CROSSTOWN Connects with Us to Discuss Their Bold New Take on “Rose-Colored Boy” and the Creative Vision Behind It
- STAFF
- Aug 5
- 10 min read
By: Staff
“Rose-Colored Boy” reimagined into an electrifying, synth-driven anthem that showcases CROSSTOWN’s unstoppable creativity.
CROSSTOWN’s latest release is nothing short of electric, a reimagining of Paramore’s “Rose-Colored Boy” that transports the song into an entirely new realm. With a pulsating disco-pop beat, soaring synths, and a bold energy that commands attention, this version flips the original’s sunny vibe on its head, diving deep into the tension between optimism and realism. The track was brought to life by the trio's frontman, Danny Mitchell, alongside his bandmates Lily “Matcha” Santos and Matt Mandell, who’ve steadily been carving their own lane in the LA music scene.
We spoke with Danny about the transformation of the song, how it resonates with him on a personal level, and how the band's journey together has evolved. From the magic of LA's diverse music scene to the humble, bedroom-pop-inspired recording process, Danny shared insights into both the highs and challenges of their creative journey. Along the way, he also reveals how the CROSSTOWN ethos thrives on DIY culture and connection, whether it’s collaborating across genres, engaging with fans, or embracing an unfiltered artistic vision.
Dive into our full conversation below and get an exclusive look into the passion behind CROSSTOWN’s electrifying take on "Rose-Colored Boy."
Hello CROSSTOWN, we’re thrilled to have you here for this interview! We've had an amazing time exploring your music and diving into your creative journey. Now, we’re even more intrigued to get a deeper look into both your brand and your personal and professional inspirations.
Q. Can you tell us the names of the bandmembers in CROSSTOWN and your contributions to the project?
A. The current members of CROSSTOWN are Me- Danny Mitchell on vocals and production, my bassist and songwriting partner Lily "Matcha" Santos, and guitarist Matt Mandell. We have a lot of other part-time collaborators that have contributed instrumentals and production help, such as our friends Andres Marquez, Daniel Nieberg, Ben Romero, Lenin Castro, Bella Primera, Jared Manasse, Noah Vega, and Braden Rosenstegel.
Q. How did you and your bandmate first meet, and what made you realize you wanted to make music together?
A. I first met Lily on an online forum for songwriters and we started hanging out IRL when I first moved to LA. We spent a lot of time walking around and getting food or boba in different parts of the LA area like Little Tokyo, Long Beach, or Westwood, and she took me to some punk shows all over the area where I threw myself in the crowd, bought some cheap but really good clothes, and met others in the LA scene. I found our first guitarist Noah from the same online forum I met Lily on and I met our first drummer/producer Braden at a Halloween party. We've had multiple lineup changes over the past year, with most other members being friends or aquaintences we found through the local LA music scene.
Q. What’s the story behind how you were inspired to use the name CROSSTOWN?
A. We were having trouble coming up with a band name that really meant something to us, with early name suggestions being "Kimchi Rice", "Sexy Clown", "Ideé Fixe" and "Unnamed Reddit Forum Band" but the idea for CROSSTOWN came from when I was driving from the Westwood apartment I used to lived in all the way to Lily's house in Whittier and I passed the Culver City 3 bus with the words "CROSSTOWN" emblazoned all over it and thought that would be a cool, memorable name that really encapsulated our reality, from us commuting through insane traffic to practice together, or meeting up and hanging out in the diverse neighborhoods of LA. I realize now that CROSSTOWN is also just such a good name for a band from LA, cause everyone here can relate to the incredible distance we all travel just in our day-to-day lives compared to other cities.
Q. This track is a cover of Paramore’s “Rose-Colored Boy,” which touches on the tension between optimism and realism. What drew you to this song, and how did you relate to its message personally?
A. The first time I heard "Rose-Colored Boy" was when I was sitting on my balcony at UCSB (where I went to undergrad) and I instantly connected to the song due to its fun, summery soundscape and unique guitars. I'd liked Paramore for a while but hadn't given "After Laughter" much of a listen outside of "Hard Times", which everyone knows. But I have to credit Hayley's clear, crisp vocals with getting me to pay attention to the lyrics and the message of the song, and I realized that it had incredibly sobering lyrics for its sunny disposition. I could relate to the song on two levels, one because being surrounded by constant positivity or "good vibes" when you're feeling depressed can be jarring and unnerving, and two, I WAS the person Hayley was speaking to in the song sometimes so it taught me to read the room.
Q. As a teaser description, what would you tell someone about this song to intrigue them about its uniqueness, if you only had one sentence to get them interested in listening to your version of it?
A. "What if your song of the summer was an electropop cover of a cheerful 2010s rock song about depression?"
Q. When you’re creating original songs that aren’t covers, how does that process usually start? Do you collaborate in the same space, or do you work separately and then share ideas?
A. Sometimes I come with songs already fully written and partially produced and have the other bandmates come up with their own instrumentals for the songs. Other times Lily has lyrics written down and sings to me, and I assemble them into a melody that works for my voice with her playing along on bass. Sometimes I'll randomly get an idea for a lyric change and will run that through the group chat or in rehearsal.
Q. The recording for “Rose-Colored Boy” took place in your homes. How did that intimate setting influence the energy or vibe of the final track?
A. There's certainly aspects of a bedroom pop influence in the song, especially from the clearly logic pro-grade MIDI synths mixed with the drum machine and guitars. But despite that, I would describe this song as the opposite of bedroom pop. A lot of the "produced at home" sound tends to be categorized as nonchalant, soft, and homely vocals mixed with a mid-tempo, chill instrumental; the type of music that you would play while cooking dinner or folding your laundry. But "Rose-Colored Boy" is much more high energy, with a bunch of synth layers, distorted guitars, and a persistant, fast disco-pop beat. The vocals and the effects I put on them were inspired both by Hayley Williams and Lady Gaga, two powerhouses who command attention and make powerful anthems. Basically I made this song with the vision of people dancing and screamng it out at a house party or club. Not sure if that will happen, but a boy can dream.
Q. Danny, you used a weighted blanket over your set-up to reduce background noise. What inspired that unconventional method, and how well did it work?
A. Mainly necessity inspired the weighted blanket, as I have a powerful mic and mediocre sound insulation in my bedroom, even with the mic shield I own. So I took the weighted blanket and hung it up over my entire recording set-up. It also helped because I was singing quite loud and have 3 roommates, so I didn't want to bother them too much. It got really hot in there.
Q. You’ve said creating this version was “honoring and humbling.” Can you share more about what it means to reinterpret a song you love while hoping to introduce it to new listeners?
A. A lot of artists will have a deep connection to the songs they choose to cover, especially if they release those covers as studio singles with a new genre. I feel honored to have the opportunity to be the first time some people may hear this amazing tune, and hope it drives them to listen to Paramore's version after and enjoy comparing the two. I don't even care if they listen to the Paramore version and think "Whoa, this is way better" because at least they had the experience of hearing both and going on that sonic journey. Also, there's no way in hell I'm out-singing Hayley Williams. The humbling part of this process is me keeping myself in the mindset that I'm not trying to improve on the original, but instead make version of the song in a parallel synthpop universe.
Q. We’ve read that CROSSTOWN will actually say hi and hang out with people after a show, that’s so cool! What’s the most memorable fan interaction you’ve ever had?
A. One time we performed an original song named "Unrequited" at a rooftop music fest in Hollywood and it honestly wasn't one of my favorite songs. I personally didn't even identify fully with the lyrics, I mostly wrote it for the melody. But after our set, one of the audience members came up to me and told me how much he loved "Unrequited" and how much it spoke to him, and it was there that I realized the transformative power lyrics can have. And at a house party in Hollywood 3 months later, I bumped into that same guy and told me he remembered "Unrequited" and asked if I was gonna release it. I'm not performing it with CROSSTOWN anymore but I want to find a solo pop artist and give it to them to release as more of a sentimental piano ballad than a rock song.
Q. Your bio says you’re willing to sit in hours of traffic or even brave the LA Metro to get to a concert or session. Has there ever been a particularly wild or unforgettable journey getting to a gig?
A. One time last year, we perfomed at a house party near UCSB and by the time we pulled up to Del Playa drive in Isla Vista, there were already drunk students walking all the way up and down the street, which made an interesting scene with us unloading all the equipment for the show. That was our first time performing outside the LA area. I ended up camping out in my car at a beachside campsite in Ventura, cause I left the house party super late, but fighting through the crowded throng of UCSB students on Del Playa was something I won't forget. To be fair however, I had 4 years of experience doing that when I went to UCSB.
Q. We read you are from LA. What are some things you know about LA music life, good or bad, that’s just different from other cities?
A. LA's music scene is HUGE and I've found that genre changes based on what part of the county you're from. Punk is king in the Eastside, Gateway Cities, and Long Beach, Psychadelic rock and folk is very popular in the valley, UCLA/Westside has a big jazz and R&B scene, the South Bay has surf rock, Orange County has Ska, Inland Empire has Indie Rock and shoegaze, and Hollywood/Weho/Mid City is big on indie pop and pop-rock. I honestly might wanna make a documentary or book about it, as I am a huge georgraphy nerd.
Q. With your debut studio album planned for fall 2025, what can fans expect in terms of style, themes, or surprises?
A. Everyone in CROSSTOWN loves to defy the confines of genre, so we're taking inspiration from many different types of artists in our songs. Within the tracklist we have a Psychedelic Synthpop song inspired by MGMT and Tame Impala, a retro, swung summer jam that sounds like a Beatles B-side, multiple high-powered pop-punk anthems inspired by Paramore, Olivia Rodrigo, Rage, and Arctic Monkeys, New Wave songs that take from Blondie and Talking Heads, a chill alternative R&B tune, the quintessential acoustic ballad that every album has, and even an alt-pop stream of consciousness that's built around a whole-tone scale (also known as the "dream sequence scale"). Every song in the album has the DIY production style and whimsy but each song is its own universe, like a different chapter in the book. We have not announced the name of the album or the full tracklist yet but we have a special surprise planned for the album promotion that involves you, reader, getting free stuff if you would like.
Q. Outside of music, who or what has had the biggest influence on your personal growth or artistic perspective?
A. Architecture and urban design is a huge artistic inspiration for me personally. One of my favorite things to do is just walk around and look at the unique architectural styles of both residential and business buildings. Some of my favorite cities I've visited are Barcelona, Mexico City, and Berlin, all cities with great urban design (and great public transit as well). One thing I find unique about LA is that it has both really ugly and really pretty urban design, sometimes built right next to each other. It's that dichotomy that makes LA a one-of-a-kind city, for better or for worse.
Q. What do you want people to remember most about you and your brand after hearing this song and reading this interview?
A. That the three most important letters to us in the English language are D, I and Y. We want to find and build a community of people that love singing, dancing, sharing their art, and enjoying others' creativity, not for profit or fame, but for the sake of expressing oneself. Our mission is to perform and build community outside the confines of the soulless corporatism and hustle culture we all have to deal with at some point, and also to inspire the DIY attitude in others and empower them to pursue their artistic hobbies, whatever that may be.
Q. And finally, what’s next? Can you give us the inside scoop on your upcoming projects and what fans should be excited about? We’d love to be the first to share the news.
A. Right now we're focused on finishing and publishing our first studio album, but we would love to tour the album and get booked at music festivals over the next year, as well as release collaborative singles with solo artists we vibe with. Also, a goal for us in community building it to also host open mics, artist picnics, DIY shows and parties, and other events for creatives to express themselves freely, and we will probably announce all those events and concerts on our Instagram.
CROSSTOWN, thank you so much, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us!
End Interview
We’re happy to have shared CROSSTOWN’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
