As pop punk music continues to revive, a fresh face on the scene arrives with unique contributions. Penny Bored, a solo project by Faith Alesia, lets the genre's characteristic hard-hitting instrumentals serve as a backdrop to her honest storytelling. Overall, much of their discography details their struggles with mental health, covering all facets of their personal experience. Their two most recent releases, "Cry Baby" and "Karma," might contain some of their most honest storytelling thus far. These communicative tracks contain lyrics that read like diary entries, rendering them the perfect middle ground between vent sessions and well-crafted poetry.
When we talked to Faith, we became acquainted with multiple sides of them, both as an artist and a music lover, in general - the latter of which they have in common with many of us. Their unique path into the industry shows that there's no right or wrong way to pursue your dreams, and there's many ways to connect with the things that we love.
Image courtesy of Penny Bored, graphic created by Karly Ramnani
YOU'LL LOVE PENNY BORED IF YOU LISTEN TO: Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff, Paramore, Maggie Lindemann
Let's get started with your stage name! What inspired you to go by Penny Bored?
Penny Bored was at one point a whole band, rather than a solo artist. We were all throwing out words to see if we could piece anything together - just different words that we liked, to see if we could come up with anything interesting. Penny Bored was the one that really stuck. Sadly, [the band] didn't work out, but we're still good and everything. When I decided to keep pursuing music as a solo artist, they were like, "You should keep the name. It really fits you."
Yeah! And it rolls off the tongue. Why did you want to pursue a solo career as Penny Bored, rather than just as Faith?
I do feel like going under the name Penny Bored gives me a separate identity in a way, because I've been involved in the music industry for a while now - as a concert photographer, in marketing, and things like that. So everyone knows me as Faith Alesia, but I feel like going by a different name definitely helps to differentiate the two. It feels like an alter ego in a way. When I'm up on stage, I'm not Faith - Faith feels shy, timid, and really quiet. Whereas Penny Bored is a more confident side of me, and is willing to chase her dreams.
I love that! So tell me more about Faith - what are they like? How did they know that they wanted to pursue music? What inspired them to get their foot in the door through photography or marketing?
I grew up going to shows at a very young age - like twelve or thirteen. I've been involved in my local scene for so long. I knew that I wanted to be a part of it in a bigger way. It kind of changed my life - I never really felt like I fit in anywhere, until I started going to shows. So I knew if that was something that made me happy, then maybe working in music was something I could do long-term, as a career. No matter what, if I tried to stray from that path and do something else, I always ended up back in music.
I agree! Going to concerts and listening to music is so freeing. There's no way not to turn it into our careers sometimes.
Yeah! It's so natural.
In an alternate universe where you never started Penny Bored and explored bring an artist, what companies would you have loved to work for?
I don't know - overall, I loved helping artists with their marketing strategies, and helping them figure out social media campaigns and things like that. Because there's so many different interactive things you can do with your fanbase, and I think it's fun to be able to share these possibilities with artists - like merch drops, and how to release a song. I definitely don't have it all figured out - obviously I'm still small. But I just find it fun, and I like helping other artists.
Image courtesy of Penny Bored
And now you're doing this marketing for yourself, so it's kind of a full circle moment! Let's shift over into your music. Starting with "Cry Baby," what inspired you to write this song?
I knew that I had been wanting to write a song about being sensitive and in tune with my emotions. There's been so many times when people have told me, "Oh, you take things personally," or "You're sensitive," or "Why are you crying over this?" I cry over everything - I see a cute dog, I'm probably going to cry. If I get bad news, I'll probably cry about it. I feel like my whole life, I was taught to be really tough and not show emotions because it shows that you're weak. But I feel like we should normalize that we need to process our emotions. Especially right in that moment, instead of letting it fester. You know, like if you hear something out in public, and it makes you emotional, and you just have to hold it in until you get home? I'm like "No, I'm just going to go to the bathroom and cry it out real quick." That would feel a lot better instead of holding onto [it] for the rest of the day.
Literally! I couldn't agree more. I love that we're normalizing talking about mental health in the way that this song does. Are there ever moment when it's hard to sing this song because you're really feeling the lyrics?
Oh definitely! We tried to incorporate it in our live set before the song came out, but then I decided that actually, I [wouldn't] do it until it was out, because it's so personal to me. It's probably the most vulnerable song I have ever released. Recording it as well was really difficult for me. I just had to push through, because I don't really like asking for help on things. And the whole song is me coming to terms with like, "Hey, I feel this way, but I don't really want to feel this way, but I just need you to know that I want to go process this, and I'll be okay."
I'm so glad that you ended up recording it and putting it out, and are now playing it. It's helping so many people feel seen and adding to the conversation in a really valuable way. When you play songs live, could you walk us through what's going on in your head? How do you adapt to the Penny Bored personality as you're trying to come into yourself on stage?
I feel like I have a million things running through my head whenever I'm performing. Right before I go on stage, I'm freaking out all the time. It doesn't matter if there's five or a hundred people there. I'm like, "What if I mess up?" or "What if I forget my own lyrics?" or "What if I'm off time?" and I don't want it to be my fault. I start spiraling, but even if I mess up, people don't care. They are always going to be rooting for you and cheering you on. I just have to remind myself that as I'm stepping on stage. We usually start with "Summer Days," which is the first song I've ever released, and definitely sounds very different from what we're doing now. And I always have to close my eyes. I know everyone says [you shouldn't] close your eyes while you're performing, and you should make eye contact with your audience, but like, I can't do that during the first song. I just have to zone in and recenter myself. And kind of just focus on the lyrics - I'm doing this because it makes me happy.
So true! And I'm so glad you brought up "Summer Days" - more on that later. For now let's talk about another of your recent releases - "Karma." First of all, how do you feel about having a song out in the world that shares a name with a Taylor Swift song?
I love Taylor Swift! I'm a huge Swiftie. I wrote the song and then I saw that she was coming out with a song called "Karma" - so yeah, we just think alike. I posted a TikTok on a whim, talking about if Taylor Swift wrote pop punk, and everyone was like "I like this version better!" And I'm like, "This isn't a cover, this is my song, but also thanks, I think?" But I love Taylor Swift, so I don't know how to feel about that.
Were you ever a Karma truther?
I don't know! She has things so well planned out in advance. But also... maybe she did? Things can change on a whim.
(For context, it's widely believed that Taylor Swift planned to release a rock-influenced album called Karma after 1989, but scrapped it to release Reputation instead following the drama with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Recently, social media has seen a resurgence of this theory, after she announced a track called "Karma" on her tenth studio album, Midnights. Easter eggs in her recent music videos, especially "The Man" and "Karma" feat Ice Spice, seem to confirm it.)
That's true! And she did say in an interview that she could hint at something three years in advance, so she might've done that. Now onto your own song - could you walk us through how it came about, and was brought to life in the studio?
Yeah! "Karma" was initially just a bunch of random angry thoughts, because I got tired of - for lack of a better word - being screwed over by a bunch of different people. So I was like, "You know, I'm just going to write about this, and maybe I'll turn it into a song." I [felt] weird releasing a diss track and putting my anger out there into the world. I didn't really feel like it was serving a purpose for anything, because I'm all about spreading positivity and being kind. But I get angry too!
That's a part of your story too - even the kindest people need that catharsis. So, I feel like "Cry Baby" and "Karma" are two flip sides to the same coin. Was that your intention when you wrote these songs?
No, but that's a good point. I never really thought about it that way - you can be angry about something one second, but cry about it the next.
And they definitely feel like a very stark contrast from your earlier stuff, like "Summer Days." How do you feel as though your music has evolved over the years, and what caused it to do so?
I was working with different people when Penny Bored started, and I didn't know exactly what I wanted my sound to be like. I had started working on a song with somebody else, and Jojo [Centineo] was the producer on it. We just clicked, and I immediately knew I wanted to write a Penny Bored song with him. And I was like, "Okay, we need to write an EP together. This just works." Ever since then, Jojo has helped me figure out my sound.
I know we mentioned Taylor Swift, but other than her, who are your biggest artistic influences?
Definitely anything from the early 2000s, in the MySpace era. I grew up finding new artists on MySpace, and then went over to Tumblr. Especially because I had always wanted to start a band when I was in high school, and I never really got to, so I feel like I'm healing my inner child in a way.
Do you have a couple of names that stand out to you?
Hilary Duff, specifically when she was making more alternative music. I think the album is called Most Wanted. Avril Lavigne, Paramore, and I guess a newer one would be Chloe Moriondo. I've loved seeing her shift between acoustic, soft indie vibes to this hyperpop/pop star moment. It's been really cool to watch.
And finally - the P&P classic - your latest single is "Cry Baby," so I guess we're using that. What's one lyric from the song that stands out to you, and can you walk us through the process of how it came about? What does it mean to you?
Definitely a part of the bridge, where it's the group vocals - "Can't take back the words that you say, but you can grow from the mistakes that you've made." I actually wrote it on a two-hour drive. I had been sent the instrumental, and I was trying to write to it. I didn't even know if we were going to use the instrumental, so I was just seeing what I could come up with. I came up with all these lyrics in my head, and as soon as I came home from that drive, I tracked the demo and sent it over.
I guess it's more personal for me, in a way. Long story short, I was bullied growing up. These people would make me come home from school crying. They can't take back anything they said, but I'm not going to hold a grudge against them because it was years ago. They can grow from things. You never know what somebody is going through or why they lash out at other people. If you're being mean to somebody else, you never know what that person's going through at home. I just feel like we all deserve room to grow and evolve.
We loved getting to hear about Faith's perspective as they shared their personal and musical journeys with us! "Karma" and "Cry Baby" have resonated with many listeners already, and their authentic approach to songwriting truly sets her apart. They are undoubtedly a must in any playlist inspired by nostalgic or pop punk music - here's one we've curated for you to get started!
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