Localized: The Apathetics

2026… Did you ever think we would make it? Celebrate this historic moment with a fist-pounding show of raw, aggressive rock and a few gut-bursting jokes in between. Kick off the night with Hangxiety, laugh your ass off with Punks & Punchlines and top it all off moshing to The Apathetics! Catch SLUG Localized on Thursday, January 22 at Kilby Court for a night that’ll make you say, “hell yeah!” Get tickets here!

This story begins as any good one does: in a storage unit in Woods Cross, Utah. Guitarist Josh Leland, alongside his longtime friend and bassist Eric Norris and drummer Ben Frank, had been using the spot as a place to practice. Vocalist Tyler William found his bandmates through an ad posted on Craigslist: “It was dark, and [I was at the] gated entrance to a storage unit facility… and I said, ‘Okay, this is either gonna be really cool, or I’m going to get murdered,’” William recounts. Luckily, it was the former, and thus a punk band was born.

Something that is immediately apparent when listening to The Apathetics play is that this is a band of people who love making music together. “It’s kind of ironic … we’re all very empathetic, but ‘The Empathetics’ wouldn’t sound very punk rock,” Leland says when I ask about the name. In fact, the only thing these guys seem to be apathetic toward is their naming scheme. “Coming up with a name is the hardest thing. I’ve [nearly] gotten in fist fights over it [with] other bands. This was one where we were like, ‘Okay, it’s decent,’” Leland finished.

When it comes to the type of music that The Apathetics play, even the band itself says it is hard to define. In a previous interview with SLUG, Norris describes the genre with a title of his own: “soft punk.” When I ask if this is still the case, William says they’re still very bipolar. “Some of the new songs we’re going to record are definitely on the pop, soft punk side … there’s still some emo stuff there,” William says. “[It’s] more structured, more developed,” Frank adds. “Half of them are melodic and poppy … and half of them are more thrashy, metal stuff.” Leland finishes, “We know how to bring them together, so it doesn’t sound like two different bands.”

With such a wide range of genres, how can someone tell they’re listening to The Apathetics? “[Frank] is not a punk drummer, and that’s what we love about him,” Norris says, who described his style as a traditional underhand, like a marching band. “He doesn’t just play that standard punk beat.” “My goal is to write something that doesn’t sound like anything else,” Leland says. William jokes, “I’m a pussy, I just try to write a good hook.” They attribute it to many things, including a unique drummer and a rhythm section composed of two guitars and a bass, but Norris touts William’s vocal style as one of the iconic facets of the band, “like a combination of Billie Joe Armstrong and Tim McIlrath.”

It’s a tale as old as time: Music groups make albums that define generations, and through it all they lose sight of why they began in the first place. Look at the Eagles all taking different tour buses, or Hall & Oates becoming Hall v. Oates in litigation. The Apathetics were clear with me about their intention of having fun. “We all get along really well, we all have a lot of fun, we don’t argue, we don’t fight, it’s just a good time,” Leland says. “We hate ego … no one in this band has an ego.”

If you’re looking for a band that rocks, check out The Apathetics. See them live at SLUG Localized, and you’ll see just what it is that makes this band special.

Read more interviews from SLUG Localized:
SLUG Localized: Stand-Up Comedy Showcase 2025
Localized: Seeking the Sun