Not Your Average Punk Band: An Interview With NJ’s Your Best Nightmare

By Staff | September 1, 2026

Your Best Nightmare is not particularly interested in fitting into the standard constraints of what defines punk. If they did, there wouldn't be a ukulele on stage. New Jersey's self-described cutest terrors feed their unique approach into a high-energy lens to create something that's quite a bit different than anything we've every heard. We caught up with Erin and Josh to discuss collaborating, overcoming self doubt and why anyone who thinks they aren't punk is kinda missing the point.

Welcome! Since your first album dropped, what lyrical or sonic shift have you made between your debut album and your new releases that signals where Your Best Nightmare is heading next?

Erin, vocals/ukelele: The first album I was operating as a solo artist, so I didn’t have the same kind of collaborative space we’ve created as a gleesome threesome. I really think the sonic shift of working as the dream team of Josh, Jeanne, and I has been so cool. We all have such different influences, and you can really hear each of us as musicians in our new work.

What’s the most unexpected reaction you’ve gotten from an audience member at a show, and did it change how you perform?

Erin: I once had someone apologize to me for treating women poorly after a show. They said they were becoming a better person, but hearing my lyrics made them really realize how their actions might make someone feel. It definitely encouraged me to make more uncomfortable eye contact with people during our set.

Josh, bass: A compliment. It sounds silly, but someone recognizing what I’m trying to do, or the message I’m trying to convey through my playing, is an appreciated and awkward feeling at the same time.  I didn’t change how I perform, but it did reinforce some things, and was a nice reminder that self doubt is mostly self inflicted.

In a scene that's often based on speed and distortion, what does the ukulele allow you to say—musically or politically—that a distorted guitar simply can’t?

Erin: I think my ukulele says “Surprise! I’m also cute” in a way that distorted guitar doesn’t quite do for me. I wanted every heavy, warped, unsavory word out of my mouth to have this sweetened cutesy edge to it that ukulele just brings to everything.

How does being from New Jersey specifically shape the way you write, versus if you were from LA or London?

Josh: I think most places have a “thing” about them that influences a person, especially when creating art. Your environment plays such a big role in everyday life, it makes sense that it seeps into what you craft.  Not every band from NJ sounds like Bruce Springsteen, The Misfits, or MCR, but they all sound like NJ.

What’s one uncomfortable truth about the punk scene itself that your music forces your own audience to confront?

Josh: I think the “punk scene” can sometimes be a cliche of itself. YBN is weird, in the sense of, it's not your average type “punk” band. I think we are a fun reminder that punk is more than a fashion, and is not relegated to the standard band dynamic. 

Erin: I definitely agree with this! At first, I was told that YBN wasn’t punk; dudes on the internet were big mad about it. There’s so much more to punk than a particular style or sound. I feel like we force the audience to confront their own perceptions about punk as a whole.

What's the most challenging part of translating your studio sound to the stage?

There are only three of us maximum, and our recorded music has a lot of extra layers. It’s terrible we don’t have more hands or we could play everything live.

Anyone you'd like to thank for supporting you?

 Our fans and pals are super cool! We love them a ton.