Rock ‘n’ roll band BOYTOY is coming to Gainesville, and vocalist/guitarist Glenn Vann Dyke urges everyone to put on their dancing shoes.
The Brooklyn trio is one part dance-y, one part fun, and two parts authentic rock ‘n’ roll. The band will be performing Monday at The Atlantic, located at 15 N Main St. Local band Moonbeard will open the show. Doors open at 9 p.m., and BOYTOY will perform at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are available for $6.
"We’re just trying to have a good time and meet cool people," Vann Dyke said.
Jacksonville native Vann Dyke is one of the founding members of BOYTOY. The band formed in 2013 when she and guitarist Saara Untracht-Oakner met while touring in separate bands. When their bands broke up, the two got together and realized they had various similarities.
"We both surf and skate and like music," Vann Dyke said. "I think our styles kind of meshed and we thought ‘Oh wow this works, let’s just keep playing music and see where it goes.’"
And it’s been going.
Along with drummer Matthew Gregory Aidala – Untracht-Oakner’s old high school friend – the band gained recognition in 2014. Its captivating live shows and self-titled EP caught the attention of SPIN, The Village Voice, NYLON and other outlets. Last May, Rolling Stone included BOYTOY in its playlist section and urged readers to "stretch out on the beach and crank up your headphones for maximum effect."
BOYTOY’s EP had seven tracks that were previously created by the musicians individually and "backlogged," Vann Dyke said. But now for the trio’s first album, "Grackle," the members worked together, writing 11 tracks for the album.
The debut album was named "Grackle" as a nod to festival South by Southwest’s common bird attendee and the Mexican folklore behind the bird. The folklore says the grackle, known as "zanate" in Spanish, didn’t have a voice during its creation and had to steal its seven songs from the wise and knowing sea turtle, according to Vann Dyke.
While BOYTOY isn’t stealing any sounds from anywhere, the album name is suitable for the band’s all-around sound.Fans have compared the group to a wide spectrum of bands and sounds.
Musician and fan Jaykob Quintana, 21, a UF history senior, recently discovered BOYTOY.
For Quintana, BOYTOY’s sound is "perfect skating music."
"The song features a lot of reverb and garage-pop riffs," Quintana said. "It seems like they’re going for a 90s alternative pop-gaze thing."
Vann Dyke said the band gets the ‘60s and the ‘90s a lot.
"Some people will tell us The Breeders and then someone else will be like, ‘You remind me of The Kings,’" Vann Dyke said.
"Grackle" is a true representation of BOYTOY’s authentic rock ‘n’ roll sound, but like many bands that give a lot of importance to the performance aspect of their music, capturing the band’s soul was difficult.
"It’s definitely a challenge to capture the essence of a band in the studio," Vann Dyke said. "It all comes down to mixing."
Vann Dyke studied music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, which helped her appreciate the recording aspect of music making. She confessed to having to jump around or even have a solo mosh pit to get out of the vortex and darkness that occasionally prevails in the studio.
The solo mosh pits have paid off. The band toured with La Luz for two weeks in August and is now on its own tour, the longest one the members have done together.
Throughout their newfound success, the members have stayed humble. Vann Dyke still gets excited over the little things, like seeing the band’s name on the marquee in the Georgia Theatre in Athens, where they performed a week ago.
When asked how she could describe the sound, Vann Dyke didn’t really want to label it. She prefers to leave it to the listeners to decide.
"I think you can take away what you want; there’s something for everyone," she said. "We’re very versatile; you can hear different influences based on what you like."
