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TESS AND THE DETAILS Roar Into a New Era With “Take Me Alive”

By capitalchaostv on June 27, 2025 • ( 0 )

Bay Area punk-rockers Tess & The Details are charging into 2025 with a bold, anthemic new single: “Take Me Alive.” In this exclusive interview with Capital Chaos TV, frontwoman Tess Stevens opens up about the song’s evolution, the dangers of digital self-image, and why being DIY is still the band’s superpower—even when aiming for stadiums.

Photo: Devin Zamora

“Take Me Alive” signals a shift toward a more stadium-rock sound. What inspired that sonic evolution, and how did it shape the writing process for the new material?

I think as kids we all have these giant rock and roll heroes – and coming from a punk rock background, seeing bands like Green Day and the Foo Fighters take over stadiums was really inspiring to me. So, I always wanted to write an anthem that people could pump their fists to. I think we finally captured that feeling in this song – a defiant call to really feel that unifying energy in a song.

The song’s lyrics confront digital toxicity and self-doubt. Can you talk more about the personal or collective experiences that led to that message?

We all have experiences with social media these days that wreck our self-esteem, whether it’s scrolling through images that warp our self-image, or comparing our successes to others. It’s a jagged, jaded way to live. Now that everything is on a little screen, we lose sight of what is big. The lyrics challenge us to get out of our own way, put the phone down, and have the world “Take us Alive” as we truly are, not what we project ourselves to be online.

You’ve teamed up with Scott Goodrich and John Naclerio—both heavy hitters in punk and alternative rock production. What was it like collaborating with them, and how did their influence impact the final product?

Scott was wonderful to work with. He really gave us the polished 2025 sound that we have been craving. Personally, I was really excited by the guitar sound I was able to get out of my ’57 reissue Gibson Les Paul Jr and my ’14 Gibson Les Paul Traditional. That crunchy, pure rock and roll drive on the rhythm guitars and the punchy crisp leads really added to the stadium sound. We got blasting drums, killer bass, and a really slick pop vocal. It’s Details 2.0 and we’re really happy with the result. John Naclerio famously recorded My Chemical Romance’s debut album in his mother’s basement – and has come so far with his own studio in New York since then. His discography is legendary, and we’ve been working with him as our mastering engineer since my debut solo EP Patient 139. He amplified Scott’s work perfectly. We encourage any band who needs a mastering engineer to look into his work.

The video for “Take Me Alive” is edited by Tess herself. How important is it for the band to stay creatively hands-on with visuals and storytelling?

The creative process for bands is always different. With The Details, we’re a completely DIY entity. From the music of course, to the flyers to the graphic design for the “Take Me Alive” single cover, to the tour/show booking, to our social media presence, to yes, the editing for our music video. Creatively, if a band doesn’t have the vision and direction dialed in – it doesn’t have its compass. The advice we always give to bands is that it’s 25% music and 75% everything else nowadays. If you don’t have a meticulously curated live show, online presence, and musical foundation, it’s really hard to succeed. Whether that is right or fair isn’t really the point, it’s just how it is. So we adapt, create, and make the most of it. The best part about having control over your creative output is that you get to choose your own adventure and truly be proud of the work you put out.

Your debut album Runaway had a raw, punk energy. Do you see Take Me Alive and the upcoming singles as a departure from that, or a natural progression?

It’s very much a natural progression. At our heart, The Details is a band with that raw spirit but we never aim to put ourselves in a box. I believe that is a death sentence for any band or creative. Once you start putting labels on yourself and prescribing a certain sound or genre you limit what you can do and who you can be. When we sit down to write a song we have one goal: to write an amazing song. So we hope we have achieved that goal with “Take Me Alive” and can entertain people and bring them joy with our upcoming singles this year.

Live 105 and PopScene sponsoring your release show is a big milestone. What does hometown support like this mean to you, especially in a scene as diverse as the Bay Area?

Well, Aaron Axelson at Live 105 has been one of our greatest supporters and allies since we first started. He played “Canary” on the radio in 2023 when “Runaway” came out and it was like, “Hey, look mom we’re on the radio!” I’ll never get sick of those moments. So, when it came time to release “Take Me Alive” Aaron stepped in and loved the track and hooked us up with Winona Fighter, an amazing band out of Nashville – they’re in a place we aim to be – so it was great to play with them. We saw people wearing our T-shirts there and that was a trip! We feel the momentum building and it’s a truly humbling feeling when your hometown embraces you.

You’ve got more singles on the way this year—can fans expect the same anthemic vibe, or are you exploring different directions with each track?

Each of the tracks has a different feeling. We worked hard to pick three songs that have a different side to our band. We never want to be static – The Details don’t want to be put into a box. We have a really large back catalog so when structuring the singles we were really strategic. One is a more punk-driven track, and the third is a dreamier, almost ballad. So we will see where the wind takes us, but I have hope that when people continue to see how dimensional we are they’ll enjoy the music even more.

Tess, what’s your go-to guitar and pedal setup when you’re chasing that bigger, more expansive sound you’ve captured on “Take Me Alive”? Has anything changed from your Runaway rig?

This is the funniest part about me – I don’t use any pedals! Just a tuner! I use a Sure wireless set up with a tuner and straight into my Marshall JCM 900. I aim for a middle-of-the-road crunchy distorted tone and I go for broke when playing, most of my sound comes from my right hand and my intention while playing. That’s where all of the technique and drive comes from on that song.

If “Take Me Alive” were an animal, what would it be—and what would it order at a dive bar at 2 a.m.?

That thing is a tiger, and it drinks dirty martinis…only at casinos.

Tess & The Details’ “Take Me Alive” is available now on all streaming platforms. Catch them on tour this summer—and keep an eye out for more genre-defying singles dropping soon.