The Material
Austin, TX // SXSW
Interview by Jordan Fischels
Q: Have you guys played SXSW before? Is this year different than past years?
A: Yeah, this is our third time playing. You know, the first year we sort of spread ourselves a little too thin. We played like five showcases in like one of two days. It was insane. So, last year we came and we just did one big showcase and then a bunch of like other little stuff. And now this year it’s kind of been a happy medium. We did three performances kind of spread out; we did two the first day and one yesterday on the John Lennon bus which was really cool, and then some press. So yeah, I feel like it’s a happy medium. We’ve had fun, but it’s also a lot of good work being done.
Q: You guys were on the Warped Tour last summer – how does that experience compare to your SXSW experience?
A: It’s definitely different than South By. For sure. Because South By is like… Well not that Warped Tour doesn’t have foot traffic because kids will come to see like a million bands, but South By is just like… For one there is alcohol, so people at the shows are just going nuts. And it’s a late night thing. And for us, it’s just like you’re bouncing around from venue to venue. But when we’re on Warped, it was like we were having to walk up the lines trying to promote like, “Come see us at this stage at this time!” I love Warped Tour, but yeah I’d say it’s totally different.
Q: I know you have an album due to be released April 9th titled Everything I Want To Say. Anything you can tell us about it?
A: I think this album for us is the true sound that we’ve been searching for for like the last five years. The last three CDs that we’ve done always incorporated more digital or electronic drums, maybe like strings and that kind of stuff. This year we just wanted it to be really stripped down, so the new album that’s coming out is just really straight-forward rock, really real and raw. So we’re excited for that.
Q: I read that you guys were recently voted by fans to perform live on MTV’s Dew Circuit Breakout beating out 4,000 other bands?
A: That was actually one of the things that first launched our band when we started. It was really cool. Basically, we were in this contest, and it was like 4,000 bands like you said, and we had no idea that we were going to make it or anything. At the time we were a relatively new band, and we only had one EP out. But then, we got the call from MTV and they were like, “Just wanted to let you know we’re going to fly you out to New York, and you’re going to play the TRL Studios!” So they put us up, had us picked up in a limo; they treated us like rock stars, and it was really cool! It was definitely one of those things that kick-started everything for us.
We realized that we could actually do something with music, that we actually have a shot at it. Then from that we got on the video game Rock Band. We actually have two songs on Rock Band. The first one happened right after the MTV thing, and we went on our first tour nationally right after that. Without the help of a record label, I really think Rock Band was one of the main reasons why we were able to go on a national tour and play places where people knew our music. You could look out in the crowd and see the one song that everyone knew, so we knew that that was actually a really cool promotional tool for our band. It could get our music out to the masses without us having gone to those cities before. We were just this band that would play shows and meet people and then have to sleep on floors, and it was so often that people would be like, “We should play your song on Rock Band!” So we’d always be in like basements just playing our song on the video game with like our friends and fans. It was really fun. [Laughs.]
Q: I know you guys are very involved in the Keep-A-Breast foundation! How did you guys get started with that?
A: My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer about two years ago, and she ended up losing the fight. So I got to taking to a couple of people over there and made really good friends with them and just really enjoy what they’re doing with education and being out on the road. They just go to where the people are, where the kids are, and try to educate more prevention than trying to help after it happens. Just trying to get people aware what to do to if you have to symptoms. They’re just really great about educating kids and being there when they need to be. We’re actually doing a collab t-shirt with them where people can buy the shirts and all the proceeds go to them to benefit their cause. We just want to partner with things that we feel like are good for the community.
Q: So was there anyone you were excited to see here at SXSW?
A: I think it’s cool because SXSW, for us, is sort of like a band reunion. A lot of our friends are here, so we’re able to go and see a bunch of our friends’ bands play. Friday I was really excited to see this band called The Neighborhood, so we got to see them and it was really packed and really fun. We saw The Dear Hunter, we saw our friends in I, The Mighty, we saw our friends in Alabaster… I keep trying to catch Macklemore, but I don’t think we ever will. We keep missing it! [Laughs.]
Q: Do you think you would come back and play SXSW again?
A: Oh, absolutely. We love it. We met the founder yesterday, and he’s a really cool dude. And yeah, we love it. Even last year when we were writing and getting ready for the new album, we started recording in September and were not planning to tour, we just wanted to sit down and write this new album. But we just knew we had to do SXSW. We were like, “Aside from SXSW we’re not touring, but we’ll be at SXSW!” [Laughs.] So we were here last year, and we just think it’s something that every band should do. You can’t miss it.
Q: What has been the “Highlight” of your career? Personally and collectively.
A: Definitely the MTV thing was an early on highlight. That’s something that I sometimes think came a little too early. If we were a little bit more established and kind of had a better idea of what we wanted to be as a band, we maybe would have treated the situation differently. But that was like a big highlight for us. Also, our band started out in San Diego, and I remember the first time I heard our song on the radio, that was just a huge highlight for us. I think one for the future that we’re all excited about is on April 21st we’ll be playing our CD release show at the House of Blues on Sunset, and that’s a venue that I have driven by as a kid and always thought that I would have loved to play there. And now this will be our first time playing there, and it’s for our CD release show, so we’re really excited!
