AFI with Choir Boy

For more than three decades, AFI has been in a nearly constant state of reinvention. The band have made it a point to evolve with every album—sometimes dramatically so—never allowing themselves to become too comfortable in one genre or rest on any of their impressive career laurels. It’s an approach that has grown their audience but also challenged it with a sonic identity that can shift in wild, unexpected directions. Now with their twelfth album, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, AFI are once again at the start of a bold new chapter, only this time they’ve even managed to surprise themselves.

“Choir Boy” was what kids called singer/songwriter Adam Klopp in his early teens when he fronted punk cover bands in Cleveland, Ohio. An intended insult, the label seemed fair and fitting in a way, given Klopp’s religious upbringing and angelic voice. After high school, Adam left Ohio for college in Utah. While his career as a student would prove short-lived, he integrated into Provo and SLC’s underground music and art scene, left religion behind, and called his new band Choir Boy.

“It seemed funny to me as sort of a comical reclamation of the mocking title I received from “punk” peers as a teen. While serving as a weird reflection of my childhood and musical heritage.”

Since Choir Boy’s gorgeous debut Passive With Desire, the dream-pop outfit has gained a cult following online and in underground circles. Adam’s stunning vocal range, layered compositions, and heartbreaking melodies are backed by musical partner Chaz Costello on bass (Fossil Arms, Sculpture Club, Human Leather), saxophonist and keyboardist Jeff Kleinman, and guitarist Michael Paulsen, together creating the perfect blend of nostalgia-laced romantic pop music we’ve been waiting years to hear.