EastScene

EastScene’s new journalist Tara Garner caught up with Go Radio as they kicked off their tour with a release party for their new EP, “Do Overs And Second Chances” in their hometown Tallahassee, Florida. You can expect to find this album in stores April 20th, and look forward to seeing the guys all over the country as they tour with A Day To Remember, August Burns Red, Silverstein and Enter Shikari.

So, how did you guys come together to form Go Radio?

Jason:  In a circle . . . usually.

Matt: With a cracker in the middle!

(Laughs)

Matt: No, in all honestly, Jason was on the road touring, and decided that he didn’t want to play music anymore.  I told him to come home, get married; do what you have to do.  Awhile after that, I had plans of moving, but he told me he wanted to start a band on his terms . . .friendship and rock n roll.  I did end up moving, but I came back, and we started the band.  We added Alex, and not too long after, Steven was added as well.

What would you say sets Go Radio apart from previous band you guys have been in or other music projects you’ve worked on?

Jason:  I would have to say just the completeness of it.  It’s seem that when I listen to or hear of other bands that there is always something missing.  It’s like they say, ‘this project I’ve got going is great, but I wish it was this, or I wish that this would happen.’  With the four of us, we never really say that; there’s never a time when we say we want to do something and it not happen.  Everything we do, we do as a band, and every decision we make, we make as a band.  Every aspect of Go Radio is controlled by all four of us, whether it be the writing, the banking, the driving, the pumping gas, or whatever . . . it’s all four of us at all times.  And I would have to say that’s the biggest difference.

Alex: In my old band, we had constant internal issues just building up with things that people didn’t like about each other.  The best way I can describe Go Radio is when we were doing our latest photo shoot.  It was just little things that the photographer had never seen before.  As soon as she would be like, ‘Your shirt looks a little…’ Burns (Matt) would immediately go up and fix Jason’s tie, or Steve would walk up and button my shirt, or one of us would help tuck in the other person’s shirt.  It’s just little things like that; we help each other out all the time.

Matt: Copasetic, I would say that copasetic is the word.  Everyone has their role, but it doesn’t define them.  Everyone is in the same agreement; we’re in this together.  It’s like when you reach that point in the relationship with a girl and you stop wondering whether she’ll break up with you if you say the wrong thing.  We’re past that; this is for life.

So, you all felt like you really came together on Do Overs and Second Chances?

Jason: I feel like Do Overs and Second Chances was the first record we made, but with the addition of Alex, and when we found out that he was really going to be our guitar player, the band was summed up.  Don’t get me wrong, the two guitar players before Alex were great people, legitimately great people, but I always felt like it was us three versus them.  Alex’s 21^st birthday was probably the first time it was like ‘this is it.’  It wasn’t Go Radio and this person; everyone’s together.

Alex:  It’s definitely a family.  That’s when Go Radio came together, like Jason was saying.

Jason:  Do Overs and Second Chances was the first artistic example of that.

Do you guys all feel like you can relate to the lyrics on the record, or is it more about one of you?

Jason: I feel like it’s here and there.  The majority of the lyrics are about my life experiences, but because we’re so close, I feel like everyone in this band can relate to it.

Alex: Absolutely.

Jason:  If I sing a chorus about a girl, they’re hearing the bullshit that they put up with when I was putting up with the girl.

Since you’re so close, you’re probably really looking forward to going on tour; what is it that you look forward to most?

Matt: Getting out of here…

(Laughs)

Matt: Traveling!

So is there anything else you really like about it?

Matt: Just touring in general!

Alex: Chicks!

Matt: Yeah right!

(Laughs)

Matt:  You play a hometown show and you feel the energy and the vibe because everyone there knows you on some certain level, whether it’s on a personal level or they love Go Radio.  When you go on tour, you play for a room full of people who have no friggin’ clue who you are, and after your song is done, they clap, and after your set is done, they buy a record, or they buy a shirt.  You’re like; ‘I guess we’re doing something right.’ That’s my favorite part of tour, dealing with people that don’t know who you are.

Alex:  Yeah, winning new fans over is pretty incredible.  It’s like when somebody comes up to you at the merch stand and says, “I had no idea who you guys were, but you were my favorite set of the night.”  That’s the best feeling on earth.  Yeah, you can impress people that are already impressed by what you laid down on a CD, but it’s doing that in a live setting.

And how was working with the new label?

Steven: Awesome!

Matt: They’ve been incredible.

Steven: They are amazing.

Matt: They’ve been very good to us.

What made you decide to go with Fearless Records?

Jason: I’ve worked very closely with Fearless before, and I knew that they were good people.  And they proved that they had the best interest for the band.  They weren’t looking for the next small thing to happen; they didn’t want us to have one hit, and then disappear. 

Matt: And I think it goes back to what Jason said earlier.  We dealt with a lot of labels throughout our existence, and it they were always like, ‘It’s this, but I wish it was this, or you guys are this, but we want you to be this.’  But we’re Go Radio.  And Fearless was like, ‘Hey Go Radio! Hell yeah!  I’m on board!’  They liked what we were doing and wanted to run with it.

Alex: Every other label we talked to was trying to…

Tweak you?

Alex: Yeah, tweak us!  Like, ‘be more this, or be more that.’  We were spending nine hours a day, at least, in the studio hashing out songs, and just sending them out to everybody we were talking to, and nobody was completely happy with us just being us.

Jason: Fearless believes that we know what we want to do, and they’re doing everything they can to help us get to where we want to be.  Bob Becker, love that guy to death, he’s our guy at Fearless, and he’s really adamant about helping us.

If you could have your fans take away one thing from Do Overs and Second Chances, what would you want that to be?

Jason:  I hate to say something that’s been said a million times, but it’s darkest before daylight.  Yeah, shit sucks sometimes, and everything isn’t always perfect, but when it’s over, it really is what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.  You can’t fully appreciate the sweet without the bitter.

And what can fans expect from Go Radio in the future?

Matt: World domination.

Alex: Miracles.

(Laughs)

Matt: We’re super proud of this EP; it’s the best thing I’ve ever been a part of.  So, you can kind of expect a snowball effect, and we’d like to go from there.  Along with Fearless, we have the reigns, and it’s gonna go!  We’re going to do everything we can to give people what they want, but we’re going to do it our way.

Alex: Exactly, and lots of touring!  We’re going to stay on the road as much as possible.

Jason: If someone hasn’t seen us yet, hopefully by the end of this year, they’ve had three or four chances.  That’s really the goal and the dream, to touch as many people as possible.

So everyone should have a chance to see you guys?

Jason: Oh yeah!

Matt: Everybody!

Alex: I think the fans can also expect us to keep working extremely hard, like we’re not going to get lazy.  We put 100 percent into this band everyday, and it’s not going to stop.  We work hard and will continue to do so . . . to make the fans happy; they’re going to support us, so we’re going to help them.