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Another day, another Stephen King movie. But Firestarter is worth getting excited for.

The second adaptation of the author’s 1980 novel doesn’t star Drew Barrymore, but it does have Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon (Jennifer from Succession; also seen here sharing a photo of Larry David in front of a Helstrom poster), and Ryan Kiera Armstrong as a creepy little girl with pyrokinetic abilities. The score was composed by John Carpenter — yes, that John Carpenter — who was the original choice to direct the 1984 movie until The Thing bombed at the box office, and Universal went with Mark L. Lester instead.

Here’s the official plot summary:

For more than a decade, parents Andy (Zac Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, which is triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family’s location, a mysterious operative (Michael Greyeyes) is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans.

Firestarter will be released in theaters and on Peacock on May 13.

California punk outfit Mom Jeans have been making waves in the pop-punk/emo scene since their 2016 album Best Buds. Now, the band is prepping a new quasi-conceptual record called Sweet Tooth. This record marks the first time that the band has had a full studio experience, and it shows in the final product. More polished and focused than ever, Sweet Tooth is primed to be the record that launches Mom Jeans into the stratosphere.

To celebrate Sweet Tooth, vocalist/guitarist Eric Butler sat down to talk Crocs, The Story So Far, and The Wrong Missy in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Loud, fun, simple, and bittersweet!

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Hopefully, we’re just remembered as a band that really loved being a band and making music and playing shows together. I also hope that we’re remembered as a band that contributed something to the overall scene or to the success of our peers, and as a band that cared enough about their fans to prioritize their safety and their experience. If people ARE still listening to MJ in 50 years, I hope we still have the ability to inspire others to start making music or art of their own, and I hope that being a listener of this band will continue to provide a positive and supportive community that allows one to connect with other cool and like-minded people.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Personally, it’s impossible for me to pick a standalone favorite. I will say though that my favorite place in the world to perform so far has been Australia. We had an amazing experience there and we can’t wait to go back. Anywhere in Florida is a close second too because Florida always goes crazy.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

I def can’t speak for the rest of the band, and I’m not sure if there even is a unifying musical or artistic influence that really inspired us as a collective. I would say that our own individual middle school and high school band directors/music educators have probably had the biggest influence on us as a whole. We were all really lucky to be a part of excellent music programs as teenagers and those directors and instructors really gave us an insane foundation of musical knowledge to build upon. I’m genuinely not sure if we would have ever gotten to the point as individuals where we were even ready/able to be in a band if it wasn’t for the guidance and mentorship that we received from those folx.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Cookout. Any location, doesn’t matter.

What album do you know every word to?

Either Psychic Reader or Lightning Round by Bad Bad Hats. I was in the top 0.005% of their Spotify listeners in 2021 and I’ve probably listened to both records hundreds of times in the last year alone.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Our bass player Sam has his own band called Just Friends. My last summer before leaving to go to college (circa 2013, long before MJ), Just Friends played a free show with my hs ska band in the rec room of the city library in our hometown. There were probably 50 people total at the show but at the time it felt like thousands. Witnessing the power of local music and local community that day was one of the most influential moments of my musical life, and a large part of what MJ does and aspires to be is based off of replicating that experience at the library.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

People (my parents included) make fun of us a lot for wearing athletic shorts and sneakers and stuff when we play, but I think it’s really all about what makes you the most comfortable when you’re onstage. For some folks that can mean having an awesome, eye-catching outfit that you know makes you look good/accentuates your features, but for us it means being physically comfortable and essentially like we’re going to the gym to work out haha. We jump and dance and thrash about a LOT when we play so having loose-fitting, breathable clothing is always going to be my go-to outfit choice when we perform. Perfect gig outfit imo is an oversized cropped t-shirt, short-inseam athletic shorts (Adidas and Champion are a band favorite), and a pair of Vans or Crocs LOL.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Anything dog related. We’re all either dog owners or big fans of dogs in this crew so most of us follow dog and cat-related meme and photo pages. Big fan of Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary myself, and I know for a fact that about 85% of Sam’s Instagram discover page is comprised of English bulldog puppy videos.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

I’m not sure if there’s one solitary song that I can think of. Statistically speaking, Bart (guitar/vocals) does the most and has done the most driving of the van. Bart mostly listens to Say Anything when driving the van, therefore my best bet is that the song that has actually been played the largest number of times inside our van is probably one of the songs off of the self-titled or Is a Real Boy.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

”Why do dogs eat grass?”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Any album is a great gift. Sharing the art and music you love with the people that you care about is one of the most awesome and special things in this world. Unless the person you’re gifting to HATES music. In that case, an album is a terrible gift idea.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

One time we stayed in an AirBNB and the hosts either got confused or managed to give us the wrong information because when we arrived and entered the unit (with the correct code/information I might add) it was clearly not only occupied, but occupied by someone who had not cleaned the premises in what seemed like weeks. After frantically contacting the owner we realized they had accidentally us into the OTHER property that they manage while their tenants (luckily) weren’t home. It was super weird to roll into the spot after the show and find a sleep-mode xbox with half-eaten chipotle and blunt guts in front of it when you’re expecting an empty house. I can’t remember if we ended up staying in the actual Airbnb or if we left because we were so put off by the whole experience. Lesson learned kis, AirBNB can be super hit-or-miss.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Our drummer Austin and I have matching MJ stick and poke tattoos on our butts that we got done at our friends’ kitchen table in Portland. We were about to embark on our “year-off-after-college” to try and make the whole being in a band thing work, and we were playing a short run of shows with some friends from out east. Our evening after the show in Portland, paired with a friend’s birthday party just turned it into one of those nights. Once the drinks were flowing it was only a matter of time until somebody got a stick n poke tattoo so this time it ended up being Austin and myself. It’s a great memory and I’ll always cherish and embrace the “fuck it” energy that the tattoo reminds me of. If you look closely you can actually see the actual tattoos on the cover of our new album.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

I do not own a radio nor do I listen to the radio.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

The continued support that I receive from my immediate and extended family as well as my partner will always be the nicest and most important thing that anyone can ever do for me. I’ve put a lot of myself and a lot of my time into this project, and it would crush me if the people I love didn’t see it as a worthwhile or healthy endeavor. The fact that I have an awesome support structure behind me and that they see the value in the decisions and choices I’ve made about how I’m going to navigate my life is the best. Acceptance is the nicest thing.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

I would probably tell myself to slow down a little bit, and to take more time to discover who I really am and what I’m about before becoming so eager to share myself and my experience with the rest of the world. I think for the longest time I was very wrapped up in the identity and self-worth aspect of being in a touring band and being “cool”. I’m super grateful to have had that tool and that vehicle to start navigating the world and my adult life but I don’t think it needed to be the entire focus of my whole personality. The last few years have allowed me to reach a place where being in a band is just a part of my life rather than the entire guiding principle, and doing so allows me to make artistic and logistical decisions that are way healthier and better support the sustainability of the band and my own mental health. I would definitely remind myself that it’s okay to not have your “career” be your #1 priority all the time, and that it’s always good to be evaluating your own feelings and asking yourself if you’re getting what you need out of any one situation.

What’s the last show you went to?

The Story So Far holiday show at the UC Theater in Berkeley. It was awesome

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

The Wrong Missy, best movie ever.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Hell, if I’m eating dinner with Obama there’s no way I’m cooking. He’s rich as hell, and I’m me, he’s picking up the tab and we’re going somewhere nice.

Sweet Tooth is out February 25. Pre-order it here.

After finding initial success on SoundCloud, Omar Apollo dropped a pair of EPs before releasing his first full-length project, Apolonio, in 2020, which earned the young artist much acclaim. Now, a new album, Ivory, is on the way. Alongside this news, Apollo dropped a new single, the Daniel Caesar collaboration “Invincible,” a lush tune that puts the vocal chops of both artists front and center.

Apollo is also embarking on the “Desvelado” tour this spring, which has a run of North American shows from April to May before a handful of overseas appearances in June. Deb Never supports on a majority of those shows.

Watch the “Invincible” video above and find Apollo’s upcoming tour dates below.

04/05 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
04/06 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
04/07 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox *
04/09 — Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre *
04/10 — Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre *
04/12 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
04/13 — San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre *
04/15 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/19 — Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl *
04/20 — Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst *
04/22 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/29 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Shrine *
04/30 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
05/01 — Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *
05/03 — Denver, CO @ The Ogden *
05/05 — Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre *
05/07 — Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
05/08 — Detroit, MI @ The Majestic *
05/10 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts *
05/11 — Boston, MA @ Big Night Live *
05/12 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *
05/14 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *
05/17 — Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
05/19 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s *
05/20 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall *
05/21 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre
05/22 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues *
05/24 — New Orleans, LA @ Republic *
05/26 — Miami, FL @ Space Park *
05/27 — Orlando, FL @ House of Blues *
05/31 — Mexico City, MX @ Auditorio BB
06/14 — Madrid, ES @ BUT
06/15 — Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo
06/16 — London, UK @ KOKO

* with Deb Never

Ivory is out 4/8 via Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

Omar Apollo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The NBA trade deadline provides teams the opportunity to alter their rosters before the stretch run of the season. They are not, however, the only people who get something out of this, as reporters are afforded the opportunity to flex a little bit and let people know that the time they have spent cultivating sources over the years has paid off in a big way.

As a result, it’s very, very, very rare for a trade to happen without word of it getting out into the Twitterverse before the teams announce it. But that happened on Wednesday afternoon, when the Miami Heat announced a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder that involves KZ Okpala, a pick from the Thunder’s hilarious stash of draft capital, and a fun caveat that helps Miami in its quest to make other moves.

“The 2026 second round pick will be the lessor from either Oklahoma City, Dallas or Philadelphia, which are owed to the Thunder,” Miami announced in a release. “Additionally, the HEAT and Thunder have agreed to amend the protections of the first round pick already owed to Oklahoma City via the Clippers originally from Miami to a 2025 first round protected pick, and if not conveyed, to a 2026 unprotected pick.”

Not bad! Anyway, they managed to announce this trade without Adrian Wojnarowski or Shams Charania or any of the other big names in the basketball reporting-sphere getting hold of it first, so congrats to the Heat and Thunder on that.

WARNING: Spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett below.

With The Book of Boba Fett finale now streaming on Disney+, it’s understandable to be curious about the iconic bounty hunter‘s fate given the ominous title of the show. Is it closing the book on his life? Telling his final adventure? Quite the opposite. Not only does Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) not die, but the series kicks off a new chapter in his tale as he fully transitions from bounty hunter to (slightly) peaceful crime lord. You might even say, The Book of Boba Fett is all about rebirth.

After Boba Fett made a surprise appearance in The Mandalorian Season 2, significant questions were raised about how he’s still alive following the events of Return of the Jedi. Thanks to The Book of Boba Fett, we now know the answer. After being swallowed by the Sarlacc monster during Luke Skywalker’s rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt’s palace, Boba Fett finds himself being digested by the creature, which he’s not about to let happen without a fight. Thanks to the flamethrower in his gauntlet, he’s able to fight his way out of the Sarlacc’s stomach and dig his way out into the desert sand.

Barely alive and severely scarred from the ordeal, Boba’s armor is stolen off of his body by a pack of Jawas who leave him for dead. Despite their savage reputation, Tusken Raiders stumble upon Boba’s unconscious body and nurse him back to health while initially keeping him as a prisoner. However, he soon wins over the tribe’s respect with his fighting skills and compassion for the younger Tuskens. Unfortunately, his time with the Tuskens is short-lived as they’re ruthlessly slaughtered while Boba attempts to broker a deal with the Pyke Syndicate to keep their spice runs out of Tusken territory.

Now on a path for revenge, Boba Fett enlists Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) to help him retrieve his ship from Jabba’s palace, which explains how he’s able to appear in The Mandalorian Season 2 and retrieve his armor from Mando (Pedro Pascal). With his armor intact, Boba Fett begins his takeover of Jabba’s criminal empire, which he fully secures after an all-out war with the Pyke Syndicate in the streets of Mos Espa. As The Book of Boba Fett ends, not only is the bounty hunter turned crime lord alive and well, our man is thriving.

The Book of Boba Fett is currently streaming on Disney+.

Not only is Eminem performing part of the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show but he’s also bringing his popular pop-up restaurant to hungry football fans. The pop-up, Mom’s Spaghetti — so named for a line from Em’s 2002 hit “Lose Yourself” — was so successful at previous events that he eventually opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in his hometown Detroit last year to the delight of fans.

This week, Mom’s Spaghetti will return to its roots with a pop-up shop in Downtown LA opening today through Super Bowl Sunday, when the big game will be played at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium between the hometown LA Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. For those unwilling to risk Super Bowl week traffic themselves (seriously, don’t do it, people) the restaurant will also be available for delivery via Postmates.

Fans actually at the game will get to watch Eminem perform at the halftime show along with Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop Dogg. The group will also have a pair of deaf rappers signing during the show, translating the classic songs for a wider audience. In other food-related Super Bowl news, Domino’s is offering customers $3 for picking up their pizzas instead of having them delivered.

The Ramos Gin Fizz is the hardest cocktail to make in the game. If you’re ever in a job interview at a high-end cocktail bar, you better have this one on lock because there’s a pretty high probability you’re going to be asked to make one. While all of that sounds pretty intimidating, this New Orleans classic is worth learning to make at home to truly refine your dry shake and foam skills. There is a true “wow factor” here.

This brunch cocktail dates back to the 1880s in New Orleans and originally was a bit of a “show” cocktail that took 12 minutes of shaking to make. Bartenders would line up and pass off the shaker like a relay because 12 minutes is an incredibly long shake. There was a purpose though. You’re basically creating a foamy meringue in the shaker that’ll rise up from the top of the glass.

Today, you shake the cocktail until the ice is gone, which is usually closer to five minutes instead of 12. And that’s still a long, long time to shake a cocktail. It’s a workout and you might well break a sweat. All of that aside, this is a visually stunning cocktail that is truly delicious. And that makes it worth it.

Also Read: The Top Five Cocktail Recipes of 2021

• The Long Island Iced Tea Is Our Official Cocktail Of Summer 2021 — Here’s A Classic Recipe
• The Whiskey Smash Is A Summertime Dream — Here’s How To Make It
• It’s Time You Learn To Make A Real Old Fashioned — Here’s Our Recipe
• Here’s The Iconic Sazerac Recipe From Mads Mikkelsen’s Oscar-Winning ‘Another Round’
• The Black Manhattan Is Our 2021 Thanksgiving Cocktail, Here’s The Recipe

Ramos Gin Fizz

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. dry gin
• 0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 0.5 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• 1 oz. heavy cream
• 1 egg white
• 1 dash orange blossom water
• 1 dash vanilla extract
• Soda water (cold)
• Ice

All of the ingredients on this list are pretty straightforward and obtainable at any grocery or liquor store except for one. The orange blossom water is a little harder to find. You can usually find it in a European or Middle Eastern grocery store. Some high-end liquor stores will carry it too.

Beyond that, I’m using Gordon’s gin because that’s what’s open on my shelf (and I like it for cocktails). When it comes to the heavy cream, look for 30 plus percent cream. You need a lot of fat to help give this cocktail the correct texture.

What You’ll Need:

• Collins glass
• Cocktail shaker
• Cocktail strainer
• Pairing knife
• Hand juicer
• Jigger
• Straw

Method:

• Prechill the Collins glass in the freezer.
• Add the gin, lemon, lime, simple, orange blossom water (you really only need a drop), vanilla, egg white, and cream to a shaker. Fix the lid and dry shake (while holding tightly) for at least one minute. Be careful as dry shakes are prone to popping since the cold of the ice isn’t there to create a vacuum.
• Remove the lid and add three or four pieces of deeply frozen ice. Reaffix the lid and shake until you can’t hear the ice anymore (three to five minutes). It’s fine to take short breaks and switch arms when doing this.
• Get your glass out of the freezer. Strain the cocktail into the waiting glass, making sure to get all the frothy egg mixture out.
• Place the glass in the fridge for three minutes to let the foam set.
• Use the straw to poke a small hole through the foam on top of the drink. Gently pour a small stream of cold soda water through the hole in the foam so that the foam rises just above the rim of the glass.
• Put the straw into the hole and serve.

Bottom Line:

Yeah, my arms still hurt a little from that long shake. But, it’s worth it. This drink is a lush masterpiece.

The combination of egg, citrus, and gin with those hints of subtly floral orange blossom and vanilla is delicious. It just works wonders as both a refresher and as a pick-me-up (this is a “breakfast” cocktail after all). Thanks to that small pour of soda water and aeration of the egg white, it’s very light while still being, well, lush. It’s creamy in the same sense a Yoo-Hoo is creamy when it comes to the texture (the taste is nothing like that of course).

I can tell you though that even when you’re in the weeds behind a bar and you see that perfect stiff foam head rise, you feel a real sense of accomplishment. If you don’t take the time to let this set up properly, that foam head will melt all over the glass when it rises over the rim. That’s a deep disappointment. It’s still very drinkable, don’t get me wrong.

So, if you’re ready to work out those triceps, give this one a shot!

Lizzo, who this past weekend teased a snippet of a new song in a buck-naked Instagram clip, just took to the platform again for a preview of her studio session with two of pop music’s biggest producers. In the video posted to Lizzo’s Instagram story yesterday, the “Cuz I Love You” singer is kicked back on a studio couch, moving her feet as she watches producers Max Martin and Benny Blanco work their magic.

Martin has been the primary producer for Grammy Awards Album Of The Year winners in Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Adele’s 25. He also won the Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical) award in 2015. Blanco has been nominated for the same Producer award in the past and has been the producer and songwriter behind hits from Halsey, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and FKA Twigs.

It’s a big look for Lizzo, who has typically worked primarily with producers/songwriters Ricky Reed and Nate Mercereau in the past. Not that her sound needs any more elevation per se, but if any or all of the follow-up to Cuz I Love You is done in collaboration with Martin and Blanco, then we’re gonna be in for something seriously special.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The self-proclaimed King of Staten Island is looking to reign over a new borough that is equally annoying to travel to.

“Sorry, I’m moving, so my place is disgusting.” Davidson said in an interview with NBCLX, as he moved the meticulously placed Kim Kardashian prayer candle out of frame. “I just want to make sure I don’t have underwear everywhere,” Davidson explained in a moment which he probably didn’t think was going to be recorded. When asked where, the SNL star said he was making the move to Brooklyn.

“I love Staten Island but it takes too long to get over the bridge,” the comedian said, after saying he is actually “very excited” to move to Brooklyn. The news comes after Davidson was reportedly looking at houses in LA, where Kardashian lives, but he has yet to confirm or deny. Davidson also bought a ferry in Staten Island last month with co-star Colin Jost, which they are planning to turn into an arts and entertainment venue.

Here’s the thing: it’s annoying to get anywhere in New York, and every apartment is going to be disgusting. The only difference is that Staten Island still has Colin Jost living there, so they can carpool to 30 Rock if needed.

The Chainsmokers are no stranger to big events. Between Super Bowl events, shows at major golf tournaments, a long-standing Vegas residency, and a presence just about anywhere parties are found, they know their role and play it willingly with an energy that’s often lacking when large checks are involved. They know not everyone is there to see them when there is so much going on. But they also know this might be a chance to give someone a good time they weren’t expecting if given the chance.

Alex Pall and Drew Taggart took most of the last two years off from recording following World War Joy, the album they dropped at the end of 2019. They went dark on social media. There was backlash to the July 2020 outdoor show in New York that prompted an investigation. They tried their hands at collecting, both digitally and tangibly (including dabbling, yes, in Faberge eggs). All of this allowed the group to enter what they’re calling a creative high when they recorded new music in Hawaii late in 2021. And they’re excited to share that energy — along with their latest track, “High” — with the crowds coming into Los Angeles for the Super Bowl.

The duo are playing TikTok’s Tailgate Party and are serving up Palomas from the tequila brand JAJA they helped launch at the MaximBet Music at the Market Party. They’ve already been along for the ride with the Rams, having performed at the NFC Championship game, but they’re not counting out Joe Burrow and the Bengals, who continue their storybook season a win away from a title.

Taggart talked to Uproxx about Super Bowl week, the high of making new music, the chance to convert new Chainsmokers fans, and more.

Martin Rickman: You guys have had an opportunity to do a lot of big events like this around sports. I mean even the NFC championship was something that you all were a part of. How important is it to kind of have your foot in the sports landscape and to be a part of major kind of cultural events like this?

Drew Taggart: I mean, it’s been amazing. We’ve been fortunate enough to play at multiple Super Bowl surrounding, like, weekend events for the past, probably six years, which has been super fun. Any big sporting event, whether it’s the Super Bowl, or we’ve done stuff with the PGA or we’ve done F1, it’s just fun when everyone’s there together to have a good time and in a not a typical location, and the vibe’s always great. Everyone’s just super hyped up for the game, whether they’re die-hard fans or not. There’s just always really good energy. So we’re fortunate that we get to be a part of that scenario.

What’s your sports background personally? Do you have rooting interests just generally or is it just one of those things you try to have a good time?

I mean, I’m way too skinny to play football. So I had to stick to soccer growing up, which was my full-time passion. That’s one thing, I would love to do the World Cup and the Champions League. So if any of those people are going to read this interview, we’re down.

But yeah. I mean, this is going to be really exciting. We’ve got the LA team and the Super Bowl in LA, which is super fun. Playing the NFC championship was an absolute blast. The energy in SoFi stadium is unparalleled. And so it’ll be really exciting, and I think this is kind of a win-win Super Bowl. I think everyone’s really excited for the Bengals and Joe Burrow might be the most popular man in America right now. And so I know everyone’s kind of rooting for that from the underdog side. And then you have us as Rams fans in LA, the great team this year and they’re playing at home. It’s just going to be a pretty uniquely fun onsite Super Bowl.

What’s your approach to parties like the ones that you guys play during Super Bowl weekend, where you have an opportunity to take some fans who are diehards, but you’ve also got some people, maybe it’s the first time they’ve ever been exposed to a Chainsmokers performance. How do you tow that line between fan service, but also just making sure everybody has a good time?

I think what you just said now hit that on the head. I mean, we play in Vegas, we’ve been playing at the Wynn at XS for the past five years. And I mean, we’re doing 50 shows a year and we always have a good assortment of fans at every show, but you got to realize that everyone’s there for their own specific reason — they’re there for a bachelor party, or a birthday weekend, or they’ve never been to Vegas before. And they might know some of our music, but they might not be a diehard fan. So we have a lot of experience playing to those rooms. And I think the most important thing is just to remember that everyone’s there to have a good time. And you do your thing as an artist, but there’s a lot of fun tricks that we’ve kind of picked up from doing 200 shows a year from the past decade that like, we know how to make it fun for everyone, even if you’re not a full Chainsmokers fan.

You mentioned the grind that is performing so often, so consistently, and that’s something in live music that had been lost in the pandemic and is now brought back. Things have happened slowly to get back to it. But when you look back on your rise as a group, how have you guys learned from that experience? And what are some of the things that looking back, it’s just kind of funny thinking about the smaller rooms that you were playing to now having events like this, where consistently you’re able to kind of go full throttle like this?

I don’t think the size of the room ever matters. And you can never really predict what a show’s going to be like until you’re there at it because it all comes down to the audience and how people are feeling in the room. And once you’re on stage, I mean, you hope you develop the skills over time to know how to pull out the best energy from that crowd, no matter what the vibe is, but in addition to doing the Super Bowl Tailgate, I mean, we’re doing the Maxim party, we’re doing the TAO party, we’ll be around.

There’s going to be a lot of different type of things with a bunch of different types of people in the room. And you always see it as a challenge to get up there and be like, how do I make this next set the most exciting part of the night? Even when you’re on stage and you’re performing, Alex and I always feel like hosts, how do we pull people into our world? How do we kind of break the third wall from the stage to the audience and make people feel like they’re performing as well?

Who did that for you growing up and got you hooked on the scene?

In dance music?

Yeah.

I mean, I grew up in Maine and so the dance world was something I discovered when I was a teenager, that just seemed so foreign to anything I had ever seen growing up. I played dance my entire life, but the first DJs I listened to were Deadmau5 and Trentemøller and Daft Punk. And watching the rise of Avicii and having the whole sound change. And I would just sit on YouTube and watch iPhone rips of them performing, wherever they were being booked and watch that kind of emerge in the States. And that was something that looked like the most fun thing I could ever imagine. And I’m very grateful that here we are, 10 years later that we get to be a part of that scene.

When you guys look back at kind of the last couple years, and then being able to release new music again and create this continued evolution of the Chainsmokers and the sound that you guys have, how proud are you of the latest stuff that you guys have done – “High” specifically – and what is next?

We finished our album, our fourth album. “High” is the first single on it that we’re super excited for. It was a really fun first one to put out. There’s a lot more depth on this album that I can’t wait for our fans to hear and surrounding people, but yeah. It is a little weird. We’ve been silent on social media. We haven’t put out any content, music’s changed so much, social media’s changed so much since 2019 when we were last active, but it’s fun to experiment. And I feel like everything these days is so less precious.

You can kind of leak some of your songs on the internet before they come out. You have an idea, a discussion about your stuff before it’s officially released with your fans, which is very new. And we’re still kind of getting acclimated to that. But so far it’s so fun. And I think as people that we were creating music all the time to be able to have an open dialogue and not just hold on to things that only we and our friends can hear until they are out in the world is a really exciting new landscape to come back to.

What were you inspired by in creating the new album? Was there anything kind of surprising that you drew from?

We started making this album in Hawaii and we went to Hawaii with a lot of our music-making friends, brought a bunch of gear down. We kind of gave ourselves permission to not make anything if it didn’t come out. We really relaxed and kind of deescalated the vibe that we had just put out an album, we’re on an arena tour right before that. And really just listened to so much music that we loved growing up, like Daft Punk and The Postal Service and stuff that really struck a chord with us. I mean, Daft Punk isn’t really an example of this, but some of the other bands, we didn’t feel like that sound had been heard in a while and we wanted to kind of reimagine it, and infuse everything together. And I feel like this album is very genreless, and it’s going to be really fun to have everybody hear stuff that still feels like Chainsmokers, but pulls in a lot of other things that we’ve loved over the years.

Speaking to pulling from all over the place, you guys have really had this experience of collecting lately, whether it’s through NFT stuff or any of the other things that you have gathered. Do you have that spirit of collecting in your DNA and what are some of the things that you just realized that you’re obsessed with, because you’ve got more time and access obviously to start grabbing that stuff?

Yeah. Alex and I started a venture capital fund called Mantis in the beginning of 2020, right before the pandemic. And that’s given us so much exposure to so many amazing new companies that are being built and in the kind of the focus. We’re on our second fund now, and we’re looking at Web3. It’s everywhere. NFTs are everywhere. We don’t traditionally do that out of our fund, but we’ve learned about that space. And the people that are building the infrastructure around it have been really inspiring to learn from and be a part of. And there’s a lot of opportunity there. I think the world’s still figuring out what it is and it really is a smaller population in the space than it seems via all the memes on social media about NFTs. But I think there’s a really promising future ahead of us in that space. And it’s exciting to be able to participate in some ways.

And then along those same lines, you have an opportunity to partner and be a part of things like JAJA, and other brands. When you look at projects like that, what is interesting about something like that?

It’s hyper-competitive but Alex and I always say whether it’s the VC fund, or our TV and film production company [Kick The Habit], or JAJA, we don’t do things that don’t feel like an inherent extension of who we are. I think that’s made them feel really organic and JAJA especially, we’ve been working on that project for so many years now. We’re so happy where it’s at right now. That’s a brand that embodies the fun nature that we were talking about earlier, about whatever scenario you get into, let’s make it as fun as it possibly can be. And we wanted to create a brand around that vibe and just an awesome tasting, tequila that we can drink every night with friends.

And then finally I got to ask just to finish it, what’s your Super Bowl prediction? What do you think is going to happen?

This is a dangerous question.

I know. I’m sorry.

I automatically piss off 50 percent of the people there. But they’re both great teams. I think the energy of the Rams being at home and that stadium is going to really play in their favor. I’ve been really impressed watching them. I’ll admit it, I’m not the biggest football fan. I’m definitely fair weather when it comes to the end of the season. But I know I love being a part of it. I love being part of the events and I’ve been really impressed watching [the Rams] and I think they can persevere in the Super Bowl.