Hailing from New York City, Dr. Ex and The Break-Ups are self-described freakbeat garage punk that gets the soirée swinging - imagine "? & The Mysterians" after an all night drug orgy with The Kinks.

We believe that description speaks for itself, so let's get to it!

Tell us about your new release. What was the inspiration behind it?

Justin (AKA Justone Ex, guitars): We’re juuuust about done with the writing phase of our new record. We had so much fun recording the last batch of tunes, that we started writing new material immediately. So one could say the inspiration for the new record is … love? Love of playing together. We’re exploring new themes, like crooked police detectives and inventing new dance crazes like “Bigfoot Boogie.” One of the many things I love about being in this band is we’re not tied to any one sound or genre. Hand claps, bullwhip cracks, and vibraslaps! We’re taking the Pet Sounds approach to the recording process. If we wanna add steel drums, to give a song that “island” feel then we do it. Why not, right?

How did the band originally form?

Jon (aka Jonny Ex, drums): Justin, Annick and I were all founding members of the NYC punk band World War IX (WWIX) and had been playing together for years. During COVID there were no shows or ability to prqctice so I remember Justin and I were sort of pacing around talking on the phone for months and we had been listening to a lot of the ‘Nuggets’ comp early 60’s obscure garage type stuff-really the roots of what would become punk rock and got into this idea to start some sort of band with that flavor as a new separate project. It was just this idea that sort of got out of hand. We knew Russ as a bass player from the band Felony Bebop Club so we got in touch with him. The original idea was to find a lead singer too but Russ’ scratch vocals during the initial rehearsals were so incredible we just said fuck that and had Russ become the lead singer. We really needed keyboards for this garage punk sound that we wanted, and we looked and looked for a keyboard player but couldn’t find the right one. Justin, out of desperation, finally put up a request on his social media page and ANNICK of all people answered it. We had forgotten she played piano as well as bass. So, it was perfect.

Justin: I was just so burned out on “important,” “bone crushing,” hard stuff. During the dark days of covid it really was this pre-1966 garage stuff that got me going. I needed to feel happy and well, nothing puts a smile on my face faster than The Sir Douglass Quintet.

Russell: kinda like if WWIX and Felony Bebop Club had a child who had sunglasses and a jean jacket.

Annick: Justin’s post reached me just at the time that I was thinking of playing in a band again. I was so happy they wanted me back and donned the sunglasses and jean jacket with pleasure.

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music?

Justin: It’s garage like the Sonics, but fast and loud like The Ramones. There’s also some spooky elements a la Jumpin’ Gene Simmons’ Haunted House. The music is exceedingly toe tapping but also packs a punch. Ideally our music makes you move as much as it makes us move. I watch a lot of bands slogging through their set and think “Christ, imagine having to practice this stuff!”

Russell: Fun with cajones.

Annick: I usually tell people it’s a little bit 60s garage, a little bit new wave, a little bit glam, mixed with 70s TV theme songs… all this of this but much louder.

What's the story behind your band name?

Jon: After we had practiced a bunch and it seemed to be clicking between all of us we had to find a name. We had this huge list of names. At this time, the emergency part of Covid was receding; the George Floyd protests, and Jan 6 had happened, so everything seemed to be breaking apart plus all of us had gone through some difficulty with relationships at one point or another and we were kind of joking around about the name The Break-Ups. Along with that we had a name on the list from a movie about a mad scientist called Dr X. Someone said no, wait Dr “Ex” and it was a big ‘Aha!” moment to get to the name ‘Dr Ex and The Break Ups’. Justin is a great artist, so he came up with a logo in like 10 minutes. The first time I saw the written name “Dr Ex and The Break-Ups” I said to myself ‘man that’s kind of disturbing’ then I knew we HAD to use it. Someone said somewhere that there’s never a time more liberating and scarier than during a break up and that’s how I personally felt forming this new band after so many years of doing one thing with WWIX.

Who are your biggest musical influences, both as a band and individually, and why?

Justin: Hmm, aside from The Ramones, Sonics, and Doug Sahm, I gotta add The Mummies, Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, Rocky Erickson, Johnny Rivers, The Stooges, the musical influences are endless, but the band also draws heavily from old TV shows and movies. Batman 66, Get Smart, McHales Navy, all the twisted classic Sid and Marty Krofft mind blowers. We want to be seen as well as heard so the visuals are almost as important as the sounds. Think early John Waters with a healthy dose of Mel Brooks. As far as why? Keeping it light and fun is the name of this game.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

Jon: We’ve had a lot of awesome shows but opening for Muck and The Mires at Bowery Electric stands out for me because remember, we had moved from playing many years in the punk/hardcore scene in WWIX to coming up with this outlandish idea to start a completely different type of freakbeat/punk/garage rock genre (with keyboards no less!) that was very much modeled after bands like Muck and The Mires and there was no guarantee it would succeed at ALL, so it was amazing to be asked to be on that bill. It was a confirmation to us like “ok this is working.’ Also we’ve gotten very good airplay and support from so many radio stations and DJ’s both internet and terrestrial so we are certainly grateful for that.

Justin: Making the video for Mezcalita was a big highlight for me. As a kid I was always renting a video camera with my friends to make these goofy comedy shorts and back then there was NOTHING more. So when Dr. Ex was filming Mezcalita it felt just like that. Hanging out with friends making fools of ourselves for nobody’s entertainment other than our own.

Russell: One night doing "Bye Bye Bizarro" and the audience joined in with us for "Up Up and Away!" - I was like, "wow - they're paying attention!"

What role does social media and online presence play in connecting with your fans?

Justin: As much as the band likes inhabit the past, sonically speaking, we are keenly aware that it’s 2025. Social Media is staggeringly important. It’s where we field gig offers, connect with fans who don’t live in NYC, and touch base with the various radio stations that play our songs.

Annick: By posting our songs and videos on platforms like YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify, we have reached a wide audience across the globe.

What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as a band, and how did you overcome them?

Jon: I mean for me it was the concept of starting ALL OVER AGAIN after years in WWIX, I mean it’s a great idea and all, to put a new band together but to actually start climbing the mountain again is daunting. Because really it doesn’t matter what band you were in before; you can’t just cut the line, you still have to pay your dues cause you don’t have name recognition, you don’t have any recordings; you don’t have show offers. Luckily, we quickly found we had the same philosophies about playing, writing, recording and filming videos so we were able to get out there and start grinding away at these first shows, all while writing songs, recording them and filming a bunch of videos quickly. We had a full album out “What The Hex Is Going On!?’ about a year after we first got together and just kept going full blast from there.

Justin: Not playing constantly is a big challenge for me. I tend to want to play every show that comes our way, but over the DECADES I’ve “learned” that it’s probably a good idea to let some time pass between gigs. Just because I wanna play all the time doesn’t mean people wanna see us all the time.

What's your favorite song to perform live and why?

Justin: “Bye Bye Bizarro” because it actually can take our audience on a Coney Island rollercoaster ride. Ups and downs and twists and turns! Also, I only wish Joey Ramone was still alive to see us play “Break-Up at The Beach.”

Russell: "Bye Bye Bizarro" is also one of my favorites: I get to channel my Jim Morrison on that one. Also dig "Foul Play in Funland" for the Bon Scott meets 1969 Stones vibe... And "Jeepers It's the Creeper" because it really drives hard...I could go on and on..."Red Eyed Whiskey Girl" for all the red eyed whiskey girls in the audience…

Annick: My favorite is “Dr. Ex in Outer Space” because of the killer keyboard part that Russell wrote for me and the idea of drinking spiked Tang.

How has your musical style evolved since you first started?

Justin: We’re all way comfortable with each other at this point so really it’s about choosing a particular genre and playing with it. Like “Let’s do a surf tune!” Or “How about we try to write a rockabilly number?” Rest assured though, no matter what we play it will still have that Dr. Ex and The Break-Ups razzle-dazzle.

What's the most exciting thing happening for the band right now?

Justin: Gearing up for another crack at the studio! I love recording and we’re just about ready to hit it again.

Is there a particular message or theme you hope listeners take away from your music?

Justin: Totally…get off your ass and dance! We’re only on this Godforsaken rock once, so how about we all try to enjoy ourselves for the next 30-45 minutes?

Russell: What Justin said. Fun fun fun 'till your daddy takes your T-Bird away.

Annick: Have fun responsibly! (editor’s note: Annick’s opinion about responsibly does not necessarily represent the opinions of knifetwister records)

What are your immediate goals for the band?

Justin: Make a new music video, for Heebie Jeebies. It’s our stab at rock-a-billy so we’ll get to wear cowboy hats!

Annick: Buy a cowboy hat!

What is your favorite venue to play?

Justin: Otto’s Shrunken Head in NYC. It’s a one of kind, no holds barred, no questions asked, plug in and play freak-fest tiki bar! Venuses like this are few and far between in Manhattan and we’ve made Otto’s our home away from home.

Annick: Totally agree. Otto’s crowd is warm and loving. So much fun playing there.

Describe your fans in one sentence.

Justin: Our audience are excellent dancers and HIGHLY intelligent.

Russell: Freaks, clowns, space invaders, witches, werewolves, vampires, sea creatures and red-eyed whiskey girls (editor’s note: as there is no verb in the preceding, it does not qualify as a sentence. Sorry)

What's one quirky or funny thing about your band that people not might not know?

Justin: We’d all rather hangout at the beach during the Fall or Winter months. October is better than August in many ways.

Russell: We all really like each other!

What's a hidden talent or a non-musical hobby that you have?

Justin: I write and draw comics! Most of the time they’re autobiographical and music oriented. For example one of my more recent books is “Slap in The Face Two: I Am No Longer Obsessed With GG Allin.” The title speaks for itself (editors note: an obsession with G. G. Allin is a recognized psychiatric disorder)

Russell: I can finance your affordable housing development. And I make pizza.

Annick: I make a lot of ceramic pots and grow a lot of vegetables.

What's a song you wish you had written?

Justin: “Downtown” by Petula Clark. It’s perfect.

Russell: " Good Vibrations" - can't imagine a more satisfying 3 minutes and 37 seconds.

Annick: Too many to name but The Kink’s “Autumn Almanac” is one of them. So perfectly British.

Go check ‘em out!

Links

Debut album “What The Hex Is Going On?: https://drexandthebreakups.bandcamp.com/album/what-the-hex-is-going-on

Video for our song Mezcalita: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEGD-Cgbn8o

Bandcamp page: https://drexandthebreakups.bandcamp.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_ex_and_the_break_ups