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The last time we heard from Banquets, they were calling it a day. After releasing their third and final LP Spit at the Sun and playing one last show in early 2016, the Jersey City quartet closed the book on nearly a decade of heartfelt punk anthems and relentless DIY spirit. Life moved on as it does, but the spark that fueled Banquets never fully went out.

Fast-forward to 2021: what started as a failed attempt to reunite for The Fest in Gainesville reignited that old fire. Demos started circulating, new songs began to take shape, and soon enough, Banquets were back in the same room crafting what would become their fourth LP, Petty Relics. Produced by longtime friend Andy Clarke, the record captures the bittersweet balance of growing older while still chasing the thing you love most.

We caught up with Banquets to talk about their return, the making of Petty Relics, and what it means to still have something to say after all these years. Oh, and we’re also premiering their brand-new single, “Middle School Burnouts.” Check it out below.

PRT: What have you all been up to in the last 10 years since you called it a day in 2016?

Travis: We really did go our separate ways in terms of music back in 2016.  We have always been in regular communication with each other and had a group text thread since. I truly dove deep into education and finding hobbies outside of music. Between 2016 and 2019 I dabbled in writing songs with some old friends in Flemington, NJ. We would get together weekly just to play, but that did not really materialize into anything beyond some open-air recordings of 7 or 8 songs. As for the rest of Banquets, Brian had a band called Latent States that had an almost finished album. Chris still plays in Suburban Scum and Dave routinely got together with people in Nashville and then Buffalo before we began playing again in 2020. Banquets were set to do a reunion at Fest that year, but we inevitably put a pin in it, even when Fest happened in 2021. We all had so much going on with work and personal things that the timing wasn’t ideal. We kept getting together every few months because it was wonderful hanging out and playing music with each other.

PRT: You put the band to bed on good terms after you came to realise that life made it difficult to carry on. How has that changed?

Travis: Life is still busy. At the time, Chris was planning to move to Texas, we were all recently married or in relationships that led to marriage, and we just didn’t have the drive to keep going on a weekend warrior schedule. So we decided to step away. The thing that I truly missed the most was creating with the rest of the band. I always had the most fun working on songs, and recording. At this point, our band is very much planned out and everything has to be methodical. We are trying to have fun within reason. Obviously there are many moving parts in terms of our work-life situations, but there is also the geographical variable that keeps us modest and focused on logistics.

PRT: What was the initial spark that made you realise you had at least one more Banquets album in you?

Travis: When we decided to hold off on playing Fest, we still had a practice weekend set in New Jersey. So, we decided to get together anyway. Over that weekend we didn’t have to focus on playing old songs. So we just started jamming on some ideas that were kind of there. I believe “Who Will Inherit Us?” was one of them. Afterwards we spoke about it and just decided to work on writing some songs.

PRT: When you started writing and recording, did you instantly fall back in the old dynamics or did it take some getting used to?

Travis: This was a very different process for us as a band. Originally in Banquets, the music often came first. We would just come together and work on things, then we would make a record and everyone would hear the vocals for the first time while I was tracking them or when we would get first mixes back. In the case of Petty Relics, I worked on a great deal of the structure and vocals of each song before bringing it to the table. I would record an acoustic version of my ideas and then Brian and I would work on tempos and make some changes. Throughout that process, we would record everything and I would send those ideas to Dave and Chris for them to add to. We would end up getting together for weekend rehearsals in New Jersey every few months to see how things translated to a live setting and would revise. It was equally rewarding and frustrating, but I think we really got to make a record that was focused, has a theme, and carries a lot of our own personal influences.

PRT: Being spread out geographically, you sent demos back and forth. Did you find that a comfortable way of doing things? Or would you prefer being together in the same room?

Travis: The process itself was an undertaking, but it gave us time to let ideas grow and it was very beneficial that everyone could hear lyrics, melodies, harmonies, backups, and how things really gelled in terms of sequence. When we got into the room though, we really had a focus. I feel like we were way more rehearsed than in the past.

PRT: We are premiering the new song ‘Burnouts’. Can you tell us a bit more about where that one came from?

Travis: The theme of Middle School Burnouts came about when I was visiting my parents. My father got upset with one of my nieces.  When I heard the tone of his voice, it immediately brought me back to being nine years old and my brother and I were burning our GI Joes or destroying things in the backyard. I grew up with, and still have a keen relationship with guilt and shame. I never got into major trouble or anything, but I was sneaky. The thing that kept me grounded was my relationship with my parents. I felt bad when I let them down. Still, conflict is something that haunts me. I’m getting better though. The lyrics really explore moments from my youth and how you can instantly be brought back along with the feelings that are tied to them.

PRT: A song like ‘Episodes’ finds you looking back, while ‘Who Will Inherit Us?’ is all about looking forward. Is that where growing older comes in? That you can both reflect on the past while also looking forward rather than living in the moment when you’re young? (Sorry if I’m getting a bit too philosophical here)

Travis: As you get older, you really want the things you’ve done to hold weight and to have meant something. I feel like sobriety has made me more cognizant of perspectives, choices, and what I’ve learned from my experiences. The memory box concept of the album is very much a reflection of how I have lived most of my life. I have various collections of momentos that could be mistaken as trash and each song on the record is tied to an actual item from my past. This ranges from an old sailor figurine we had super-glued to the dashboard of our van to a GI Joe my brother and I spray painted when we were kids.  We made a record that means the world to me. Throughout the process, I have listened to it over and over again in each iteration from a rough acoustic version of a song to the final track. I appreciate what we have come together and done here with the help of our friends Andy Clarke, Teddy Casper and Anthony Battiato.  I’m grateful to anyone that has listened to and will listen to this record. It rocks and if there is anyone that doesn’t agree, listen again.

PRT: What’s up next for you once the album is out?

Travis: We have some shows lined up for December, one of which is the Part-time PR Fest in Philadelphia, which should be a blast.  There are a couple of things we are working on for early spring that we are very excited for.

PRT: What is one thing you would still like to achieve with Banquets that you didn’t get round to the first time?

Travis: To be truthful, this band was never meant to be more than friends getting together and making music. Writing this record after all of this time has been a blessing. Now the world just needs to find it so it can change someone’s life.