It's 1pm and All American Rejects' guitarist Nick Wheeler has just woken up. Having not fallen asleep until 3am that morning he is understandably tired. Jetlag and unconventional sleeping patterns are to be expected from someone who lives their life on the road, especially given that The Rejects are about to reach the end of their UK tour, with just one more sold out show at Glasgow's Barrowland's Ballroom standing between them and mainland Europe. It's an intense schedule, made even more admirable by the fact that little under a month ago the band were forced to cancel their last remaining support dates on the blink-182 reunion tour to allow front man Tyson Ritter to undergo emergency knee surgery.
"He seems to be doing OK! I've forgotten to ask him about it, that's how OK he's doing!" confesses Nick, when asked about his band mate's health. "It was messy there for a little bit. I was hanging out over at his house and all we could do was watch movies. I wouldn't let him get up or do anything...he'd start to get up and I'd be like 'Nope. Sit down. What do you need?' I think he felt bad asking me to do stuff for him. He's doing alright though. He's been a mad man on stage. More so than we thought he could be!"
The Rejects are certainly no strangers to British soil, having played three sets of UK dates this year alone, all the time adding recruits to their already enviable and dedicated fan base along the way. They might be hometown heroes in Stillwater Oklahoma (where October 8th is AAR day, for future reference), but the band seem to hold a special place in the heart of the British public - a feeling that is entirely mutual.
"I think back home kids seem to have become...I don't know...they seemed spoiled and kind of stale," Nick explains. "We've been playing in the States for a long time and we've been played here for a long time, y'know? We've been coming over here for seven years but I guess we play the States more often. Kids over there can see us four times a year whereas over here it just feels more special. I think the following over here is a little bit more of a cult following that has stuck with us from the beginning. I think we're a band that happens to change our sound a little bit and evolve between records and in the States we sometimes get some of the same fans back but a lot of the time we get new fans so it's almost like each album cycle is like a new group of fans. But when we come over here it's the same ravenous bunch of kids that we've been playing to for seven years. It's great!"
Despite still touring in support of their third album When The World Comes Down, released back in December 2008, AAR are already facing questions about new material. However, as any dedicated Rejects fan knows, good things definitely come to those who wait. It was way back in 2005 when sophomore album Move Along was unleashed upon the world, boasting singles Move Along, It Ends Tonight and radio-favourite Dirty Little Secret and pushing the band into a more mainstream spotlight. So, with this three year gap in mind, do fans have a similar wait ahead of them before the emergence of any new material?
Nick shrugs. "I don't know," he answers honestly. "I mean, our motto is we don't put it out until it's ready, until we're proud of every single song, y'know? I think a lot of bands, do the whole 'strike while the iron's hot' thing which is smart to do in some cases, but when it comes to your actual music, the reason we're here...I don't know... I don't think you can cheapen that. Had we hurried up and put out a watered down version of Move Along then I don't think we'd be here right now. I think we'd be done. Either that or one of us would be fucking somebody famous and you'd hear more about our personal lives then you would our music, you know what I mean? That's not what we're about. We'll start writing and then we'll see what happens!"
There may be no specific time frame for new music but there is still plenty going on in the AAR camp for fans to feast their eyes and ears upon. The video for single I Wanna was recently posted on the bands MySpace page and The Wind Blows was released as a UK single on October 19th. With a slightly slower, more melodic pace, it's a song that certainly set's itself apart from the rest of The Rejects' discography and we wonder if there is any particular story behind it?
"That was a challenge and a half! Yeah...that song's a bitch! We actual wrote it for somebody else a few years ago...several years ago now...probably like five years ago. It was called Alone Again at the time and it had a different chorus. We were going into the studio and we were trying to figure out what songs we should start recording. Our producer Eric Valentine was like "What's this 'Alone Again' song", and I was like "Alone Again?! What the fuck you talking about?! That's some other band you're talking about, that's not us!" He was like "No, there's this song with this drum loop and this synth..." and everyone's like, "Oh yeah...yeah, we don't like that song..." He was really excited about the drum loop and the synth though, so Tyson re-recorded it and rewrote the chorus and I sat down with it and came up with some stuff that really made it my own as well. It was a fun thing to tackle. I think there's a lot of growth on that song. I mean, it doesn't really sound like us; it's different. I think there are a lot of moments on this record that don't sound like us which is good because it challenges us, it challenges our fans and our listeners. If it's the same thing over and over again we'd get bored and you'd get bored."
Speaking of new opportunities, AAR have spent the last few months out on the road opening the show on the blink-182 reunion tour, an experience that was surreal in a number of ways.
"Just the idea of it was really cool. I mean, Tyson and I went to a blink-182 show a long time ago...like ten, eleven years ago...and we were throwing All American Rejects demos up on stage, so it was a cool opportunity to get to support them!"
Still, it's been a while since AAR have opening for anyone. Surely the transition in sets was a hard one to make?
"It really was man. It was a short set, we were done playing by eight o'clock and lots of people were still walking in when we played. We were treated as an opening band, like they didn't give a fuck, which is OK, I mean, they didn't have to. It was definitely different, y'know? It felt like Warped Tour, being thrown up on stage, playing 30 minutes real quick and then getting the fuck out of there. The crowd was different too. It was the kind of crowd that you basically had to say "fuck you" to, to get a rise out of them."
The upsurge in social networking sites over the past few years has lead to major bridges being built between bands and their fan base and The All American Rejects are no exception. A vblog series titled 'Rejects TV' alongside Twitter accounts and spontaneous web chats all act as channels for the band to share their life on the road.
"It's very important," agrees Nick when we ask him about keeping in touch with fans. "I'm a little old school in that I think things like the internet really just killed the mystic of a band. It doesn't leave you wondering anymore, people just know way too much. At the same time it's also a really useful tool, especially for bands like us who do take so much time between records and put so much care into things. So you gotta give them a little bit extra and I feel that's what we do with the Rejects TV and Twitter. It creates more of a culture because we're not a lifestyle band; we don't wear eyeliner and we don't expect kids to try and dress like us, so I think it's different kind of following. I think it's really neat what we've put together with all those things."
With sound check looming it's almost time for us to finish up our chat, but not before slipping in one last topical question. What Halloween costumes do the band have planned?
"I think we're going to do Ghostbusters," Nick tells us. "Our drum tech is going to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and my guitar tech is going to be Slimmer. Our bass player is going to be Homer Simpson. That has nothing to do with Ghostbusters, but he's got these pants, like these bright blue pants and he calls them his Homer Simpson pants and he kind of went with it from there. He's got the light coloured shirt, he got the shoes and he's getting bald cap. I haven't heard about painting himself yellow but I've heard about him painting on the five o'clock shadow. It's going to be fun. We're gonna be in Malaysia - I don't even know if they celebrate Halloween in Malaysia! This is all for us!"
TWIN ATLANTIC
It's a slightly chilly Wednesday afternoon in Glasgow, and as the sign above the newly renamed 02 ABC declares, Taking Back Sunday are in town. With less than half an hour until doors, the line snaking its way up the street is growing by the second as handfuls of kids eying the door of the impressive tour bus parked up outside, no doubt hoping for a glimpse of Adam Lazzara & Co. However, the return of Long Island's finest to our bonnie shores is not the only story developing behind the yet unopened doors. With tonight's openers, Young Guns, sound checking next door and the anticipation building outside, vivalascene were granted the chance to sit down with Craig Kneale, drummer of Twin Atlantic - a powerhouse of home grown talent who are set to provide the main support for tonight's show. Clutched in our hand is a rather unique card, advertising 'Lightspeed', the bands current single. Not only is the single available for free download from twinatlantic.com, the card is also biodegradable and embedded with little seeds, ready to be planted into the ground. Get a free song and save the environment! Clever, eh?
"Well, you'll get a free song but you might not save the environment!" laughs Craig. "I don't know if it works or not. I got my mum to plant one, but I'm not sure if anything's grown yet. We'll have to wait and see."
It's an undeniably unique selling point and you certainly can't argue with the price. So, as Twin Atlantic gear up to release mini-album "Vivarium", why did they make the decision to give the lead single away for nothing?
"We just wanted people to hear our music," explains Craig. "We know that to survive in this industry you have to make people pay for gigs and stuff but it's always good to remember that your band is not going to be touring everywhere all the time and you have to offer your fans something more. I mean they appreciate it and it's not hard to offer something for free, y'know?"
With such a down to earth attitude and the ideology that everything they do is for no one but their fans, it's easy to see just why Twin Atlantic is one of vivalascene's favourite bands. A hectic and dedicated touring schedule has ensured a rock solid fan base for this young band, throughout both Scotland and the entire UK. Last month they appeared at Scotland's premier music festival, T in the Park, a performance that serves as an excellent marker of just now far Twin Atlantic have come since their conception in 2007.
"It was quite riotous but very overwhelming as well - there were a lot of people there. We played the year before, in the 'T-Break' tent and that was the biggest gig we'd done to date at that point; like the most people who'd ever come just to watch us. Then at that T in the Park just there, that was again the most people who'd ever come just to watch us."
Before taking Balado by storm, the band spent the past few months in America where they recorded 'Vivarium' in its entirety. Craig talks as through just how this fantastic opportunity came about.
"We signed to a label (Red Bull Records) at the beginning of the year and they got in touch with producers that we didn't think we could record with in a million years. They all happened to be based in America and in the end we went with a guy called John Travis. He just really seemed to get the vibe of our band and stuff and so it was more that it seemed like the right thing to do. It just kind of happened. In a way it was nice to get away from Glasgow. He was really cool; he just had loads of really cool ideas."
"We were just in this rehearsal studio for the first few weeks and he just came in and completely got what we were trying to do. From the first day he had ideas for the songs we already had. Not necessarily big changes but just little things that made the whole song better."
With "Vivarium" set for release on September 14th, Twin Atlantic have yet to give their fans much indication on just how their new material will differ from their last EP, "A Guidance From Colour", released back in March 2008. With six new songs appearing alongside two re-mastered oldies on next month's release, we wonder just how the band's sound has progressed?
"It's a maturity thing," Craig explains. "They're maybe not as obviously catchy? I think they become more catchy the more you listen to them, but they're not as in your face as the old songs . Some of the parts are more aggressive but it's more...when we recorded that first EP that was like three months of being a band so it sounded very new. These ones sound a little bit more grown up, all the parts are a bit smarter and the melodies are a bit stronger."
"The recording process was so different this time. Before we did our first EP in five days and this one we did over two months. We thought when we went over "surely two weeks is enough to record eight songs..." and then after two months we could still have used more time! It took like a week and half to track all the different parts and then a month to fix it all together, so it was a very different process overall. For me personally it got a little boring, especially towards the end because I was just sitting there, waiting to hear things. We did get some downtime but it was weird, it was that way where we wanted to be there, so although we probably could have just gone to the beach we didn't. That only happened once - we got one day on the beach and that's was it!"
Whilst across in the states, Twin Atlantic also featured on this year's SXSW festival, held in Austin Texas, a slot that gave the band the perfect opportunity to gain some more American ears and gain some ever important exposure.
"SXSW is a weird one because it's not so much fans, its very music industry based but the whole experience was still one of the coolest things we've ever done. It's like, if you imagine Glasgow but with bands playing everywhere, spread throughout the whole city. You can literally walk into any bar and there's a band playing. You can see massive bands and one's you've never heard of. We played four or five shows and they got progressively better as they went along. The last one was on a rooftop bar and it was one of the best gigs we've ever played - we all went completely mental and the crowd got really into it."
Such a warm reception is the very least Twin Atlantic deserve across the pond. With such an unique sound, and a barrage of storming anthems at their disposable, it's hard not to think that "Vivarium" will be the release that tips them over the edge into international acclaim. Yet no matter what might be about to happen in Twin Atlantic's world, it seems certain that they won't forget where they came from, nor will they forget the fans who put them where they are today. Craig explains that he runs the bands MySpace page most of the time, and tries his hardest to reply to the many messages they receive each day. He also runs his own blog (www.craigernestkneale.blogspot.com) which provides insightful stories about life on the road and is most definitely worth a read - it'll brighten up your day, no end! We wonder if being from Glasgow (home to the world's friendliest people!) has anything to do with this down to earth attitude?
"Being from Scotland does install you with a kind of...it definitely keeps your feet on the ground. You don't get too big for your boots, because I think if you do, people in Glasgow can just see right through that. I love coming from Scotland, especially Glasgow. You just always know that you're the same as everyone else and if anyone likes your band its cool, but you never think "People like us, we must be better than everyone". You do feel like you have to earn everything a bit more - I mean we're six hours away from London, where the whole music industry works and we've had to go down loads of times to do really stupid things and in a way it's always such a relief to come back. I think it's a good thing living away from London as well though. It just keeps you grounded"
With an attitude as genuine as this, it's hard not to picture a fantastic future for Twin Atlantic. After finishing off their current UK tour with Taking Back Sunday, the band are scheduled to appear in festivals across Germany at the end of August, before embarking on a headline tour of the UK in support of "Vivarium." With a jam-packed live calendar stretching out before them and world domination in their sights, there is no excuse not to see Twin Atlantic on the road this autumn, so head out and catch a show. You definitely won't be disappointed.
WE THE KINGS
May always seems to be a busy time in the UK, tour wise, and this year was no exception. With an abundance of bands over for the ever-growing Slam Dunk festival in Leeds, it came as a somewhat unsurprising coincidence that the Cobra Starship tour (featuring Cash Cash & Sing It Loud) had rolled into Glasgow the previous night. The real surprise came when Travis made an unexpected appearance on stage during 'Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)' - a cameo that, judging by his reaction, seemed to surprise Sing It Loud front man, Pat Brown the most.
"I didn't know anybody saw that!" laughs Travis as we begin by asking him to gauge the level of fright injected into Pat the previous night. "They (Sing It Loud) didn't expect that I was going to be there. Cobra knew that we were in town but Sing It Lout didn't. So we got there and they were checking us and patting us down, and I heard them playing 'Snakes on a Plane'. I had someone escort me all the way through to the side of the stage and literally just ran right up and yeah...Pat Brown just looked at me and was like "Oh my God, oh my God!" and was freaking out and stuff. It was fun - it was like a little reunion."
We The Kings are no strangers to the UK, having completed two successful support tours, the first of which was the Boys Like Girls & Cute Is What We Aim For tour in the summer of 2008, before returning in September in support of The Academy Is... This time they were back on their own terms, headlining sold out venues throughout the country. When we mention that this is We The Kings first UK headliner, a smile splits Travis' face. "I'm excited!" he declares, before going on to elaborate, "I get very nervous, even when we open, but more so with headliners. Like, everybody's looking at you! Before, if you were the opening band you could say whatever you wanted on stage - it could be really stupid, but if you saw the crowd were like, 'Eh?' you could be like, 'Give it up for Cute Is What We Aim For & Boys Like Girls' and people would scream and totally forget what I said that was stupid. Now that we're the headlining band there's no one I can say that's playing after us. So it's like...'OK...I'm stupid...'
It seems hard to imagine nerves as a factor in the band's pre-show routine, so we enquire just what the guys do in order to prepare for a show - headlining or otherwise.
"We do a little bit of singing together", explains Travis. "...and we have a little chant. There's a bobsled video - I don't know if you guys know what that is? You've got like little shoots and it's like ice and you just sit in this little thing..." As Travis tries to explain the concept of bobsled to us, we offer the 1993 comedy classic 'Cool Runnings' as an example. "Yeah! Exactly!" he exclaims excitedly "That's what the chant is from. So it goes - 'I see pride! I see power! I see a bad ass mother, who don't take no shit from nobody!' And then we go on stage. And it's awesome! That's crazy through, not a lot of people know 'Cool Runnings', I'm impressed. We did it in a video and when we showed people they were just like 'Oh...what's that from?'
Although the prospect of launching into a major 'Cool Runnings' related discussion is tempting, we move on to discuss the highs and lows of being on tour. True to his energetic nature, it doesn't seem that Travis can see many downsides to life on the road. He tells us how is favourite thing is the comraderie between the bands on tour.
"When we're over here we get to share buses because it's more efficient so we literally sleep side by side. Everybody usually finds the first night very hard and last night was that night. Everyone was kind of...around and so we went to the hotel bar for a little bit and then partied on the bus. The only thing that sucks is that the bus drivers sleep on the bus. So behind their seat is their little bunk and if you're coming in and out and stuff (which we were) you have to be careful. We were like running down the aisle and - we've got a double decker bus - so we were running upstairs and downstairs. The driver comes out and he's like 'Shut the HELL up!' He was so upset and so angry and we were so scared. He was like an angry parent! But yeah...we partied really hard last night and I think that's the best part; not only to be able to see all these different areas and different people and different cultures, but to do it with someone who shares the same dream."
Aside from annoying bus drivers and crashing Cobra Starship gigs, we ask Travis what else he enjoys about the UK?
"I love that it didn't rain in Scotland today! They said that we just missed like, four months of straight rain. Like, it literally didn't stop?
Vivalascene can attest that this is sadly true. However today the sun is shining brightly and it is clear that We The Kings have been making the most of their down time, before the tour kicks off.
"I don't know how it would be considered...like a town square? The walk-on-street? We went there, that was so awesome! I gave money to this dude who was playing the bagpipes with a little drummer boy and then I gave money to this dude doing magic. It was amazing. It was beautiful weather, it was so sunny. I have family over here in Scotland and for some reason they can't come to the States so it's like, my one and only chance to see them when I come over here."
The band has an impressive touring history under their belts - as well as previous dates in the UK; they have supported acts such as Cobra Starship and All Time Low as well as stints on the Vans Warped Tours and two successful headlining tours across the States. After playing to so many different age and culture groups, we wonder if the band ever notices a difference in the reactions fans from different countries give them.
"Yeah! Like, when you come over here I think people know it could be like the last time you ever come over, because the band could break up, or might stop touring, or might not do a new record. So when we come over here I always see the shows sell out a lot quicker. People seem generally more excited to see the band because they haven't seen them in so long. Y'know, if we play New York, we play New York like, six or seven times a year and we'll play the UK once, maybe twice, so people are just way more excited and it's cool to see.'
'In L.A., in California, there's always a huge amount of kids and the front two rows go absolutely insane and everybody else...it's almost like they're too cool for the music. You never see that over here. Some cities in the States are just like...'whatever' and it bums you out, because you wish they all had the same energy."
Not only are We The Kings purveyors of insanely catchy pop-punk songs, they also make a conscious effort to keep in touch with their fans when they're both on the road and in the studio, most notably through their video blog series, ''The Kings Carriage', posted on the band's YouTube page.
"Over here it's definitely a little harder (to keep in touch) because our internet is a little more sketchy and scarce." explains Travis. "Right now KFC has free internet so we're upstairs on that! It's awesome! We've all got Twitter and MySpace and Facebook and all the other internet outlets. We try our best to keep in contact. I have a blog - whoistravisclark.com. Actually I asked people of the UK what the weather would be like before I started packing. I didn't know if it'd be way too hot or if I'd need a jacket or anything and they told me what to bring. It was awesome. They said bring raincoats and lots of socks, so I brought raincoats and lots of socks!"
With a string of sold out headline shows mapped out before them and an army of dedicated fans back at home in the States, We The Kings have certainly come along way since the release of their major label debut back in 2007. However Travis found his band members (Hunter and Drew Thompson and Danny Duncan) whilst attending Martha Kings Middle School. Given the band name derives from the school were the met, it seems that growing up together has had a major influence on the band's direction.
"I actually have a song about that that.," agrees Travis. "We're writing a new record right now, well it's kind of already written, and I wrote a song and I think it's going to be called 'Dear Hunter, Danny and Drew'. The other guys in the band mean the world to me, they're my best friends and I couldn't have done anything I've done without them. I know a lot of bands break up and go through different problems but we don't fight about anything. We'll maybe fight about who ate the last apple - like really stupid things! But we'll almost be fist fighting because someone ate an apple or the last PB&J or the last spaghetti or whatever it is and then we'll realise it's such a stupid fight. Y'know other people fight about like girlfriend situations or money and fame and all this other stuff within the band and I don't think we have that. It's nice just to have a family on the road because you're always away from family so it's nice to have that brotherhood."
With lyrical inspiration taken care of, we're eager to find out what other musical acts influence We The Kings.
"I'm a huge fan of Jimmy Eat World, they're like my all time favourite band. My parents raised me on The Beatles and then when I started listening to music I got into blink-182 and Green Day and that's when I got into Jimmy Eat World. Even the bands we play with on tour, I'm influenced from being friends with them and loving their music for who they are and seeing how they made it and understanding they're music even more because I've seen how they made it.'
'Lately, because we've been doing the new record I've tried not to listen to anything. I think the last CD I got was either The Fray or Kings of Leon, but that was months ago. I try not to listen to anything because sometimes I'll listen to music and I'll write something and it'll sound exactly like something I was listening to. But we're almost done and once we've started recording I'll get back into the whole love of music. We're hoping to have the record out by August or September time."
So with new music to look forward to, and the prospect of an energetic show ahead of us, we ask Travis if there is anything else he'd like to add. He reaches for his keys and shows as a tartan key ring. "This is my family name - Macleod." he explains proudly. "I'm destined to find a Macleod in Scotland!" Unfortunately we were unable to come up with any suitable suggestions as to where Travis' long lost relatives could be found, so if anyone has any helpful information, then be sure to let him know!
COBRA STARSHIP
Picture the scene - it's May 2009 and the city of Cardiff is bathed in glorious sunshine. A small rainbow of kids has gathered outside the tour bus that is parked in front of Clwb Ifor Bach and the air buzzing with excitement. The reason? Nine months after originally scheduled, New York's very own Cobra Starship were finally back in UK. As the tour drew to an end, Vivalascene found a quiet corner in a Weatherspoons pub and caught up with bassist Alex Suarez before the Cardiff date to find out how the shows had been going so far.
"They've been amazing" he tells us. "Really great! We've been really shocked at the amazing turn outs. All the shows have been sold out; I think there was one show that didn't sell out by twenty tickets, so it's been awesome."
It comes as no surprise that so many of the shows have sold out, as this is a tour that has been a long time coming. The band was original scheduled for a full UK tour back in September 2008 - a tour that fell victim to hectic schedules and numerous time restraints. Sacrificing an international tour in favour of studio time (and a consequential US tour) certainly raised a few eyebrows amongst the UK fan base, yet many were appeased with the promise that Cobra would return in January 2009. As fate would have it, however, the dates would be pushed back yet again - this time with unavoidable reason. Undergoing surgery to combat a cyst on his vocal cords rendered front man Gabe Saporta unable to talk, let alone perform and thus the tour was again rescheduled for May.
"We weren't sure what to expect." explains Alex, when we asked how the band felt about the prospect of playing to crowds they had cancelled on twice. "We know a lot of people were bummed out at us but I think everyone was pretty understanding as to why we cancelled, because of Gabe's surgery and stuff. I think everybody just wanted everything to be alright. They'd rather see us later than not see us again."
As well as playing dates up and down the country, Cobra's current tour also saw them make an appearance at the annual Slam Dunk festival in Leeds. Held at the student union of Leeds University, Slam Dunk sees over forty bands play over six stages. This year's festival was headlined by Surrey's You Me At Six, with We The Kings, The Audition, Kids in Glass House, Hey Monday and Cash Cash also appearing on the main stage.
"That was awesome!" exclaims Alex, when we ask him about the band's set at the festival. "I didn't know what to expect and I guess it did really well. It was the biggest crowd they've had yet, it was like a 5,000 capacity and it sold out. It was awesome. We hung out with the You Me At Six guys. I think Max (Helyer, guitar) is really awesome. I guess he's the heart throb, I found that out later. I have a little crush on him.'
'My good friends in We The Kings were amazing! That was probably one of the best times I've ever seen them. It was insane; the whole place was going crazy. It's really awesome to see my friends doing so well in another country. They fucking killed it dude, it was great. They were probably one of my favourite sets."
Medical issues allowing, Cobra Starship are a band that lives for live performance. Prior to their appearance in the UK the band were to be found in the States, supporting Fall Out Boy on the Believers Never Die (Part Deux) tour.
"I think that was my favourite tour that we've EVER done." remarks Alex. The shows were so good and all of our friends were on tour. It was like the ultimate hang out tour. It wasn't long enough, it was only six weeks. I wish it could have gone on longer."
On the topic of live shows, seeing Cobra Starship perform is certainly all about having a good time. Touring the world and makes kids dance is what Cobra is all about, so we ask Alex if the band every notice a difference between the UK and the US crowds?
"Yeah absolutely. I think the shows are a little different here because you can drink at a younger age so the fans kind of go crazier. We get a lot more mosh pits here then we do over there. Everybody just loves it party here; I think everyone just loves to get wasted. It's kind of awesome."
With two successful albums under their collective belts (2006's 'While The City Sleeps We Rule The Streets' and sophomore offering 'iViva La Cobra!', released the following year), Cobra Starship are currently gearing up to release their third studio album, 'Hot Mess'. The first single to be taken from the album was recently posting on the band's Myspace page - collaboration with 'Gossip Girl' actress Leighton Meester, called 'Good Girls Go Bad'. We ask Alex to explain how this collaboration came about.
"Gabe is a big Gossip Girl fan and since he got into the show it was kind of a dream of his to do something with her. We know people that know people that know people. It's like - what is it…the six degrees of separation? It's not really that hard when you're in the industry because the music and television industries kind of coincide and we got in touch with her management and she was really into it. It's funny because I was just working on a remix of that song. That'll be pretty cool, I'm excited about it.'
'She was awesome (to work with). I only got to meet her when we did the video shoot for that song, which we're going to finish when we get back after this tour. She is really, really down to earth. I didn't know what to expect. She seems really nice and really chill and she WAS really nice and really chill."
We ask Alex if a date for the album's release has been set yet - and when we explain that records are usually released on a Monday in the UK, as opposed to Tuesdays in the States, an intensive discussion of release dates ensues.
"August 11th in the States but I don't know when the release is here", he ponders. "It might be the same day but they're usually different so I don't know. We do Tuesdays in America and I don't know why because Tuesdays suck. Tuesday is like the worst day. Wednesday would be even worse, so I hope it is Monday for you guys. Although Monday's not that good either… why don't they do Saturday? Like movies come out on Fridays in the States so you'd think it'd be like Friday. It'd be like new everything - it's Friday - end of the week! Let's go get wasted and let's go get the new CD and let's go see a movie! All in one day! It's great. Tuesdays?! Why Tuesdays? We can't change it either, I've already asked why records always come out on Tuesdays and nobody knows. It's the rules; it's been happening like that for years and years and years."
After establishing the complicated process of setting an album's release date (and confirmed that Friday is by far the best day in the week) we ask what we can expect from the next Cobra Starship record. With the band still coming together in and around the production of 'While The City Sleeps…' it wasn't until 'iViva La Cobra!' that a more honed and perfected Cobra sound was discovered. So will 'Hot Mess' be sticking with the electro infused pop rock of 'Viva…', or reverting back to the slightly heavier sound of the band's first album?
"It's a mix, it's blend, y'know? We have some rock, we have some dance, we have some pop, we have some trance…nah, I'm just kidding! I was trying to make that rhyme. It's a bit of everything. I think it's a nice modern collaboration of our first record and our second record because a lot of people missed our first record on our second record and a lot of people don't like our first record and love our second record. So we were like 'Hey! You know what? Let's just do one of these. (clasps hands together) Join forces and make a new.' We still have like two tiny little things to do and then we are almost done. We've already started mixing and stuff."
Alongside 'Good Girls Go Bad', a second new song can also be found streaming on the Cobra Starship MySpace page - the wittily titled 'Pete Wentz Is The Only Reason We're Famous'. As well as providing further clues as to the sound of Cobra's next record, the song has also given the band some new material to play on the road.
"We wanted to drop a new song before the (Believers Never Die) tour, because our record was delayed and we didn't have a set release date. A couple of months before we were like 'Hey, I think we're going to do it in the summer', so we were like 'We should play a new song on this tour!' That song was pretty much one of the first finished ones and it's just got so much energy and we thought it would be so much fun to do live. It's kind of like Prostitution Is Revolution, Smile For The Paparazzi and Guilty Pleasure all rolled into one big thing."
Sticking to the true Cobra mentality of refusing to take anything (especially themselves) seriously, the title of 'Pete Wentz…' is clearly a nod to critic's comments questioning the bands validity and 'fame'. We ask Alex just how the name came about, and if comments such as this bother him at all?
"Well, in a way it's almost kind of true. We went to write in the mountains in Pennsylvania which is right next to New Jersey which is right next to New York. So it's about five six hours from home. We went out and locked ourselves in a cabin and we were finishing writing our record. We put up a web cam that went to stickam.com and there was a chat room that also went along with it so we were talking to kids on there. Of course we had like eighteen gallons of wine that we drank every night - it was awesome. So this girl was like 'Whatever, Pete Wentz is the only reason you guys are famous' and we're like 'Yes! Thank you - genius! We have to use that for a song title.' I mean…Pete first signed us to his label and Snakes On A Plane was the first thing that really jumped started us, although that doesn't have much to do with Pete. I don't think so anyway. So I mean it's not totally false but it is fun to play on it. He's pretty stoked on it!
In between writing, recording and performing, the band has recently set up CobraCamTV, a series of online webisodes that can be found on the band's official website. From tour footage to crazy skits a new episode of CobraCamTV is premiered every Monday. It happens to be a Tuesday when we meet Alex, so we ask him about this week's episode - episode eight.
"We did a double decker when we were back home. It's another tour video but it's really funny. It's kind of crazy, we watched it last night. Jack The Camera Guy who tours with The Academy Is… was out with us and he is so creative. He would come up with an idea and we would all get together and come up with all the jokes. The surgery video - that one was my favourite. When we were spraying Nate in the face, I was the one spraying it and I fucking died every time. They were like 'Spray it harder' and you can see his hair go up because it's like a huge pump spray and it just blew right in his face. The sports casters guys with me and Ryland - Vincent Twice - that one was hilarious as well."
Humour certainly seems to be a major factor in the world of Cobra Starship, with their live performances not only being expertly crafted musically, but also providing hands down unbeatably awesome entertainment. A fun filled dance party from start to finish, we ask Alex what his favourite part of a Cobra show is.
"Either 'Pete Wentz…' or 'Smile For The Paparazzi'. I get my sweet little maraca solo in that. We have a little thing going on, it's good fun" he explains, referring to ultra coordinated maraca toss he has going on with a stage tech. "When we were on the Believers Never Die tour we were on a really big stage. I usually have a really good judge of like distance, and how far it throw it back without looking but I just overshot this one and it landed right on Metro Station's cymbal, right when the cue hit. It was right on time. It was awesome. Maybe I had that planned out after all…I didn't really, but I'll tell people that I did!"
Before we bid our farewells and allow Alex is get back to his 'Good Girls Go Bad' remix (and maraca toss practice) we ask if there is anything else he'd like to add.
"We're really excited to be here, we're having an awesome tour" he beams. "We were kind of like 'Oh I'm so tired…' after doing a six week tour of the US and then to come over here and do an international two week tour but then we got over here and the shows have all been so awesome. This has been one of our favourite times here, it's been fantastic!"
ALL TIME LOW
This morning Bella caught up with All Time Low drummer Rian Dawson to save him from plummeting to his death, and for a quick chat about their new record and what's coming up for the band...
Bella: Hey. How are you?
Rian: I'm good. How you doin?
B: Great! Where in the world are you right now?
R: We are in.. Buffalo, New York in the United States.
B: Aw, Damn. I love Buffalo.
R: Really? That's a weird place to love.
B: I do. I have friends there. It's not that weird. It's a nice city.
R: Ohh. Okay. Actually, right before you called I was with a bunch of my crew members figuring out whether or not we could jump off the hotel balcony into the pool.
B: What!? Did you pull it off?
R: Ahhh. Not yet. It was probably good that you called so we couldn't actually test our theories.
B: Alright good. I'm a life saver. Wouldn't want you to pull out of tour due to death. You're doing Believers Never Die right now, yeah?
R: Haha. Yes I am.
B: Is tour Treating you well? Have you road-tested any of the new material?
R: This tour has been, I can safely say, my favourite tour that we've ever been on in our whole career. I dunno, Fall Out Boy have been the greatest dudes in the world. They've been super nice to us, super humble and down-to-earth. It's just been fun every day and like a party every night. Yeah, we got to play, we released our single called 'Weightless' online about a month ago, so we've played that live every night it's kind of like a breath of fresh air for us, you know? Because we've been playing the same songs a year or two in a row. We still love to play them, but it's good to play something new.
B: Yeah, for sure. So, what's the response been like?
R: It's actually been really good. When we first started playing it we didn't know if people would grab onto it because it had only been out for a few weeks but, it's actually one of the more popular songs right now. I think the kids sorta feel the same way that we feel, that it's a breath of fresh air, it's good to see something that they haven't seen before. I think it's been a set favourite.
B: Sweet. Are you ready for some album plugging?
R: Who's album am I plugging? Ours? Yeah! You wanna hear about that?
B: We do. It's always a big question when the new full length comes out after a successful major label debut. Have you found it easy to shrug off the dreaded curse of the 'sophmore slump'?
R: I'm more confidant in this record than I've ever been in any of our other records. It's still, it's a lot of pressure I guess because now kids have an idea of what they want you to sound like. If you don't live up to that it can be kind of harsh, but I think the good thing about this record, one of the MANY good things about this record is that it has something for everyone, there's plenty of songs that still sound like 'So Wrong, It's Right' or 'Put Up Or Shut Up' then there's songs that branch off from that a little bit, we kind of explored different lyrics. One of the problems with 'So Wrong, It's Right' we felt like it was maybe a little bit one dimensional, I'd say. Aside from one or two songs they were all kind of the same: really fast, up-beat, songs.
Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, end. That's cool, but with the second record we were like 'Alright, we'll stick some of that in there, mix it in with some of these other things and see what comes out' And honestly, I listen to it all the time. [laughs] so I dunno. If that's any prediction for what it's going to be like.. then it's a good thing.
B: Uh huh. So you worked with Butch walker? He's a bit of a musical Midas right? He's got a reputation for touching music and turning it to gold. Was it daunting working with him?
R: Well, going in [to the studio] with a new producer is always the weirdest thing in the world, because you've never met this person who you're going to make a song with them, which is a huge deal. I'd say Butch was one of the best guys to work with. He was so unbelievably comforting and you kinda felt at home while you were there, it was a really cool experience. He wasn't at all in your face like 'do this or do that'. If he didn't like something he'd just say 'why don't we try this, if it doesn't work, we can go back to it'. He was really just watching over, he wasn't directing.
B: Awesome. Is there anything particular that's on 'Nothing Personal' that you haven't used before? Any new instruments been brought in?
R: Uhh. No, it's more.. [awkward pause] it might be a dirty word, but there's maybe a couple of beats on this record. The intro to 'Weightless' has an electronic drum beat, but it's definitely not a beat heavy record. Other than that, it's just more of the song writing that's matured, there's not new instruments, but as far as song writing goes, I think we've learned how to do it better.
B: Adding beats and things, how important was it that your songs from the album translated from a stereo to the stage?
R: Very. We've already played around with a few ideas of how we're going to translate them live. It'd be cool to maybe play with a drum machine or a backing track with drum beats and what-not. But otherwise, we kinda agreed that when it comes time for tour, we'll take time and really go through and figure out exactly how we want to play them live. It's always been one of our favourite parts of the band- figuring how songs will sound the best for a live show. It's always fun to work out.
B: Are there any collaborations on the new album?
R: As far as guest appearances, there are none. There was talk of a few things happening, but without saying too much - the fact that Blink-182 got back together kind of got in the way of a few of them. [thoughtful pause] We co-wrote a song with Mark Hoppus and that was an awesome experience. It was actually the first song written for the record. But when it came time to record the song we realised that it didn't really fit, and as bad as we wanted to have it on the record, we unfortunately had to put it aside for now.
B: Damn. Maybe a b-side eventually?
R: Exactly. I would love to hear it come to life, but right now it's kind of just in demo form. Really, just the experience alone made it worth it. I'm sure one day we'll be able to share it with everyone but the fact that we got to sit down and write a song with Mark Hoppus was just..
B: Massive? That's a Pretty huge deal.
R: Right. It really was.
B: So you can tick Mark off your list. Is there anyone else that you dream of one day having on an All Time Low record?
R: Ha.. That would be the main one but. I don't know. One thing I've wanted to do, as a drummer, is work with Travis Barker. But you don't really hear about drum collaborations like that on records often.
B: No, maybe you should start that trend.
R: [laughs] Yeah! Right, maybe I could get that going!.. But other than that. We're huge fans of Green Day. Huge fans of Maroon 5, One Republic recently. Those guys just KNOW how to write a song. So if I could get a few people from each, they're really different kinds of bands. When you're sitting with another guy that good at writing songs, what comes out is truly cool.
B: Is that the kind of stuff you were listening to while recording? What else did you listen to?
R: That's a good question. I think that has a lot to do with the way this record came out. With the last record, and pretty much everything before that it was mainly Blink-182 and New Found Glory, all the pop punk stuff. And now we're still listening to all of that, but throwing a lot more diverse stuff into the mix. We're all definitely branching lot to like I said Maroon 5, Jason Mraz, uhh. Taylor Swift even. Rascal Flatts. Even if the genre doesn't lend its self, you can learn a lot from their structure by just listening to great song writers.
B: Jason Mraz was just here, playing major chilled out sets to people sitting in a park. Is that where we'll see All Time Low next? Reggae flavour?
R: Haha. I'd pretty much do anything to get on tour with Jason Mraz. The girl who did our lights on this past Fall tour, she's out working now with him right now.
B: Ooh. Bit jealous?
R: I'm as jealous anything! I was like 'do you need an assistant? I'll come and do whatever you want.' [laughs]
B: Have you got any new Musical gems you'd recommend people listen to?
R: Aside from the regular popular stuff? I'm gonna skip over that 'cause people already know that.. Maybe a little more underground stuff. hm. We're on tour right now with Hey Monday and going into the tour, we'd met them before and played a couple of shows with them but I'd never really listened to their record. I popped it in and had a listen and I loved it. I really think that Cassadee, the singer, has such a good voice. It sounds way better live than on C.D. Watching them live has been really cool, so I'd definitely recommend them. Our manger also manages Set Your Goals and every day I ask him 'Have you got the new Set Your Goals record, because that thing is just gonna kill'. I am so excited for it.
B: Oh. Hey. That's a perfect segue into - You're touring Australia very soon. With. Set Your Goals. How excited are you about that?
R: Yeah, that's right! I'm SO excited. Those guys... ha. It's kind of a funny story actually. Before we even met them, and before our manager Keith was managing them, we were touring.. I don't know where it was. This was a really small tour. We were still in the van. Our tour manager was making a tour video, just going around and recording all the time and every time he was recording me, I happened to be listening to Set Your Goals. So as a joke, he put the video on line with the text: 'Dear Set Your Goals, if any of you watch this video, please send Rian an autographed Tee shirt. He's your biggest fan. Love, All Time Low.' and so, I got an e-mail from, I think their drummer and ever since then we've been really good friends with them. We've gotten to do a few shows with them; we were on Warped Tour with them. They're just the nicest guys in the world. It's kind of neat because their sound is a little more raw, a little bit harder than us, but their fans and ours, when we play shows together, it really works out okay.
B: What a love story! Having been to Australia before, can you sum up the country in three words?
R: [quickly, after a short pause] It's. Fucking. Awesome.
B: Good answer!
R: I think one of the best parts of playing overseas, and Australia is a perfect example of this, is that, seeing as you don't have as many big tours there, especially of American bands, the kids enjoy the shows so much more because they don't get them that often. So, they just put every ounce of themselves into that show. It's really great.
B: I don't know if you found when you were here last, that a lot of kids in Australia will do the entire tour, because they've been waiting so long just to see that one band?
R: Yeah! It's really cool, to go out there and see the same faces. We fly everywhere when we're in Australia, so we don't know how long the drives are, but you fly for three hours, you land and see those faces and you're like 'You people actually like us?' It's really.. It's kind of. It's flattering really. It's like 'Wow. You did all this just for a couple of bands?' It shows that love and appreciation of music and it makes us on stage play harder and put every bit of us into it too.
B: Hey, so you know, for future reference, the average drive between capital cities over here is about eight, nine hours.
R: See, like America has people excited that they drove two hours to see your last show. They're like.. 'We drove all the way from.. New Jersey to New York to see you guys!' That's awesome but...
B: …You need to tough it out with the Australian kids.
R: That's exactly right; we're a bit spoiled over here. That's what's I'll tell em.
B: Amazing. I've been saying it for years. So, I'm gonna let you go, but before I do. Lets finish on a trivial note. Final question Rian. If you were to liken yourself to a breakfast cereal, what would it be and why?
R: [without hesitation] I would be Cinnamon Life. And I will tell you why. Because I think that Cinnamon Life, is the only cereal that- after sitting in milk for a while, it might go a bit soggy, but it still tastes just as good soggy. And plus, then the milk's gone all cinnamony and nice.
B: Uh. Wow. That didn't take any thought at all. Confident cereal answer. Have you been asked that before?
R: Hahaha. No, I was just about to say. I feel like that was scripted, but. It totally wasn't.
B: That totally threw me. I expected to have to give you thinking music and BAM. Answer.
R: Just, Zack had some Cinnamon Life the other day, and I said the same thing. You know, I just remember as a kid, eating cereal and you watch some T.V for ten minutes, come back and it's still alright!
B: Brilliant. Thanks a bunch for that. I will see you next month when you get down here. Stay out of the pool.
R: Thank YOU. Good talking to you!
VERSAEMERGE
The venue for tonight's show is King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, an intimate spot in the centre of Glasgow, outside of which we meet Sierra Kusterbeck, vocalist of the latest addition to the Fueled by Ramen family - Versaemerge.
As we settle in the small upstairs dressing room there is a real family feel to this tour, with various members of tonight's line-up wandering in and out. With the aim of showcasing up and coming bands, the Give It A Name Introducing tour often gives band's their British live debut. So, how have Versaemerge been enjoying their first time in the UK?
"It's amazing," beams Sierra "The drive here was so scenic. It's majestic! It was like, mountains...I've never seen mountains like that, they were just like really big hills and there was sheep! It was the prettiest thing I've ever seen, it was so green. It was hot too; the sun was right on me!"
This is true; spring had undoubtedly sprung on this Easter Sunday, bathing the city is a warm, albeit rarely seen sunlight. It certainly made for a pleasant change from the incessant rain. Weather anecdotes aside, we move on to talk about the previous dates of the tour - London, Cardiff & Sheffield.
"The shows have been awesome! We've played three so far and the kids here respond really well. They're all really cool and the accents are amazing. The shows are just so fun. We've been playing awesome venues and it's surprising how many kids come out and know our stuff. It's like "You're on the other side of the world and you know I am!" It's awesome, I love it."
So it seems that nice weather and a great reception make for a very happy band! Versaemerge are still a relatively new creation, yet with two EP's and an ever-growing fan-base to their name there is no doubt that big things are set to come. A quick Internet search quickly flags up plenty of comments about the band's unwavering willingness to spend time with their fans before and after shows, an unassuming quality that is sure to set them apart from their counterparts. Vivalascene are interested to find out how this charming band came together and Sierra was more than happy to tell us.
"Blake (Harnage, guitar and vocals) and Anthony (Martone, drums) met in high school and Anthony and they just started jamming together. They started all these different bands and then it got to Versaemerge and they had a guy singer. They had some member changes and then I came into the band. Before me Devin (Ingelido, bass) came in and then after me Jerry (Pierce, guitar) came in. So Blake and Anthony have been like the core and we've just randomly scrambled and that's how we got to about now. Right as we all got together; about a year ago, Blake and I started writing immediately. We released our first EP, "Perceptions" and then that started getting some buzz and then we eventually got signed, wrote our second EP and released it on Fueled by Ramen and here we are!"
"Versaemerge", the band's self-titled, major label debut was released in February 2009 and reached #44 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. "It's been doing surprisingly well, it's really cool," remarks Sierra. The six track EP opens with the instrumental "Theatrics", providing an introduction that sets the tone of what's to follow in both name and sound. Sierra agrees there is an undeniable cinematic aspect to their music.
"Blake loves movie scores and film scores in general. He absolutely loves them and he loves big orchestral type things and he takes a lot of influence from that. Him being the main music writer, that's definitely the feel [of the music]. We really like the cinematic emotion of a movie so we kind of want to incorporate that emotional feel into our music the best we can. It's really, really cool that you can watch a movie and it can have a shitty plot but the music makes you kind of like...on edge."
So, are there any films out there that Versaemerge would love to write a song for?
"We're actually pushing one of our songs to a movie right now!" reveals Sierra excitedly. It's called 'Jennifer's Body' and it comes out sometime in 2009. It's like a funny, horror type thing and so we did a cover song for that. Hopefully it gets chosen because that would be really cool!"
This somewhat haunting sound adds an extra dimension to their music and makes it hard to pin Versaemerge to a specific genre. This is reflected in the band's touring resume which boasts an extensive range of very different bands. What has the band gained from touring with such a wide-range of bands?
"Our second tour was with a band called "Our Last Night" and that was really different because it's a totally different genre so you've got totally different kids coming to a show and seeing you. It's really cool 'cause you get different kids there that probably wouldn't choose to listen to us. We expose them to us. Sometimes they like it and that's really cool!"
"Then we went on tour with a couple of metal bands - "Oh, Sleeper" and "Once Nothing"; they're a southern hardcore band and "Spoken" who are like an old hardcore band. It's definitely interesting because we're usually the youngest and they were a lot older and they'd been doing this for a long time. We just learned how to do things yourself and don't take things for granted, y'know? You could be in a van for your whole career and never get to ride in a bus or sometimes kids just don't like it and you don't make as much money - it happens. You just gotta work really hard."
" Then we went on tour with We The Kings and The Maine and The Cab and that's like a big pop tour - so we go from playing shows with metal bands where there's like ten kids to 1,500 kids, like screaming girls and it's just like "Wow!" It was really weird but it taught us so much, it really did."
It's an undeniably eclectic bunch and vivalascene wonders if the band has a favourite band to go on tour with?
"We went on tour with this band called The Arrival - they're not signed but they're amazing, you should check them out! So we went on tour with The Arrival and Eye Alaska and we made such good friends with those guys. You always find one person on tour that you click with and you stick with them the whole time but all of us clicked and every day after the show we just stood out in the parking lot for hours and just laughed about everything."
As such an extensive touring schedule would suggest, Versaemerge's live performance has become a powerhouse of pure energy and passion. But how would Sierra describe to a newcomer?
"I would describe it as just really energetic and hopefully you don't get bored watching it, because then you find yourself not even listening! We all have really strong characters and really strong personalities and I think that really shows in each of us individually. It's really cool, I mean I'm up there so I don't get to see it but I see videos and stuff and if it has the right energy and good atmosphere from the crowd then it's a really fun show."
So far 2009 has certainly been very good to Versaemerge and so our chat turns to plans for the rest of the year. Is there a full-length record in the works?
"Yes. We will be touring, touring, touring. We're doing all of Warped Tour for the whole summer so that'll be really fun. While we're doing that we're gonna be working on the full length; writing and sorting things out. We'll hopefully be releasing a full length early next year. "
As well as dates all around the UK as part of the "Introducing" tour, Versaemerge are also confirmed to play the main Give It A Name festival, held in London and Manchester. Are there any bands on the impressive line-up that Sierra is particularly looking forward to catching?
"I'm looking forward to seeing UnderOATH and Taking Back Sunday. I know Emery's on it; I'd love to see Emery. I think I read The Aquabats...or maybe that was GroezRock. I keep getting them confused. I think it would be fun to see them. There's a lot I'd love to see!"
As our conversation draws to an end we move away from the proper questions and begin to chat about accents.
"We've been practicing our accents," explains Sierra, launching into an English impression. "Except they keep getting mixed up because apparently they sound like lots of different things. After I start talking like it for a while I realise I sound Australian..."
We hate to inform Sierra that she does sound just a tiny bit Australian, although she doesn't seem to mind. Indeed, nothing seems to faze this lovely young lady, who will later take to the stage and command the attention of the crowd like a pro. After asking if there is anything else she'd like to add ("Sex, Drugs & Rock'n'Roll - that's what we're all about! All at the same time! No...Just 'thank you!' And hopefully we'll come back to the UK soon because it is amazing and very different and very neat."), we say our goodbyes and make our way back downstairs, firmly convinced that we might just have met one of the most down-to-earth front persons in today's scene. Versaemerge definitely have a promising career ahead of them and vivalascene urges you to check them out this summer on Warped Tour - no excuses!
LIGHTS
Meet LIGHTS - the Canadian electro-pop superhero that is on a mission to conquer the world with her quirky and infectious beats. As we settle a quiet corner of King Tut's Wah Wah Hut and Light's eagerly pins one of our badges to her top, we are keen to find out how she first got into music.
"I was eleven" she explains. "Basically I was a home schooled kid up until high school. My Dad is the musical parent and one day a week he would take over and that would be our music day and I always really looked forward to that day. I just started playing guitar and wrote my first song when I was eleven. I bought an eight track recording unit because I had more ideas, like I had all these production ideas so I bought a little eight track and started laying down stuff. I think the first song was called "Saturn's Rings" and it was like this synth-pop-inspired by Thumbelina. I just kind of progressed with that over the course of the past ten years."
Light's is a solo artist in every aspect of the phrase; playing every instrument on her debut self-titled EP herself, as well as creating the artwork for its promotion. As well as highlighting her extensive creative talent, it also ensures that her songs sound exactly how she wants them to.
"Some of them I'll work with a friend. There are a few songs on the EP that I worked with friends and so they'll engineer it while I produce the music and stuff. It all just started really very organically, just my own ideas and I found that you can get your ideas across much easier when there's fewer people involved because then the main ideas get lost and people shut things down. I get my vision across easier when it's just me!"
So where does Light's get her inspiration from?
"Generally songs come from me being super bummed out. That's when all my best songs come out. It's kind of unfortunate because you listen back and you remember those moments, but the song that came out of it is me trying to look at things in the positive light, just trying to cheer myself up. In a way it's kinda like bittersweet playing these songs every night. It really spawns from moments of intense oppressed emotion. If it doesn't come in like an hour or two hours, like the bulk of the song then you can't ever finish it. That emotion's gone and it's the kind of thing that has to happen really fast, you have to catch it; it's like a special moment."
After securing a record deal in August 2008, Lights received her first major recognition in March 2009 when she was awarded a Juno Award - a massive achievement for an artist with only a six-song EP to her name.
"They're like the Canadian Grammys and it was for 'Best New Artist" she tells us, when we ask Lights about the Junos. "I mean, I don't have a full length record out yet so it's kind of crazy because there are only really six songs out there that people know. I was not expecting to be called and I was and it was crazy!"
After such an exciting six months, we ask what the next year holds for Lights? Is there a full-length in the works?
"It's done!" she exclaims with a smile. "It's coming out in the last week in August! I'm so excited and I'm really, really proud of it. Four songs are going to go over from the EP and then eight new ones. It's cool! I'm going to play some of my new stuff tonight!"
It's clear that Light's is looking forward to the show tonight. The tour must be going well then?
"Yeah! It's the fourth night of the tour, but this is the first tour ever here and its first time in Scotland ever so it's really exciting! (The shows) have been great, they've been fantastic. What's surprising me is although a lot of people have never heard me there's a few who really like me here. It's cool to know that there are no rules to this, I've never released anything here but yet people have still heard of me through the internet so it's amazing. It's really cool coming here, having never played here and never having released anything and there's people that know the songs."
As our chat draws to a close, Lights asks us if we'd seen her video to current single "Ice". We have and suggest you check it out. Featured on her MySpace and made entirely by Light's herself (with a little help from her live band) the video is testament not only to Lights' sense of fun, but also to her extensive creativity.
"I'm actually going to make an official video; that was meant to be sort of a viral thing so I'm making an official one!" she tells us excitedly. "I'm so stoked on the idea that I'm not going to say it because I want it to hit people when it comes out. It's really cool. I'll say 'hit' literally. You'll know what that means when it comes out!"
Her flair for art can also be seen in the comic strip she regularly updates on her official website.
"I love comics!" she says when we ask about the idea behind the comic. "I knew I had to make a bio and I didn't want to do a normal bio so I thought I'd do a comic bio. So I kind of illustrated my life in a sci-fi way and when I'd finally done all ten pages and printed it and saw it in my hand, it was such a satisfying feeling. I'm going to continue the comic strip!"
Lights is currently on the Give It A Name Introducing tour and will also appear at the main Give It A Name Festival in Manchester and London. She will appear on the entire Warped Tour and will be back in the UK to play The Great Escape festival. Be sure to head out and support her if you get the chance - you won't be disappointed.
YOU ME AT SIX
Its 6:30pm in Glasgow, Scotland and the queue outside the legendary Barrowlands Ballroom is massive. Snaking almost right around the building, this is fan dedication at its finest. The band everyone's here to see? Well, that'll be You Me At Six. The quintet from Surrey, England seems to be nigh unstoppable at the moment; a success that can be attributed not only to their debut album packed with infectious pop-punk anthems but also their dedicated touring schedule. Take their current tour for example - the sold-out 7: 7: 7 tour. Seven shows, in seven cities, in seven days. Vivalascene were lucky enough catch up with vocalist Josh Franceschi, lead guitarist Chris Miller and rhythm guitarist Max Helyer as the tour came through Glasgow.
"It doesn't feel like it..." ponders Max, when we tell him they're about half-way through their whistle-stop tour of Britain.
"Yeah, it's a short tour, so it's kinda weird" remarks Josh,"We're finding the days just flying by like, really, really fast. Birmingham was amazing on Saturday, probably the highlight of our band's career, like that was amazing. Last night wasn't so great. I jumped off something and landed like that..." Josh twists his ankle to the side, re-enacting his injury from the night before. "I've been deep freezing my ankle all day just trying to get this bad boy sorted for tonight. It's getting better like, before I couldn't even walk on it but I can walk on it now."
"I had a bottle of wine last night. There was nothing they could give me for it, so it was just like "I'm not been funny but if you want to not feel it, just get drunk". I don't usually drink so I had a bottle of wine and I was gone."
In October the band completed their first full headline tour off the back of their debut full-length, "Take Off Your Colours" - a tour which saw them sell out the iconic London Astoria. So have the band noticed a difference in the crowds that have been coming out for the 7: 7: 7 tour?
"There's a lot more people" says Max, as Josh agrees,
"Yeah, there's a lot more people and like, there's a lot of older people coming. They're not queuing up like the younger girls and the younger guys, y'know, hours and hours before the show but like, I'm looking out into the audience and I'm thinking there's some older people there. Max brought his clothing company with him on the tour and they've got a mailing list and they have to put their age [when they sign up] and I went through it today and there's nothing below 17. It's our kind of age group so it's getting a bit older and stuff so that's cool."
With two headline tours under their belts, the band has certainly had a chance to reflect on their debut album. So, is there anything they would like to change on the record, given the chance?
"There's always that thing of like, you can't sit around thinking "Aw, y'know, what could I change about these songs" otherwise you'd be changing the songs forever..." remarks Josh, before Chris continues,
"You can go back like, a million times and keep changing it and you'll still listen to it and be saying "I wish I did this, I wish I did that" so..."
"I'm proud of what we've done..." says Josh, "...it's done well considering like, everything that's gone on. We've done 25,000 copies in this country...
"26,000..." Chris informs him."
"26,000 now, sorry, so that's pretty cool considering...I know it's not like, y'know, the biggest sales, but for a band that didn't really have any expectations to sell 25,000 on their first run so far is pretty cool man."
And it definitely is a debut to be proud of, boasting singles such as "You've Made Your Bed (So Sleep In It)" and "Save It For The Bedroom". After the success of "Take Off Your Colours", have the band been writing new material whilst on the road?
"We've written a lot actually," explains Josh. "I think actually, I'm kind of glad we just kinda got on with it, because I think that way, because we just started writing, there's no pressure in our heads to write new songs cause we're already writing at the moment. I think it's better than being told "Right, you've got a month to write an album", just writing as you go."
Max continues, "we pretty much just came off the last tour of the UK and started writing, just to keep it going. We always constantly write, we always bring in new ideas and try and keep it fresh. I'm looking forward to it [the second album], because we've had songs on the first album for a year, like "The Rumour" and "Gossip" were written a long time ago so it'll be nice for people to hear some new songs that have been written in the space of six months."
So what is the writing process like for You Me At Six? Josh explains that is usually a group effort.
"It varies, like, sometimes we have somebody that comes in with a riff, but most of the writing gets done by us, us three, and then we go and show the other two and they put their bits to it."
As our time draws to a close, with only five minutes to go before the doors open and the patient crowd outside are let into the warmth of the venue, we ask Josh, Max and Chris to each come up with a word to describe You Me At Six. Chris jumps straight in with the simple, yet effective "rock!" After a bit of conferring Max offers "Ball-bags, because it makes everyone laugh." (which is confirmed as an accurate description by bassist Matt Barnes as he passes our corner of the dressing room.)
"I reckon fun...fun-loving" muses Chris
"Yeah," agrees Max "...a fun-loving, happy band..."
"...that you can relate to" concludes Chris.
"I was talking to this lady last night" chimes in Josh, "and I got a word off her that I hadn't heard in a while: dogmatic. I'm into that word 'cause it's got quite a serious vibe and it's funny to say as well. Dogmatic"
So there we have it. You Me At Six - a fun-loving, happy, dogmatic band. The guys are currently scheduled to headline The Slam Dunk festival in Leeds, before heading out to take America by storm. Check them out on The Vans Warped Tour in August, as well a fifteen date US tour before hand - dates to be announced shortly. Lovely guys with brilliant music, You Me At Six are definitely a band to catch live, so if they hit up a city near you be sure to head out and support them.
BROADWAY CALLS
Shivering we stood in the car park behind Rock City waiting for Broadway Calls to finish loading up after the Nottingham stop on Alkaline Trio's Agony and Irony '09 tour. Eventually the Portland natives appear and we follow Josh Baird; the drummer of the band, toward their van to begin interviewing. However before we can even sit down we have the dubious pleasure of witnessing the singer and guitarist, Ty Vaughn, relieving himself in the corner in that way that only a man can. (There were toilets maybe 50 feet inside the door!) When we reach the van door we are greeted by band bassist, Matt Koenig, offering a packet of stale Jaffa cakes and stuffing 2 in his mouth.
Add in to all this that its Valentines Day and Viva La Scenes 7th show of the tour, you have a very strange beginning to an interview.
With a shrug we bundle into the back of the van to question the Oregon Trio.
VLS: You're currently on tour with Alkaline Trio and The Audition, how's it going?
Matt: Its going great!! Were really enjoying touring with Alkaline Trio and The Audition, it's been a lot of fun.
VLS: A blog Ty has written says that he sent a text to a member of Alkaline Trio asking if you could join them on this tour, is that true?
Ty: Yes, that really is what happened. I text Dan when I heard about this tour and asked if we could join them and he said sure.
VLS: At the end of your sets you often ask the audience for somewhere to stay for the night, do you every worry you wont find anywhere?
Josh: Not really, I mean, we'll just sleep in the van. We always have a back up.
VLS: Do you have any horror stories about places you've stayed?
ALL: laughs
Josh: From this tour? Or?
VLS: Ever
Josh: There was this, when we did the All Time Low tour, in L... I'm not going to say the city...
All: laughs
Matt: Rhymes with...
Ty: It was on this Island!
Josh: It was on this island and it rhymes with...
VLS: Ok then…
ALL: laughs
Matt: We stayed at a really messy flat…….. *insert cringe worthy story here*
Ty: Were not going to go into any more detail…edit that *edited*
Josh: I had another horror story
Ty: From this tour?
Josh: No.
Ty: We had to kick out a guitar player, that was another horrible thing.
Josh: We flew him home, from half our tour.
Ty: It ended up being a great thing, but, like, the week leading up to it was awful. Just, really uncomfortable, awkwardness in the van the whole time.
A really bizarre comment comes from Josh and the whole van bursts into laughter.
Matt: Next question! NEXT question!!
Josh: You don't want to hear about that??
ALL: laughs
VLS: Anyway!
Matt: Moving on!
VLS: How do UK audiences compare to US ones?
Matt: Not good.
Ty: Yeah.
Josh: They seem puzzled. Same for The Audition (second band on the bill) I think they're just, well for this tour, they have, like, cult fans that are die hard…Trio fans.
Matt: There for Trio
Josh: Not there (for us), they don't care to see. I mean there's a few, y'know, a few people that care to see other bands, but, the majority, I mean. But we play different kind of shows in the US. Y'know there's no barricade, and we can…
Matt: So it's not really fair to compare it in that sense. Yeah, like the smaller club and basement style shows that we play in the states have a different vibe, just because, they're different. This is a huge stage with a barricade.
VLS: So did you prefer the Cathouse? (The after show venue in Glasgow)
All: Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely.
Matt: oooo that was definitely fun.
Josh: Yeah, that was the most fun we'd had in the UK I think.
Ty: No, the Peel in Kingston I think .
Matt: Definitely, yeah, because that's a small stage and a really cool room.
Ty: And like a real show.
Matt: That was a lot of people, fill it up quick.
Josh: Those two shows were awesome, it was good to play in a smaller venue.
VLS: Is there anywhere you haven't played but would like to?
Josh: Er…Wembley.
All: laughs
Matt: The Isle of Wight, didn't The Who play there?
Ty: I'd like to go to Australia and Japan, both of those places would be awesome.
Matt: Oh so it doesn't have to be UK relevant?
VLS: No, any where
Josh: We had an offer for Japan on this tour, but we would have had to cancel 4 dates, but that would have been rude of us.
Matt: So we didn't. I would of like to have been able to play CBGB's in New York. Never even saw it.
Ty: Its er, a Louis Vuitton store now? Is it? No, what is it?
Matt: I don't know.
Ty: It's the guy that designs for converse, John Varvatos?
Matt: Oh yeah, yeah.
Ty: Yeah he has his own store there.
Matt: Wow. Pretty punk.
VLS: You seem to tour a lot, do you ever get home sick? And if you do how do you cope?
Matt: We write an album.
All: Laughs
Ty: Make calls.
All: laughs
Ty: Err I don't know, call the people that you miss. That's the biggest thing.
VLS: Do you get home sick much?
Ty: Only once on this tour, in er, in Munich I got home sick. But other than that, all fun.
Matt: Emails help and things like postcards, for as like slow as they are when you hear that somebody got one that's pretty cool. Y'know days later.
VLS: What do your friends and families think about you all being away so much?
Ty: They're proud of us, they know were doing what we wanna do, so its not an issue.
Josh: They're happy for us. They care a lot.
Matt: There's a lot of support from my family, especially as bigger things start happening. Its like 'oh Matt's not just fucking around, he's actually doing something'
Ty: Yeah, the holidays are so awkward any more. My uncles and stuff actually care instead of saying 'why don't you come hunting with us? pussy'
VLS: You hunt?
Ty: NOPE!
All: laughs
Josh: Our families do.
Moving on to a little history of the band and a question that's been bugging us for a while...
VLS: Why the name Broadway calls? Are any of you trying to get to Broadway?!
Lots of ers and erms
Josh: theres a…er..
Matt: You came up with it.
Josh: I did? I did. There's a band called The Decemberists, from Portland, and there's a song called 'I was meant for the stage' If you read the lyrics, er, Broadways another name for stage, y'know.
Matt: Its our calling.
Josh: Like that really good band called The Calling.
VLS: So your not planning to be a Thespian?
Josh: No. No that's stupid.
Ty: Does it smell like something's burning?
The interview pauses for a brief worry about a smell of burning suddenly present in the van. Since Matt is nearest to the front he goes to check out the smell while the rest of the band fire questions at him about the smell...
VLS: So that's the next question then, haha, Matt, is something burning??
It was decided that no nothing was burning, we don't think...
VLS: How did Broadway Calls get started?
Ty: Josh and I met when we were 12 playing baseball.
Josh: Yeah, undefeated!
Ty: Yeah we won the tournament!
At this point the childhood friends become very animated and excited, and while almost shouting 'Write that down' in my ear, Josh starts hitting my note pad to make VERY sure the pairs achievement was included in the write up.
Ty: Make sure that England knows that we were the champion winners!
Josh: James River, that's the name of the team!
Ty: And then, er, and then a couple of years later we started playing music together. And we have been ever since.
VLS: And you found Matt on a corner somewhere??
Ty: Found Matt.
Josh: Yeah just hanging out somewhere.
Ty: He's younger so he was in other bands that we met, on our last tour in our older band he came on as a roadie and we realised he could handle the road y'know.
VLS: Haven't got rid of him since then?
Ty: There was a lot of abuse.
Matt a lot nods in agreement, still munching the Jaffa Cakes…
VLS: From blogs we've been reading there still is a lot of abuse
Ty: There is still abuse, but er, I think it was worse, well ask Matt. (At Matt) Was it worse back then?
Matt: Back then it was a lot worse!
Josh: Well, our singer from the other band was pretty ruthless.
All: laughs
Matt: Ruthless is a good word! He had something to prove!
Josh: We're really nice compared to that tour. So that tour ended, and our band didn't want to tour any more and we did, so we started this band just for fun. It wasn't going to be serious, but now it is.
VLS: Ideally how big would you like Broadway Calls to become? -Are you trying to take over the World???
Josh: Nooo I don't think so. Like, status? Like alkaline trio would be great.
VLS: So venue size, would you really want to play Wembley?
Matt: No.
Josh: No, I wouldn't want to.
VLS: You wouldn't enjoy it?
Josh: no, I don't think there would be anything fun about it, except for, I don't know…nothing probably.
Ty, suddenly looking shocked, turns himself toward josh…
Ty: If everyone there was there for you…..that wouldn't be fun?
All: laughs
VLS: Chants of Josh, Josh, Josh filling the air
Josh: Err well...
Ty: I just saw a Foo Fighters thing where they were at Wembley, it looks fucking amazing.
Matt: It would just be weird that the audience would be, like, 20 feet away. Literally.
Ty: But with that many people I think it just over powers.
Matt: You see those videos of Freddy Mercury and Morrissey and them loving it.
Ty: Its got to feel good though, having that many people there actually wanting to see you play instead of waiting for the next band.
Matt: So how big? Yeah, not that big.
VLS: You have been mentioning on stage a 2nd album coming out soon, what can we expect from it?
Ty: Erm we don't really know yet. Were not changing, were not going to pull a brand new sound.
Matt: Same.
Josh: Better production.
Matt: Yeah, a lot of a…….(starts talking about different studio techniques and I smile and nod pathetically)
Ty: A lot of that.
All: laughs, mostly at me
Josh: We're keeping with the same just better production and hopefully better songs.
VLS: Is there a release date yet?
Ty: We're shooting for August but depends on if we get the recording done in time.
VLS: And finally, there have been a lot of screaming young girls about at the shows, who do you scream over?
Ty: Like who's our big crushes that are famous?
Josh: Oh Scarlet Johansson, I would do anything to be with her…
VLS: She's married now.
Josh: So what?!
Ty: Its our fantasies!
VLS: Oh are you sharing her?
Ty: No, but I have the same situation going on, I'd go with Zooey Duhamel. She's just got engaged.
Matt: She's happily engaged.
Ty: She's engaged to the guy from death cab. I'll fight him!
VLS: Do you think you'd win?
Ty: I don't even know, I don't know how big he is, never seen him in person.
Matt: Er, Jenny McCarthy.
Ty: UCK!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
Matt: I remember being, like 9 or 10 years old starting to kind of decide what is a hot girl and watching MTV singled out and she was just goofy and everything I wanted in a woman.
The other guys burst into laughter…
Ty: You see why we abuse Matt?!
Matt looks offended
Matt: Because I'm honest and I fucking say it from the heart. Anyway she dates Jim Carrey now.
Josh: I thought it was Carmen Electra?
Matt: I like her. She was the second host of Singled Out after Jenny McCarthy and I like her a lot too.
VLS: So you just like the Singled Out presenters?
Matt: Y'know and it might be that, but I think its er, I think it's Jenny. She was one of the first naked women I ever saw, when she was in playboy.
Josh:*whispering* besides his mom…….
FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS
Have a brief glance at the history of Forever The Sickest Kids and it is easy to see that they are not a conventional band. The story of how Jonathan Cook purchased a front page add on social media site PureVolume.com, before the band had any songs to their name, is somewhat infamous throughout today's scene. After recording 'Hey Brittany' in a matter of days, they quickly found themselves hurtling towards a growing Internet fan base - and a major record contract. This ability to make the best out of any situation (and have a lot of fun whilst doing so) has come to epitomise FTSK as a band. So when vivalascene arrived at The Garage, Glasgow, we weren't really surprised that the pre-arranged 10 minute interview slot quickly turned into nearly half an hour of madness…
With only a few hours to go before doors open, the guys are to be found in their dressing room - playing with a talking parrot toy. As everyone get themselves seated, it is clear that spirits are high. The shows in Europe must be going well then?
"They've been great!" offers Kent, "Every show in the UK's been sold out and we've been…astonished by that."
"It's been a total astonishment" agrees Jonathan.
As well as their time in the UK, the guys have recently finished playing their first run of shows in mainland Europe. vivalascene enquires how the reception has been over there - and receives a very straightforward answer from Jonathan.
"I get no reception. I'm on AT&T and there's no reception over here."
After making a mental note to rethink the phrasing of all future questions the discussion turns to the band's favourite thing about being on tour.
"Well there's four things…" begins Kyle, "…and I can add to the four and say six things. I'll start us off…"
"Tell her the long one first" interrupts Jonathan.
"I overheard Kent and Austin talking on the bus last night and they didn't know I was listening to 'em. But, I uh, I heard them and I was like you know what? I totally agree. So I went back up to my bunk and I blogged about it online. You can check it out on uh, Modlife.com. It was sick"
"Good answer" confirms Jonathan. As the band nods in agreement, we ask what the story was.
"All the blogs posted to Modlife.com are exclusive to Modlife.com." counters Kent, almost immediately. So are there any stories that aren't exclusive and can be shared?
"I'll tell you one of the stories, if that's cool?" says Jonathan, before Kyle quickly cuts him off.
"Which one? Which one?"
A whispered discussion takes place, and vivalascene begins to realise that the chances of receiving any kind of serious answer are fast disappearing. Almost instantaneously, Marc confirms this fact,
"I'd say my favourite thing on tour is the running of the bulls. Like when we get to travel a lot we have to watch a lot of bull runs."
"The coolest thing for me, about being on this tour, is the Appletisers that we get to drink. They're 100% pure pleasure." chimes in Jonathan, introducing a topic of conversation that is to dominant the majority of the interview.
"We had them for the first time yesterday and we added them to our rider so we could drink them every day." continues Marc
"Appletisers exposed themselves to us yesterday. But that's off the record."
"We got 240 crates sent back to Americur…" boasts Jonathan, before the rest of his band mates pick up on the mispronunciation. As the word 'Americur' echoes around the room, vivalascene are asked if we know where this country, which isn't the same as America, is? We don't and quickly Jonathan quickly informs us it's in the south. In an attempt to steer the interview slightly back on track we ask if there is anything the guys don't like about being on tour. Caleb is first to answer.
"I think our least favourite thing about being here is how awesome everyone is."
"Yeah", agrees Marc, "It makes me mad that everyone's so cool and like, receptive of our music."
"Chocolate skittles make me mad." chimes in Austin.
"People just don't understand me and people are too good-looking, first of all. I mean, second of all" continues Caleb.
"Part of the contagiousness over here is just downright instantaneous" says Jonathan and the band seem to agree. Contagiousness? Does that even make sense?
"Yeah, there was 30 of us at the beginning…" he explains.
"I get nervous. If people keep driving on the left side of the road they're going to have a collision eventual" points out Kent. The band agrees. Clearly the UK fails at road safety, as Jonathan continues to point out our blatant disrespect of the green man traffic signals.
"We've seen people over here that ignore the walk signs and they walk whenever it's red. They cross the street and it's at red. It scares almost all of us."
"Scares me…" agrees Kyle. "…when I was driving the bus yesterday…"
"Yeah, it's weird to come over here and when we drive the bus, we always have to remember that we need to be driving on the left side of the road" says Marc.
"But the thing about it is that every bunk has a curtain." Austin tells us before Kent continues,
"So like, if your nervous you can just shut the curtain."
Jonathan nods in agreement, "So, when you start your driving session, like when I take over from Austin, I know that there's time."
"I've walked down the hall and uh, shut Caleb's curtain before" offers Kyle before Caleb quickly disagrees, "I don't know if that's necessarily true…"
Vivalascene definitely agrees with this statement. It seems we have passed the point of no return and plunged headfirst into the crazy world of Forever The Sickest Kids. And if things were confusing before, then there were about to get a whole lot worse.
"The things that you want to do are the things you can't do the most" philosophises Kent, before Kyle steers the conservation back to the bands favourite subject - Appletiser.
"Like, I'll go and get an Appletiser when we're driving and I'll (sings) 'shut my curtain'."
The band erupts in laughter and begin to sing this newly created lyric. Is this the beginnings of a new song? Are vivalascene being given an exclusive preview of new FTSK material?
"Sometimes we work on music sometimes" concludes Kent.
"You just witnessed the creation of a new song" agrees Kyle, before Caleb interrupts him, holding up a t-shirt with the state of Texas printed on it.
"Have you ever been to this country before?" he asks, (although we're not entirely convinced Texas is it's own country). Jonathan seems concerned as to the origin of the t-shirt.
"OH!!! Where did you get that?!"
"I think it's yours. You can get it back whenever you want"
" I can actually play you a new song if you want me to?" offers Kyle, rising from this chair and heading over to the iPod dock in the corner of the room. As he finds this 'new song', Jonathon notices the voice recorder perched on the arm of the sofa.
"Wait, wait, it's recording!"
"Oh, you're going to have to turn that off…" says Kyle
"Nah it's fine, you just have to write out the whole song in lyrics"
"Just act like we told you to turn it off…"
"Is that still recording?"
"You don't have to turn it off, just block it, it's cool."
"It's cool, it's cool, we've got it covered"
The room falls silent and the opening cords of Nirvana's 'Heart-Shaped Box' strum from the speakers.
"Man, turn it down, it's going to record! Turn it down! If she leaks this…" warns Jonathan. As Kyle adjusts the volume slightly Marc asks,
"Do you know who that is singing? Kyle."
"Do you want to see the dance to it? Its like Soulja Boy"
"I'll do it with you" offers Jonathan and soon the pair are on their feet, eyes closed making fists above their heads before, pulling them down in front of their faces.
"Good luck typing that out" offers Kyle as he turns off the song and returns to his chair.
"We got a lot of influence from like Nirvana and stuff for our new stuff…" comments Marc.
"But seriously…don't let anyone hear that!" warns Kyle
"Yeah, if you leak that we'll probably have to (sings) 'Shut the curtain!" concludes Jonathan.
Oops. Sorry guys, I guess the curtain is now shut?
As well as the songs from their EP and debut full-length, 'Underdog Alma Mater', the band have recorded various cover songs, including Will Smith's 'Men in Black', featured on the Fearless Records 2008 release, 'Punk Goes Crunk.' vivalascene wonders if there are any particular artists the band would like to collaborate with?
"Well that's obvious, and Caleb can answer that." says Kent.
"What? Um…it'd be Vince Gill"
"I would go with Michelangelo or Da Vinci…" is the contribution from Kent before Jonathan decides on "Jazzy Pha, T-Pain and Lil' Wayne"
"What if Monet did our album cover for our next album?" suggests Caleb, an idea that the band instantly agree on.
"We should just get on Google images and steal 'Starry Night' and make it our album cover." suggests Jonathan.
"Do you want an Appletiser?" offers Austin and the band instantly agree that we have to have an Appletiser.
"Yeah, I can get you one right now" says Marc, wandering over to fridge, which does appear to be playing host to a large amount of Appletiser.
"I'm so sorry for not offering you an Appletiser" says Kent
"Kent can be rude sometimes, by not offering people Appletiser" Kyle informs us, as Austin goes on to say the Appletiser doesn't have to be opened it can just sit on the table.
"You have to warn us before you click it though" says Caleb, before going on to ponder " I wonder how many drops it takes to fill an Appletiser."
"I don't think we have time for it" says Jonathan. As the guys settle back into their seats Kent returns to the question in hand.
"If we could collaborate with any artist it would be Vince Gill or the Dixie Chicks."
"I hate to bring this up, but do you know what percentage of pure pleasure is in an Appletiser?" asks Jonathan
Slightly apprehensive of the reaction that could come from any possible answer, vivalascene tentatively suggests 100%. As the room erupts in cheers, the band jump to their feet and begin high-fiving each other.
Clearly we were right.
"It took me three guesses!" exclaims Kent.
"Open the secret tab that's on the…"
"Yeah there's a secret tab …"
"Will you pull that while I hold it?"
As the guys excitedly explain about the 'secret' tab found on the back of an Appletiser bottle, Austin holds it out for us to pull back. Underneath we find the small symbol telling us that Appletiser counts as one of the recommended daily five portions of fruit and vegetables. We suddenly realise where this is going.
"How many times a day do you have to do it? We've never got any higher than a four." asks Austin.
Our answer of "five" is barely heard amidst the cheers and high-fives. As Kyle confirms that it does indeed say five, Kent leaves the room in shock. This is clearly a momentous occasion in FTSK's day. More high-fives are had and vivalascene thinks this would be a good note to end on. The band think otherwise. Our confession that that was the final question is met with defiance.
"There's some more, there's some more. We'll be serious. We'll try to be serious" promises Austin
"There's a question that comes from the heart, somewhere." says Kyle
"Yeah, come on. Do you have a heart?" asks Caleb
"She has a heart!
"Come on, straight up answers."
"Ask us one question and we all have to answer it."
As the guys talk over each other, trying to secure one more question, vivalascene gives into peer pressure and asks each member to come up one word to describe how they are feeling at that exact moment.
"We knew you had one more question" says Jonathan, before Marc starts us off with "Lollapalooza". Austin feels "miscellaneous", whilst Kent is a "magician".
"I've used this one before guys" admits Caleb, "but I'm going to have to go with supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", which is quite possible the hardest word in the world to type out. Completing the circle are Kyle and Jonathan, who are feeling "clumsy" and "economical" respectively.
"You got any more from the heart?" asks Marc.
"Yeah, sneak another one in" demands Kyle
"One more, we're having a fun time." says Austin.
As we begin to wonder if the guys ever want this interview to end, Jonathan, clearly distracted by the talking parrot during the introductions, asks us the name of our publication. We tell him we're a website, vivalascene.com
"Well you're vivala-awesome" quips Caleb.
General chatter breaks out around the room and we quietly notice that it's is only 45 minutes until doors open. Seeing this as a good note to end on, we gather up our belongs and give our thanks for one of the most genuinely entertaining interviews ever conducted. And who knows - if for some strange reason the music career doesn't work out, the guys could always score an advertising deal with Appletiser?