R13: First question is, how's the tour going? I know you've been touring the States.
PM: Yeah we did two weeks in Canada, that we got back from about two weeks ago. That's the only touring we've done since we finished doing our record. It's the first time we've done it in about ten months, so we've got some break in between but then we're going to appear everywhere. First the show here, then we're going to the States for about a month and half, two month long tour of dates in small clubs.
R13: Are you looking forward to it?
PM: Yes, yes - we're looking forward to getting back on the road and being busy again.
R13: You've had enough of a break then?
RK: Er, kind of. Enough time pretending we were civilians.
PM: Yeah, yeah being away from the road for a while, we kinda had to act like real, normal people again. Y'know it's just not a normal life that we lead sometimes.
R13: Given that this is a one off show, do you plan to come back to the UK at all this year?
PM: Yeah in December. We're coming back and we'll actually have some other dates.
RK: And we'll probably do Manchester - everywhere around.
R13: Excellent, will they be small shows, or slightly bigger?
PM: The one here in London is at the Electric Ballroom - I'm not sure how big that is, but that'll be about how big the shows are.
R13: OK, cool. You've played all sorts of venues from the standard rock dive to schools, out of all the places you've played what do you prefer? What do you like playing?
PM: Probably the rock dives, you know the smaller club feeling is just so much more intimate. It's kinda awkward when you're playing a bigger room, on a bigger stage, and the band members ourselves are spread out, and then there's like a twenty ft barricade and you can't even really see who you're playing for. It's more fun when you're in a club with 600 sweaty kids climbing all over each other.
R13: Also, what was it like playing in the parking lot for free, when you did that show in San Diego?
PM: Oh yeah, that was incredible.
RK: Yeah, it was amazing. How many people showed up?
PM: About 3/4,000?
RK: Yeah, almost 4,000 people showed up on like a day's notice. We were really scared cos sometimes when you do shows like that, you know you show up and there's this huge stage and massive barricade - we actually played on the San Diego Charger's practice field so it's huge, the sound board is about a hundred yards from the stage. We've done something before and it's nothing to do with us, it's just like a promotion or something and about 20 people showed up standing along the barricade and the show was a complete disaster. So we didn't know if it was like a corporate sponsored show or what - we just didn't know how it was going to be. We left for the venue, went back to the hotel for some dinner and when we came back there were almost 4,000 people there. It's good for us, makes us feel we didn't totally lose it while you were gone for twelve months.
PM: Or that you don't suck. We had a good time.
R13: How's your new album going down the fans when you play it?
PM: So far, we've only pulled out a couple of tracks to experiment with live. I mean they're really excited to hear new stuff and it's gone over really well. I'm kind of afraid of it, I don't like going to shows and hearing even a band that I love play new stuff cos I really don't know what's going on - a song I've never heard before in a live environment. We've got our first single to be released available for download on our website, so half the kids have heard the song which is always good.
RK: that was the best experience we've ever had playing live material. It's been very well received compared to the last record where you had that uncomfortable 'we're playing a new song' thing. I like to think it's because the songs are where they need to be.
R13: So you're happy then with the new material and the way it's been received?
RK: Yeah, happier than ever.
R13: It sounds pretty different from before, was this intentional?
RK: In a way, maybe yeah. I mean, we definitely didn't want to write the same record again. We definitely wanted to go in a different direction, but as for how far away we went or whatever, we didn't really aim for anything like that.
PM: We just kind of had something in the back of our heads, a knowledge, or desire, to make something. We didn't sit down and arrange songs around does this sound different enough? We just knew that we wanted to do something different from before.
R13: Your previous album, Ocean Avenue, could be described as emo, this sounds more punky. What influenced you on this album?
RK: I think if there's any kind of punk stuff on this album, the closest thing to it would be old Nirvana influences coming through. It's not necessarily so much the punk rock that we grew up listening to. I think the way that bands and records are labelled is different on every continent - what people's perception of emo music, or punk music, is.
PM: There's so many different forms of rock. It's always been rock 'n' roll but you always have to call it something different so it's cool for that time being. We probably had it in the back of our minds that music's kind of suffering right now, especially in the rock 'n' roll category. There hasn't been much out there lately. I think we had the mindset that we wanted to be part of something that happened fifteen years ago.
RK: I think when you listen to the record all the way through, it's even not so much punk.
R13: In general, who are your influences?
RK: We've got a little bit of everything. This kid right here grew up on jazz (indicates Sean) but listens to metal constantly. Bury your Dead would be the band that comes out of his mouth at volume levels that have already cost him one surgery to his ears. Sean was very classical orientated growing up, but apart from that we listen to a lot of modern and indie rock - Foo Fighters and Ben Folds Five, to be more specific. It's quite a mix of what we take in. We're quite big fans of older stuff, we're not very big fans of new music.
R13: Not at all?
RK: Well, I know Sean and I are pretty big fans of Thrice - that's a new band that we love. And, they're not that new, but Deathcab for Cutie is a newer band we're all big fans of. For the most part, it's hard to find at newer band that we really like. Like Pete said, the Foo Fighters records.
SM: Even the new metal bands that I listen to are actually records that were put out in 2003, 2002, '95. It's not that new.
R13: Anyway, a couple more questions. What's been the highlight so far?
PM: Of this year? Probably recording the new album. It was a really fun experience, and probably the best that we have, 1) gotten along, and 2) come together from what we all do as musicians and creating a certain sort of magic in the studio. We spent a lot of time, we were really prepared for the writing process, and the rehearsing process, so once we got in the studio it wasn't stressful at all. It was just putting it together - everything came together. We put it together part by part and we had a lot of fun doing it - we actually wrapped it up early.
R13: Finally, what next after touring the States?
PM: We come back here and do some shows in the UK, and a couple of shows in Europe. Then we have a break for Christmas, and then our record's due out the end of January. Pretty much the next two years of our lives are going to be a shitstorm. Airplanes, trains and hotel rooms.
R13: Right, that's all I've got. Thank you very much.
YC: Thank you.