Boulder-Based Private Society Band | Spotlight

Synth rock is a genre that generally blends electronic music with rock, resulting in sounds akin to Snaggletooth’s dub-step-style tracks or 1980s Depeche Mode’s vintage electronic sound. Boulder-based Private Society Band has its own take on synth rock, which takes both classic elements from the genre as well as somewhat unconventional ones like the use of violin. We sat down with Marshall Hayes, the band’s bassist and latest addition, to dive into the group’s artistic journey.

Private Society began when brothers Peter and Rawley Gunnels envisioned the group. The duo quickly added Autumn Pepper on violin, who has a background in classical music and is now Rawley’s wife. Joshua Thomas is a self-taught drummer who joined the group after Pepper. Marshall Hayes was the final element. The group started playing together in 2023 and recording in 2024.

Synth indie music first emerged in the 1960s. Today, Denver’s music scene has a variety of local bands that adopt this genre as their own, including groups like Retrofette, Colorado Modular Synth Society, and the Seven Circle Music Collective. One of the newest synth indie bands to the scene, Private Society brings its own twist to the table.

After a few months of work last year, Private Society released its first single “Seven Seas,” in December of 2023. The single  is an upbeat track with pop and punk elements and heavy synth sounds. On August 11th of this year, the band released its second single, “Principle of Pain,” a slightly slower song with a style similar to the Cure and the Killers – inspirations that the band expects to instill into its first full album.

The band’s first two singles were an exercise in creativity and culture. Matching a growing trend among independent artists, Private Society decided to produce and record its most recent single on their own.

Hayes explained, “We recorded the drums at a space that Rawley owns. And then we built it up from there. It was the first thing we did that was all done by us.” Pleased with the results of their efforts, the band agreed that they would continue exploring self-production. The whole process made the group more confident and excited about the recording process.

The band expects to take the momentum it found during the recording of “Principle of Pain,” and funnel it into its next projects. “We are working on an EP. That’s going to be comprised of a waterfall release of singles. That’ll probably be coming out next summer as we record pieces and put it together,” said Hayes. Waterfall releases are a relatively common practice amongst new artists and bands since they help the group to generate buzz, and operate at a more leisurely creative pace. This strategy often increases play counts, which is another reason why it’s a popular practice amongst artists.

Despite being a relatively new group, all of the band’s members are life-long artists, which adds clear depth and composition to the band’s singles. Hayes, himself, has released several EPs throughout his life beginning with heavy metal-style music. He explained, “I think I made my first EP when I was like 15. Then I got into indie rock.” At the time, Hayes was playing in Chicago. He started to shift towards folk music, which brought him to Denver where he found his current band mates on Craigslist. Other artists in the group find inspiration in varied places. Peter Gunnels, for example, finds a lot of inspiration in 80s synth indie rock artists. His guitar sounds are often rhythmic. Rawley Gunnels hammers hard on the synth sounds. And Thomas brings a lot of country influence to songwriting as well.

While the recording process has been exciting for all the band mates, Hayes said that he is most excited about, “Playing out, playing live. I like playing music with these folks. And I’m really excited to play live and bring that energy and cultivate it. I see myself very much as a performer. And I think all of these people in this band are also really great performers. And that for me is the sauce.”

The band will be playing shows in metro Denver over the coming months. New show bookings can be found on the Private Society Band website. The group’s next single will be out in January.