The Palms is a Los Angeles based duo, consisting of guitarist Johnny Zambetti and vocalist Ben Rothbard.
This Launch Box entry has been one of the hardest to construct – due to the severe lack of information on them on internet. To make things even more difficult, there is another band called “Palms”, fronted by Chino Morino of the Deftones that has been around a while… which is obviously NOT the same group.
Rothbard and Zambetti grew up together and have been friends since childhood, both performing in bands and high school talent shows. They’re also best friends. Both have played music since childhood, and have parents with musical backgrounds as well.
If the names Zambetti and Rothbard’s names sound familiar, they were the co-founders of rock ‘n’ roll five-piece Terraplane Sun. FUN FACT: They met on set of an Allstate insurance commercial, where they were cast as background extras… something they did to help pay the bills, like many musicians often do.
Terraplane Sun had pretty much hit a brick wall, being tied legally and contractually to a label that was defunct. Zambetti and Rothbard decided to start a new project that would explore artistic ideas… thus, The Palms was born. Combining pop, blues, hip-hop, rock, and reggae, their lyrics contain messages that invite the listener to form their own individual interpretations.
In January of 2016, their song “Push Off” gained 100,000 SoundCloud plays within a five week span, and incredibly, all of this was done without a label, publicist, or budget of any kind. Check out the video for the song below!
Lyrically “Push” off s mostly about forging through the tough times. Everyone goes through his or her own difficult things. The core message is resilience and hope. It was written in response to the ugliness that ensued after the horrible label situation from their previous band, where they experienced first taste of the dark side of the music world.
The Palms debut EP Sway featuring “Push Off” was released in August of 2016.
One of the most intriguing inspirations for a song is found in “Future Love”, which is a response to internet shaming. According to an interview with Rothbard and Zambetti, the inspiration for the song came from a story about a woman who sent a Tweet before she went boarded a plane to Africa. She said something that wasn’t meant to be offensive and just to her small following. By the time she landed in Africa, the Tweet had been completely misread and went viral. Her life had changed by the time she landed. Everyone was trying to text her while she was flying to tell her to delete it, but she couldn’t… She lost her job, and her career was over. All because it was seen by Sam Biddle of Gawker Media, who used it to destroyed her career. Watch the video for “Future Love” below, and pay close attention to they lyrics.
It’s a song about being human, making mistakes… no one is perfect. People are always looking to point out others mistakes, but rarely look within themselves to see that they are just as imperfect, and the internet is a deadly tool. The faceless masses all suddenly become 10 feet tall and bulletproof behind their computer screen. So if you thought public shaming was a thing that ended in the 1800s… think again. Read more on that story here.
Another track from their EP, “Republic Enemy #1” – seems to be a commentary on growing up in the digital age, although, like most of their lyrics, are open to individual interpretation.
My favorite thing about The Palms is their dedication to making lyrically moving pieces. Each of the above songs, as well as many of the others on the EP, are loaded with insight, intellect, reflection, emotion, and make a bold impact on the listener, challenging them to think. I can’t wait to hear what they write next.
