[Photo courtesy of Alice Falkowski]

By Eileen Fortner, News Editor 

Space Kid is a three-piece garage rock band from Columbus, Ohio. The band is made up of drummer Liam Keron, bassist and backup vocalist Riley Morgan-Boucher, as well as guitarist and lead vocalist Patrick Gallaugher. I was fortunate enough to catch the band just before their performance at the 2025 ACRN Battle of the Bands to speak about their performance and the roots of the band.

Eileen Fortner (EF) : Is there a song in your set tonight that you think everyone’s gonna go crazy for? 

Patrick Gallaugher (PG): We have a new one we’re playing tonight, and we just practiced the vocals for that, just cause we don’t want to mess it up. Tonight we’re doing a cover of our favorite band, Twin Peaks. They just got back together, and we’re all going to see them in Chicago. So, we’re excited to do that one. Tonight, we don’t really have any tricks up our sleeve — we’re just kinda doing our thing and trying to play as rowdy as we can. 

Riley Morgan-Boucher (RB): Yeah, I think ever since we’ve been taking my car here, we’ve been listening to a lot of my music. My roommate and I will listen to a lot of stuff like something 800 Cherries, stuff like that. You know, just really chill, mellow ‘80s indie bands. So the ride here is like “La la la.” 

PG: It’s totally different from us. 

RB: I don’t usually listen to that stuff, but that’s just the recent. 

PG: Before our sets, I’ll try to fit in a Ramones song. 

RB: “Bitch” by the Rolling Stones. 

PG: Yeah, good Rolling Stones song. 

RB: “Bitch” will get you there. 

EF: What made you guys sign up for the Battle of the Bands? 

PG: I saw the flyer, we saw the Battle of the Greens, and we hadn’t signed up. We just love ACRN, and our first show this year with them was sold out. And so we’re just really big supporters in everything they do. And so when I saw this, I was like “this would be a fun thing to try.” So I just signed us up. We’ve never done one of these before, and we’re not really competitive. We like to have fun, so throw a little competition in there?

EF: So, how did you guys meet?

RB: We went to elementary school together. 

PG: We met in fourth grade. 

RB: Me and Pat were in a band in 6th grade. 

PG: And then we broke up the band. We started playing together in a band in 8th grade. We started playing around town in our sophomore year of high school. We’re like family. 

RB: Yeah, we’re like brothers and sister.

EF: Was music always the dream for you guys? 

PG: Yeah, I think so. I was just asked about how we started, and I said it out loud and never thought about it. I think we just all liked music, and the idea of being in a band has always been cool to us. We definitely found more of what we were into after we had started. Getting to do it has been really fun, and we wanna keep having fun. 

RB: I don’t think I would be where I am right now without the band. Without a doubt, I think it has been one of the most magical things in my life. I think it’s just really special that we get to do this. Even as a little kid, I mean, in 5th grade me and Pat were listening to Queen records on his Walkman. It’s kind of always been this thing, and I can’t imagine a life where it didn’t go this way. 

PG: We’ve also just been the three [of us] together for so long, and it’s like we’ve shared so much music with each other, and we’ve always just been there for each other. I think we would all be very different if it wasn’t us doing this. Especially if it wasn’t just us three, like if there was someone else, we all would’ve probably turned out a little bit different. 

EF: Does this make the process of writing originals harder or easier? 

PG: I think if anything, we’ve gotten more collaborative. Usually, I would write [songs] and bring them and they would mostly be finished and we would try to figure it out. Our new EP is coming out. We’re doing Brick City Records. We have never played them as a band and they have been just sitting as demos in my phone. We have tried them once or twice and we just kinda wing it when we’re at the actual recording booth. That made us a lot more collaborative, people were able to put their two cents in on it. It’s still very us, but it’s a step up for sure. 

EF: How has the Brick City experience been? 

Liam Keron (LK): It’s been great! 

PG: It’s been really great. Our management team and our producing team and all that, like everyone has just been super nice. We’ve made some really good friends, some great people. 

RB: It’s very special and strange because back in Columbus, we were on Super Sport Records. But that’s a little different because we don’t fully sign to them the same way Brick City is. 

PG: It’s like a little bit of promotion and they would like to do tapes. But with Brick City they’re recording everything and making everything work. 

RB: It’s very different. 

PG: There’s pros and cons to both but yeah, Super Sport Records is run by Evan Westfall from Caamp and his cousin and so they were able to help out these bands. And they were really good at bringing together a community. And I think Brick City does a very similar thing. 

RB: Yes, I would agree. It’s interesting to see how different kinds of artists there and the way that different recording studios process and things like that. It’s just been a really great opportunity. 

EF: If your music was in a movie, what movie would you envision it to be like? 

RB: This is going to be so controversial. 

PG: I know cause I don’t know where to go with this. I like really stupid comedies and it could work but it would have to be so specific. 

LK: Ah, Shameless isn’t a movie. 

PG: Shameless would be sick, there’s great music in Shameless. I would like it if Superbad had one of our songs in it. Like running away from the cops, that would be pretty cool. 

LK: Pineapple Express. 

PG: Yeah I guess like Seth Rogan is the repeating trend here. 

RB: I was gonna say Lady Bird but I think they’d be mad at that.

PG: It can be in Lady Bird, sure. I’ll allow it. 

EF: Any Final Thoughts? 

RB: Stream “So Down”

PG: Everyday is a miracle. 

RB: Live your life, you only live once.