PISTOLS AT DAWN quickly made a name for themselves on tours with Alter Bridge and Mammoth WVH, Fozzy, and Ugly Kid Joe and with their 2023 debut album, Ascension. The band’s blend of arena rock bombast and postmodern melody earned accolades from American Songwriter and Brave Words, among others.

The hard-driving hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, kicked things up another notch with the addition of new vocalist Jonathan Sookdew Sing, a massive talent from the small South American country Suriname who moved to Miami, Florida in 2013 to build a career in music.

Sing brought bassist Gabriel Cuevas with him, joining forces with lead guitarist Will James and drummer/cofounder Adam Jaffe. The four of them holed up together in a house in the Hollywood Hills, where they collaborated with a team of A-list collaborators, including Seth Reger (Jon Bellion, Bea Miller), Jason Mater (Olivia Rodrigo), Mike Plotnikoff(Three Days Grace, Halestorm, Daughtry), among others.

Last month, the newish lineup emerged with the single and music video “Not Sorry,” the first taste of the group’s forthcoming sophomore effort (expected sometime in 2025). They’ll support Des Rocs in Europe next month. I chatted with Jon and Adam about where they’ve been and where they’re going.

RYAN J. DOWNEY: How did Jonathan come to join the band?

JONATHAN SOOKDEW SING: The band saw a TikTok video of me singing in a metal band. Adam sent me a message. ‘We just came off tour with Alter Bridge. We saw your video and would love for you to come and audition. Can you give me a call?’ Two weeks later, I was on a plane to Georgia.

I figured it could go one of a few ways: either I’m leaving without my kidneys, or…

…So you didn’t wake up in a bathtub full of ice?

ADAM JAFFE: That option was always on the table, depending on whether he’d catfished us or not [laughs]. I started the band with a couple of other guys in 2020, and we grew the band. We started touring, charting on the radio, and all the other stuff while trying to fine-tune and find the right unit. Ultimately, we realized we needed this guy. We needed a frontman who was all in, had his level of talent, looks, and the whole package, really, and brought something special to the table. Our [band’s friend and] creative director had searched nationally to find us a new frontman. Have you ever seen the movie Rock Star?

Of course. And Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge is in the movie Rock Star!

ADAM: Isn’t that funny? She found him. We saw the video of him with his progressive metal band in Florida, and we were like, ‘That’s the guy.’ Apparently, [his friends] put air tags on him when he came to Atlanta to ensure he got where he was supposed to. He brought his best friend, Gabriel, to us, and with our 23-year-old phenomenal guitarist, Will, we instantly clicked. Pistols At Dawn did well before, writing heavier and more sort of grungy music. But this unit is what we needed. We needed to move forward with something more modern, youthful, and relevant. And it all clicked.

 JONATHAN: We went to LA earlier this year and wrote a new album work with top-notch producers in the industry. We created something that we are genuinely proud of. “Not Sorry” embodies [where we are at].

What qualities did you look for when choosing people to help make the second album?

JONATHAN: You want people who can enhance your flavor while adding their own. And not in a way that completely erases the identity of the band or the music that the band wants to create. One of the most essential things when working with a producer is that it’s someone who can make you uncomfortable and make you do stuff that you’re not used to doing, someone who draws out your best.

ADAM: And that’s exactly what happened. We had a truly collaborative experience. We came home from a tour, wrote a new album, threw it out, and went to LA to start over. We needed top-notch people to [get us out of our comfort zone]. We worked with one producer who leans poppier and another who leans heavier. They drew out things we’d never contemplated before. The synergy was beautiful.

You’ve had some great support tours, and another one is coming up. How do you approach winning over new fans in those situations? What’s your game plan onstage?

JONATHAN: It’s mainly about the mindset that you go into it with. You can see it as, ‘Oh, I’m the opener, or, ‘There are three headliners on this show. We’re all laying it all out there. And that’s what we’ve done.

ADAM: Jon hit the nail on the head. We go out as if we’re the headliner. We are putting on a rock show. We will throw down in every way, shape, and form. By the conclusion of our set, we want people to feel as if the evening ended right there [they’d seen a killer show]. We don’t care how much time they give us. It’s going to be a complete show from us. The audience should feel like they saw two or three headliners.

When you’re building your own headlining package, I’m sure you’ll approach it the same way. That’s what you want from the rest of the bill, you know? You want everybody to go hard.

ADAM: Those are the best nights, aren’t they? When you go out to see a band, and you don’t know who the openers are, or maybe you’ve heard their name or one song, and then you get there… I saw Deftones open for 311. Are you kidding me?! They destroyed the place! 311 were great, but they weren’t Deftones.

It’s like when Metallica famously opened for Ozzy Osbourne on Master of Puppets.

ADAM: When we went out with Alter Bridge and Mammoth WVH, I challenged Will, our guitarist. He’s a prodigy. ‘You’re going to open up for Mark Tremonti and Wolfgang Van Halen, two of the best guitarists on the planet.’ Instead of starting with a song, we decided to begin the set with a guitar solo. We did that on the first night, in Oklahoma, in front of six thousand people. These are the types of experiences we’ll take with us for the rest of our lives. ‘We are Jon, Gabriel, Will, and Adam. We are here to make our mark.’ Let’s see how far we can get and [create something] that will stand the test of time. And with this sophomore album, I think we have done that. We’ve made something that can stand the test of time.

That’s how you should feel about anything worth making and putting out there.

ADAM: We don’t even play the old music anymore. We’re only playing new stuff because it’s that much better. Once ‘Not Sorry’ hits the radio, we’ll blow it up as much as possible. We’re not stopping. #