Story /  Erica Hawkins
Photos /  Kris Fuentes Cortes

By the time we were ready to interview and shoot indie pop quartet COIN, they were admittedly and apologetically, quote “sleepy” – and they have good reason to be. Touring, festival sets, photo shoots, and seeing your influences play live late night a local dive bar the night before (more on that later) will do that to you. Still, they didn’t miss a beat during their Austin City Limit set as their fans sang the chorus loud enough of hits like “Talk Too Much” loud enough to to make you wonder if they should’ve played a later slot.
The band, comprised of Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen, Joe Memmel, and Zachary Dyke are smack dab in the middle of a tour promoting their sophomore album, How Will You Know if You Never Try – a modern new wave take on life, full of first-hand accounts and stories of how we humans manage to live, die, and how we spend the time in between. We caught up with the band to chat about their latest album relevance (and irrelevance) of their Nashville hometown and the best way to spread positivity in our current day and age.
I could hear your fans singing every word of “Talk Too Much” all the way here in the media tent! Is there a marked difference in how fans react during the current tour compared to your previous album cycle?
Yeah it’s a special difference, it’s cool, growth ya know.
Speaking of your latest album, there’s a song called “Hannah” and a few other tracks that involve characters you actually know. Have you ever been confronted by someone after writing a song about them?
You know, other than my girlfriend, no. But it took a long time for her to even realize that one of the songs were about her. The girl Hannah, I know her, I knew her when I was younger.
Do you think she’s heard the song?
I’m gonna say no, but even if she had, she’d be like – no way that’s me.
I’ve heard talk of your influences including The Cure and The Talking Heads – what are some of your contemporary influences?
It’s so easy because it’s so fresh in my mind, we saw The Killers last night, at this tiny little club and it just reminded me of their first album and how much all the music they make means to us. And I think as far as contemporary, they’re like musical models for us, for the future or the past – the present.
While we’re on the topic of influences, Nashville has such a strong music history and arguably a distinguishable sound. Does being from a place like Nashville influence your sound, and if so, how?
We’re not really there that much anymore. When we are there, we lay super low. We do a lot of collaborating now in LA, New York. Even for this past album we went to North Carolina, to the mountains and recorded a lot. But when we first started the environment was really nurturing, it still is I’m sure. We’re not as much a part of the scene as we were at first, but I think we’ll find a way to weave ourselves in again when we aren’t touring so much.
As artists creating and performing in the current political climate and dealing with places like music venues and festivals being attacked, how do you navigate in a world like that? How do you do that well?
I don’t know if we do it well, but every day we go out with the same M.O. and that’s literally to spread as much joy, peace, kindness, and love that we can. That’s the only reason that we play live at all. I think that’s it, I think if you go into it with being the present and acknowledging that moment, and acknowledging those factors I think that the result can’t be negative. Not to get too deep but I think you start there and you feel the situation out.
When people hear your latest album, outside of the name of the album, what message do you hope it conveys?
Regardless of the title, to live a life remiss of regret. To be 30, to be 40, to be 50 to be 70 and to be thankful for the opportunities that are presented in front of you and the action you took to earn those opportunities.

Catch COIN on tour and view all of their upcoming dates, here.