Talking touring, Canadian influences, and more with John and Shannon of Heart and Lung
Cleveland, Ohio’s Heart and Lung are true veterans of the punk rock grind — a band that’s learned to turn life’s curveballs into fuel for their sound. While their songs often hint at the struggles of everyday life, they deliver them with a sense of joy and resilience that makes it clear they’re still having a blast doing what they love. The self-proclaimed “Midwestern power pop punk boy band” made a mark on the scene with their album Twistin’ The Knife Away back in 2021, and they show no signs of letting up anytime soon.
Heart and Lung will be playing Punx Can’t Laugh Fest on October 17 at the Bovine Sex Club in Toronto, Ontario along with Johanna Medranda, Debt Cemetery, Last Drag, Sixteen Scandals, Nick Fierro, and Jameson Cox. You can get tickets right here.
Punknews writer Mike B caught up with bassist and vocalist John and guitarist and vocalist Shannon to talk about their origin story, fun touring stories, Canadian influences, and so much more. Read the interview below!
How did you guys first meet?
Shannon: Most of us - John, Miles, and Shannon - went to high school together! We all eventually ended up at Kent State - Nick was there too but he was a secret character we hadn't unlocked yet. For a while during/after college we had a bluegrass punk band called Let'em Run. We met Nick when he and John were in a band called The Public with our pal JV, (who currently plays as the House of Wills) and I believe they all met at Fest. We had approximately two practices with Nick in Let'em Run before our fiddle and banjo player moved to Fiji and all we had left was the makings of a pretty good band.
What’s a memorable story that happened to you guys either on the road, touring or even at practice? It can be funny or strange, whichever is more interesting!
Shannon: Ok so once upon a time we played a house show in Milwaukee with our friends in Harvey Pekar. The show was good, but afterwards someone came up to us and asked if we were really playing again the next day. After some confusion, we discovered that during the booking process in the previous months, someone had held a date at a different venue in Milwaukee. That never got followed up on, but the venue just considered it booked and put it in the local listings anyway. Given that it was after the last day of the tour, we decided to play the show.
That venue was the spacious and charming Circle A Bar. It had one room about 23'x26' (according to the internet) and no stage. The owner, hearing we were from Cleveland, told us about how he was baptized in beer at Now That's Class. Clearly this was our kind of place. Before our set, one single person (a regular) came in and paid at the door. We played most if not all of Twistin' the Knife Away (unreleased at the time) to that one guy and the bar staff. After the set, that one guy bought a record and skedaddled. That means we sold a record to 100% of the audience, which is pretty exceptional!
Looks like you’re set to play Fest 2025 in Gainesville this year in October, how did that all go down?
John: We’ve run up such a huge tab at Boca Fiesta that we’re legally required to play every Fest for the next 30 years.
Any band you guys in particular would like to share the stage with if not go on tour with?
Shannon: Pkew Pkew Pkew! Every time we see them we love them more.
It will soon be 4 years since your last release, does this mean something new is cooking right now that we can expect?
Shannon: We have an entire new album ready to roll and we are sneaking it into our live set every chance we get.
Is this your first time coming up to play in Canada? If not, when did you come last and who did you play with?
Shannon: We've played Canada twice so far - both times at Pouzza Fest in Montreal.
Any particular influences from Canada that may have inspired the sound of Heart & Lung?
John: My entire middle school identity was forged in the fires of Much Music. Every year I made my parents stop at the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie so I could buy that hot Canadian shit I couldn’t find in the states: Our Lady Peace, Treble Charger, LiveOnRelease, Matthew Good Band, Gob. Then I went through a Neil Young phase (that will continue even after I die). And anyone that knows me has suffered through an evening where I drunkenly explain the references and backstory to every line in every Propagandhi song.
Shannon: I fuckin loved Prozzäk.
If someone was to hear your band for the first time, what would you recommend them to listen to and why?
Shannon: Start with Twistin' the Knife Away because Heart & Lung is a pretty good band. The phrase "pretty good band" is perfect marketing because it gives you no useful context to judge us by, you just have to take our word for it.