Band Bio: Husbands

Adeline Williams '26  ~  October 2024

Last autumn, I had the privilege of seeing Oklahoma alternative rock band Husbands live at a 200 person capacity venue in Buffalo, NY. I was blown away by their talent and inviting stage presence. This year, I kept coming back to that show and how fun it was. So, I reached out to Husbands’ lead singer, Danny Davis. When I saw that he responded, I had to pinch myself to believe it. Davis was in Costa Rica with minimal internet connection, so we discussed through a chain of emails.

The first question I asked Danny Davis is what he wants listeners to take away from Husbands’ music. He answered, “I want people to have this feeling like they're talking to a friend when listening to our music. I love mystical, powerful artists as much as anybody, but personally I'm too existential and self conscious to try to be anything more than a totally normal person.” The band’s impressive lyrics mixed with relaxed beats perfectly executes this “conversation with a friend” sound. Their lyrics mainly consist of a theme of doing what makes you happy and making sure to not let the existential heaviness of life get you down. Perfectly capturing this theme, Husbands’ tracks make you feel like you are on a phone call with a friend, or driving on the sunny coast, windows down.

Following the band’s theme to a tee, Danny quit his 9-5 job as a software engineer of nine years to pursue his true passion: music. This choice has resulted in significant success. Husbands has toured with names such as Goth Babe and Wilderado, having fun along the way. Danny’s favorite memory on tour with Goth Babe was after the second show: Griff Washburn, of Goth Babe, brought champagne down to the green room after the concert, spraying it all over everyone. Griff had a party on the tour bus afterwards; EDM music was blasting from a bluetooth speaker and someone stood in the corner flickering the light switch, attempting to capture the atmosphere of a night club. Danny reflects on the night: “Probably looked ridiculous but there were good vibes on that tour. Every night on the Goth Babe tour was its own kind of party.” 

As for their headlining shows, Husbands has played sold out shows at Kilby Court (Salt Lake City), Casbah (San Diego), and Schubas (Chicago). Another venue Danny had lots of fun playing was the Troubadour. For the band’s past headline tour, they bought LED screens. Danny expands, “It was a total chore to figure out how to set up and program because everything was in Chinese and the software was Windows only, so I was using this crappy, old laptop to do complicated configuration of giant, heavy, fragile light screens. We put the screens behind us while we're playing with trippy videos synced to the songs.” Danny adds that when Husbands form their setlists, they like to play all of the fan favorites as well as adding a few deep cuts that are fun to play live, such as “Speed Racer.” Davis explains, “A lot of the time people's highlight of the show will be some song they weren't familiar with.”

Danny is musically inspired by several artists, including Alvvays, SZA, Frank Ocean, and Spirit of the Beehive. Alvvays has the sound that Husbands is aiming for: guitar based pop. Danny raves that SZA is one of the greatest artists of our generation. She headlined the same stage that Husbands played at Governor’s Ball, and Danny describes her performance as “mesmerizing.” Davis loves Frank Ocean’s melodies, perfectionism, and how he is able to conjure up a new genre of music with each album he makes. Danny loves Spirit of the Beehive’s “adventurous spirit and sonic heaviness.”

Lastly, Danny and I discussed his songwriting process. He tends to write, record, and mix simultaneously, which he explains can be successful sometimes, but can also put him in a rut at times as he is dividing his attention across all three things, causing slow progress. Danny adds, “It can generate some cool 30 second nuggets though!” When writing, he typically begins with playing an acoustic guitar and singing some melodies over it. If he likes what he is forming, he will then move to the computer and start to piecemeal a song out of it. Since their album CUATRO, Danny has found difficulty sticking one sonically consistent path. He has not found a sound that he finds worth pursuing a full-length album on yet. He vulnerably admits that this search has been frustrating but he is learning to have patience with his vision. Davis shares, “Writing is my favorite part of the album making process, but it can feel aimless whenever weeks go by and there's nothing substantial to show for it. I'm learning to have patience with the vision, even if it drives me nuts to not have put out new music for about a year.” 

In spite of Husbands’ roadblocks, the band is continuing to play energetic shows and creating new work. The band’s feel-good sound transports you to a sunny beach with every listen. They are currently touring with the Cold War Kids. As someone who has seen Husbands live, it is a bucket list item you need to check off!