We were incredibly excited to catch up with Nick Thompson. Read below as we talked with him about Hit the Lights, their new full-length release Invicta and memorable moments in his career.
Interview by McKenzie Hughes // Photo by Ashley Osborn
1. From having formed in 2003, has the dynamics of Hit The Lights changed which resulted in a positive career growth?
We have gone through the most intense change a band can go through, losing a lead singer and actually came out of it with a more successful album and were able to add another great element to the band with our guitarist, Kevin. I don’t know a whole lot of other bands that were able to do that. I’m still not exactly sure how we’re still here, but through it all our fans and friends have shown us so much support. I think that is a very big reason why we’re still here and able to carry on as HTL. Through the past years everyone has grown as song writers and musicians and I think that it shows in our music and our performances.
2. Hit The Lights has performed with an impressive resume of bands. From having nearly played a thousand shows, is there one that is the most memorable?
I have so many shows that I will always remember. It’s too hard to say that one in particular would be my favorite. One that does stick out is the first bamboozle we played right after I had taken up singing. We had gone through a really tumultuous year of not knowing if we would be a band anymore so being able to step out on that stage and see that sea of people there to support us was really touching. I just remember everyone smiling at each other and it was a really beautiful feeling.
3. Your new album Invicta just recently released at the end of January, are there are surprises, partnerships or elements that will make this album different from previous records?
We actually co-wrote a song with Ryan Key from Yellowcard (“Faster Now”) that ended up making the record and Vinnie Accardi added some guitars in a song called “Oh My God.”
4. Was recording Invicta different from past times while working in a studio?
I think this is just a different album for us in general. We went into it wanting to carve a niche for ourselves and ended up going in with two different producers (Machine and Mike Sapone) to record two halves of the album. This was also a very cohesive record in terms of everyone in the band being very involved in the songs and the feel of the record. It’s just something that needed to happen after waiting so long to make an album.
5. The S.I.N. Tour kicked off recently in January. Are you excited to be working with D.R.U.G.S. (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows), Like Moths To Flames and Sparks The Rescue?
Yes, this tour came along at a great time and transition for our band. We knew Craig from touring with Chiodos, so it was awesome to get a chance to tour with him again and we had also toured with Sparks the Rescue in the past so we already knew it would be fun. Like Moths to Flames is a killer metal-core band from Columbus that I’m a fan of, so it’s a really cool tour with a lot of different dynamics when it comes to all the bands and their different sounds. I think it was a great idea and I give props to D.R.U.G.S. for coming up with it!
6. Through the 9 years that Hit The Lights has been a band, what has been the “Highlight” moment of your career?
Touring Australia with NFG was fantastic, I love touring Japan as well. As far as “highlights” I’m hoping to get a lot more chances to make more, so I won’t make my call yet…
Keep up with Nick Thompson on Twitter!
