Meet Breakup Shoes: The Arizona Band Breathing New Life into Surf-Rock

By Rachael Dowd

Arizona has been a mini music mecca for years, notable mainstream artists like Alice Cooper and Stevie Nicks being just a few of the familiar names to have origins in the state. While it’s not usually the first place to come to mind when people think about the music industry, in the 90s and 2000s we saw the alternative music scene really begin to grow in Arizona with emerging acts like Jimmy Eat World, The Format, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and more recently, The Maine.

Following a similar path Arizona bands long before them paved is an emerging surf-rock band worth paying close attention to as 2020 continues on – Breakup Shoes.

Forming back in 2015, Breakup Shoes has an impressive discography of music. From upbeat tongue-twisting tracks to laidback songs full of nostalgic tones and lyrics, Breakup Shoes is breathing new life into the surf-rock genre and doing it well. We recently caught up with frontman Nicholas Zawisa to chat about how their home state have influenced them, their brand new EP, So Money, Baby, and what they hope to achieve for themselves this year.

The foundation Breakup Shoes is built on came to be from a chain of events that happened while Zawisa was still in school. As a devoted member of his local church where he led the youth worship team, Zawisa soon found himself drifting from the faith he had grown up with as soon as he entered college. He eventually turned to writing music as a way of coping with the sudden shift in his life. His writing and newfound passion for creating music quickly led to Zawisa getting together with his friends to play local shows. From there, things started to take off for the Arizona band.

“I never really thought anything would come from my writing,” Zawisa said. “For a few years, we just played local shows and whatnot for fun, all the while thinking the odds were slim that I’d make a career out of it.”

As buzz surrounding Breakup Shoes within the local music scene and online continued to grow, Zawisa completed his degree in psychology and realized quickly it was not the career path he wanted to pursue.

“A career in music was always a sort of pipe dream,” Zawisa shared. “I finished out my degree, but then after some online momentum with Breakup Shoes, the dream started to feel a bit more attainable. In lieu of pursuing a career path I wasn’t passionate about, I worked harder on music and realized I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

It’s the tight-knit and supportive local alternative music scene Breakup Shoes grew up around which they credit as influencing the music they make today.

“I think the emo/alternative/punk scene that’s super big in Arizona has definitely influenced our style lyrically and occasionally our sound,” Zawisa said. “The sun is always shining in Arizona, leading to our surfy/bright California-esque proclivity, but combined with the emo influences of the scene around us; Breakup Shoes is the result.”

Breakup Shoes recently took this mentality and their influences into the studio with them to record their latest EP, So Money, Baby. Featuring seven songs, all with different musical undertones and meanings, the cohesive collection came from the band’s decision to approach the recording of this EP differently than anything else they have done before.

“We definitely allowed ourselves to be more produced with this EP,” Zawisa explained. “In the past, we’ve self-recorded and produced, but this was our first time spending serious amounts of time with a group of songs in a studio with a producer we trusted to help shape the songs’ final form.”

Working alongside one of their favorite producers Bob Hoag (The Ataris, The Format, The Maine), Breakup Shoes spent about two weeks at Flying Blanket Recording in Mesa, Arizona recording So Money, Baby. Although they approached the production and recording process of this EP differently, their routine when it comes to creating their material hasn’t changed much since they first formed nearly five years ago.

“Our writing process has stayed pretty consistent over the years,” Zawisa elaborated. “I tend to write better in isolation so I’ll write out some chords, lyrics and a melody [and]essentially bring an acoustic version to the rest of the boys to add parts or re-arrange.”

When it comes to their lyrical content, it is easily recognized that the inspiration for much of their material comes from a place of reflection and vulnerability. For Zawisa, who is the ringleader for the writing done on Breakup Shoes songs, he has a particular process he likes to follow when writing for the band.

“Honestly, I write as a way to process my emotions so when I’m feeling something strongly, the songs generally tend to flow out,” he shared. “When I’m struggling to write something, I usually just abandon it because it feels forced so most, if not all, of the songs [on So Money, Baby]were written in one sitting per track with some edits afterwards.”

Last month, Breakup Shoes embarked on a North American tour run with Summer Salt, an opportunity that has allowed them to play their new songs in front of audiences for the very first time. Although perhaps daunting at times, Breakup Shoes are enjoying their time on the road so far.

“Getting to spend tons of quality time with all of the lovely people in our touring party and playing some of the raddest venues all across the US and Canada has made tour a blast.”

Although the year has not started off quite as the music industry had hoped due to the event and tour cancellations that have gone into effect because of the Coronavirus outbreak, Zawisa is remaining positive. He is hopeful for what the year will bring Breakup Shoes as they continue to tour with their new So Money, Baby material.

“My sincere hope for the band as we continue into 2020 is the opportunity to quit our jobs and play music full-time,” he revealed. “We’ll be hitting the road as much as possible, recording and releasing more music and hopefully continuing to grow as artists and humans.”