When Jakob Armstrong decided to end Mt. Eddy, the band he formed in high school with brothers Enzo and Chris Malaspina, later joined by Kevin Judd, and regroup as Ultra Q, he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. Weeks away from the release of Ultra Q’s debut album, he still isn’t sure about the move. But one thing he does know is Ultra Q is who they are now and he and the rest of the band are happy about that.
For Armstrong, son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and co., Ultra Q represents many things: getting older, accepting change, and finding their musical voice. Their debut album My Guardian Angel represents their next chapter, one that finds them charting new territory, taking more risks, and challenging themselves to make something they are truly proud of.
Weeks before the release of the album and their show at the Metro with Waaves, Jakob and Kevin sat down with Illinois Entertainer to talk about the band’s evolution, musical discovery, and finding Ultra Q’s voice.
Oakland-based quartet Ultra Q brought their headline tour to Chicago’s Cobra Lounge Thursday night (June 2) and for long-time fans, it was a triumphant return. Usually touring overseas, the band treated their patient fans to a night of dancing, reminiscing, and celebration.
The night opened with sets from local band Pelafina and Minnesota’s WHY NOT, who did a great job warming up the crowd (seriously, check them out they’re great), but the anticipation that percolated throughout the night finally erupted once Ultra Q took the stage. The floor turned into one big dance party. Circle pits opened up with most of the crowd gleefully throwing themselves into the chaos. Even those who didn’t want to be a part of the destruction danced, jumped, and screamed along to every song.
The setlist was filled with songs spanning their short, yet impressive, catalog: “What D’you Call It,” “Redwood,” “Some Dice,” “Rosy,” “It’s Permanent” and “Bowman” along with some new songs the band’s been working. But just when things couldn’t get more thrilling, more intense, more exciting, the band took us back to their Mt. Eddy Days.
Listening to Jakob Armstrong talk about the evolution of his band Ultra Q, accepting change, and saying goodbye to adolescence, it’s hard to believe he’s only 23. Armstrong, son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, spent most of his teen years playing music with his friends, having launched the band as Mt. Eddy when he was 16. Though Armstrong and pals found minor success during that time, they ended the band, and regrouped as Ultra Q, setting their sights on something bigger.
With a new label behind them and a bold new EP, Get Yourself a Friend, that touches on human connection, getting older, and saying goodbye to the past, the significance of this period isn’t lost on Armstrong. While he admits that at the end of the day, Ultra Q are still four kids in a band, he’s eager to start this new journey both musically and personally.
Singer/guitarist Jakob Armstrong and bassist Kevin Judd chat with GENRE IS DEAD! about the new EP, how Ultra Q has grown over the years, and what lies ahead.
GENRE IS DEAD!: This next chapter of Ultra Q was ushered in with the single “Bowman,” which PUP’s Stefan Babcock worked on. He also helped arrange the title track. How did he come to be a part of the project?
Jakob Armstrong: Yeah! That was such a dream come true for us as a band. I remember when PUP put out their second record [The Dream is Over], we were all in high school and it was our anthem for so long. That whole situation came about because we signed to Royal Mountain Records around January last year, about a year ago, and PUP used to be on the label and is still really good friends with the guy who runs it, Menno Versteeg. He was like I’m gonna send these demos to Stefan and see if he’s interested in working on them and he was! Then next thing we knew I was on a Zoom call with him working on the songs. It was a total dream come true that we kind of stumbled into. It was one of the coolest experiences we’ve had so far as a band, so we’re very proud of that. Very excited about it!
GID: I was so excited when I saw that because I’m a huge PUP fan. The Dream is Over is absolutely stunning. That’s so awesome you guys got to work with him.
JA: We feel the same way! (laughs)
GID: The songs that we’ve heard from the EP are different than what we heard on last year’s EP, In A Cave In A Video Game, which was inspired by video games and had this pixelated retro sound with lots of electronic and synth elements. Here, we have a couple different things going on: jangly punk rock, moody post-punk, and high energy pop-rock. It’s like you guys are playing around with these sounds and putting them through the Ultra Q filter to expand your sound. What inspired the direction of this EP?
Kevin Judd: A lot of the songs on this EP are pretty old. We tried recording them in the past; they come from different eras of our band. I will say this culmination of songs are our favorite songs that we have made over the last couple of years. They’re each a little different, but we felt like they all worked together. We recorded those six songs together with a specific order in mind.
JA: I would say it really follows where our interests lie. Making the In a Cave in a Video Game EP, at that time we were really listening to Bad Brains and Minor Threat, so we wanted to make a pseudo-hardcore EP, but with some chiptune vibes to it. That was what we wanted to make at the time and that was what we were interested in. When I think about what bands we were listening to when making this EP, we were listening to that first Bloc Party record, we were listening to Futureheads, we were listening to some newer bands like Black Midi and IDLES. That’s kind of what we were into when we were making it with the exception of “It’s Permanent.” That one was in some ways complete nonsense, but also our favorite song on the EP because it’s just a goth rave song. We’re always down to make something. I don’t think there are any rules for us right now. We can do whatever we want and that’s what’s great about the label we’re on. They let us do whatever we want.
Musical Fiction 