To Sacramento’s Destroy Boys, blink-182 tour felt ‘surreal.’ What’s next for the punk band?

The gig was about as rare as it gets for a Sacramento-born band: a show at downtown’s Golden 1 Center. But there was Destroy Boys, rocking the home of the Kings in June, in an opening slot for blink-182.

The scene was a “Light The Beam” kind of moment for Destroy Boys co-founders Vi Mayugba, who grew up in East Sacramento, and Alexia Roditis, an alum of Rio Americano High School. The two formed the melodic female-fronted punk band in 2015, first plugging away on the local house show circuit and at all-ages venues like Cafe Colonial and The Colony.

Now, Destroy Boys is performing at major arenas, international shows and the likes of Coachella, perhaps the most famous music festival on the planet. On Nov. 4, the band rocks on with its breakthrough year at Hard Rock Live in Wheatland, as part of a national tour with post-hardcore favorite Pierce the Veil.

Playing Sacramento always feels particularly sweet for the band, which has since located to the San Francisco Bay Area. That was especially true of the Golden 1 Center show, a set that was treated like a victory lap.

“When I got on stage, I gave a speech about how growing up in this town a lot of people told me could never do this, that we’d never amount to anything,” said Mayugba, in a call from San Francisco. “Then I put my hands up and said, ‘Look where we are now! We’re at Golden 1 Center!’ It was like a moment of vengeance for me.”

So, it’s no wonder that Mayugba’s phone kept blowing up during the interview. As the band was preparing to leave for a date in Mexico City, word came through that the band’s single “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down)” is being considered as a nominee for “best rock performance” at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

The final nominations will be announced Nov. 10. Either way, just being part of the initial Grammy nominee pool is a major accomplishment. This is especially true for a band signed to an independent label. Destroy Boys records for Hopeless Records, a Southern California company that was the previous home for platinum-selling pop-punkers Sum 41.

No question, 2023 was a whirlwind of shows and new achievements unlocked.

“Wherever Alexia and I go, we like to represent Sacramento,” Mayugba said about playing Coachella. “It was incredible and we took it really serious. We rehearsed harder than ever, where every moment in the set was planned. It was surreal just looking out and thinking, ‘Wow we are really playing Coachella right now.’”

The blink-182 tour was even more of a mind-blower for the band, which also includes David Orozco on bass and drummer Narsai Malik. Destroy Boys played 11 shows around the West Coast and Southwest, including BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

“Blink-182 and Green Day are the cornerstone of my inspiration,” said Mayugba. “This first arena tour was such a big deal. When we showed up to that first show in L.A., it was like everything we dreamed about. We ran around, we stepped out of our tiny green room and (blink-182) is out there. They were so cool.”

The tour was also a lesson in taking the band’s show to the next level. Mayubga and her bandmates took mental notes as they watched blink-182 and co-headliners Turnstile work the arena crowds.

“We take a lot of pride in studying live bands we admire,” said Mayugba. “Turnstile is by far the best rock band of my generation. We’d watch them every night and see how they move. We’d ask blink-182 and Turnstile about (how to approach) singing when playing, what do you do with the mic stand. It’s the little things that make for a good live performance.”

Meanwhile, the single “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down)” has become a staple at Sacramento’s KKDO-FM (94.7) radio and getting airplay in pockets around the country. The song is definitive Destroy Boys, with vocals that veer between sassy and confessional, amped-up rhythms and a catchy sing-a-long chorus.

Andy Hawk, the regional brand manager and weekday host at “ALT” 94.7 radio, likens the song to “Misery Business,” an alternative-rock hit by Paramore. Over the summer, Hawk added “Shadow (I’m Breaking Down)” to the station’s rotation, where listeners could text “like” or “dislike” to determine the song’s fate.

“It exploded,” said Hawk, backstage at the recent Aftershock festival at Sacramento’s Discovery Park. “It was our biggest text line song of the year. They are from here so they have an advantage, but I’ve also played bands from Sacramento and it didn’t do that.”

“I talk to program directors at alternative radio all over the country and everybody is thinking of playing (the song),” Hawk added. “The blink-182 tour got them national attention to where you can feel when something is gonna explode. I think it’s the calm before the storm right now.”

Matt Pinfield, the iconic MTV VJ from “120 Minutes,” was also buzzing about Destroy Boys at Aftershock. The band’s name first hooked him in, but the songs sealed the deal. He’s been a fan since meeting the band in Los Angeles and compares their sound and style to trailblazing punkers like The Runaways and Dead Boys.

“There were so many cool things about them that I loved,” said Pinfield, who now hosts Power Hour on AXS TV. “I see all the elements of what’s cool about punk but also a glammy kind of thing. What’s unique and individual about Destroy Boys is you know they’re not fakers. For me, it was immediately obvious that they were genuine about their true love of music and what they want to do. I could feel that when I met them and also from listening to their music.”

2024 is shaping up to be another bonkers year for Destroy Boys. The band recently secured new management via Cory Brennan, the CEO and founder of 5B Artist Management, which includes alternative-rock and heavy metal headliners like 311 and Slipknot in its roster.

As the year winds down with the Pierce the Veil tour, Destroy Boys are working on tour dates for 2024 and plan to release more music. It seems to be just a matter of time before even more milestones are reached.

“My biggest dream is to open for Green Day, that hasn’t changed,” said Mayugba. “But I just want to keep improving as a singer and songwriter, and all of us as live act. I’m just trying to stay grateful at all times and take everything as it comes. It’s nice to see Sacto witnessing it and it’s a privilege to represent everybody.”