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BR: Now that your album King of Having Fun has been out for a few weeks, how has it been seeing people react to it?

Medium Build: It’s so gratifying to go to the shows and hear people singing along. I think every artist is afraid that people won’t follow the new thing. And we don’t have that problem yet. I think that’s a good thing- that we haven’t had a big hit. There’s no viral tune. It’s just like every fan has a favorite song, so I just feel grateful that people are still engaging with the new stuff and lucky to ride it while it’s going.

It’s great to hear that they’re all loved in different ways. I feel like they’re all amazing songs.

Medium Build: Yeah, but also, I feel like our shows are uniquely disappointing for every super fan, because everyone’s like, “You didn’t play this obscure one. That’s my favorite.” Everyone’s got their tattoo lyric, and it’s like no one’s in agreement. I think there’s a blessing and a curse of a big viral hit, because you’re kind of like, okay, cool, we know what to close the show with, right? Because this is the one that has one hundred million streams. And all of our songs have like a million streams. But they’re all like that. Everyone is obsessed with one of them. And so it’s a cool problem. But there are definitely DMs of people being like, “I’ve been checking your set list online and you haven’t played this for the past three nights. Are you gonna play it tomorrow? If you can, my husband will cry. It’s our anniversary. He lost his dad, and this is the song that we listen to.” … And I’m like, well, I have to play that. But then you bump someone else out of the set list, and it’s tough. But we have cool, weird fans. We have sweetie pie fans.

On this album, were you consciously trying to push yourself into new sonic territory, or did it just happen as you started writing?

Medium Build: I definitely always want to get into new sonic territory. I think the fear with this record was that I didn’t want to alienate new fans. I’ve been doing Medium Build sort of in obscurity for six or seven years, and then all of a sudden people showed up a lot in 2024 to our sort of Americana, kind of acoustic sound, and so when I was making the next album, someone that is a mentor in my life was like, “don’t ditch the sound too much,” because my gut instinct was like, great, fuck you guys, I’m gonna make a brat song. I’m gonna make some dance shit. And then all you new people get out. And they were like, “All right, breathe. Do a little bit of what people know and then see what you can explore.” So getting a little bit more into the rock, getting a little bit more into the country, getting a little bit more into some bigger choruses, kind of more poppy songs. I feel like Medium Build is sort of vague enough that I can explore without fully alienating people, because what does Medium Build sound like? I’m not sure. Sometimes he’s got an acoustic guitar, sometimes he’s yelling, sometimes it’s rocking, sometimes it’s crying, sometimes it’s dancing. So yeah, definitely intended to steer the ship a little bit to the left or right. But now that that’s out, I feel like I get to keep going, keep playing, keep exploring. … We’ll see who follows. I don’t really care.

When people listen to the album, what message do you want them to take away from it?

Medium Build: I think the goal of my whole project is that people don’t feel alone. I say a lot of intrusive thoughts out loud, hoping that people are like, damn, you said the thing. I think when I first started making Medium Build, I really wanted people to understand me. And then I learned after years and years of doing it that you can be so explicit and people will still misunderstand you. So I think the new goal is to be honest and attract the people that resonate with that. So wave my little freak flag and then people be like, “You said it, I love it, I feel that. Thank you.” We have that exchange. There’s sort of a knowing understanding of each other. Medium Build’s always just been a safe place for me to say maybe the inappropriate thought, the scary thought, the sad thought, the dark thought.

It’s beautiful in that sense, because so many people resonate with your music because it’s so vulnerable.

Medium Build: Yeah. We want to be less alone, right? That’s all media, art, books, movies. Someone makes something, and it makes you feel like your existence is valid.

You’ve shared the stage with some incredible artists. Is there anything you’ve learned from watching them perform that you apply to your own shows?

Medium Build: So much. Everyone. I mean, Lewis Capaldi taught me to not take it too seriously. From Tyler Childers, I learned to take care of myself. He had really, really intense boundaries about his time and who he lets in. He was really, really measured about just taking his dog for a walk, not doing press after press. He protects his time. I learned a lot from that. Watching Alex Warren, how he engaged with his fans, I learned a lot from that. How giving he was with his time. I think everyone that’s brought me out has taught me something. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, they were the most familial. They were like a family backstage, eating together, laughing, playing games, going out together. I really learned a lot from that. I think all of us doing this job, it’s really isolating. You’re on festivals together, but you’re mainly just alone in these little camps. So anytime you get to kind of trade DNA and be like, “How do you guys do this?” it’s so helpful. It’s like study group. It’s like, oh, great, cool, we’ve been doing this so wrong, or maybe sometimes comforting that you’ve been doing something really right. And that you don’t want to do it like their camp. But yeah, I’ve been really lucky- had a lot of sweet people. … and in every career, you need to pick the brain of someone ahead of you. But for some reason in industry, entertainment stuff, it’s like, “don’t be cringey and ask someone for advice.” No, the second I have someone’s ear, I’m like, yo, how do you do this?

When you look back at the artist who became Medium Build about a decade ago, what would he find most surprising about where you are now?

Medium Build: I think you’d be surprised by all of it. I don’t think I had an image of myself middle-aged. Maybe it’s just very twenty-something of yourself to be like, this is it. I never thought I’d get past thirty. I never thought I’d play to a thousand people in Vancouver. I didn’t have big goals. I was very immediate, like, I just want to play this house show in my hometown tonight; I want people in Alaska to fuck with me hard today. I was very immediate. And so I think he’d just be so surprised that I’m still alive and happy and doing it and healthy enough to do it. And I think I’d be pretty impressed at all the people on my team. Some of these guys I’ve known for ten or fifteen years. I don’t think that ten years ago, if you were like, “In ten years you’re going to be touring with these drinking buddies of yours and this old roommate in college of yours, and you guys are all going to be healthy and have good lives, and you’re going to love each other,” I just think that stuff, I couldn’t even fathom: Friendship, health. Even the guy who’s selling merch- we lived together in college. I used to send him every demo of mine. Every time I would finish a song, I’d voice memo it, and I’d send it to James. And then we didn’t see each other for like ten years. … And then we ran into each other, and I was like, “You’re still kind of like my tastemaker friend. Maybe the person I trust more than anybody. Would you come on tour with us?” And he said yes. So that’s not even professional. It’s just like, I love you, I need you, I need people around that I trust. Every time I want to quit music or retire or die or whatever, I think: I bet I’ll be surprised if I hang around. There’s always some other shit to be surprised by.

When you’re writing about feelings that are hard to articulate, how do you know when a song has captured what you’re really trying to say?

Medium Build: I try to use as little words as possible to describe this feeling I have, or the most- sometimes it feels violent, like I want to use the most violent words. I mean, maybe more disruptive, or the urgency. There’s a sense of urgency when I’m trying to describe something. There’s a song on the new record called “Downpour,” and I thought it was so funny how I had this dream … it was total fantasy. I was rich and famous. And I was hanging out with Mac DeMarco and Tyler, the Creator. And then I still was running late for something, or still had to talk my brother down from something. I was still in an argument; I was still in real life. And I was like, wow, even in my wildest dreams, I’m working on a problem. And I was like, there’s a lyric: “even in my wildest dreams, I’m working on a problem.” So I just feel like I have to just say exactly what it is. Not get too lost in “what does it mean”; I don’t need to explore what that means. I can go to my therapist for that. But I just want to say the hard thing quickly so you get it. And maybe you leave the situation, and you think that lyric is about something else; I like that. I used to be very “please understand me, here’s literally what I mean,” and now I’m trying to use less words. And then I have people come to the show and want to debate what the lyric means. And I love that. It’s like, great, y’all chat it up, tell me what it is, who knows? … And I’m part of a long tradition. I grew up listening to music and debating lyrics with my friends, and even thinking a lyric was genius and then realizing I had it wrong. But the meaning I had received from it was so deep to me, so try not to take yourself too seriously.

Medium Build Setlist – The King of Having Fun on Tour at Vogue Theatre, Vancouver:

DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE

PERCEIVED

BIRDWOMAN

HOME DEPOT

IT’S NOT EASY

CONE OFF

STICK AROUND

TRIPLE MARATHON

BEACH CHAIR

CRYING

GIMME BACK

SOLO

IN MY GUT

DOWNPOUR

KING OF HAVING FUN

CHILL 

ARMOR

BE YOUR BOY 

IN MY ROOM

NEVER LEARNED

WMP

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