It appears that crowds who lean toward Blink-182, Turnstile, and Beach Goons have welcomed Destroy Boys into their music scene. For the first time since 2019, the California-based band returns to Pittsburgh on Sun., July 16 for a show at Preserving Underground in New Kensington, a music venue and record store specializing in alternative, hardcore and punk.
The band formed in 2015 while members Alexia Roditis and Vi Mayugba were in high school. Drummer Narsai Malik joined the band in 2018 and has played with them ever since. They signed with the Los Angeles-based label Hopeless Records in 2020, and have toured both internationally and nationally over the course of eight years.
In true rock ‘n’ roll fashion, Destroy Boys arrives 10 minutes late to the afternoon interview because at least one of them had only just woken up. They bounce off each other’s energy as they speak with Pittsburgh City Paper.
Over time, the group has noticed a difference in their crowds as headliners compared to their time as a supporting act.
“On this tour, for example, playing our own headline shows in between have really rejuvenated me in a way,” says Roditis. “Just remembering who we’re playing for is important. Besides myself we’re playing for really lovely people who want to scream our lyrics and have a fun time and mosh.”
Destroy Boys has been labeled as “alternative,” “riot-grrrl inspired,” and “punk” by media outlets, all genres they feel do not fully match their identity.
“Melodic rock is the genre I tell people. Live, it may seem like we’re punk, but I don’t think we are punk because it does not seem musically accurate,” Roditis explains.
Even so, the band cites Pittsburgh punk/hardcore outfits Anti-Flag and Code Orange as having an impact on their music style and performance.
For an up-and-coming indie band, Destroy Boys has already seen its share of success over the years. Sorry. Mom, the 2016 album from Destroy Boys, produced “Duck Eat Duck World,” a track that later appeared on the soundtrack for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. Their new single “Beg for the Torture” was released in April 2023 ahead of a summer tour that has already taken the band to several U.S. cities.
Destroy Boys has also garnered attention for, as a 2021 interview with INTO puts it, tackling “queerness, identity and pain, all through a punk rock lens.” Roditis openly identifies as a queer, nonbinary person, and Mayugba has previously stated that the band’s name was “born out of bullying trauma” she experienced as a teen.
Because of this, Destroy Boys strives to provide fans with the angst, crowd-surfing, moshing, and socializing punk shows breed naturally without the toxic masculinity.
“I want them to be prepared to have a lot of fun. I want them to have shoes which will not fall off in the pit in case they decide to go in,” says Roditis. “I want them to open their ears and learn a little something and then get right back to working. Mostly I just want them to have a good fucking time in a comfortable space.”
Destroy Boys. 7 p.m. Doors at 6 p.m. Sun., July 16. Preserving Underground. 1101 5th Ave., New Kensington. $20. preservingunderground.com
