IN CONVERSATION WITH WATERPARKS

interview by JANA LETONJA

Waterparks have always thrived on evolution. From their Houston roots to sold-out rooms across the globe, the trio have built a career defined by genre-bending fearlessness and emotional immediacy. Blending pop-punk energy with electropop, hyperpop, and hip-hop influences, the band has cultivated a fiercely loyal fanbase drawn to their unpredictability and self-aware edge. As the PROWLER Tour comes to a close at The Novo in Los Angeles, Waterparks are marking the end of one chapter, and teasing whatever chaos comes next.

Awsten and Otto:
full looks BLVCK PARIS

all sunglasses CUBITTS

The show in LA marked the final stop of the PROWLER Tour. How does it feel to close it out in Los Angeles?

I’m a fan of closing in LA because at the end of the night, I get to drive home and get in my own bed. Amazing. Plus, we’ve had a whole tour to lock in and are much better at the set than we are on day 1. Sorry, San Antonio.

Looking back, how did this tour differ from previous ones in terms of energy or intention?

This tour was very different from others we’ve done in the past. Our tour manager Lucas and I worked together on a brand new stage set, we built out a whole surveillance city. He’s so good at 3D design, he created like four alternate renderings and it was crazy to walk into rehearsals and see it being built in real life. Also, conceptually we broke the setlist into chapters based on the primary human emotions and created a story complete with a narrator guiding everyone through the show. Shout out our business manager for being down to let us film him like that. We also broke out songs from the new album for the first time in America, with ‘Red Guitar’, ‘If Lyrics Were Confidential’, ‘Any Minute Now’, and a partial play of another new album track, ‘PROWLER’. This set was treated like theater and I loved it. 

Otto and Geoff:
jackets AOMI

What does the LA crowd bring out of you that feels different from other cities?

Performing in LA comes with a little bit more pressure than other cities. It’s like, a lot of our peers come out to watch us and I know there are also so many great undiscovered musicians in the crowd watching us. Half the crowd in LA are aspiring artists too, so I feel like I need to be better. Growth is funny because even when you’re headlining in cool rooms you’ve previously opened for other people in, you never stop feeling like you need to prove yourself. Plus the label and all the industry people come to the LA shows, so you got to be like “See? We fucking rule and are worth it.” A good thing to remind yourself is, “Everyone there wants you to win, they literally drove here to watch you and want to see greatness.” The only place that makes me more nervous is Houston because all our families go and that’s scarier than any label.

Your live shows are known for being unpredictable. How important is spontaneity to a Waterparks performance?

It’s got to be spontaneous, down to the bits I’m doing, transitions into songs, I’d break out different surprise songs every night too. Doing the same thing every day sounds horrible, there were even nights I was like “Fuck it, we’re playing Green Day instead”. It’s just got to be fun, otherwise what’s the point?

How do you balance spectacle with emotional connection on stage?

I think we naturally create both pretty organically. Spectacle happens because it’s just what we do and the interactivity of the show opens the doors for it pretty frequently. Sometimes I feel more emotional one day and might talk deeper about a song than I did with the crowd the night before. It’s really just based on if I feel inspired in the moment. Luckily, the emotional connection runs on its own well too via the music itself.

Your sound has expanded far beyond pop-punk. What excites you about blurring genre lines?

I was never interested in being a pop-punk band. I think genre labels are for uninspired marketers and lazy consumers. I love music so much, every genre, and am obsessed with challenging what we can do and where we can do. Not everyone wants to go down every road with us and that’s fine, but they’re missing out and will catch up eventually. My writing and creating has always been for me. The moment it’s “for” a bunch of strangers is the moment it dies. I’m obsessed with looking at music from a bird’s eye view and being like “Okay, songs are entertaining sounds, how do I make a special and satisfying sound?” The combination of that and my love for pop music makes for some dope music. Waterparks is my favorite band.

What do collaborations allow you to express that you can’t always access on your own?

One way I like to feel songs feeling fresh is by doing different vocal styles across the structure, like lower soft vocals in a verse leading into an aggressive quick delivery in a pre-chorus, whatever, because it keeps songs interesting. Collaborations take that to a whole additional level that I don’t think I’d be able to reach on my own. Another thing I love about collaboration is that I work on a song until it’s completely done and I feel like there’s nowhere else to go, but then someone approaches it with a fresh mind and delivers flourishes and moments I would’ve overlooked or missed out on otherwise.

After more than a decade together, how has your dynamic as a trio evolved?

It’s really very similar. We live in different states now, but the process and relationship is still very similar. And when we all link up at rehearsals or shoots or whatever, it’s like no time has passed at all. Geoff is still playing on that damn phone and Otto barely has one. 

Waterparks fans are deeply invested—how does that relationship shape the way you make music?

It doesn’t, really. When we’re working, I try not to consider what anyone else will want because that’s how you get stuck overthinking. However, sometimes moments or sounds come out and I can’t help but think “Holy shit, this part is going to go insane live.” I get a lot of joy out of hiding easter eggs throughout music videos, lyrics, websites, all that too. Our fans are literally the CIA, but they didn’t kill JFK so shout out the fans.

Does the end of this tour signal a creative reset or momentum into something new?

I am a sleepy guy, I won’t lie to you, but we got to finish the album by February 1st so all of January is going to be work. Will be fun though. I’m excited for everyone who likes us to hear my favorite album. My brain is also allergic to down-time, so I’m sure I’ll have a dope idea February 2nd and go chase that down.

You’ve just launched season 4 of HII DEF, what’s it like putting these collections together?

HII DEF literally feels like my unicorn project. I’ve been working on Season 4 for about two years now, even wearing pieces during shows in February 2024, living in the clothes making sure I love every tiny detail of them, and they’re finally coming out. I say it’s a unicorn because fashion companies are closing left and right, but because enough people trust me to make dope stuff, we sell out of every drop within 5 minutes. Plus, I fund it myself, and run it myself so we don’t have shareholders to answer to, causing us to over-produce and lose quality. It’s purely word of mouth and people trusting my vision. It’s so fun to put collections together, and after developing and releasing the fragrance, I feel like the door is wide open for more dope things.

TEAM CREDITS:

talent WATERPARKS
photography ZACK ERRA
production CANCEL CREATIVE
interview JANA LETONJA