Indie rock band Alexsucks stopped in Dallas, Texas for one of the first shows of their Autopilot tour, taking over Club Dada with a packed crowd and a whole lot of energy. Before I jumped into the pit myself, I had the chance to sit down with the members of Alexsucks and talk about their journey and the world behind Autopilot. As pictured from to left to right, Alexsucks is composed of John Luther (guitar), Alex Alvarez (vocals, guitar), Jonny Ransom (drums), and Garett Orseno (bass). Listen to Autopilot here.

(Interview has been edited for clarity.)

Tour Kickoff

Madeline Wright: My name is Maddie, I’m with Radio UTD and I’m here with…

Alex Alvarez: Alexsucks.

MW: Perfect. So you guys have only been on tour for about a week, which is super exciting. How’s it been so far?

AA: Honestly? This has been the best tour we’ve ever gone on.

MW: Amazing. Any stories yet? I know you were just at Buc-ee’s earlier.

AA: It’s still a little early for the crazy stories, but the shows have been the best shows of our lives. So that’s pretty cool.

MW: I saw you ranking the cities. Who’s in first place right now?

AA: Houston’s in first. But it’s close. There hasn’t been a bad show. And people have been DMing me saying they’re ready for tonight, so maybe Dallas takes it. Last time we played here, it was one of the best cities.

All: Dallas! Dallas!

MW: We will absolutely bring that energy.

The Giant Speaker Saga

MW: I have to ask about the giant speaker from the Autopilot cover. I’m obsessed with that thing.

AA: I like these questions already.

MW: Thank you. Please tell me everything.

AA: So I had this idea for a gigantic hanging speaker for a video or photo. I didn’t think about measurements at all. I get on a call with the fabricators like, “Yeah, can we do a ten‑foot speaker?” Not realizing how huge that is. We show up to the set and it’s massive– cranes lifting it, a thousand pounds. It wouldn’t even fit in the semi. That’s why we couldn’t bring it on tour.

MW: Oh man.

AA: Yeah. Now it lives in my backyard.

MW: That’s incredible. It would’ve been insane on tour, but at least it became the album cover.

AA: Shoutout Liam Walsh— he did all our creative. We loved that photo immediately.

Autopilot: A New Era

MW: Speaking of Autopilot,  the new album is fantastic. For people who haven’t heard it yet, what would you tell them?

AA: It’s us figuring it out more than the last one. It’s for people who want to have fun being here and dance… okay, take that back.

John Luther: This album is definitely more polished. We worked with our friend Andrew Wells on production, he’s a huge part of why it sounds the way it does. AA’s songwriting has evolved, our grooves are better, our brains are better at structuring songs. We just want people to dance and party the whole time.

AA: Damn, you killed that.

JL: Thanks. And some of these songs are old, we’ve been playing them for two years but never got them right. The Outdoor Project is one of my favorites we’ve ever made. Perfect outro. It kicks ass live.

MW: I agree, it’s incredible.

From The Gutter to Autopilot

MW: You had three singles out beforehand– Flowers & Dirt, Worm in the Sun, and Headache. And that leads into my next question: how different was making Autopilot compared to The Gutter?

AA: The Gutter was the first time we all got in a room together. Those were literally the first nine songs we made. No revisions. Before that, I had a couple songs I made in like 30 minutes, just fun and games. That first album took a couple weeks. I also wasn’t sober back then, which played a big part in the chaos. I never second‑guessed anything.

MW: Really?

AA: Yeah. Now we’ve made like a hundred songs to narrow it down to nine. I second‑guess everything. But that rawness is why we still play a lot of those old songs. I could never write them again– we’re just not in that place anymore.

MW: So Autopilot is more like the evolution.

AA: Exactly. The Gutter was us taking shots in the dark. Autopilot is us landing on who we are.

Touring, DJing & Making Rock Music for the Club

MW: Have your inspirations changed too?

AA: Definitely. We made The Gutter before we ever played shows. Now we play almost a hundred shows a year. We know what works live. And honestly, DJing little parties at bars or clubs was a huge inspiration. We’d play alternative music and I’d think, “I want our songs to work in a club.” Rock songs that can also be dance songs.

MW: I love that. So are all of you DJs now? I know we have the DJ Topgun in the house. 

Ethan Demoulin: He’s the only real DJ. (points to Garett Oseno, also known as DJ Topgun, who’s worked with one of my favorite DJs Devault, as well as fellow Indie Rock artist Ekkstacy)

Garett Orseno: *laughs* not so much anymore, but I used to.

AA: I’m learning. But even just curating playlists and thinking about vibes made us hone in on wanting our music to sit in that world. We want James Murphy to be able to DJ our stuff.

MW: Love that. And honestly, you’re inspiring me– I DJ in college.

ED: No way!

MW: Yeah, it kind of became my whole thing, never saw it coming.

AA: That’s great, and it’s how we built the band too.

Inside the Songwriting Process

MW: Let’s talk process. When you start a song, does it begin with a riff? Lyrics? A vibe?

AA: Usually a riff or a groove. We sit on a bunch of them, and if something sticks, it moves to the next step. Then we try a million different ways it could go. We get it to about 80%– usually with no lyrics, just me mumbling melodies. Then we demo a ton, pick what sticks, re‑record with a producer, and finish it. Some come out, some don’t.

MW: Do you have songs you wish you’d kept in the album?

(chaotic band chatter erupts)

AA: But hey, two songs on this album were old ones from The Gutter that didn’t work before. Sometimes you have to shelve something for a year so it feels fresh again.

MW: So hope is not lost, then! I can only imagine the number of versions…

ED: Hopeless had like four versions! So did Backwards! We make a lot of music.

Music Videos & Visual Identity

MW: Autopilot has so many music videos. Do you think about visuals while writing?

AA: Oh, totally. I’m really visual. We’ll be like, “This would be sweet,” and Liam Walsh, our collaborator, just gets it. He understands the branding. Autopilot and Flinch are my favorites. And everything is last‑minute because that’s how we roll.

MW: Like shooting or editing?

AA: Everything. We’ll be like, “We need a music video in two weeks,” and Liam has three days to edit.

MW: Shoutout to Liam for locking himself away to make that happen.

AA: He’s the best.

MW: And Flinch is your favorite?

AA: Yeah. It’s the cheapest video and we’re barely in it. I love stuff like that. And Liam’s a fine‑art photographer at heart– every still from the video should be something you’d print and hang in your house. That’s why we love jarring shots. That’s why we hung a ten‑foot speaker in a warehouse.

MW: That’s so similar to your music–  breaking things down into these striking, memorable pieces.

ED: Wooooah, getting deep.

MW: That’s just me being a fan. Superfan activities, sorry.

Lego Stop Motion & Full‑Circle Moments

MW: One of my favorite music videos of yours is the What Are We Doing Here? Lego stop motion. Will we ever get more content like that?

AA: That one was full circle. I made Lego stop motions as a kid. My little brother did too. We built the whole band setup out of Lego. We shot for eight hours and got like ten seconds of footage. It took forever. But it’s something I’m most proud of.

MW: As you should be. That video sticks with people.

AA: It was definitely the beginning of where we’re at now. I don’t know if we could do it ourselves again– that was a lot, but maybe someday.

MW: Do you know Pez, the Lego stop‑motion artist?

AA: Maybe…? Is he that one that made 8-bit videos?

MW: He mainly does lego animation! You should totally check them out.

JL: Damn, no way you just got out‑Lego’d.

(laughter erupts)

Video Games, Skate Culture & Full‑Circle Wins

MW: One part of the Lego video that really stuck with me is when the little notes came down the fretboard,  it reminded me of Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Was that intentional?

AA: Yeah, yeah! That’s what we were trying to do.

MW: I knew it! The second I saw it I was like, “Okay, this is straight out of Rock Band.” It fits the song so well.

AA: Totally. We all grew up on those games.

ED: Yeah, Guitar Hero, Rock Band– all that stuff.

MW: Same. It’s such an iconic visual, and it immediately clicked for me.

AA: That’s why we added it. It just made sense with the Lego style and the song. It’s a tiny detail, but it felt right.

Band: laughs, a little overlapping chatter about who was good at the games growing up

AA: We all had our phases.

MW: Your music already has that energy that would fit perfectly in a game soundtrack. Do you guys have any games inspiring you right now?

GO: Arc Raiders.

(more game chatter, everyone chiming in)

AA: We go in waves. Not super hardcore, but we all play.

MW: You also have songs in Skate, right? Any others you want in there?

AA: If they want to put more in, that would be sweet. When we signed to our label, the one thing we said was, “We want to be in the next Skate game.”

MW: Really?

AA: Yeah. We all skate. Our music taste came from skating and Tony Hawk games. It’s full circle.

MW: Oh gosh, love that game, and it totally fits your music. Well, that’s all my questions. Thank you so much guys!

Band: Thank you!

The rest of the night was nothing short of electrifying– the energy never dipped, not even for a moment. Alexsucks tore through crowd‑favorites like “Hate Me If You Want” and “What Are We Doing Here,” along with standout tracks from their new album Autopilot, including “Flowers and Dirt” and “Fish Don’t Fly.” (They even had special mocktails named after some of these tracks). It was the kind of set that reminds you exactly why this band is rising fast in the indie scene. Keep an eye on them, because the last thing these guys do is suck.