Brutus VIII Opens Up in “My Eating Disorder”

Jackson Katz spoke with Paste about the deeply personal lead single from his forthcoming EP, Do It For the Money.

By Tatiana Tenreyro  |  May 6, 2025 | 9:00am
Photo by Lily Frances
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Brutus VIII Opens Up in “My Eating Disorder”
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Brutus VIII—the experimental darkwave solo project of Current Joys drummer Jackson Katz—has become one of New York City’s most exciting emerging acts. After releasing his excellent album Pure Gluttony last year and gaining new fans with his magnetic, maximalist performances, Katz has now announced the release of his upcoming EP, Do It For the Money , out via American Death Records on July 11.

Accompanying the EP release news, Brutus VIII has shared its lead single “My Eating Disorder,” premiering on Paste. Those who’ve caught Brutus VIII recently might recognize it, as it has become a fixture of Katz’s setlist for a while now and was performed during his opening set for one of Godcaster’s Night Club 101 residency shows. With brash, dark synths, hypnotizing drums, and a commanding voice, “My Eating Disorder” is instantly attention-grabbing.

Katz is known for combining sincerity with his dark humor and witty lyrics. “My Eating Disorder” is one that delves into a personal aspect of Katz’s with his signature marks. “I tend to like pretty direct subject matter, especially with the upbeat songs; I try not to beat around the bush with what I’m talking about. And my literal eating disorder, it’s something that I’ve always thought about addressing somehow,” he tells me about the song. “I think it felt like an interesting thing to talk about because, A, it’s something I fucking deal with every day and it’s exhausting, but also I want to not make it funny, but the song is a little funny. The chorus is that, ‘When I grow up, I’ll be a skinny girl.’ I’m fully aware of that line coming from me and the impact that might have.”

The line “When I grow up, I’ll be a skinny girl” is open to interpretation from listeners. Some may think Katz is being literal, while it can also come off as in jest. Speaking about it, Katz says he is “very aware of the juxtaposition of that line” coming out of his booming, hyper-masculine voice. But it stems from him associating the concept of eating disorders with young girls looking at photos in magazines of thin models. “I can’t say that when I was a kid, I was looking at those magazines thinking, ‘I want to be a skinny girl,’ but I was looking at those magazines thinking, ‘I want to be a part of that world,'” he explains.

Katz notes that his approach to writing this track was a cathartic way for him to “work through some of those feelings,” while keeping it “a little tongue in cheek.” He explains that it’s “the way [his] emotional spectrum works,” as he considers this a coping mechanism, which he jokes is something he should “probably talk about in therapy.” However, he also acknowledges that it was important for him to discuss his own struggles with his eating disorder with his male friends, who have “some version of body image issues” or who feel some sort of guilt and shame around their relationship with food.

“It’s definitely talked about among women a lot, and it feels cool and exciting to me to address it from a male perspective—or not even a male perspective, but just have it come from my male voice because I think it’s relatable no matter your gender,” Katz adds. He recounts a conversation he recently had with two guy friends and a woman, where they openly discussed their own struggles with disordered eating and body image issues. He recalls that his female friend remarked that she had “never heard men talk about it this way.” This made Katz realize that his friend was right; men “fucking don’t because it’s hard to communicate with each other as men.” He’s striving to change that.

“I would love to [have men feel more comfortable talking about their experience with eating disorders through this song] because you know how us boys are, we don’t always talk to each other about these sorts of things. And it can be a little lonely, so anyone who wants to talk to me about it, reach out, baby.”

Do It For the Money came to Katz after a period of almost a year during which he struggled with “not being able to write anything.” He admits the EP was born out of “a very dark time” emotionally, finding catharsis through his songwriting. Katz credits the passing of one of his idols for getting him out of his writer’s block. When David Lynch died, who was “one of [his] guys,” the clips from interviews and stories fellow fans shared of the late auteur’s “don’t overthink it, follow the idea” mentality allowed him to “crank out the majority of these songs.”

“Obviously, it was terrible that [Lynch] died—and it’s rare that I’m actually upset over a celebrity I didn’t know dying; this one was pretty tough for all of us—but it led to me being able to hone in on some actual ideas,” says Katz.

Promoting his forthcoming EP, Katz is taking Brutus VIII on the road in July, with shows at LA’s Permanent Records and The Holland Project in Reno, Nevada. He also has a local gig slated for May 24 at Le Bain.

Tatiana Tenreyro is Paste‘s associate music editor, based in New York City. You can also find her writing at SPIN, NME, PAPER Magazine, The A.V. Club, and other outlets.

 
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