Alien Boy is Back on the Live Music Scene

By Liam Dwyer, ‘22

On October 1, 2021, Alien Boy, a Portland alternative band, will play their first big show since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrating the release of their sophomore album, “Don’t Know What I Am .”

Sonia Weber, the lead singer of Alien Boy, explained that “Don’t Know What I Am” was initially planned to be recorded in April of 2020. Alien Boy was on tour when the first COVID-19 closures happened.

 “Everything shut down, and we had to fly home. Then I didn’t play music, for me, until September… I didn’t want to write any songs about quarantine; I just wanted to put my head down and get this (the album or quarantine, either can apply) done with,” said Weber. 

Weber doesn’t view “Don’t Know What I Am” as a quarantine project, though. It was recorded almost exactly as it would have been under ordinary circumstances.

“Through the pandemic, we got to the point again where we were excited, which may not have even been the case in the first place. We were reignited,” explained Weber, commenting on how getting through COVID-19 changed the studio atmosphere. 

Opening for Alien Boy on October 1 are indie rockers Growing Pains, which Weber jokingly remarked is an industry plant band made by them (Weber was previously a music teacher for the members); a local screamo band, Floral Patterns; and Ridgeway, an Orange County shoegaze band that recently released their second album, “Marlo.”

Weber dwelled on the lineup for a long time. “It has to be the exact right vibe,” Weber said. 

Tickets for Alien Boy’s album release show are available here.