Embracing Spontaneity with The Convenience
The Convenience. Photo by Daniela Leal via Winspear.
As their name suggests, simplicity is key for Louisiana-based duo The Convenience. Nick Corson (guitar/vocals) and Duncan Troast (drums) have been friends since their time at Loyola University New Orleans, playing together in projects like Video Age and Fishplate.
“It’s kind of an anti-story,” Nick said of the duo’s origin; the band that would become The Convenience was born out of natural jam sessions and an improvisatory approach to music making.
Yet with their sophomore album, Like Cartoon Vampires, the duo’s laissez-faire songwriting sessions resulted in a post-punk record made up of all different flavors of eccentricity. There’s odd time signatures, prepared guitar and piano melodies and spoken-word explorations through “Business Town, U.S.A.”
Sitting on the outdoor balcony of Washington, D.C.’s SPACE, the sun dipping behind clouds and birds chirping, I caught up with Nick and Duncan as they neared the end of their 2026 tour and reflected on a year of Like Cartoon Vampires.
It’s been about a year since the release of Like Cartoon Vampires. Generally, what has changed for you since then?
Nick: Well, I’m a year older.
Duncan: Yeah, not that much for me. I mean, it was really cool hearing back about the record and seeing people, and we’ve only done a little bit of touring. Kind of wish we did more in that year, but getting to connect with people in other places that liked the record, that was really cool.
Has that little bit of tour you’ve done changed the way you interact with the record?
Duncan: Definitely. I kind of feel like you have to try really hard at the early stages to play with people that you want to play with, to where it feels like like-minded bands. And then to get a reaction where you see a band in another city that you really like and you like each other’s bands, that’s such a rewarding experience.
Nick: Yeah, I’d say after the tour last year I felt very inspired by the stuff we saw. A lot of amazing bands all over the place.
Duncan: And it’s kind of always the case, but New York is maybe — it is — always the best show and there’s the most amount of people who like the band, and so this time around, having fans of the record be there is pretty cool.
Like Cartoon Vampires is sonically pretty different from your debut album, Accelerator. Was that a conscious decision?
Nick: Yeah. I think the word we were throwing around at first was just “minimal,” like not having a lot of production, because we toured on Accelerator and there was just so many layers to that record that was really hard to do live, and so we wanted to do something that would be really fun and natural to do in a live setting. And then I also think it was kind of moving on. We learned a lot from Video Age, but it was time to maybe chart our own path.
Was there anything in particular that changed in your approach to making the LP?
Duncan: Yeah, I mean especially from the first one, we did most of it at our practice space where we’d be playing guitar loud with drums, or we’re both playing guitar and just sort of being like, “Okay that’s it.” It felt like the dream in that we didn’t consciously do it, but it was sort of like making a record to where it would sound like it was just…
Nick: Spontaneous.
Duncan: And if it was like a four piece band playing it. Versus the first one, which was like, we’re creating these stories and characters like it was more surreal or something like big pop. But this was more just getting together and being like, “Let’s make a song this afternoon and just finish it.”
More natural?
Duncan: Yeah.
The Convenience. Photo by Daniela Leal via Winspear.
I want to talk about “Café Style 4.” What role does a track like that play on the album? To me, it mixes some of the brighter air of Accelerator with the darker air of Like Cartoon Vampires, but I’d love to know how you guys view it.
Duncan: That one was truly like — I feel like we just made it right on the spot in 10 minutes or something, and it was pretty fun. I think about that song and I love it and it makes me laugh. There’s times when you’re making music where you’re just trying to make each other laugh, but that’s exciting. And it does have the no-wave funk thing. It has funk guitar but in a kind of freaked out way.
Nick: I also think instrumental tracks are fun. It’s like a movie theme or something, you know? A lot of records I like have stuff like that.
Why did you think it was important to have an instrumental track like that?
Nick: It’s more like we just made it and thought, “Oh, this might be a good way to split up some heavier songs” or something. It just kind of fits. We looked at everything we had and were like, “What makes sense together?” It was more just on instinct that anything else.
Going track-by-track a bit, can you tell me a little about “That’s Why I Never Became A Dancer?” Selfishly, it’s one of my favorites, but I’d also love to know more about the story behind the lyrics.
Nick: The title is a Tracey Emin piece, and I can’t remember what the piece is, but I liked the title a lot, and I think the song has something to do with a kind of adolescence. Like, in order to be a professional dancer, you have to decide so early that that’s what you’re going to do, and then I was thinking about myself in middle school and the kind of bird brain I had and trying to imagine what it would be like to commit fully to something at that age when I have no idea who I am. So some of the lyrics are kind of playing with that.
The album also offers a lot of commentary on capitalism and vanity, seen prominently in “Rats” and “2022.” Yet, “Rats” puts forward a very subdued, blunt narrative while “2022” is more lively and satirical. Why was it important to have this dichotomy, especially on back-to-back tracks?
Nick: Man, I don’t know. Really, any track list stuff is kind of all instinct, so I don’t think I was ever thinking narratively about lyrics next to other lyrics. It was more just sensing that two puzzle pieces fit right.
And yeah, as far as the themes of the album, I think it was just hard to avoid that stuff. I mean, we’re still living in an insane time. There was just a lot of things getting jumbled in my head that came out in a certain way. And I also think with this record, I was actually trying to write from a more literary perspective, rather than trying to make just pop lyrics that fit a tune.
So how does the process for a track like “Rats,” where it’s more ambient and subdued, differ from that of “2022,” where it’s almost satirical and more upbeat?
Nick: I think it’s the mood.
Duncan: The song influenced it I feel like.
Nick: Yeah, exactly. The sound of the song influences the way the words come out. “Rats” was just an instrumental thing that we had improvised.
Duncan: And I think we might have even said, “Oh, spoken…”
Nick: … It would be cool to have something spoken on top. And I also think I, for the most part, improvised the words and then went through and rewrote. So one night I think I did a bunch of passes of just trying words out and then eventually I kind of shaped it, whereas “2022,” it’s kind of the dumbest lyrics in the world. One of my favorite lyric writers is Iggy Pop, and he has this way of doing the dumbest lyric in the smartest way, and I wanted to do something like that. And The Stooges also have year songs as well, so that’s what I was basing it off of.
Yeah, “2022” feels very witty and clever to me, so I get what you’re saying.
Music video for “Dub Vultures.”
What’s been your favorite song to play live from Like Cartoon Vampires and why?
Duncan: On this tour, we’ve had some really rewarding moments playing the last song, “Fake The Feeling,” because it’s really long and it’s maybe the only one where there’s these improvisational…
Nick: There’s room for a lot of chance things to happen and that’s really exciting when you’re doing the same thing everyday.
Duncan: Yeah, I mean every lineup that we’ve done we’ve had some cool moments in the middle section, but besides that I don’t know what the fave is. We were trying to do “Dancer” for a little bit.
Nick: We still haven’t figured it out.
Duncan: We’re not doing it on this tour, but that one is also very fun to play.
Dang, you’re letting me down!
Nick: I like playing “Target Offer.” That’s just a lean and mean one. I always feel good playing that one.
You mentioned improvisation. Does that play a large role when you’re creating music?
Nick: Definitely. I’d say most of the songs on this record came from jams, just the two of us playing guitar together. And that’s where the most exciting and thoughtless things happen. Sometimes when you’re thinking too hard, it can sound that way, and it can also sound too much like something you’re trying to ape. But when we’re just reacting to one another, it’s like, “Wow this feels very fresh. This feels like it wasn’t contrived.” And that’s always what I feel like we’re chasing.
What’s been your favorite part of this tour so far?
Nick: We played a really fun show in Toronto, which was a total surprise because wed’d never been there before but it was packed and everyone was so nice and we played with great bands.
Duncan: Yeah, that was cool. Chicago was awesome, that was fun. It’s just fun getting to go to Canada. I don’t know if Dylan [touring guitarist] or Alex [touring bassist] have been there. They both speak French, so I got to see Montreal for the first time through their eyes. They’re obsessed with French stuff. And then the connection with Louisiana and New Orleans, so that was pretty cute. Dylan showed us this song called “Hat Too Flat.” It’s by Walter Becker. Go home and listen to that. That’s been really funny and rewarding for us, for me.
It’s like the go-to road trip song?
Duncan: It is! It’s one of those ones where it really cracks me up.
Nick: It kind of makes me chuckle.
Duncan: It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Nick: We also played with an insane cover band in Windsor, Ontario.
Duncan: Yes! We didn’t know they were going to be a cover band, but they were covering Amyl and the Sniffers, Idles and The Chats.
Nick: Modern punk bands.
Duncan: Modern punk bands! And they did some things on stage that had me in tears.
Nick: We were crying laughing.
Duncan: It was so funny. But I think that was their goal, but we didn’t know that going in.
Nick: So our jaws were on the floor.
What did they do?
Nick: They came out in hockey jerseys and sunglasses. They looked like — I don't even know. They looked straight out of a movie.
Duncan: Yeah, and one of the guys had these reflective cycling glasses and they were doing these punk songs, but they kind of sounding like The Offspring. And then at one point they did this choreographed move where they were sort of humping each other. It was something out of, I don’t know, an SNL sketch.
Nick: We just couldn’t believe it.
Duncan: It was so funny.
Nick: It was so bizarre. As far as bizarre things on tour, that’s maybe the most strange thing.
What’s next for The Convenience?
Nick: We’re working on a new album. We're going to record it this summer, I think, and then hopefully it comes out soon. I think we'll take a little break maybe from touring and stuff. Unless something crazy happens.
Duncan: Unless we get some awesome offers. Probably just the new music thing, but we have sights set on obviously then touring at some point next year.