EastScene

Up and coming pop-rock band, The Summer Set, is currently on an exciting whirlwind cross country journey with this year’s Alternative Press Tour. Fortunately for us, Brian Dales and Jess Bowen, two members of the Pheonix rooted band, took a few minutes to answer a few question with EastScene’s Shelby Wilson. Excited and sweaty after a great set in Clifton Park, New York, the two were beyond willing to chat it up…

Shelby Wilson: You guys are currently on The AP Tour, which is quickly coming to an end, How has it been so far?

Jess Bowen: Best tour ever.

SW: Really?

Brian Dales: Definitely the best tour we’ve ever done. We’ve had all sorts of crazy set backs, too and it didn’t matter.

JB: We call this ‘The Summer Set Disastour” with Brian’s foot and having to skip a few shows because of getting stuck, but it’s honestly the best tour.

BD: Well, you skipped a few shows.

JB: (laughs) Well, yeah, they played acoustic.

SW: So, good reaction from the fans and everything?

BD: Oh, it’s been ridiculous.

SW: You get along with the rest of the bands and everything?

JB: Yes, of course!

BD: Yeah, we get along with everyone.

SW: I know you’ve toured with The Cab and Every Avenue before.

BD: Yep, we’ve never had a tour when we’ve gotten along with the bands better than this one. This tour has been incredible.

SW: Does it make you excited for Warped Tour this summer?

JB: Yeah!

BD: Oh yeah! Pretty much every band on this tour, except Every Avenue, is on Warped this summer.

SW: So, Warped will kind of be like a reunion for you all?

JB: Yeah, we’ll be with The Cab again, and they’re pretty much our best friends.

BD: I could tour with The Cab for like, forever, not kidding. They are my best friends.

SW: Is there anything negative you find about being on tour for so long?

JB: I mean, honestly, you get used to touring. It’s one of those things, expecially for long tours, I was telling our tour manager today, like you get exhausted. I’m at the point that everyday, when I wake up, I’m tired no matter how much sleep I’ve gotten.

SW: Does the fan reaction kind of pump you guys up again, give you a second wind of sorts?

JB: Oh yeah. Every night the shows are just getting better and better.

BD: And honestly, sometimes you have a lot of down time. Sometimes I’m actually really bored. There are times when I am legitimately bored.

SW: Lots of Entourage and Dexter going on?

JB: Mhmm, exactly!

BD: I actually forgot about that show, I need more of that. (laughs) There’s just lots of being bored.

JB: Lots of long drives.

SW: So, you’re from Arizona, there’s a really big music scene down there, are there any favorites and do you guys like being associated with all of them?

BD: Arizona’s scene is awesome, there are so many bands from Arizona. It’s a really different scene.  Some of our favorite bands are from Arizona, like Jimmy Eat World, The Format and The Jim Blossoms. So, it’s actually a good scene to be associated with. The Maine’s from there, Anarbor is from there.

SW: You guys grew up with Anarbor didn’t you?

JB: And The Maine! Actually, Kennedy was the singer when me, John and Stephen were in our band Last Call For Camden. So, we’ve grown up with those kids and have known them since we were in like 8th grade.

BD: It’s cool to now see everyone succeeding.

SW: Watching all of them succeed, did you ever feel nervous that you wouldn’t?

JB: No, I actually feel that it kind of got us more stoked, like hey we grew up together, you know? It’s really possible.

BD: That’s actually what’s so awesome about the Arizona music scene is that, there’s so many bands that have succeeded out of it, that is makes new bands work harder.

SW: So, you all formed in 2007, since then you’ve gotten signed, have you guys’ ever had the feeling that you’ve ‘made it’?

BD: In today’s music world, being signed sometimes doesn’t mean shit. There was a time where we had signed and it actually set us back a little while. We had some label issues and what not. Like, the more you can do with out a label, I mean there’s only so much you can do with out one, but the more you do do, the better you’re going to be. You just have to work hard.

SW: With you saying that, did you prefer before you had a label? Are there any negatives about being signed?

BD: No, not now. No negatives. Our situation with Razor and Tie is incredible. We have the best working team over there, ever. We weren’t unsigned for very long, so I guess we didn’t really know the difference. Militia Group came after us pretty quick and we had the mentality that like, ‘oh my god if we don’t sign, maybe no one will want us’. We kind of jumped the gun I guess.

SW: Do you ever regret ‘jumping the gun’?

BD: I don’t.

JB: Honestly, if we didn’t do it, we wouldn’t be in the situation that we are now. Like, everything happens for a reason.

BD: Everything worked out incredibly.

SW: As far as recording is concerned, you had Love Like This come out in October, what’s next?

BD: I don’t know, it could be a little while, but I mean, I would do a new record today.

SW: Do you think you’d want to do it like Love Like This was done or change it up a bit?

BD: We’d change it up a bit, but we’re still a pop band.

JB: We haven’t toured off of Love Like This enough. We’ve only done the Cartel tour for like a month, we did a short run with Every Avenue, then this tour, The AP Tour. This tour has pretty much been the big tour off of this album.

BD: Most album cycles are like two years. So, we’ll probably go pretty hard with that record this year.

SW: And mixing it up with Taylor Swift and stuff from other EP’s.

JB: (smiles) Yeah.

SW: Is there anything you would warn people of when considering going into the music industry?

BD: There are a lot of people who are full of shit! Brace yourselves!

SW: So, don’t trust everybody?

JB: Yes, exactly!

BD: If you’re going into the music industry, the more honest you are, the farther you’re going to go. Just be real with people.

SW: Did you ever regret choosing to be musicians?

BD and JB: No!

BD: I don’t know what the hell else I’d be doing.

JB: If I weren’t doing this I’d probably still be playing soccer and honestly, I hated it so much! So, I’m really glad this worked out.

BD: I was about a piece of paper away from playing college tennis. I hated everything about that sport. I hated playing it, but I was good at it and I was going to play it in college. I would’ve been miserable. I love what I’m doing now.

SW: Was there a single moment when you realized music was what you wanted to do?

BD: Yes, but I can’t think of when. This tour has kind of been the icing on the cake, like yeah, this is what I want to be doing. Actually, the Boston show of this tour was like, it was my favorite show in the history of this band.

SW: Are there any aspirations for the band or for you as individuals?

JB: Just longevity I think! (laughs)

BD: I want to do this as long as possible! I want to put out another record and keep touring off that. I mean, we’re young, so we can take advantage of how long we can be on the road. A lot of people who are older can’t really do that much touring. We tour 9 months a year, not many people, who are older, do that. And just make more records.

SW: Is there any quotes or something of the like that each of you live by?

BD: Yeah, it’s a quote from the movie The Shawshank Redemption, which is like my favorite movie of all time. The quote is, “Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free.” I live by that and always have.

SW: Is there anything for you, Jess?

JB: No, and I wouldn’t even try after that. That’s too good.

SW: Is there any motivation to keep you going with music, period?

JB: I mean honestly, it sounds kind of stupid, but like, being a girl musician because there’s not a lot. I want girls to know that they can be in the industry. There’s just a lot of girls that come up to me and are like “I’m too scared” or “I don’t want to do this because I’m a girl and no guys want to play with me.” IT’S POSSIBLE! There’s girls in bands, there’s girls in the music industry (points to their tour manager). Don’t be scared to do it.

SW: With you talking about you being a girl, you’re always with the band who are all boys, how is it finally being with another girl?

JB: It’s good! It’s really awesome.

BD: There’s 6 girls on this tour!

JB: That’s kind of why this is one of my favorite tours, because it’s a lot better.

SW: You get to be a girl!

JB: Yes! I get to have my girl moments.

BD: There is just way too, way too much female.

SW: When there weren’t girls around before, did you have a hard time being girly?

BD: She’s more of a dude than I am!

JB: They do call me Jeff, and honestly I’m probably manlier than every person in this band and (points to Brian) I could beat him up.

SW: Okay, this is probably a question you don’t really get, but if you guys had the opportunity to work with an organization or charity, would you and what would it be?

JB: Absolutely!

BD: We’re already a little bit involved. Like, this summer we’re sharing our bus on Warped Tour with To Write Love On Her Arms. We’re all, well, we all were, vegetarians. (laughs)

SW: Jess…

BD: QUITTER!

JB: I was a vegetarian at the beginning of this tour! Me and Stephen are going to eat chicken and turkey for a month.

BD: I mean we all support PETA and stuff like that, sharing our bus with To Write Love, in highschool I did two volunteer events for Invisible Children.

JB: If we were given the opportunity we’d definitely do it!

BD: In February we played a charity event for Haiti. So, yeah…

SW: Okay, final question, you guys and international touring?

BD: Get me to it now! I spent two and a half weeks in Australia in February. I, I want to go back. So, (looks at their TM) let’s make that shit happen! The faster we can do international touring, the happier I’ll be.

JB: Yeah!

BD: Nothing yet.

JB: Hopefully, by the end of the year!

BD: We’ll be making one more US tour in the fall, but afterward…

SW: Well, thank you guys so much for taking time out.

JB: Thank you!

Well, there you all go! One 14 minute interview with a ton of insight to one of the quickest growing pop bands out there. Make sure to catch The Summer Set on the last 4 dates of The AP Tour 2010 and all summer long on Warped Tour.

Special thanks goes out to The Summer Set’s tour manager, Courtney, for filming and letting me interview her precious baby wolves!