Munching on some chocolate Tim Tams and sipping on Milo’s backstage before the first of two sold-out nights at the Brooklyn Steel, it’s not hard to see that Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic of Royel Otis have remained ever-so grounded and loveable since finding themselves on the up and up of the music scene within the last few years. Describing their first interaction as “love at first sight”, Royel Otis was born when Roy was working at a local restaurant in Australia, and Otis just so happened to be there—and the rest was history. Since then, the duo has been building an intangible sonic it-factor that many bands these days are hoping to replicate. With a mix of woozy guitar riffs and hazy soft-rock vocals, the boys have created a heavenly balance to their sound that is seemingly addictive to many of their over 9 million listeners.

With 13 songs on their newest album, Pratts & Pain, the duo managed to create a set list comprised of newer singles that were recently released while on tour, while also combining a few older, recognizable tracks—and of course, their viral covers of ‘Linger’ by The Cranberries and ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ by Sophie Ellis Baxter, perfectly coordinated to the energy of the audience (which was buzzing with excitement from the moment the doors opened and revealed a rather unusual stage design featuring a giant prawn). Although the backstory is not as wild compared to the fact they bring this large crustacean into every venue, we have their stage designer to thank, who came up with the initial idea of a mega “Prawn Star” (similar to the famous colossal prawn that is fixated at a former hardware store in the city of Bellina in Australia) to be the stage’s focal point.

With only a few more shows on the North American leg of the tour before the boys head off to Oslo, VMAN chatted backstage with Maddell and Pavlovic to witness the duo in all their witty glory, starting with what their favorite dishes are.

VMAN: Roy, what is your order at the Stuffed Beaver Dining Parlour?

Royel Maddell: What the fuck? You’re like fucking Nardwar. (*laughs*) It would be a cheeseburger, but add lettuce, tomato, and bacon, right? And people are like, ‘Why don’t you just get the Beaver burger which is essentially that, but it’s a different sauce?’ But I want the tomato and mustard, and then I get the barbecue wings with a drizzle of the hot sauce. So you get the best of both worlds and then grab a world-famous Margarita.

VMAN: That’s so fun. Have you been Otis?

Otis Pavlovic: The Stuffed Beaver? That’s where I met him for the first time.

RM: Officially.

VMAN: Tell us about that!

OP: We just caught eyes across the room, it was love at first sight. 

RM: I was like ‘I bet that guy can sing.’

VMAN: Keeping on this, what is one delicacy in America that you would want to be adopted by Australia and vice versa?

OP: A McCrispy late at night.

RM: Late-night McCrisp, for sure. But to bring over from Australia? Oporto. 

VMAN: What’s that? 

RM: A Portuguese chicken burger, from either Oporto or Ogalo.

OP: Oporto is like a fast food [franchise], with Portuguese chicken fast food. It’s pretty good.

RM: It’s really good. It’s like Nando’s [in the UK], but way better than Nando’s.

VMAN: You’ve been on tour for most of the year—how do you spot an Australian wherever you both go?

OP: It’s the freckles. (*laughs*)

VMAN: Freckles? You don’t seem to have any freckles. 

RM: It’s because we’ve been away from home too long.

VMAN: Bringing it back home a bit for you both—rate these Australian bands: INXS, AC/DC, Bee-Gee’s, Men At Work.

RM: Bee-Gee’s, number one. Then, AC/DC, INXS, Men At Work. 

OP: Mine’s the same. Maybe, INXS before AC/DC, but yeah. 

VMAN: I have a random question for Otis. What is the origin story of your love of horses? Are you a member of the American Quarter Horse Association?

OP: I follow them on Instagram. 

RM: (*laughs*) That’s crazy.

OP: I don’t know, as a kid, I was just always into cowboys, horses, and stuff, and my grandpa, when I was a toddler, would put on old westerns, like John Wayne and a bunch of that kind of stuff. So I just kind of was always keen to be a little cowboy when I was younger. 

RM: But a little one.

OP: (*laughs*) Just a little one.

VMAN: Apart from your interest in horses, what role did skate culture have on your growing interest in music during your upbringing? 

OP: Well for me, it was just all about skate games when I was younger, like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Skate 3. 

V: With iconic tracks for those games, of course. Speaking of iconic tracks, you’ve had a lot of virality from your cover of ‘Murder on the Dance Floor’, which was heard pretty much everywhere since the Saltburn film came out. If given the opportunity, would you guys ever compose a score for a film, TV series, theater show, or anything like that?

RM: That would be so sick. The dream would be an anime, but, my favorite anime director is dead now, but I reckon composing for an anime would be so fucking sick.

OP: I feel like composing a soundtrack for a video game like Red Dead Redemption or something would be crazy.

VMAN: Otis, I read that you were an actor for a little bit…

RM: (*laughs*) He was Hamilton!

OP: No, I didn’t even know what Hamilton was until I met Roy. 

VMAN: Did you really play Hamilton? 

OP: (*laughs*) No, dude. No, no, no. I honestly didn’t know what Hamilton was.

RM: What were you then?

OP: I was in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

VMAN: That’s adorable. Do you think it helped inform your stage presence in a way?

OP: I don’t know, it’s so different.

VMAN: What do you think is harder, acting or performing music on stage?

OP: Probably acting. 

VMAN: Do you think you’ll make a return to the world of acting anytime soon?

OP: (*laughs*) No, I don’t think so.

You can catch Royel Otis on their worldwide ‘Glory to Glory’ tour at the below dates:

Oakland, CA | October 18th, 2024

Portland, OR (Sold Out) | October 20th, 2024

Seattle, WA (Sold Out) | October 21st, 2024

Vancouver, BC | October 22nd, 2024

Oslo, Norway (Sold Out) | October 28th, 2024

Oslo, Norway (Sold Out) | October 29th, 2024

Stockholm, Stockholm County (Sold Out) | October 31st, 2024

Gothenburg, Sweden (Sold Out) | November 1st, 2024

Copenhagen (Sold Out) | November 2nd, 2024

Hamburg, HH (Sold Out) | November 3rd, 2024

Berlin, Berlin (Sold Out) | November 5th, 2024

Warsaw, Poland | November 7th, 2024

Vienna, Austria (Sold Out) | November 8th, 2024

Prague, Czechia (Sold Out) | November 9th, 2024

Munich, Germany (Sold Out) | November 11th, 2024

Milan, Lombardy (Sold Out) | November 12th, 2024

Zürich, Switzerland (Sold Out) | November 13th, 2024

Madrid, Spain (Sold Out) | November 15th, 2024

Barcelona, Spain (Sold Out) | November 16th, 2024

Antwerp, Belgium (Sold Out) | November 19th, 2024

Paris, France (Sold Out) | November 20th, 2024

Cologne, Germany | November 22nd, 2024

Nijmegen, Netherlands (Sold Out) | November 23rd, 2024

Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sold Out) | November 24th, 2024

Bristol, England (Sold Out) | November 26th, 2024

London, United Kingdom (Sold Out) | November 27th, 2024

Glasgow, UK (Sold Out) | November 29th, 2024

Newcastle upon Tyne, England (Sold Out) | November 30th, 2024

Leeds, England (Sold Out) | December 1st, 2024

Manchester, UK (Sold Out) | December 3rd, 2024

Dublin, Ireland (Sold Out) | December 4th, 2024

Detroit, MI | December 7th, 2024

Tempe, AZ | December 10th, 2024

Denver, CO | December 12th, 2024

Tulsa, OK | December 15th, 2024

Milwaukee, WI | December 17th, 2024

Glenworth Valley, NSW | December 28th, 2024-January 1st, 2025

Barunah Plains, Australia | December 28th, 2024-January 1st, 2025

Brisbane, QLD | December 31st, 2024

Perth, Australia | January 4th, 2025

Adelaide, Australia | January 5th, 2025