since 2019. Featuring members of prior bands including Bangarang!, Man Overboard, and Your Best Regret.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Tony Conner: Vocals
Jason Mack: Rhythm guitar/ Backup vocals
Bryan Fischer: Bass
Mikal Smith: Lead guitar
Justin Mondschein: Drums/ Vocals
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to twentytwo? How long has the band been around?
Prior of Twentytwo we all played in different bands throughout the years such as Your Best Regret, Sincerely Monroe, Run For It, Bangarang, Man Overboard, PHNTMS, Here and Now, plus more. Twentywo has been a band for approximately 4 years.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
A number seemed neutral to agree on and the number 22 was significant to every member in their life for various reasons.
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?
Riff ideas are brought by Jason, Bryan, or Justin. The band develops these ideas together to compose the songs. At this point, Mikal adds his dynamic leads to fill in and give the songs a more well-rounded sound. Tony writes the lyrics after the songs are composed and creates the theme of the songs through his lyrics.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
As a band we all listen to different bands, styles and genres that inspire us. Some of these artists include Lifetime, Saves the Day, MxPx, No Fun At All, Bad Religion, Pulley, Propagandi, No use for a Name, the Beatles, Ben Harper, Green Day, and the list could go on forever.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
MxPx is the band that inspired Jason to start his first band. He saw them on an old cable channel called The Box and it opened his eyes to punk music in general. Bryan remembers watching an old skateboard video and there were three bands on it The Bouncing souls, No Use For Name, and MxPx. After seeing this, he decided to start his own punk band with his high school friends.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Usually we just hang out, listen to music, tune up, and getting to ready to play.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Recording our first EP with Pete from The Bouncing Souls. It was an honor to talk with him on a personal level about our songs and music in general. We rented a house in Asbury Park as a band and had an absolute blast. It was a growing experience for the band. Also, another highlight for the band was recording our new music with Matt Brasch of The Wonder Years.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
As band it would awesome to tour with bands like Lifetime, Saves the Day, Bouncing Souls, Billy Joel, because he’s the man and an amazing fucking song writer, and basically any bands from the 90s to present.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We are releasing our newest EP/Singles over the course of 6 months starting the summer of 2023. The songs are recorded by Matt Brash and mixed by Nick Steinborn, both from The Wonder Years. We are extremely proud of these songs and the direction they are taking us. We want everyone to check them out on any streaming platform and come to a show and say hi; we love meeting our fans.
Upcoming Shows:
June 10 Royersford, PA
June 16 KungFu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA
June 17 The Yards , Ambler, PA
"The Sound", is a nod to everyone we grew up going to shows/being in bands with. Letting them know that we miss those days too but still making an effort today .