20 Questions With The NYC Band Best Bones
Best Bones is a band from Queens, New York blending alternative rock, indie, and punk into a distinctive sound defined by unforgettable hooks, soaring anthems, and electrifying rhythms. The band consists of Abeer Khalique, Brendon Conroy, Brendan Leitch, and Greg Calisi—four musicians who joined forces in 2023.Drawing inspiration from artists like Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, The Menzingers, and Jimmy Eat World, Best Bones crafts music that’s as dynamic as it is heartfelt. In 2025, the band released their self-titled EP, a collaboration with acclaimed producers Daniel Pupplo (Kuru, Endwell) and mixing engineer Josh Sid Robinson (JSR Audio).Their debut release showcases the band’s versatility - weaving seamlessly between indie rock’s introspection, punk’s raw energy, and alternative rock’s expansive soundscapes. Lyrically, Best Bones takes listeners on a journey through the spectrum of human emotion—joy, hope, longing, and loss—delivering anthems that feel both personal and universal. With their magnetic chemistry and a sound that resonates deeply, Best Bones is carving out their place in the independent rock scene—one powerful performance at a time.
Thanks for stopping by. Tell us about your latest release.
Abeer Khalique (guitar/vocals): This 7-song EP is a culmination of the songs we were playing for close to a year, and the ones we thought would be best for our debut release. Some of the songs Brendon and I brought to the band early on, and some we wrote in 2024.
How did the band originally form?
Brendon Conroy (guitar/vocals): We had all played in other bands with each other before and knew each other from the music scene. At the time I don’t think any of us were really doing anything musically except for maybe little side projects and what not. So I reached out to Abeer and then Greg Calisi (drums), everyone was a little skeptical at first but after we had our first practice it all just started to fall into place. Then the hardest part came, finding a super cool bassist. We got super lucky and found Brendan Leitch, the coolest bassist of them all.
Abeer: When Brendon first approached me I was unsure about being in a band again. When he said that Greg would be in, it got me thinking how I’ve never been in a band with both of them together. I respected them both since their former band Cue The Sun played shows with my former band Landing Project. Once we started meeting up and getting a rhythm going, we were on the look out for a bassist, and I knew Brendan from around the way. I believe I drunkenly cornered him at a house party and suggested he come to a band practice. I sent him a few demos and he came through knowing the songs, and the rest is history (editor's note: any band that forms from drunkenness is a good thing)
How did you choose your band name?
Brendon: We were all deliberating on names and what to call ourselves and we just couldn’t agree upon something that fit. There were a few names that were being thrown around but they just weren’t sounding right, and Abeer had mentioned the name "Best Bones" a few times and the more he said it, the cooler it sounded. Then we started saying corny things like “it was the best of bones and it was the worst of bones!” and “long live the bones!” and that was it from there, the name just stuck.
Abeer: I had that name sitting around for a while amd I remember there was a deeper meaning behind it: after we die, we’re gone - so our status and our accomplishments can’t gleaned from us when we’re dead, because we all look the same. So the joke is that there are no “best bones”.
Who would you say are your biggest musical influences, both as a band and individually, and why?
Brendon: I always really loved alternative rock like Third Eye Blind, The Replacements. Also bands like Wilco, Waxahatchee, Death Cab for Cutie and of course the great Elliott Smith. I’ve always gravitated towards singer/songwriter type stuff but with a full rock band element behind it. It’s like sonic folk. I also always really loved Jimmy Eat World. They have a really great sense of dynamics as a band. My ear is just drawn to everything they do. So I try to base a lot of what I do as far as leads and hooks off of their approach.
Abeer: I have similar influences to Brendon, including some early Foo Fighters as well. The Smashing Pumpkins are my favorite band - Greg and I both have tattoos related to them. While we don’t sound like them, their influence certainly appears in our music at times. I’ve also been in a big Guided By Voices phase this past year. I’m really all over the place with music, some of which sounds nothing like our band.
What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?
Brendon: Seeing ourselves grow not only as a band but as individuals. When you're young and playing in bands it’s very easy to take things for granted and miss a lot of the meaningful things that are happening all around you. It’s been really nice to be a dad but also being able to rock out with my friends on a Wednesday night, keeps me grounded. Also to be able to make new friends at our shows and see those same people having fun and dancing to our songs. It’s a beautiful thing.
Abeer: We recently played a show at Shillelagh Tavern in Astoria this past August. The room was packed with our friends and a bunch of people who knew our songs. That was a great show with Joe Dorane (of Chumuffer) and Gold Stars For Everyone. We also played our record release show in July at Alewife Brewery with Paloma Blanco and Playing Dead, where over 100 people showed up. That was a memorable one.
How would you describe your sound?
Brendon: The sound is a very nostalgic 90’s alternative, for me at least. But we really try not to pigeonhole ourselves into one particular sound. Abeer likes to say things like “we’ve never done that in a song before, let’s try it!” and I think that really keeps things fresh for us. He’s not afraid to test the boundaries of our songs and in a funny way I think that keeps us grounded as a band.
Abeer: We certainly have some elements of punk, indie, rock, etc. When people ask I always refer to it as “alternative” or “alternative punk” but that’s as close as I can get. We’ll let everyone else decide.
What role does social media and online presence play in connecting with your fans?
Abeer: Our socials help us stay connected to our community, which is important for us. It plays a big part in helping us share our music and shows, but also to communicate and laugh with our fans and followers.
What are some of the biggest obstacles you've faced as a band, and how did you overcome them?
Brendon: Getting your friends to take time out of their lives and start a band and commit to it is a really hard thing to do. It’s like starting a new family with new commitments and responsibilities when we already have our own families, commitments and endless responsibilities. Something like this will always present its challenges for everyone in the band. We overcome it by trying to not stress each other out. If there’s an issue or a problem with something, most of the time it can usually wait. The truth is we have bigger priorities in our lives these days and our families and our mental health should always come first.
What's your favorite song to perform live and why?
Brendon: Queen of Bayside, the second Greg hits that crash cymbal to lead us into the opening riff, you can just feel the energy in the room shift. It’s truly a great feeling and a fun song to play. It gives me such a high.
Abeer: Queen of Bayside as well, and The Strangest Feeling too. Those are the songs everyone is usually screaming right back to us.
How has your style evolved since you first started?
Brendon: Abeer really always keeps things fresh for us. I’ve been writing songs with him for well over a decade now and this is some of the best writing I’ve ever seen or heard from any musician on this planet. His stuff is so good and he has a new song idea almost every time I see him and they just keep getting better and better. I don’t write songs nearly as quickly as he does but he’s always there to push me along and help make my songs better or different, which is huge.
Abeer: Similarly, Brendon is often talking about incorporating new sounds and textures into our songs, which is inspiring to keep things exciting and tread new territory. We just made our first record, so I’m excited to see how our next releases.
What's the most exciting thing happening for the band right now?
Brendon: Our new record! Although we’ve been working on it for quite some time, the hard work has certainly paid off. It’s opened up so many beautiful doors for us and introduced us to so many amazing and kind people.
Is there a particular message or theme you hope listeners take away from your music?
Brendon: I would say to have fun, stay young and go dancing or do whatever it is that makes you happy. Lots of crazy shit is going on in the world right now so we might as well enjoy ourselves before some idiot launches us into a nuclear catastrophe and gets us all blown up.
Abeer: Brendon and I have a wide range of themes in our lyrics. It means a lot to us when people get what we’re trying to say and even more so when it resonates with them.
What are your goals for the band?
Brendon: I’d say to stay fresh on people’s minds. There’s a lot of moving parts to a band but the main ones are to keep writing songs and making records and to keep playing shows.
Abeer: Same here. We have a split we’re planning to do with Playing Dead in 2026, along with starting to record a full-length album.
What is your favorite venue to play?
Brendon: Anywhere in Queens is always fun. Hometown shows are always a good time. The vibe, the crowd and the energy is always massive, I can still feel the buzz even days after a show.
Abeer: Bar Freda has been the only venue we’ve repeated so far. I really enjoyed Shilleleagh Tavern, and it helped that I live close by.
Describe your fans in one sentence
Brendon: Our fans are hands down the coolest, most generous, most sweetest, most down to earth, fun loving people you’ll ever meet. It’s the best support anyone could ever ask for.
What's one odd thing about your band that people might not know?
Brendon: Abeer and I are suckers for mondegreens. We love to change the lyrics to popular songs to get a quick laugh out of each other. We’ve been doing it so long that we could probably make an entire catalog of albums strictly with funny misheard lyrics.
What's a hidden talent or a non-musical hobby that you have?
Brendon: Brendan, our bassist (that’s right, there are two Brendans in the band) could easily be a successful comedian. He is not only super witty but hands down the funniest person I’ve ever met. Being funny is definitely a talent but having the ability to make people piss their pants with laughter is definitely on a whole other level of talent.
What's a song you wish you had written?
Brendon: “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears. It’s honestly the most perfect sounding song to me.
Abeer: “Isn’t That Something” by Playing Dead.
Check these guys out, links below
Official Website: https://bio.site/bestbones
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2En9WAkpXqYaATTwv8Kb9F?si=a7duLNWOTiiu3n9B5IJxeg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/best-bones/1825387992
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestbonesband