In “Overdrive”: an interview withRoddy Bottum and Will Schwartz of Imperial Teen
By Gregg Shapiro
Imperial Teen fans are a dedicated and, above all, patient bunch. They must be because the quartet, whose debut album, “Seasick,” came out 30 years ago (!), have only released seven albums,
including its latest, “All Over You” (Merge), during that time. It’s safe to say that each album was well
worth the wait, including the new one which begins with the irresistible “Overdrive,” a song that
has all Imperial Teen’s trademark qualities – sassy lyrics and hooks, as well first-rate musicianship, and
then some. Roddy Bottum and Will Schwartz, the two queer men who make up half of Imperial Teen were gracious enough to make time for an interview in advance of the band’s multi-city tour.
Gregg Shapiro: “All Over You” is Imperial Teen’s seventh studio album since 1996. What’s the secret to the band remaining a musical unit for 30 years?
Will Schwartz: That we like/love each other and have a mutual respect for our legacy as a band.
When we play (our own) shows there’s an intense relationship with us and our fans that’s very fulfilling
and moving. Like being part of a secret club that anyone is welcome into. Also, we just laugh a lot
together; so, you just want to feel that over and over.
Roddy Bottum: We've made records every six years for the past thirty or something. It's not perfect,
the time gap, but it's worked for us. How rare is it to have these kinds of relationships? I will constantly pay attention to interactions of this weight, know what I mean? I love long-term relationships.
GS: The gap between Imperial Teen albums – seven years – was longer this time than in the past. Is the song “Hands All Up,” with the lines “Don’t take too long… Just write the song,” a comment on that?
RB: Yes, it is. It always takes too long. I think that line came from Will. He was probably most determined going through the recording process and was a total victor in pushing it forward. We were all onboard, but he was particularly encouraging about getting it done. It happens like that, usually there's one of us pushing hard. We work well as a team.
WS: We all live in different cities or states, and it can be really hard to come together with everyone's lives being so busy and varied. We really have to be intentional to finish a record together. This time I was laser focused on finishing and sometimes it can feel like herding cats with the others. It also has to do with a feeling of running out of time like we’re in a race against ourselves and our projected sense of mortality as artists.
GS: I love the video for “Overdrive.” How was it decided that Will would be the one, “Walking through the mall with a baseball bat”?
WS: I sing the lead vocal, so it seemed to make sense that I'm playing that character. The concept
was to be in a kind of abandoned mall, and the band members are searching for each other but also
living out our individual experiences. Like the world has kind of ended or is crumbling around us but we’re still searching and vital and being cheeky and stylish and dancing with attitude. That’s a bit what
it feels like to me lately making art or playing shows or doing things that are supposed to be fun.
Like the outside world is kind of horrible but we still need to let off steam and dance with each other.
RB: It was the line in the song that encouraged the prop. The lyric came first. I wrote that line thinking
about the destruction of the American mall and how it was failing and flailing and a dying institution. The video was an attempt at referencing this sentiment, do you feel it?
GS: Yes, I do.
RB: We had originally intended to recreate the “running in the mall” scene from the Dutch movie “Christiane F,” where “Heroes” by David Bowie plays. We didn't get that shot; we tried. The symbolism of the loss of the American mall is heavy for me.
GS: Album closer “Bringing It Down” might be my favorite song on the album, beginning with the way it refers to aging with the line, “We used to not wear glasses.” Am I on the right track in that regard?
WS: [Laughs] I’ll let Lynn (Truell), the drummer/vocals/bassist, know that because she didn’t like that line. We tend to feel kind of like bad asses when it comes to aging because we still feel sexy and vital and kind of take good care of ourselves. But we do make references to getting older sometimes in lyrics. Lately, I feel like older people are making vital music and just still stylish and sexy so that
inspires me even though I'm not too old. I’m 54, which sounds crazy to me, but ok. Like I love the way Kim Deal and Kim Gordon look and sound with their solo records. Also, Madonna’s album has been a big
inspiration to me and the short film that she made with my former Hey Willpower backup dancer Solomon Chase and his partner David Toro (aka TORSO) is genius.
RB: Yes, for sure. That line is a little bit on the nose, but yeah. I love that line, I love our lyrics. I was
particularly proud of the line in that song. “Let's stitch it up with a needle,” really speaks to me. It's my
favorite song on the record, too. It's gut wrenching for me. We sing about aging a lot. Doesn't everybody? We're meant to feel so bad about it. I like to think that through our record making, we're embracing aging. I'm never gonna get Botox!
GS: “Gotta Get You Home,” with the lines “We learn to be more scandalous/We’re turning into anarchists” and “Bringing It Down,” which includes the lines “They’ve ripped the wings off an eagle/Let’s stitch it up with a needle,” feel like political statements. Does that sound correct to you?
WS: Yes, we’re very political in our personal lives but it’s more like we try to live our politics than overt
political activism. Lynn and I keep up with the news a lot and get ourselves all worked up and Jone
and Roddy maybe less so but they’re living their lives in a political way in their communities just being
themselves and being outspoken advocates for anyone considered weird by the mainstream. Together,
we want to represent ourselves as progressive, inclusive and open and it’s important to be louder and more direct about it these days with the country being taken over by an authoritarian party.
RB: The past seven years have been so overtly political, how can we not sing about it? COVID happened. BLM happened. So many revolutions. Palestine. There are so many horrors continuing to happen. We, I should say I, am a wreck. The country we live in is threatening to kill me. I feel it every day.
GS: Roddy, while we’re talking about “Bringing It Down,” your partner Joey Holman, with whom you perform as the musical duo Man On Man, can be heard playing guitar on that song with Imperial Teen. What does it mean to you to have him performing with the band?
RB: He's simply a better guitar player than me. Will is pretty good with noise, but Joey is real adept at
getting a particular noise. We did a lot of the guitar tracking in Provincetown at my house there and
when we record, we tend to use things that are close by. That feels like a cold explanation. Let me try
again. We asked Joey to play guitar because he's special and he's the most pertinent heart in my life.
GS: Will, Roddy’s 2025 memoir “The Royal We,” was recently released in paperback. Do you think you might have a memoir in you?
WS: I might, but I also might be too lazy. I loved Roddy’s book and its depiction of L.A. when he was in his teens. So free and fun and with a world where so much was possible. One thing that would make me hesitate with writing a memoir would be the amount of self-reflection and then the reception of that from people around you. I already have a decent amount of insecurity or vulnerability, so I’d have to
steal myself up before going down that path.
GS: Cover bands continue to be a popular thing. Are you aware of any Imperial Teen cover bands?
WS: [Laughs] No. Are you?
RB: I'm not. I'm not aware of any cover bands. I know an all-woman Led Zeppelin one. No others. Some kids are interested in making a documentary about Imperial Teen, but I'm not aware of
any cover bands.
GS: Have you ever heard any artists covering an Imperial Teen song in their set?
WS: In their set? No, but I heard a cover of “Ivanka” by a French band. It was cool;
kind of mod and angular sounding.
RB: Again, no. I met Marlon James, the writer, in Florida this year and I'm pretty sure there's a reference to an Imperial Teen song in his new novel, “The Disappearers.” I'm gonna get it today. When (the book) “Glamorama” by Bret Easton Ellis came out in the ‘90s, he referenced Imperial Teen. I got to
talk to him about it last week. Maybe writers are more of our target champions than bands.
GS: In October, Imperial Teen embarks on a multi-city tour featuring east and west coast
dates. Are there dates forthcoming including the south and central US?
RB: None yet, no. We are waiting for offers to play places or other bands to ask us on the road. We love to play. We are a live band. It's kind of what we do best. I have lots of projects going on at the same time but Imperial Teen live is kind of the best thing ever. It's powerful and family and strength and positivity and a realness like no other.
WS: We’re playing in Durham, NC! Yeah, I think we’ll do some more in Spring/Summer 2027 and hit up
some spots we’re missing in 2026.
GS: The entertainment world recently lost some significant icons: Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. Would you care to share your thoughts on the passing of both?
RB: Oh my gosh, it was a hard couple of weeks. My number one bestie who I love and was so rad
and powerful and a gift to womanhood first was Jennifer Finch who was in the band L7. That was
hard for me personally and then immediately after that, Dolly happened. I loved Dolly, of course.
Like, more than Mother Teresa. I used to see her around Los Angeles. One time my dad and I saw her at our Mexican restaurant and another time I saw her sitting passenger in a really old and fucked up car just driving down our block. Tim Curry hits hard too, he's been on my mind because my bestie, Paul, is playing his role in “Rocky Horror” this month. Tim's have been the toughest shoes ever to fill. He was heroic and strong and he did it first. He was the first. My sister read his autobiography, I haven't yet; I’ve got to.
WS: I adored Dolly. She just seemed like an angel on earth. Not only was her music so resonant and powerful with that incredible voice and her songwriting prowess, but her physical beauty was crazy and her humor was remarkable. She was always a huge icon for me and my queer brothers and sisters –
especially the SF lesbians in the 90’s. There was this crossover of punk and burlesque and queer
counterculture and it was always Dolly at the forefront of all that. Tim Curry I always admired; “Rocky
Horror” was an amazing example of being who the fuck you want to bejust that image of him as a
“crossdresser” as a kid and him having so much confidence was a nudge to be yourself and not care
what people thought. Jone and I have a thing with “Easy Street” (from “Annie”) when we have easy plane travels together. There was this one trip just her and I and we got this smooth easy flight from like Chicago to New York together and we sang and did that dance together when we got off the plane – Rooster and Lily St. Regis [laughs].
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