You are about to go on a large tour with some Fueled By Ramen (FBR) label mates, is this your first major tour? How will it differ from other tours that you have gone on?
Andrew: Our upcoming tour with Sing It Loud will be our first national tour. We’ve done a fair amount of touring already but the furthest west we’ve gone is Nebraska. We’re really excited to play some shows on the left coast and see what it has to offer.
You share a roster with some of the biggest bands out there for the teen crowd (Paramore, Cobra Starship, Panic at the Disco), do you think there is an overabundance of bands appealing to this demographic?
Andrew. Not at all. I feel like there are other more mainstream genres that appeal to the same crowd, especially with bands like the Jonas Brothers that have that whole Disney circuit. I think there is a large void of music that has the ability to cross over from the independent pop punk genre into that top 40 mainstream and that is what we’re trying to do.
How do you feel your ages affect your ability to relate to your fans?
Andrew: We’re not very much older than most of our fans. We’ve all been through very similar types of relationships and situations that a lot of our fans have been in and so we can relate well to them as a result. Because we’ve had those life experiences already, we can sometimes offer a little maturity and insight to issues our fans are dealing with at the present time. But really, when you’re dealing with topics like heartbreak, no matter how old you are, it still applies.
If you were to choose three bands that are not on FBR to tour/record with, who would you choose? Why?
Mike: All American Rejects, Jack’s Mannequin and Jimmy Eat World. Because they’re three bands that we all love and it would be an amazing experience to share the stage with bands that we respect and have grown up listening to.
There are some clear influences in your music but there is also a uniqueness to some of your guitar lines and melodies, how does the songwriting process go in your band? How long do you take working on various songs?
Andrew: I write most of the music and lyrics. Sometimes mike will help me with the lyrics as we go along. Usually I’ll usually be kicking around a melody in my head and then arrange the music to that. Then once the music and melody is pretty set mike and I will bounce lyrics off each other until we fill the song out. In terms of writing time, it really depends on inspiration. Sometimes I’ll just have a few snippets of ideas and then piece them together over a few weeks. Other times I’ll knock out an entire song in a matter of a few hours. It just really depends on the flow.
What has been the best show you have played in the last year? Why?
Andrew: The absolute craziest show was this past November when we played with our friends All Time Low. We played a sold out show at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey and just had an absolute blast. Kids really enjoyed us and we really enjoyed them. It was one of the first times that kids were singing just as loud as I was with the microphone. It just gives you chills.
What is the wildest thing that you have ever been sent by a fan?
Andrew: We don’t really get wild or crazy stuff so much as really sweet things. This one girl brought us a box of cookies and painted the cover of our old EP on the box. It was really obvious that it took a long time to do. We ate the cookies but we still have the box at our apartment.
“That’s What She Said” is your first single from the new album, how was that song chosen over the other songs on the album?
Andrew: It was the song that we all agreed we liked the most. we got the biggest fan reaction from that song.
I am a teacher as well as a writer, and you are a band that speaks to my students, what advice would each of you give to teenagers about life if you could impart one piece of wisdom?
Andrew: Don’t get caught up in the small stuff. Have fun.
Mike: Nothing is really as big of a deal as you think it is. Don’t take everything so seriously.