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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

Mary Martin: First off, let’s just hear a brief background of the band.

Sam Bettley: Well, we just got together as friends really in Yorkshire, apart from Ben, he’s from London.  But he came and he kind of found us all, and we all started making music together.  Straight away we decided to move to America, and that’s pretty much where it started.  We’ve been touring for about a year now and recorded our first album here, it’s been out since September 15th of last year.

James Cassells: Yeah, and we’ve pretty much finished writing our second album and we’re heading to the studio soon.

MM: So you guys only had the lineup that you have now before you signed to Sumerian Records, right?

JC: Yeah, we had a different bass player to begin with, but we never toured with him or anything.  And then there was a whole different band that was also called Asking Alexandria, but that’s a totally different story.

SB: That’s a completely different band, the only thing similar is the name.  It was another band that Ben was in and he just carried the name through.

MM: How was it getting signed to Sumerian pretty quickly and now, after about a year of touring, you’re on your second headlining tour with Born Of Osiris?

SB: Well Sumerian has been really good, it’s like a big family, really nice guys and they’ve helped us out a lot.

JC: Sumerian actually pushed us real hard, fast-tracked us really, so things have gone so quickly for us.

SB: Yeah, and Born Of Osiris has been touring a long time so it feels good to be able to be headlining with them.

MM: So you’ve got a new CD coming out soon, is there a title yet?

JC: Yeah, it’s called Reckless And Relentless.

MM: Is there a release date yet?

SB: No official date yet, maybe pre-sales…

JC: Pre-sales, probably December 10th.  For the Christmas rush we want to get pre-sales up.

SB: And then the physical copy should be in stores by January.

MM: Are there any song titles being released yet?

SB: Well actually on this tour we’re playing one of the new songs from the new album.

JC: Yeah, it’s called Breathless.

MM: What do you guys think you would be doing if you weren’t in the band?

SB: Em… I have no idea, honestly!

JC: I’d probably be in college, at a music university.

SB: I’d be working full time, I don’t know what I would be doing though, some kind of business.

MM: Are most of your families supportive of the band?

JC: Oh yeah, our families have been really supportive.  Without them we couldn’t have done this.

SB: We definitely would not be here if it wasn’t for our families’ support.

MC: So music wise, who are some of your influences?

JC: There’s so many!  It’s weird because different people in the band like different stuff.

SB: Yeah, James and Cameron like really heavy metal, and Danny and Ben love all the happy, clappy, singing 80’s metal stuff.  I like techno stuff, but we all love trance.  So that’s what comes out in our music, really.

SB: So speaking of influences, I’m sure you guys have influenced a lot of bands already, do you guys ever listen to those bands?

SB: Well we’ve only been a band, or only been touring for a year or two, so it feels like the bands who have been influenced by us probably haven’t done much yet.  So probably within the next year we’ll start hearing things.  But we’ve been told by a lot of people, like kids that come to  our shows that they’ve been influenced by us and our music.

MM: For random questions, what would you say is your most embarrassing on-stage moment?

SB: I got a bit drunk, we were on tour with Alesana and we all got really drunk, it was the first day of the tour actually.  On stage we all bounce up and down, and I had had way too much to drink so I just fell flat on my face.  I couldn’t get up, at all.  I was on stage and on the last part of the song I just fell on my face in, like, a seated position, as if I was sat up on my face.  The people on the front row were trying to push me up, it was really bad!

JC: It’s usually just being way too drunk.  I was way too drunk once.

SB: Yeah, it was really bad that night.  James couldn’t even sound check his drums, he just kept missing his drums before we even started playing.

JC: It was terrible, I had too much Jäger that night.  A few beers is fine, but I’m not doing that before a show again.

MM: What is your weirdest fan encounter so far?

SB: I don’t know, there’s been loads of weird stuff… actually, last night was pretty weird, but it was cool.  We played in Florida, and there was this kid called Cody, and he was just like a fan and it was his sixteenth birthday.  He wanted to meet Danny because he’s like, his idol, so we were like, you know, “okay we’ll bring him to the bus and let him meet Danny.”  And Danny’s friend had come, and he has a tattoo gun.  And Danny said, “for your sixteenth birthday, do you want to tattoo my leg?” and this kid was like, nearly crying, shaking really bad.  So Danny let him tattoo ‘Cody’ to his leg last night.  He’s going to remember that forever!  And his friend was sitting there with a camera filming him tattooing Danny.  That was a weird one but it was fun.

JC: Yeah, just people crying and trembling and stuff is always really weird.

MM: For your future, other than the new CD, what do you see doing?  Mostly touring?

SB: Yeah, we’ve got a lot of plans for going abroad next year.  We’re actually on Soundwave in Australia next year, and that’s with Iron Maiden and Slayer, Avenged Sevenfold, 30 Seconds To Mars, all those guys.

JC: Yeah, we’re going to be doing a US headliner when we release the new album and that’s going to be really big, but we can’t really say much about that yet.

SB: But we’re doing the UK at the end of this year, for the first time ever.  We’ve never toured the UK before, which is really weird, but we’re doing that.

JC: Yeah, it’s going to be sick!

SB: Yeah, it’s gonna be awesome, we’re very excited for that.

MM: Thank you guys so much for the interview.

SB: Of course, thank you!

Huge thank you again to Sam and James for taking the time to sit down with us and answer some questions.  Be sure to check out Asking Alexandria on an upcoming tour date, and be on the lookout for their new album, Reckless And Relentless, which should be hitting the shelves in January.

East Scene: Being from Poughkeepsie, you all are relatively close to New York City which has a hugely diverse music scene, do you feel that being around so many different genres has influenced you in any way or encouraged you to do your own thing?

Just Surrender: NYC is a musical melting pot, but I don’t feel as if it has really made any impression on me creatively. Growing up, I was heavily influenced by my parents musical catalog. I remember listening to records with my mother at an early age, and I felt that she really gave me a strong foundation with the classics. Queen, Beatles, etc…

ES: What’s the major influence in your music?

JS: Life is the source of inspiration. Whether it’s an internal perspective, or a fantasy, art imitates life, and life imitates art.

ES: What encouraged each of you to go into the music industry? Was music something you picked up or what is something you were raised around?

JS: The idea of being a troubadour is very exciting. I love traveling and meeting people while living life on my own terms. Some people look as music as a hobby, and other people try to make it a career. I look at myself as the latter.

ES: You’re technically “Power-Pop” according to MySpace, but your sound is pretty different than the typical pop band. How would you explain the sound of your band to people who have never heard of you

JS: Rock music, with pop hooks, is basically the best way I describe it.

ES: Is there any other genre any of you would be interested in exploring?

JS: I listen to all musical styles. Whatever makes me feel good I’ll listen to. I’ve always wanted to make an acoustic record loaded with harmonies and orchestration. Will it come to be? Time only knows.

ES: Before music became a big part of your life, what did you think you would be doing when you got older? Were there any educational or occupational plans for you all?

JS: I’ve always known that I would end up doing something with music.

ES: You all have been in music for a few years now, have you ever wanted to give up or change paths and leave music? If so, what kept you going?

JS: The grass is always greener on the other side.  The idea of traveling never gets old. I enjoy it. Who knows though?

ES: You guys are signed to Razor & Tie, which is also the label behind bands such as Brand New, Semi Precious Weapons and The Summer Set. How are the feelings among the label mates, seeing as a lot of them are different genres? Do you have any favorites?

JS: I like Neil Sedaka. He’s really great.

ES: What’s the #1 pro and the #1 con that you would tell any person who is considering going into the music industry? Any eye-opening pointers you’d like to give out?

JS: Go to school. Become a teacher. Help people the right way.

ES: Do you ever feel that there’s a certain standard that you have to live up to or are you ever worried about disappointing people, such as your fans or your record label?

JS: I don’t really think about letting a record label down.  Lets not forget that the ultimate goal for a record company is to make money. Artists, are just a cog on a machine. If we don’t sell, there will be another cog to replace us, and the machine continues. I can only do my best to write and play music that inspires me, and that makes me feel creative.  I can only hope that they enjoy the work we do, and don’t discard us. If people get let down, then I’m sorry. I make music to make me happy. If someone looks up to me, and is let down by something that I say or do, then they need to look for a better role-model.

ES: The name of your band is Just Surrender, and you have songs with names such as “New Declaration” and “Stronger Now.” It all kind of seems to relate. Is there any sort of theme in your music or just simply something you’re trying to get across?

JS: We’re trying to make music about our lives. Stronger Now, is about the people in the music industry. New Declaration I felt was about going through member changes.  We just write songs about things in our life.

ES: You now have Phoenix coming out extremely soon. Are you at all nervous about how the fans might react to it? How is it different from Stronger Now?

JS: I don’t really worry. I have played rooms to 7 people, and thousands. If people like it, great, if not, that’s life! It’s just a more evolved Just Surrender record. We know what we’re going for. Pop songs with hooks, and edgy guitars, loaded with lush backing vocals.

ES: There’s kids on your MySpace saying they’re “Pumped for the new CD!” How does it make you feel when you hear and read those sorts of things?

JS: It’s nice to know that people still listen to our music.

ES: I’m sure there’s kids out there that look at you as “famous” or view you as someone they might be too shy to approach, what’s one thing you would tell them to help them realize that you’re just like them?

JS: We’re all on this earth together. I go to the bathroom just like everybody else. That’s basically it.

ES: What’s one show that you would willingly relive over and over? What’s worst show you’ve ever played? How would you feel if you had to relive those nights again?

JS: I don’t really have any shows that I want to relive. I just like playing. That’s all.

ES: What do you think your biggest accomplishment has been so far as a band?

JS: Staying at Kris Kirkpatrick’s house was fun.

ES: You have a tour coming up with Comic Book Heroes and also a few dates with Hit The Lights. Have you ever toured with these bands before? Do you think it’ll be anything like your tour with Bowling For Soup?

JS: Yeah they are young guys. We’re going to show them how WE do!!!! JK.

And there you go. A little look into this guys’ brain and an overall view of the band as a whole. Be sure to check out Just Surrender on their upcoming tour. All dates can be found on their MySpace.

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.

What’s it like being a well-known alternative band out of Tallahassee Florida, that’s also known for it’s college town?
I’ve actually grown up here, it’s amazing and just so many supportive kids.

In 2007, you lost band member Jason Lancaster, how did you feel as a band?
We were a band before he was in the band, so I mean we were okay when he left.

Did you struggle at all after losing a band member?
Well he left in the middle of tour [laughs], so that was really hard but we got back home in Tallahassee and figured out what we needed to do so everything worked out in the end.

The new album, Anywhere But Here was released in October 2009.What inspired you the most while writing this album?
We are on tour 80%-90% of the year, so about 8 months out of the year [laughs] so we wrote while being on tour, and all the songs were based on the feeling of being away from home, relationships, family etc.

How did the fans respond to your new album?
I really didn’t know what to expect because of everything, but I hope that the fans enjoy our album and I’m really looking forward to playing the new songs on Take Action Tour.

You leave Sunday (January 24th) to co-headline Take Action Tour 2010, is there anything else that fans should keep an eye out for?
We are going to be doing Warped Tour 2010 also, and I’m really looking forward to that. I’m not really sure about any other tours that we may be doing right now, but fans should definitely keep an eye out.

You recently have switched from Fearless to Atlantic records, why did you make the switch?
We have always talked to Atlantic, and actually did before we talked to Fearless but they told us to sign to another label first and then they would take us on. We were really excited to sign to Atlantic, and really excited to finally be able to tour in a bus.

That being said, how does it feel to tour in a bus rather than van?
Amazing! Touring on a bus is seriously so much fun, and touring in a van can make things a lot harder. Plus now I can finally sleep! [laughs] but even just sleeping helps with the way we perform and write.

I’m friends with your guitar tech, Nick Froelich, and he mentioned to me you a big fan of reading. Who’s your favorite author?
[Laughs] I wouldn’t say I have a favorite author or anything, but I will say that I love reading a series by Stephen King but I’m a pretty big nerd so I would have to say that I do enjoy the Harry Potter books.

Where are you hoping to see yourself or the band in 5 years?
I would really love to see us not only a band but still touring in a bus, and doing an arena tour would be incredible!

Do you have any advice for inspiring musicians who want to make it in the music industry?
My advice would be to work hard and dedicate yourself 100% to the band, push yourself harder and harder, and never give up. We got where we are now from following Warped Tour in 2006 and handing out our CD’s to people in the lines.