Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff stopped backstage at the Hard Rock Artist Lounge to talk with host Ashley O before the band's headlining set at Audacy's Riptide Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale, FL this weekend, discussing how he gets comfortable on stage, a whole lot of Ace Ventura, festival expectations, and more.
LISTEN NOW: Bleachers at Audacy’s Riptide Music Festival
First getting into how he likes to keep himself somewhat detached when performing, Jack explained that removing his glasses when he takes the stage allows him to experience the live energy more, and focus on Bleachers' music rather than specific expressions on fans' faces. "It's kind of nice," he says, "to be more in feeling and less visual."
Jack has however had his eyes glued on a whole lot of Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura flicks lately, leading him to choose some interesting references from the movies if he were ever given a chance to teach a parrot to talk. ("Laces out, Dan.")
Fresh on his mind, and obviously now one of his favorites, Antonoff says he can just imagine working on the films' sets... "There must have been so much, 'What the f*** is this guy doing?' ... These films really challenge the idea of 'Could you do it now?' in a really intense way, but they're really special."
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Excited to be back on the beach for his second Riptide appearance, Jack says he's looking forward to catching some of the rest of the artists' sets during the two-day festival.
"Hearing and seeing the things that I don't know much about yet,” is most exciting he says, “because it's always a nice discovery point."
"I feel like a lot of music comes out and there's a lot of music playing all the time and every time you open your phone, there's a lot of music," Jack adds. "But when you just see a band playing, you can get introduced in a much more special way.”
Listen to Ashley O's full chat with Bleachers' Jack Antonoff above, and stay tuned for even more conversations with your favorite artists right here on Audacy.