Semi-Famous began as a fictional band from the 2001 book Weasels in a Box, which was authored by Screeching Weasel co-founder and guitarist John “Jughead” Pierson. With the book being rereleased on paperback, as well as made available on audiobook for the first time, it was decided to turn Semi-Famous into an actual band. Pierson explained, “Originally, Chris Barrows, the singer from the Pink Lincolns, put out a photo book of all the pictures that he’s taken of bands over the years. That was put out by Rare Bird Lit. Chris referred me to Tyson Cornell, who runs Rare Bird Lit. Tyson and I decided to rerelease Weasels in a Box, which hadn’t had another pressing in something like 20 years. Then he came to me and said, ‘Hey, why don’t we put out a seven-inch of that band Semi-Famous who’s like Screeching Weasel in the book?’ I said, ‘That’s a pretty cool idea. We could put it out on Duck Records, which was Lookout! Records in the book. And we could have Christopher Appelgren do the cover, just like he did for all the Lookout! stuff.’”
In January of 2022, Pierson teamed with Ryan Rockwell of Mixtapes and singer/guitarist Billy Brown, (Ashers, Unseen). Cornell, from Rare Bird Lit, served as the drummer and this outfit produced a two-song seven-inch. The recording session went so well that they decided to continue writing songs under the moniker Semi-Famous. They later enlisted singer/guitarist Poli van Dam (The Bombpops, The Poli van Dam Band) and in late 2022, the group came together in L.A. to record their debut full-length.
When asked what recording the album was like, Pierson likened the experience to his time in Screeching Weasel. He said, “It was nice for me because in the Weasel days we’d often work with Mass Giorgini and I would drive or take the bus down to Lafayette, Indiana. I would stay there, so it was sort of like you lived there while you were recording. Tyson got me an Airbnb a couple blocks away from the studio in L.A., so I was sort of able to redo that whole feeling of going someplace to record. Ryan did the same thing too, and Billy and Poli lived in town, so it was easier for them. Poli brought her whole family and I’m really close to them now. It was like we became an extended family really quickly, just within a week, because everyone got along so well. I think that’s reflected in the recording.”
On a somber note, Billy sadly passed away after the completion of the album. Pierson expressed his feelings and said “That was a hard thing because he was dealing with cancer while we were in the studio. For us, we were just happy that he was there and that brought us together even more. After the record was finished, they all flew out to Chicago and we did one show. That really cemented that we wanted to keep doing this. We would’ve loved to still do it with Billy, but since we lost him, it somehow made it more important for us to continue on doing it.”
Semi-Famous is set to release their debut album, Destroy Ourselves, this Friday, July 26th. It conjures memories of pop punk bands from the late ‘80s/early ‘90s in that the focus is more on energy and rawness than it is melody. Though it also contains enough contemporary influences to sound fresh and distinct, offering something for old school fans of pop punk and newcomers alike. Before wrapping up our conversation, Pierson shared that the band has already begun work on their next record. He said, “We’re probably going to go in next February to do a second full-length. It’s been okayed by Rare Bird Lit to proceed, so we’re pretty excited about that. We might try to play some shows, but I have a full-time job in Japan, so it’s hard to get away.” Get your copy of Destroy Ourselves here.
