EastScene: What’s it feel like being back in Toronto and on this tour for the first time in 8 years together again?

Mark O’Connell: It feels great, yeah.

John Nolan: I remember this place in particular, we played in 2003, maybe, and it was our first show in Canada. We were gonna play in one of the smaller rooms here and actually got moved to the bigger room. We had no idea what to expect—we’d never been to Toronto before—and we get here and it was just people lining up so early, hundreds and hundreds of people, and it was mind-blowing.

ES: How is it coming to a country for the first time and not knowing anything about your fanbase?

JN: It’s amazing and it’s hard to comprehend. With touring in America, we started to do very well after a while, and that was pretty mindblowing. At least we had been touring around and working and doing that. It’s weird when that happens and you haven’t even been somewhere yet.  You don’t really know what to expect or what to think about it.

MO: On that tour, too, I think we were playing to 300 kids and by the end, it was like, 2000. This was in a two and a half month span, so that was like, “what the fuck”.

ES: What was it like recording this album together, fifth one, and back to the original five?

JN: It was great, and I think it was a great experience for us all. It was pretty different for me, I don’t know how different it was for the rest of the guys who had worked with Eric before, but we had a lot of time to really work on songs and hammer out details. I’d never had that experience. It’s always been a much more rushed kind of thing, and you just get through it and hope it comes out good. This was very, every day we had a lot of time to think about songs and develop them. It was pretty awesome.

MO: I think I enjoyed myself on this album more than any other one. We were having a good time, enjoying the songwriting, and having a fun time throughout the whole experience. It was hard work, but very enjoyable.

ES: Did the creative process change a lot over the years?

MO: No.

JN: No, not really. When we first got back together to work on songs it really felt the same as when we were working on songs in Mark’s parents’ basement. We have a way of collaborating that I think is pretty unique to these five people and that was just exactly the same as it has always been.

MO: Yeah, which was strange because we didn’t know how it was going to be. After the first or second day, we were like “this is nothing different.”

JN: Yeah, it was really surprising, actually.

ES: How did it come about? Who contacted who?

JN: It was Mark who put this whole thing together.

MO: You know, we found ourselves again being extremely unhappy and I couldn’t take it anymore. I would go home and talk to my wife and say, “I hate this” and just going through those emotions… I always wanted John and Shaun in the band—there was never a time I didn’t want them in the band—and Adam and Eddie weren’t ready for them to come in the band. So I was kinda like, “alright, it’s not gonna happen,” but John was actually doing a solo tour and was visiting as his parents’ house. Shaun called me and said, “John’s in town, let’s go out” so we went out and that was when I knew that this had to happen. It would be so much fun and it would be good to have a blast and have things get patched up, possibly. Short story long, it happened. I talked to Eddie and Adam about it and they said, “alright, fuck, let’s give them a call.” Shaun was down but when I called John, it was a bit of a shock. After a couple of minutes of talking to him, he was willing to give it a try. I was very excited about that. I was literally pacing back and forth in my room.

ES: You guys seem so genuinely happy.

TBS: Yeah, we are.

ES: Are you content with the record and how it turned out?

JN: We are very happy with it.

MO: It sounds great, the songs are really good.

ES: It’s very catchy

JN: Yeah, it is. I was saying the other day that we are so proud of this record. We worked so hard on it and put so much of ourselves into it. It’s just, when I first would see anything even remotely negative on the internet or something, I would just be like, I couldn’t believe it. Like, how is it possible that somebody could not like this? It doesn’t make any sense to me!

MO: They’re lying! They’re lying to themselves. That’s what I thought, you’re fucking lying! You love this shit

JN: You’re just pretending

MO: Yeah, you’re just pretending for some odd reason. Dicks.

JN: We couldn’t be more proud of it, you know. It’s like our little baby.

ES: Have you felt a lot of pressure from fans over the years to get back together?

MO: All the time. And I’d be like, “yo, I agree with you” but I couldn’t be saying that with other people from the band being around. You know what I mean? That whole time, there was a lot of that.

ES: You guys are playing a Straylight [Run] song. How did that come about?

MO: It happened in that first conversation.

JN: Yeah, it did.

ES: Was that the compromise?

MO: Well, I was trying to convince him a little bit. I was like, “dude, we’ll do whatever you want to. We can throw in a Straylight Run song into our set.” And we did.

JN: It wasn’t something that I was pushing for, you know. I think you and adam talked to me most about it, that that was something you wanted to do. And I thought it was awesome, but at the same time I didn’t want it to be like, “you guys gotta play one of the songs from my old band if I’m gonna do this!” It wasn’t that kind of thing. They just wanted to do it and they thought it would be fun, and it is.

ES: On that note, are there any songs that you refuse to play live?

MO: Well, there’re songs that, when we used to play them, I used to be like “aw man, do we have to play this?” and I feel bad because Adam really likes a couple of the songs that I couldn’t stand playing

ES: Like what?

MO: I think the song “Twenty Twenty Surgery” is an awful song.
ES: I like that one!

MO: I really don’t like it and I’m really happy that I don’t have to play it anymore! Horrible song.

JN: In your opinion!

MO: In my personal opinion.

ES: Do you guys ever get sick of playing the same songs all the time? But do you also feel pressure from the fans to play them, just because they really love them?

JN: I think that because people still get so excited when they hear those songs, it makes them exciting to play. There are certain songs that, when we get together to practice before a tour, we don’t spend a lot of time playing “Cute without the ‘E’”, you know? There are certain songs that we’ve played so much and we know so well. When we get out in front of the crowd, there hasn’t been one time that I haven’t been excited to play any of the songs.

MO: It makes it exciting to see their reaction. That makes it new every single time.

ES: Taking Back Sunday has been cited as a huge influence by so many bands. How do you feel about that, and about the bands that you don’t necessarily like?

MO: It’s very flattering.

JN: Yeah, it is very flattering. We’re so old and out of touch that I don’t think we’re even fully aware of which band are influenced by us. I know I’m not, but I know it exists and I know they’re out there. There’s bands that look up to us, but I’m just not tied into what’s happening with younger bands enough to really know—which is probably not a good thing. I need to be more aware of what’s happening in the new youth culture.

MO: Yeah, we don’t really know. We don’t listen, I don’t know. When John and I and Adam we on our bus the other night til like, late—I don’t want to say the time—we listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival, you know. That’s where we’re at in our lives.

ES: “Bad Moon Rising” is an awesome song

MO: Oh, dude, great song. “As Long As I Can See the Light”, that’s my favourite. But that’s where we’re at right now. It’s not like “Hey! Let’s put on the new, pop-punk-emo band coming up.” You know? We’re in our thirties.

ES: You guys all married? Have kids?

MO: Yeah

JN: Some, yeah. Eddie and Adam have kids. Shaun is not married, but he will be in just a couple weeks. Then we’ll all be married, officially, as a band.

ES: When you guys have kids, what would you tell them about your proudest moment?

JN: From our career?

ES: Anything, really.

MO: I don’t know…

JN: I’ve never thought of that, before…

MO: I think just the fact that we’re a band that’s able to do this. Like, go to a state and people actually want to see you play music….that’s something that I’ve wanted since I’ve been a little kid and now, you know, it’s been happening for the last decade. That doesn’t happen—that’s not real life. It doesn’t really happen with people, so we’re just extremely blessed people.

JN: Yeah, I totally agree with that. It’s hard, too, because there’s been so many things, positive things, and it’s hard to put a single moment down as the best, but I agree with that.  When I think about the fact that we’ve been made it through this long and people still want to see us play music, I, I just can’t believe it. I feel very proud of that.

MO: Yeah, it’s a strange thing.

ES: How is it touring with Thursday?

JN: It’s awesome. Those guys are the best.

MO: Awesome dudes.

ES: Have you known them a long time?

JN: We go way, way back to 2001-ish. They didn’t like us so much at first because we, we kind of were coming up behind them.

ES: Shoved them out of the way?

JN: We didn’t shove them out of the way. We sorta more rode their coattails [laughs] so they were a little skeptical of us at first, but over the years we go to know them, and they got to know us, and then they started to like us. This is the first time we’ve ever toured with them, though, so it’s cool after all these years of knowing and then finally getting to do a full tour. Their new album is great and the direction they’re going in is really cool. They’re just awesome guys and put on a great show every night. It’s amazing.

ES: What’s up with your new video for “Faith (When I Let You Down)”? Whose idea was it?

JN: That was the director’s idea. It was all his thing. He came to us with that. Mark was immediately into it. I was a little scared of the idea but I think it turned out awesome.

MO: I just thought it was so strange, you know

JN: It’s a strange video

MO: I thought it was kinda funny, shows our lighter side and that we’re able to have a sense of humour, and it’s funny. Just the “Welcome to the Jungle” video idea, and getting addicted to catnip, I thought it was hilarious.

ES: Are you guys fans of Keyboard Cat?

MO: I’ve actually never watched a cat video.

JN: I have seen Keyboard Cat. I always saw the, I think it was after the original video came out, there’d be something happen in a video and then it would say, “play him off, keyboard cat”. That was funny. I like that. It’s really one of the only ones I’m familiar with on any level. That’s what’s really weird about it; we haven’t really kept up with cat videos over the years.

ES: Well, that’s the thing now!

JN: And we just decided to capitalize on it.

JW- Yup! absolutely, we grew up going to a lot of hard core shows in our hometown. See, New Found Glory is from South Florida and that’s kind of where we found our hard core and pop feel. definitely a big influence.

SW- out of your 4 releases, which one is your favorite and is there a reason for that?

JW- It’s kind of weird. When people ask me that question, I don’t know what to say. I like each record as what it is. Each holds memories of places and times. It’s weird, but I like our new record a lot. It kind of pushed us to the forefront of what we’re trying to do, it says a lot on the record.

SW- You’ve been together for quite a few years; as the music industry changes, do you feel as though that influences you all as a band? how so?

JW: Not really, because we never became a band to say, ‘we’re going to sell a million records,’ or ‘we’re going to become millionaires from this,’ or anything like that. That’s never been what we’re trying to do, so as far as the business changing, record sales not doing as well, touring not being as good as it used to be, all that kind of stuff. We don’t really care. We play hardcore pop punk, a think that does not make sense at all. That should go to show that we don’t really care, that we’re just doing this to have fun.

SW: How is your relationship with your label mates?

JW: We don’t really know too many, we have done that much touring [with them], but all the ones we know are awesome dudes.

SW: How has the fan reaction been to What Separates Me From You?

JW: I think it’s going pretty good. It’s our newest stuff and our touring is all the biggest shows we’ve done, ever. I would say that it’s translating pretty well.

SW: I’ve read that your last two albums have debuted at #1 on the US indie charts, how does that feel? You were saying the success doesn’t really matter.

JW: You want to do well, but if it all started to go down hill now, I never expected any of this, so I’d be happy. Our very first touring show, we played to one person, one human being. To watch today and see how much it’s grown, it’s just insane.

SW: Who or what do you pull inspiration from now and how does that differ from what your earlier inspirations were?

JW: It’s actually pretty much the same. Any new bands or bands we’ve been with on tour, even old bands, just listening to music like, ‘I want to write a heavy part like this band has been doing.’ As far as lyrical content, Jeremy [McKinnon], just takes everyday life. Anything that you or me would experience, it’s stuff that anyone can experience.

SW: Your lyrics are very upfront, take for instance “All Signs Point To Lauderdale,” is it nerve racking putting those kinds of words and lyrics out in the open?

JW: No, because like I’ve said, we don’t care. Not to say that we’re those rockstar dudes that are like, “eff everything.” We’re not saying that, we’re respectful kids. We’re doing what we want to do, if you like it, listen to it.

SW: This isn’t your band’s first time on Warped Tour, so as veterans of sorts, how would you sum up the tour?

JW: Crowds are great, bands are great. We know our way around and we know where like, the showers are, or secret showers. We know a little bit.

SW: How would you say your music has changed throughout the years?

JW: I don’t know, because people said the old stuff was heavy, but I feel like some of the heaviest songs we’ve ever written are on the new record. 2nds Sucks, I mean geez, that song is heavy as hell. Sticks & Bricks, first song on the record! The songs have just gotten better, we’ve become better song writers.

SW: What do you think music, as a whole, is all about? How do you think the industry affects that?

JW: I don’t even know. People ask these questions, they aren’t bad questions, I’m sure some people have answers for them, but we aren’t really focused on what’s going on around us, we’re just trying to figure out what we want to do.

SW: Would you trade being in a touring band for anything?

JW: No! These are the best memories of my entire life. This is what I want to do.

SW: Any last words?

JW: Just thank you so much for doing in the interview! I know it sounds dumb, but without people like you, you keep people interested.

Big thanks to Josh for sitting down with us and to the whole band for putting on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen! The crowds get absolutely wild for these guys, I suggest never giving up and opportunity to see them!

SW: The area in which you’re from, near New Paltz and Purchase and Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie has a huge music scene and Purchase is known for its art conservatory. Being in an area that is so accepting of the arts and what not, do you think it made breaking into the industry easier? Did you feel more supported in what you wanted to do?

G: Definitely not. Purchase, although it is a very artsy school, it’s one of the most introverted schools… ever. It was kind of hard for us, because even our music has the slightest hint of pop or mainstream-ness, we didn’t really have an form of following at Purchase [College]. Even if we did, people would never admit to it.

SW: Did you go to Purchase?

G: Yeah, three of us did, actually; we still have one semester left. It’s an awesome school, it’s cool being submerged in all of that artistic creativity, but it didn’t really help our band. Even in Westchester, where we grew up, there’s no music scene at all. Then the New York City music scene, to make a dent in that is impossible.

SW: Well, did you pull any inspiration where you’re from then, or not so much?

G: Yeah, I mean where we’re from there’s nothing else to do. That’s the reason why we started music.

SW: How has your music changed from when you first started performing with Pneuma to now with your newly released Waves?

G: It has transformed because, even though we weren’t really a band, Pneuma was just myself and Nick. It was just a studio thing, we never played shows, we weren’t a band, just decided to record music. Then, we showed it to Mitch. Mitch actually paid for the first pressing of the CD, ever, and he wasn’t even officially in the band yet. The difference is a studio project to Waves which is a full length record, the first full length we’ve made together as a band, ya know? It’s a huge difference.

SW: Do you ever feel like you have a certain standard to live up to?

G: Not really. I mean, if you listen to Pneuma and you listen to Waves, they’re really different. So, we kind of do what we want to do. That’s probably going to carry on, to the next records we make.

SW: As it should!

G: Yeah. We don’t really fall into any specific, you know, people are always trying to put bands into a certain genre. We have a hard time finding a genre we can relate to.

SW: Okay, so your tracks have been all over MTV, how do you feel about that? Do you think it has affected your success at all?

G: I don’t know if it has really helped us out in terms of fan base or showing our music to new people, it has certainly helped us financially, ya know? We don’t make any money from this band at all, like we, it might be surprising to some, but even a band at this level, everything we make we invest right back into the band. Silly stuff like television sinks and selling t-shirts, is like the only way bands can actually make money.

M: We found it pretty comical with the shows, just because the thing about those shows is that it was always the most dramatic part of the shows, like when people are fighting, one girls town had a huge flood, and suddenly Moving Mountains music came in.

SW: 8105. I hear that has meaning to you guys, can you explain that?

G: Yeah! It’s going to be so disappointing when I tell you, though. It’s August 1st, 2005.

SW: The day you formed?

G: The day we wrote the song. Which I think was the second practice Nick and I ever had?

SW: It’s still significant! Now, you’ve toured a lot between 2010 and today, how has it been and do you ever feel like you’re unfairly sacrificing your personal lives?

G: Of course! That’s what being in a band is. There is not a single day that goes by where you aren’t, you know, feel like you’re leaving something behind.

SW: But is it worth it?

G: Yeah, I mean, in my experience, there are times where you feel like the grass is always greener. I like the times when I’m home, with my girlfriend, drinking beers and eating pizza. Being on the road is what we do. It’s our job. It’s our passion.

M: I feel like when we’re home, working our regular day jobs, we just wanna go out and tour. Then, when you’re actually out, it sounds kind of nice to be home because of friends and family and all of that stuff.

SW: Right now, you are on Triple Crown Records, what’s your relationship like with your label mates?

G: What’s the relationship like? It’s awesome. Fred’s like a straight forward, New York guy.

SW: It seems like a very homey label, I mean it’s pretty small.

G: It is. there was a lot of things that went into why we wanted to why we wanted to work with them. The main one was just the history of the bands that he’s put out. We felt that they would be the best to represent our band. I mean, he’s from New York, we can met up with him, and yeah.

M: We have a pretty good relationship because they don’t sign a lot of bands. There’s only, I think, a dozen or two dozen at a time.

SW: Which is good! Tell us how your first Warped Tour has been, what is it like compared to other tours? Every band says something different.

G: Right, right. It’s our first Warped. It’s a lot of work, a lot more work than we thought it was going to be. It’s good. It’s also a little daunting for us because it’s a whole new audience; a whole new experience. We’re not used to this, but it’s good. It’s a challenge that we’re willing to do. We knew what we were getting into, so.

M: One thing that surprised us is how long the day is. It’s like a 12 hour work day, but only a half an hour of it is actually playing. The rest is just moving stuff and parking and then doing merch, interviews and press… finding bathrooms.

G: Yes! Finding a bathroom is the number one issue everyday, which takes about an hour.

SW: It’s pretty easy here! How about advice, is there anything you wish people would have told you when going into the music industry? Something you would say to people now?

G: Awe, man, it’s funny because when I first got into it, it was so different than it is now.  I don’t know. I always say you just have to keep doing what you want to do regardless of how shitty you think it is. It’s hard, the industry is so hard. Now that we’re in a position where we’re signed, have an agency and management, I look back and I see bands who are trying so hard to get signed and I’m like, ‘Man, it is so not important now!’. You just have to work so hard to do all of those things and then everything thing else will kind of fall into place. When you’re young, you think you have to get signed and if you do, everything will just [magically] happen. Your band needs to be in a position where it can do all of those things.

M: Being signed helps, but it’s really on you. You have to be able to work and get things accomplished and not just depend on your label.

SW: Speaking of all this work, what are you guys most proud of?

G: I guess it stems from what we were talking about earlier. I feel like, I’m most proud of our band because we just kind of do what we want to do, which makes it really hard at times. We don’t have a lot of bands we could package tours with or we don’t have a lot of friends in bands who are kind of doing what we’re doing. So, it makes it hard, that there isn’t really a paved road for our band to just follow. We’re not like a pop star.

SW: Do you almost prefer it that way?

G: Absolutely. We complain and we’re like, ‘fuck,’ but I feel like we’re… It’s like a level of, it’s stubbornness [laughs] and, I don’t know, a little bit of integrity.

M: We joke about it, ironically, like ‘oh, we’re gonna write a pop song so we can get a tour bus.’ At the end of the day, we have standards where we just want to put out great music.

SW: That’s a good standard to have.

G: Yeah, it’s good, it’s just hard at times. I feel like we would be happier struggling rather than going with what everybody else is doing.

M: we’re pretty progressive. A lot of times, I think, if you’re really progressive and you’re looking at what the next thing you can do is, you forget about your accomplishments in the past. We have a ton of accomplishments. We’ve toured with some great bands, been all over the country, we’re doing this tour, which we never thought we could do.

Make sure to catch any of these guys’ shows, if you get the chance! They are great performers and awesome guys. Big thanks to them for their time and for working around my disgustingly busy interview schedule that day!

SW: So, you guys hail from Los Angeles, which is pretty much the epicenter of all creative things. People have the dream that they’re going to go out there and “make it big.” Coming from that area, do you ever feel any pressure? Like you need to be successful?

TA: Being that we’re from there, I wouldn’t say we do. I don’t feel that pressure because, simply, I don’t know, it’s where we’re from. Motion pictures are centered there, the music business, whatever is left of it [laughs], is there. Yeah, I don’t think I feel any additional pressure, being from there. If anything, maybe the reverse, because if we were from a small town elsewhere, there would be like a pressure to make it, but it’s [LA] where we’re from. If we don’t do it, we could always find another job out there. [laughs]

SW: Being together for many years, how has the band changed or progressed throughout the years?

TA: Yeah, there’s been different members. The band is actually, uh, nine, it started in 2002.

SW: Your genre is only represented by a select few on Warped Tour, because the tour is much more populated by alternative or pop punk, etc. Is it a blessing to be one of those bands, a compliment of sorts?

TA: I’m not sure if it works to our advantage, because I think such a large majority of the people coming are here to see heavier music. I think in some aspects, it’s a break, so. I guess it can work to our advantage because some people get bombarded with heavy stuff all day long, it’s a nice change. Overall, I think the majority of people coming here want to get their heads blasted off…

SW: Not really my favorite thing…

TA: Nope, not mine either.

SW: Anyway, I read that your first album was recorded in just one day.

TA: Yeah, I actually wasn’t in the band at that time. They just recorded everything on the spot, though. None of that, ‘let’s just record a bunch of songs.’ They just threw everything together.

SW: That’s crazy. What would you guys’ say is the most influential on your music?

TA: Hmm, I have to think about that. As an artist, or just anything?

SW: Whatever you see fit.

TA: Well, I guess my true answer would be, basically the band has based their style on a specific style of Jamaican music, like late 60’s early 70’s era. Obviously, there’s a lot of other influences that come in. We’re not trying to replicate exactly what was going on at that time, but we try to keep it a traditional sound.

SW: The band has quite the discography, any favorite albums or songs?

TA: That’s another tough question. I don’t know, the stuff that I’ve been apart of kind of represents that time when we were doing it. Sort of, different things for different reasons, it’s hard to settle for anything specific.

SW: Well for this time, how has Warped treated you?

TA: It’s pretty hard. You’ve gotta arrive at 7 in the morning, load your stuff to the stage and just go on all day long. There’s interviews and we do acoustic performances, as well; our regular stage performance. Always stuff going on. Hot during the day time, a lot of noise at all times.

SW: On another note, what’s the relationship like with you and your label mates?

TA: The Aggrolites are on Hellcats Records. The Street Dogs are out here with us, they’re probably like, as bands, some of our closest friends. I think that a lot of bands that are on that label are friends.

SW: What has been your favorite experience as a musician?

TA: I guess, for me, it’s special when you get to meet and perform with the people that, ya know, inspired us. We’ve had the opportunity to play with a lot of classic artists, people that I was listening to when I was young.

SW: Has music always been a huge part of your life?

TA: Yes! I think for all of us, actually. I can say, 3 of us, our fathers were musicians. Roger’s dad played in an LA band starting up in the 70’s, actually pretty popular.

SW: Coming from, and being in music, is there any advice you’d give to aspiring musicians? Especially in Reggae.

TA: Well, you know, I say, if you love it and you’re doing it because you love it and you get satisfaction out of it, that’s all that really matters. No matter what happens, if you’re getting a sense of fulfillment out of it and are getting to share it with people, it doesn’t matter how many people! If it’s a positive thing that you’re sharing, then keep doing it.

Thanks to the band for their time on this day! With such a long work day, it’s a miracle any of the band members want to sit through an interview!

JS: I would explain it as just a natural progression. Realistically, as the band gets older, the songs mature and get better. You know, we write about what’s relevant in our lives at the time.

SW: Of course, definitely makes sense. Now, I’ve read that your band name comes from a car’s name? What made you choose that?

JW: Our guitarist, Matt, had a really crappy car called a Plymouth Reliant K. He got made fun of a lot, for it.

JS: It’s the care you do not want to have when you’re 16.

JW: Yeah, so we just chose that.

SW: You’ve released a lot in 13 years. What are you most proud of, thus far?

JW: Your kids? Your two kids? [laughs]

JS: Yeah! I would say that each time we make a new record, that becomes our new favorite, because it’s new material. Also, where we are in our lives, at that time, it’s more relevant.

JW: So, when we put out songs like Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, that is really pertinent to our lives.

SW: Did you ever think that being a Christian band would negatively affect you? Did you ever have to work a little harder to make it in the mainstream?

JS: I don’t think we ever did anything purposefully to break any sort of genre. About three records ago, the band got signed my Capitol Records and that caused the distribution to go a bit more mainstream. That’s the story to it. It wasn’t really intentional.  There’s nothing more behind it than they signed us and we started getting played on the radio.

JW: Yeah. Our record was already recorded, at that point.

SW: Speaking of the records, you’ve sold over 2 million albums. Is that surreal at all?

JS: I mean definitely, these days. If it was 1989, that’d be like failure. It’s definitely very awesome to have kids still buy your records. We’re hoping that trend continues.

SW: I read about a couple of you having outside projects. How do you think those compare to Relient K?

JW: I’ve got an outside project. It’s called Yellow Second. It’s a Denver band. We used to play nationally, but now it’s just a couple of guys who want to get together every weekend and bang out some music. We’re working on a record and it’s been fun, to do that kind of thing outside from Relient K.

SW: What has the response been like to your cover CD?

JW: Since the record came out, it’s been real positive. There was some polarization with  at least one of our song choices. There was a hashtag on Twitter about it, because we did Baby by Justin Bieber. A lot of our fans were not into that choice. Since it came out, though, we’ve heard a lot of ‘I hated that song and now I actually kind of like it.’

SW: Now, you guys have done Kingdom Bound, which is a Christian music festival kind of similar to Warped, however KB being multiple days and in only one location. How does the experience with that differ with Warped Tour?

JS: Kingdom Bound is very much, you come, you play the show and then you leave. Warped Tour you’re here the whole day, the next day you go and set up somewhere that looks eerily similar and you do the same thing for two months at a time. It’s kind of the same, kind of different.

SW: What’s the message you guys are trying to portray as a band?

JS: You know, I don’t think that we necessarily have an agenda. There are definitely themes of our faith, themes like grace and forgiveness that go throughout our songs.

SW: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in so many years?

JW: I think it’s be grateful for what you have. This band has been really blessed, lucky, however you want to look at it, just to have the kind of support that we do have. We don’t take that for granted because we so many bands that are just so good and yet have a hard time getting off the ground. We have just kind of failed int successes.

JS: We failed up!

SW: Any final thoughts?

JS: Yeah, just kind of going along with that last question, thanks to all the fans for the support.

And thank you to John and Jon for chatting with us! The interview list for these guys was crazy. Being around for quite some time, I’m sure many of you had been wondering some of these questions, yourself! Be sure to check out these guys in the future!

SW: What’s the meaning behind your band name? Was it a coincidence the way the acronym worked out?

NM: It worked out that we were sending out demos to our producer and our management and yet we didn’t have a band name at the time, so we just put Drugs on it, for fun. Then, when it came time to actually decide on a band name, we had this massive white board and we just wrote so many band names on it. Then management said, “To be honest, Drugs is better than a lot of these.” So, we were like, alright! We like the intensity of it, whatever comes from it, if people are offended by it. We wanted to come up with some sort of deeper meaning, so we sat on it for a bit. Craig and I decided on Destroy, Rebuild, Until God Shows.

SW: Very cool. So, your album came out in February, any thoughts on how the response has been to it in such a short time?

NM: Crazy! Being on the main stage and only having the record out since February,  we were a little scared, at first. I don’t know, though. We did the AP tour and crowds were crazy at those shows. It was quite intense. So, at that point, we noticed that the record was doing pretty well. Then we came out here, thinking here’s the test, we’ll know if we come out on stage and there’s only 20 kids watching, but the crowds have been insane, so far.

SW: Well, there was a lot of hype when Craig left Chiodos about what he was going to do next.

NM: Yeah, ya know, there was a lot of hype around the band, with all the different members.

SW: Of course, I mean, you’ve all been in different projects before.

NM: Yeah, yeah, yeah! We just thought it was either going to be really bad or it was going to be really good.

SW: How did you all become acquainted?

NM: I’ve known Craig since 2003… 2004. My old band used to play with his old band and then, by total fluke, I hit him up on MySpace years after, in 2006, telling him to check out my bands new record. He said he would check it out. He listened to it and called me the next day saying he wanted me to sing on the next Chiodos record. So, I did that, and then from there on out he and I just wrote together. Then, we started this new band the day after he got disbanded from Chiodos. We started hitting up out favorite musicians. We called up Matt, and Aaron was looking for a new project. We were in the studio and Adam from Story of The Year came in, and that was it! It was really easy, really, really easy.

SW: Those connections really help you, huh?

NM: Yeah!

SW: How was your experience in your other band compared to your experience now?

NM: Um, I think we’re just older and more mature. I think our previous bands were kind of like our high school, going through the years of learning and learning from your mistakes, a lot. We came into this project knowing the right way to do things on every aspect, whether it be the business side or just personality wise; how to deal with people.

SW: Do you feel like your old fans have followed your from all your guys’ previous projects to where you are now?

NM: Yeah, completely. I think, to be honest, there really hasn’t been any backlash… well there’s been a little backlash from kids coming over. I think they wanted to see what everyone was going to be up to and what everything would sound like. I think, for the most part, everyone has been really stoked on it.

SW: Are there any hard feelings with your ex-bands? How would you feel about touring with them?

NM: There’s no hard feelings, necessarily. A few guys in my previous bands are kind of doing there own thing, now. Maybe we don’t talk as much anymore, but I miss the guys.

SW: What is the meaning behind If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is?

NM: I think a lot of people can kind of speculate on what it’s about. Actually, you probably want to ask Craig that one. Most of the lyrics are a lot of what he had gone through that whole entire year. He went through a lot with Chiodos, but he went through a lot just personally with his own life and his own battles. So, I think that song is just a massive culmination of feelings he had pent up with a lot of shit in his life.

SW: Being a young band, you all have already toured overseas, which usually takes quite some time to achieve. What’s it like to be able to do that so quickly in the D.R.U.G.S. career?

NM: There’s like no words to describe it. We were all very optimistic and very positive coming into this band. We new that we were going to take it as far as we could and we were going to do all that we could to make sure that it was as successful as possible. However, I don’t think we quite knew it would go that well. Being over there is just insane. Kids are very receptive. It is different playing over there, but they are still very similar. Every time I answer that, it’s impossible to explain just what those things are.

SW: So, what’s your relationship like with your label mates?

NM: Everyone is awesome. Our boy from The Ready Set came out the other day and sang with us.

SW: Jordan is a great guy.

NM: Jordan is the nicest kid ever. We actually don’t know a lot of the other bands, yet.

SW: Do you think being on one of the notoriously hardest tours has affect you guys, at all, as a new band?

NM: All of our previous bands have done it before. Not saying we’re veterans, by any means, but this is my fifth Warped Tour, so I kind of knew, going into it, what it was going to be like. We knew how to go into it, and how to put the right set together; we know what the kids want and we provide.

Having an incredibly busy schedule, it meant a lot that Nick took the time out to chat with us! This band has huge things in store. Be sure to check them out on the last few days of Warped Tour and on any upcoming tours!

EastScene: Where are you from?

Sean Rowe: Upstate New York, Troy, which is about 2.5 hours north of the capital.

ES: Have you lived there your whole life?

SR: More or less, yes, I have.

ES: What was it like growing up there? Did you have a lot of support?

SR: Yes, for sure. My mother’s side was Italian and there were lot of artists and musicians on that side. I was always encouraged as a kid to get into it, like guitar and I did take a bit of piano lessons, but I never got into it.

ES: Who was responsible for the instrumentals behind Magic?

SR: I played a lot of the guitar and the extra stuff was done by the producer, Troy from Troy. Troy Pohl is his name.

ES: Was there one moment when you knew this is what you wanted to do with your life?

SR: Well, yeah, I’ve always thought that since I was seven, when I started writing on a plastic typewriter my mom got me. So as a kid, music was what I wanted to do. I didn’t officially start making a living from it exclusively until maybe 2005, which was when I quit my day job and started playing?

ES: What did you do before that?

SR: Oh, man, everything. I did a landscaping job, but that only lasted a day though. I used to put the liners in plastic soda bottle caps. I had a lot of labour jobs, though, like cleaning up after contracting jobs and drywalling.

ES: Humble beginnings, huh?

SR: I never really defined who I was or who I did. I just always did it to support my music. Cafes don’t really pay very much so it was a lot of getting it out there.

ES: What other interests do you have?

SR: Bocce ball.

ES: Yeah?

SR: [Laughs] No, no. But I am moving into this old house and the old man left a lot of his stuff in it, including a bocce ball set. I think I’m gonna get into it. That’s an Italian game, right? It’s not a secret, but since I was very young, since I can remember, I’ve always been into woods, wilderness survival and native American technology—it’s always fascinated me.

ES: Did you ever watch “Survivor Man”?

SR: I have, and some of the stuff is cool, like the information, but I have a problem with the way it’s presented. It’s always about people against nature and man versus the wild.

ES: Never working in harmony, right?

SR: Right. It’s almost like when Hollywood is involved, it has to have a certain dramatic effect for it to be viable. I don’t approach it that way. A military-type approach is not for me.

ES: Has it influenced your music in a large way?

SR: I wouldn’t be the same writer without it. It’s about observing and getting in touch with the source of your sustenance. Source, shelter, and all that, and building a connection with the land.
ES: That being said, do you ever write outside or is there an exclusive place or time when you write?

SR: Not really. Writing is usually an afterthought for me. When I’m outside, the goal for me is to absorb and not to have goals, almost. Get to point a and point b is the mindset of a hiker. Not that I have anything against hiking, I hike myself, but you lose a lot of understanding about the mechanics of land and nature if you have an agenda.

ES: What is magic?

SR: It’s kind of just that. It’s a realization, almost, that the most mundane things have a lot of power themselves because they’re connected to everything else; realizing that we’re not separate from all the other entities of nature and life. There is no fragmentation, it’s an illusion. It’s the way we perceive through modern eyes. In reality, it’s an openness to the magic of existence and being present.

ES: When did you start writing the album?

SR: I lived at a wilderness survival school for about a year in Cherry Valley which is an hour south of Troy. During that time, I performed very little but there was a guitar there. When things were chill, I wrote a lot of tracks. Half of them were written as I was recording. A lot of it was more in the moment while we were in the studio.

ES: Is this your first LP?

SR: Technically, no, because I’ve recording in the past, but this is the first official release.

ES: When did you start working with Anti Records?

SR: Through my manager, who is based in LA. He knew of the president there and apparently had a chance meeting with him at an airport. He asked him if he wanted to hear some stuff and my CD was in the pack and Andrew, the president, thought the album resonated enough to take me on board.

ES: What are the main themes behind Magic?

SR: I’m really close to “The Walker” and “The Long Haul” because it’s kind of a positive song. I think it’s important to have a balance in everything. I don’t find it that enjoyable or authentic to listen to if it’s all one way. If the entire record is political of negative, it doesn’t really represent life for me, you know what I mean? ‘Cause it’s not like that—there is joy and pain and suffering, so it’s important for me that I represent everything, and not just one thing.

ES: Do you try to find beauty in everything?

SR: Yeah, yeah, I do. I think to a point, though, there are some certain things that you have to take a stand on. Because when they are in the direct line of travel of sustaining a society or natural animal and plant life, you can go around and be Mother Theresa but it’s not going to save all the destructive tendencies we have in society. It’s good to have a positive image in your head and a positive feeling, but it’s important to know what you’re up against.

ES: What is your favourite part about the live performance and getting in touch with your fans?

SR: I just love the give and take of the audience. When people let loose, it allows me to do what I do best. That whole exchange of energy is palpable, it’s real. When that happens in authentic ways, there’s nothing like it.

ES: How have they received your new record?

SR: So far I can only speak from what I’ve heard from the reviews and the audience participation. It’s been super. It has exceeded my expectations for a first record.

ES: Do you take those reviews to heart?

SR: I used to. I don’t really read much anymore about it. I’ve been lucky, because a lot of the reviews I’ve gotten, people have actually listened to it and responded in detail to what they were hearing. Sometimes, it’s like somebody will review a record and you can tell they haven’t really listened to it. I’ve heard some good things, so I can’t complain it, but really, I don’t typically look at them.

ES: Words you live by? What is your life motto?

SR: One of my faovurite sayings, I don’t know where it originated from, but it’s “Lose your mind, come to your senses”. It’s pretty powerful

ES: What is your biggest regret, whether it’s musically or just in your life?

SR: I don’t have any regrets. I think that the reason I’m here right now is because of all the mistakes that I’ve made. I wouldn’t change much.

ES: What keeps you going?

SR: My family, you know. The joy of being in a natural place with real people…that aspect of life. Inspiring music, all that stuff. If it wasn’t for that, we’d be a problem.

ES: Do you ever write about life experiences?

SR: There’s a lot of influence in the songs I write. I might be in there, I might not. Not every song is a first person account, but they are universal concepts.”

ES: What is your favourite song to perform live?

SR: It really depends. Sometimes if I notice that I play a song too many times in a row, it can lose its power. If I feel like I haven’t performed a song in a great while, I’ll bust it out. Then I’ll think, wow, this is a really great song. I’ve always loved “Vincent Black Lightning” by Richard Thompson. I do a cover of that occasionally and it always feels good. But of my own stuff, I love singing “Wet”, it just feels good to sing. It is different, though.”

ES: How do you decide what songs to perform live? Are there any you would not perform?

SR: I wouldn’t perform a lot of the ones written on previous records. The last record I’ve written was in 2003 and it’s changed a lot. Some songs I just can’t get behind, so I won’t play it if I can’t stand behind it. It’s not that they were insincere songs, they just, as you develop, your art or your work, you look back and have the ability to critique your own work. People still request some of the old ones [laughs].

ES: Who have been your biggest musical influences?

SR: When I was probably 18, I was just out of high school and immersed in Blues and Soul. Otis Reading was why I wanted to become a singer. John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters were huge influences. And then Leonard Cohen, as a songwriter. His music has always felt like home to me. The level of songwriting, there’s nobody, not even Dylan, could touch the depth in his work. It definitely spreads out. Early punk stuff, Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, it’s all sort of in there. Joy Division, you know, it goes on.

ES: How would you define your music?

SR: Because of that stuff that’s all in there, and to be honest with you, not that it’s necessarily a good thing, because I think it’s really important to be exposed to as much music as you can, because you get inspired by something that otherwise you would have overlooked, but sometimes people ask me, “hey, have you heard of this band?” and I don’t know. I don’t follow a lot of trends in music and part of me thinks that the reason the record sounds that way is because I don’t have a pool or repertoire of a lot of trends and sounds. On the good side, sometimes if you focus too much on what the latest craze is, a lot of it starts to get repetitious, regardless of genre. A million things sound the same way. There’s a danger in regurgitating the same thing all the time. If you can approach something fresh, that’s the ideal for me. Taking something, Dylan always said, “taking a song and turning it on its head” flip it somehow so it’s new again, even if the elements are the same. It’s always a challenge to find something that is coming from a real place.

ES: Where do you find solace in such a hectic world?

SR: I have little places around my house. I’ve been going back, there’s a cemetery by the creek that I’ve been going to since I was 15-16, thankfully it’s still there.

ES: What do you plan on doing with your music in the next year?

SR: I’m going to be recording again in a couple months. So until then, I’ll be doing lots of touring, take a break, then cut a record in about a month or so, then back on the road after that.

ES: Where are you looking to record your next record?

SR: Not sure where I’ll be recording, LA, back home, up north, not sure yet. Lots of possibilities.

ES: What made you decide to release the acoustic songs on Facebook?

SR: I think the whole idea is really to get the music out there. Myself, I haven’t really spread much out of New York. Logistically, I did not have the capacity to tour heavily. This whole phase is getting stuff out there, getting people aware of what I’m doing so hopefully that the next time I come around, I can pick and choose where I want to go and hopefully people show up.

Your band has such a unique sound, Where does this style come from?
Hmm, hard question to answer. I think our voices are a little strange and the melodies/chord progressions a little adventurous, so maybe a byproduct of this.

What kind of things inspired you to write Eureka?
We were inspired to make an energetic album limited to, but empowered by the ingredients/instrumentation of the band, and by that I mean we didn’t want to paint an unrealistic portrait of what we are able to achieve live.

What contributes to the success of this album?
At this point, which is early in the album’s lifespan, we mark its success by how we feel about it, and less from an external embrace. So with that said, we feel successful in this venture thus far because we made a record we like and that we’re proud of.

How did/does the band enjoy being on a full Canadian tour?
We like it very much. Had it not been for the band and its touring, we’d never get a glimpse of Canada like this. It’s an amazing and diverse landscape and there’s always more which reveals itself with every tour.

What’s it like being siblings on tour?
It’s like being siblings on tour.

Are there any particular festivals you guys would like to be apart of?
The big American ones would be cool. Sasquatch, Coachella, Lollapalooza.

Was it hard trying to break into the Toronto/Montreal markets as a Vancouver based band?
Toronto came pretty easily and maybe because our label is based there, but I think it’s because it’s big and a major hub so the odds are good. Montreal is slower to get on board but we love it there and enjoy the challenge of building the rapport.

Is there any advice you can give other upcoming Canadian artists?
Work SMART and hard, not just hard.

What’s one thing that most fans don’t know about the band?
Let’s keep it that way shall we?

What does the future have in store for Mother Mother?
More records and more tours but as time goes on it would be nice break free of the hardened schedule of the album cycle promo and its industry leaning formula. Make concept albums, slow song albums, live albums… Do tours in really small clubs with free champagne. More limited pressings… Whimsical stuff. But before all that we need to get bigger and make more money so we’ll be hustling for a bit. Canada is being nice to us, but we still have a lot of work to do in building the profile here, and when you get to thinking of the rest of the world, the feat of breaking through internationally can seem pretty insurmountable. So yeah, hustling with our fingers crossed, but making killer hooks while we do it.

Bassist Kate Kimberley and guitarist/vocalist Katie Bulley were fabulous enough to answer a couple of questions and make EastScene a playlist of their best memories, influences, and guilty pleasure tracks.

I really enjoyed your song “Touche” and its video, noticing a comment that mentioned the name of the boat- “La Grande Hermine”, is that correct?
The ship was built in Lauzon, Quebec in 1914 and was originally used as a St. Lawrence river ferry. It was called Le Progress.

In 1991, a wooden facade was built over the steel hull and the masts and crows nests were added to make her look like Jacques Cartier’s 1535 ship (and re-named) Le Grande Hermine. She was used as a restaurant in Montreal but after a few unpaid docking fees and a few moves, she was towed to her current location in St. Catherines where it was been ever since.

What’s in the works now? (songs in the making, local shows, recording time, etc.)
What’s in the works now, you ask? Well, exactly what you predicted. We’re trying to write a bunch of new songs, play shows, and record some more stuff. We’re trying to step up our internet game by getting our name out there to as many bloggers, industry people, musicians and fans as we can. I think its a big part of the music game these days. We’re planning out a bunch of new music videos, photo shoots and maybe even some trips out to the States to play shows.

Basically everything and anything we can do to get our name out there.

The Playlist

1. “Love Potion Number 9″ by The Searchers
My uncle made me a cassette tape full of oldies when I was little and it was the only cassette tape I had at the time so I would listen to it over and over, my favourite song on the tape was this one.

2. “Wonderwall” by Oasis
The first time I heard this song was not from the Gallagher brothers, it was sung by a boy I had a crush on when I was young. I immediately went out and bought the CD. It was the first CD I had owned, and later one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar.

3. “Stan” by Eminem
As embarrassing as it is, I’m going to have to be honest and put this in. I was a big Eminem fan as an early teen and I would be lying to myself if I didn’t include this in here. Hahah. I was in competitive ballet, jazz, and hip hop dance. I liked hiphop the best. It was my rap phase. My name is Katie Bulley, and I loved Eminem.

4. “The Good Times Are Killing Me” by Modest Mouse
I was experimenting with drugs and loving Modest Mouse.

5. “Look Back And Laugh” by Minor Threat
Finally I started listening to real music. I quit dancing, quit “experimenting with drugs”, bought a guitar and picked up a skateboard.

6. “New Noise” by Refused
This was during my hardcore phase- I had stretched ears, and only listened to screaming music. I still love Refused but I don’t listen to the heavier stuff anymore… maybe I’ll get nostalgic today and throw on a job for a cowboy… maybe not, hahha.

7. “Handsome Devil” by The Smiths
Oh Morrissey, how I love you and when you came into my life, I was so happy.

8. “Time For Heroes” by The Libertines
Pete Doherty is a hot mess, a pure genius, and my hero. There riffs are like magic, their voices are angelic, and they inspire me to death.

9. “Guns Of Brixton” by The Clash
There is so much to listen to and learn from them, it’s unreal.

10. “I Love Playin With Fire” by The Runaways
Can you believe these girls were around 15 when they played this!? Listen to the shredding! The drums! The power! Joan Jett, you rock my world.

The Barettas are Katie Bulley (vocals/guitar), Kate Kimberley (bass), Carly Killotta (drums).

Shelby Wilson: Where are your roots in music, what made you start playing and performing?

Matt Johnson: I got into music because of punk rock stuff, basically. I grew up in Vermont and I was into skate boarding, but I remember, this was before… Vermont didn’t get internet ‘til pretty late on, it took us awhile, it takes awhile for a lot of things to get up there. So, I just looked through skateboard magazines and saw these ads for punk rock bands and I ended up getting into those and their influences. I remember being so into the music and I needed to give back to this music that I like so much. That’s when I started playing guitar.

SW: That’s really cool. Everything just lead off from there?

MJ: Yeah. Then I was really close-minded about music seeing as I only liked punk rock stuff for all throughout high school. Sort of around 19, or when I was in college, I just went really open minded. I had no guilty pleasures or anything like that.

SW: Speaking on that, your music is different than a majority of stuff that is out there right now. Is it ever nerve racking that there might not be a good response to it?

MJ: Well, Kim and I, whenever we’ve done music, whenever we’ve written music that is, we sort of write what we’d like to hear in music, you know? I think as long as we’re true to what we like, then we’re happy. I’m really happy that so far people do respond [well] to it. It doesn’t really fall into one genre, it’s not really easy to describe all the time. It just seems to work.

SW: What’s your inspiration for all of this then?

MJ: As far as musically, it’s just whatever is fun, like I said, we have no guilty pleasures or anything. Kim and I are big fans of hip hop still. I like pop punk stuff. Yeah, just whatever is fun. I see our music as a mosaic of those things. Is there isn’t a genre, but you can pick out specific parts. Like, you know when a beat is hip hop inspired and that fast crashy chorus part is from some pop punk. It’s just a combination of a bunch of different things.

SW: I’ve heard your stuff play in a lot of places like American Eagle. How does it feel to be in that main stream realm of things? Do you think it’s helped you at all?

MJ: It’s funny because it can be confusing to hear that out of context. As a side note, Kim and I, I remember being in some store and one of our songs coming on and Kim being like ‘Why do I recognize this? It sounds really familiar.’ and I go ‘Kim, it’s us.’” ‘Cause sometimes it doesn’t sound right out of context. Even my mom has mentioned to me that she’s heard a couple different songs of ours. It kind of legitimizes you to your parents. [Laughs]

SW: Surreal, in a way, then?

MJ: Yeah, totally. We did this commercial recently, we hadn’t seen it on TV yet, but we had the TV on a couple days ago and we were in the other room and were like ‘Why do we hear our song?’ then we realized our commercial was on. Then, it came on again, it’s just kind of bizarre to have a commercial with us in it.

SW: With it being so far out there, sort of broadcasted, is there any message you want your fans or people to take from it when they hear it?

MJ: I think with Sidewalks there was a common theme I noticed about living your life right now. Kim and I have been really busy over the last year and a half. Sometimes it’s hard to fit in just time for yourself and what not and we keep in our minds that we’ll take a couple of days and do whatever, but those couple of days never come. You just need to realize that you need to fit your life into everyday. A lot of people are busy and work hard with jobs and school and all that other stuff; they just need to be sure they’re fitting their life in.

SW: Now Sidewalks, how did it feel for that to go so high on the iTunes charts in just a few days?

MJ: We never expected anything like that. The day after it came out, seeing it in the chart, the normal chart, where number one was Taylor Swift and number 2 was Matt and Kim and I was like ‘What the hell are we doing there?!’. We don’t take it for granted in any way.

SW: So, you’re definitely proud with what you’ve done.

MJ: Oh yeah, we work so hard on this band. It’s the hardest work I’ve ever had. Most rewarding, but the hardest in my life. So, that we get a good response. Just looking on Twitter and Facebook, I check the comments sometimes and seeing such positive messages coming from the people who are directly listening means a lot.

SW: Okay, I have a kind of fun question for you. I was told by somebody that you and Kim told somebody that the coffee stains on each cover were done by hand by you and Kim. Is that true?

MJ: It is true! Well, our demo, which was like a 5 song demo. We toured before we released any albums which was years and years ago. They looked like a letter, and they were actually addressed to the address in which we really lived. Kim was picking coffee cups and had a little plate of coffee and dipping the bottom in making individual coffee stains. We were burning the CD’s and driving in the van and what not. It was a very DIY project.

SW: Your processes like that leads to asking, what made you think of making a video where you were stripping in Times Square?

MJ: I came up with that idea at one point because I… Well, I had gone to school for film and I have a lot of ideas of what I really like with film related things. I had come up with that idea seeing as I wanted to shoot a one shot video where there was no cuts. So, I thought, ‘What could we do for three and a half minutes?’ I had come up with the idea of taking our clothes off. It wasn’t initially in Times Square, until I decided we had to step things up. Then, it was me trying to convince Kim for a long time that it was a good idea. Finally, she agreed.

SW: Were you nervous doing that?

MJ: Well, yeah. Kim swears she doesn’t even recall because her nerves had made her black the whole event out. I thought it was pretty liberating, actually. I do remember being pretty nervous about it as we were headed to Times Square.

SW: On a different note, Mike D from the Beastie Boys did a remix of Cameras, how do you feel about that?

MJ: I think it’s wild, you know, when bands such as the Beastie Boys, who I’ve been a fan of for years and years, then it comes around and Mike D likes our band. He wasn’t looking for money or anything, he just wanted to do the remix for us. It’d mind blowing that you respect someone so much and they turn around and like your band.

SW: Final Question, what’s coming in the future for you two?

MJ: We just shot a new music video, and I just saw the first edit, it’s totally crazy. That’ll be coming out and then we’re headed to Australia for a tour. Coming Spring, we’re going to a lot of colleges and the US more. Then, we have Europe and Japan. I don’t know, there’s just a lot of places to go.

Big thank you to Matt for sitting through what may be the most awkward kind of interview for any musician. Matt is definitely as fun as the music he and Kim put out. Make sure you all have your eyes open for the many upcoming tours. I’ve been told they have one show you definitely don’t want to miss.