Pennsylvania-raised but Nashville native Watson Maack, who fronts his band of the same name, sat down with me in an empty coffee shop a couple hours before his gig at Connie’s Ric Rac back in February. He and drummer Jablaze Roman, bassist Josiah Rodriguez, and guitarist Brooks Gengenbach were finishing up a weekend stretch of shows before three of them headed back to their real lives: college. After talking only to bands where school isn’t a part of their daily lives anymore, it was refreshing to get a perspective on how an artist attempts to multitask to this sort of extreme. I’ve known Watson forever, and one thing that hasn’t and probably will never change about him is that he doesn’t sit still. We talked about college dating, red flags (of course), and what the deal with boys cuffing their jeans is.

Easy opener: elevator pitch who “Watson Maack” is for me.

Watson: I’m from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania but right now I live in Nashville. We’re doing the singer/songwriter thing right now. We released the Safety EP back in December. Ever since then we’ve just been playing shows and recording new music and meeting new people. We’re just kind of in the early stages for sure but we’re just really trying to get into it.

Anybody dating anyone right now? What was the honest first impression that you think you both gave each other?

Josiah: I think the first time I ever saw her she was leading worship, and I just remember thinking, “Oh man. She’s really good.” I have no idea what her first impression of me was. I’m actually kind of scared to ask.

Emily: If you had to guess what do you think?

Josiah: Probably that I was dorky.

Emily: Perfect. Super wholesome answer. So the rest of you are single, then. Are you on dating apps?

Watson: No, I’m not.

Brooks: Nope.

Emily: Really? You guys are in college. That’s so interesting.

Watson: I know people who have had some amazing experiences from apps. The youth pastor from my church met his wife on Tinder.

Emily: Wow. I mean, I’m not either. I don’t like the idea. But shoot. I was going to ask if anyone had any horror stories.

Brooks: I feel like they’re characterized by horror stories.

Jablaze: I steer clear of dating apps. I’d rather just meet someone in person.

Emily: Yeah so you guys are the only band to ever exist that doesn’t use Tinder.

Watson: Yeah, we’re different.

Emily: Good for you guys. My friend has an Instagram called “Yelling At Men” that she uses as a kind of dumpster fire for sharing the absolutely horrible messages she’s gotten from Tinder. It’s so funny but I feel terrible.

When someone asks you what your favorite album is, what’s the honest, guilty pleasure answer? What’s the “I want to seem cool” answer?

Josiah: I think my first favorite record that still stands is Walk the Moon’s Talking is Hard. I feel like honestly that could be both answers.

Emily: “Shut Up & Dance” reminds me of prom, so that’s definitely a cringey answer.

Jablaze: I don’t know if I have a favorite album. But the first band that really motivated me was All Time Low. That was a big influence as a kid. If I wanted to impress someone I’d probably mention The 1975 because that’s something everyone likes.

Watson: One of the best songs ever is “When You Look Me In The Eyes” by The Jonas Brothers. That whole record is so great. That’s not a guilty pleasure. But if I wanted to say something indie I’d probably go for anything by Colony House.

Brooks: I’m a big Colony House fan. Right now I’m really into The Night Game. I think my embarrassing pick would be the new Jonas Brothers album.

Watson: The new Jonas Brothers is so sick.

Emily: I’ve had bands be like, “Do you know who the Alabama Shakes are?” And I’m like, me? Do I, a music journalist, know who the Alabama Shakes are? Or they’ll give me a Beatles album as their guilty pleasure. Like, no. Give me Avril Lavigne. Give me something embarrassing.

Watson: I could be so revealing and tell you like, The Wiggles or something.

Emily: Holy shit, that would be so accurate for you.

Watson: First concert I ever went to.

Jablaze: Are you serious?

Watson: I’m so serious. It was sick. Second concert I ever went to was The Jonas Brothers.

Emily: Anyone else remember their first concerts?

Josiah: Mine was the Winter Jam tour where Newsboys headlined. All I remember was the drummer spinning around on a conveyor belt or something.

Brooks: I think mine was Hillsong UNITED. That was my first good concert.

Do you have any favorite things about being in college right now?

Jablaze: I think that first week right before college starts and everything’s just complete anticipation. It’s like, “Okay, I’m growing up.” And then it does hit you and it’s like “Ugh. Growing up sucks.”

Emily: Wait until you’re my age. Wait until you’re 23 and it’s all over. I feel extremely old talking to you guys.

Watson: In Nashville, there’s an awesome community aspect. I’ve loved being able to go and play shows for the weekends and hang out with friends and getting their stories.

Josiah: I think the most wild thing I’ve done is stay up late to write a paper.

Emily: Are you guys all sophomores?

Jablaze: They are, I’m a freshman.

Emily: A freshman! Oh my god.

Brooks: I’m like half-online and half-on campus because I’m on tour a lot with other projects, so I think just being able to do both is cool. I don’t think any of us really party because this is what we want to do. We want to be able to go out and tour and play.

Emily: My friends and I used to throw house shows at Saint Joe’s for like two years. Watson you played once or twice. I miss the Greenhouse, that was my place. The West Philly scene is a little quiet right now. But our craziest shows was at our other spot, The Bath House, and I’m pretty sure it was a metal show. The house would fucking shake. Someone punched a couple ceiling tiles. We had a didgeridoo for beer luges. Not kidding. It was nasty.

Watson: Yeah we were just talking about that one we played. Nashville has a cool house show scene.

Emily: It’s such a different experience. I haven’t been to a big show in a long time. I just hit bar shows and house shows because that’s where all my friends go and that’s where all my friends play. It’s such a tight community and you lose that at the bigger venues.

Watson: We recently played this one spot, it was a super divey bar, and we walked in and the whole crowd was like a bunch of metal heads and we are not a metal band so we just didn’t belong there. But the promoter gave us free pizza so that was cool.

Emily: Yeah if they’re not gonna pay you then you have to take what you can get. What did you guys check out around Philly today?

Watson: We got steaks at Gino’s and Ninth Dimension Cafe where we’re sitting right now is sick. We haven’t done much.

Emily: Yeah, did the guy leave us here? He just walked out and we’re the only ones here.

Jablaze: I think he trusts us.

Emily: What was the Gino’s rating?

Watson: I’d give it an 8 out of 10. I’ve had it before and it’s pretty classic.

Josiah: I feel like we’re pretty lame for being from a town so close to Philly.

Jablaze: I’m not even a huge cheesesteak person.

Emily: WHAT! Aw man. I mean, Gino’s is fine. You can do better.

Watson: Are you a Pat’s person?

Emily: I actually love Joe’s in Fishtown. Right across from Johnny Brenda’s, so you can either start or end your night there if you’re doing the whole Frankford/Girard/Front loop. OG Joe’s is great too, but Fishtown Joe’s is my favorite.

What’s your impression of college dating culture?

Jablaze: Girls stress me out.

Watson: So Jablaze and I both go to a Christian school, and the whole thing goes like this: let’s go on a date, and then let’s get married.

Jablaze: Girls really do wanna get married.

Watson: It’s so funny.

Emily: Oh my god you are really not like any other band I’ve talked to.

Jablaze: I’ve just found that girls want to move faster than I’ve ever seen in Pennsylvania or anywhere else in the world. It’s the Christian schools. “Ring By Spring” is what they call it.

Emily: Hold on. What.

Jablaze: Ring By Spring. It’s a real thing.

Watson: You meet in the fall and you’re engaged in the spring.

Jablaze: A lot of people our age are already engaged and getting married by junior or senior year.

Emily: That makes me. So. Uncomfortable.

Watson: I can’t. You’re not experiencing life at all. None of us are really like that, but I hope that those people are happy.

Emily: I dated someone all through college, and then we broke up right after. And looking back, if that was just it, that wouldn’t have been the right move. The Venn diagram of who you are in college and who you are after college doesn’t even overlap. Dating someone in school usually means you never get a break from them. Dating after school and being in the city is just a totally different world. It’s healthier.

Josiah: My girlfriend and I don’t go to the same school and she comes home every once in a while so it’s actually kind of the opposite. We make long distance work.

Emily: Yeah both have their own challenges.

Josiah: Yeah we just had our six month anniversary so we’re doing okay.

Emily: Yeah I saw. I hope you get married soon. :) But I never would have assumed this whole “Ring By Spring” thing. I went to a Catholic college and there were a couple girls here and there who got engaged super early but I never knew them. And my friend group was like, grossly not into that. That’s just so strange to me. All my friends were in relationships and then a lot of them broke up after graduation because now you don’t really have to be around them all the time and you want to go figure yourself out. It sounds shitty but that’s like how nine out of ten relationships I’ve seen have turned out. Post-grad in my opinion has honestly been better.

Watson: Yeah, college is supposed to be like the catalyst of who you’re supposed to be, but not the end-all be-all.

Emily: So do you guys have like, typical college frat stories?

Watson: Oh yeah we do. They throw ragers.

Emily: But the girls who go to them want to get married.

Jablaze: I’m planning on rushing a frat. Watson and I experience a lot of the same weird things since we go to similar schools in Tennessee.

Watson: We’re not really seeing what a state school frat looks like. Our Greek life is definitely different, but we’ve definitely seen how excited people get with their alcohol.

Emily: Not a bad time, but not to that extent.

What’s a red flag trait that you look out for in another person? What’s a red flag trait about yourself?

Josiah: I think my own red flag is that if I don’t want to talk and I see a text from you, I just won’t reply. I think a red flag in someone else is if you ask someone a question and they kind of shut it down and become standoffish, that makes me super hesitant.

Emily: Both of yours deal with bad communication skills so that’s interesting.

Watson: One thing for me is that I’m so busy. In this moment right now, I am just unavailable. I feel like I balance my schedule pretty well but not from a dating perspective.

Emily: I can vouch that that is infuriating when you’re on the other end of it.

Watson: A red flag in someone else - if someone can’t keep their story straight. If you explain something once and then explain it again and there are some differences based on what they think you want to hear is weird to me. I just believe that you’re made how you’re supposed to be made and you shouldn’t try to change to make someone else happy. Whoever you mesh with is going to be there and you shouldn’t have to change.

Jablaze: [sigh]

Emily: If you don’t have a red flag, that is a red flag.

Jablaze: No I can attest to what Watson said. I’m so busy and I like to stay busy most of the time which is also why I guess I suck at dating. A red flag in someone else - someone who talks to much, I think. If they talk too much it stresses me out.

Watson: I think you need to word that better.

Emily: Are you saying you can’t be around someone who’s “chatty” or you can’t be around someone who has opinions? You should probably definitely clarify.

Jablaze: I feel like I dug myself into a hole.

Emily: At the risk of being a girl who talks too much, should I try and explain what you mean?

Jablaze: You can try. Oh man.

Watson: You mean someone who talks over you and you can’t get a word in?

Jablaze: Just someone who feels like everything revolves around them. I’m turning red. This wasn’t good.

Emily: Alright. We’re okay. That is certainly a red flag. Let’s keep going.

Brooks: For me - and I hate to be generic - but it’s the same thing. In the culture that we’re in now, I think everyone strives to be comfortable, but you don’t grow when you’re comfortable. So if someone’s talking to me about how they want to get a job, then get a house, then they want a husband who works and they stay at home, that’s a red flag. I’d need someone who has aspirations of their own.

Emily: Yeah, codependecy sucks.

Brooks: I guess my own red flag is just that I’m gone all the time.

Emily: Busy boys.

Watson: Yeah, growth doesn’t happen when you’re stagnant. It’s a little healthy to be uncomfortable.

What are your top three fast food restaurants?

Jablaze: Wawa’s number one.

Emily: Are there Wawas in Tennessee?

Jablaze: No, they don’t have Sheetz or Wawa.

Brooks: I just had Wawa for the first time.

Emily: Oh! What did you think? What’d you get?

Brooks: Straight up turkey sandwich. It was so good.

Jablaze: I used to work at a Wawa.

Emily: Oh did that turn you off from it?

Jablaze: Not at all. I’ll still eat there. Obsessed with the coffee.

Watson: Hot take, but I think Chick-fil-a is overrated. I think the Number 9 from McDonald’s is the most underrated fast food menu item.

Emily: What is it?

Watson: Two cheeseburgers, fries, and a large drink for $4.99. I like Cookout, good calorie-per-dollar.

Jablaze: That’s a big part of my diet at school.

Watson: There’s a place called Dino’s that I like, and I’ll call it fast food because I’ll get the food pretty quick.

Brooks: Dino’s is an after-show Nashville tradition.

Watson: I think it’s one of the best burger places I’ve ever been to.

Emily: Anyone here over 21?

Watson: Nope.

Emily: Ah. I usually ask what everyone’s go-to drink order is but we’ll skip it.

Jablaze: Caramel latte.

Emily: OH what’s everyone’s go-to coffee?

Watson: Probably something iced from Twin Valley Coffee in Elverson, PA.

Emily: Plug plug plug.

Watson: But usually just a cold brew or drip from wherever.

Brooks: I do peppermint mocha from Lo Fi Coffee in Memphis. It’s just a mocha but they put peppermint essential oils in it.

Josiah: I’m into pour over coffee right now.

Watson: Yeah he cuffs his jeans a little higher than the rest of us.

The Date Where Watson Maack Cuffs Their Jeans a Little Higher Than The Rest of Us