R13: Why should those who are unfamiliar with your music make an effort to see you at Wireless Festival?
IPS: If you are as obsessed with huge bass and heavy beats as we are you will definitely enjoy our set. We are all fans of house music culture, and we like to think we bring the energy of that scene into rock music.
R13: Underworld and Fatboy Slim are headlining that day at Wireless, will you check either of them out?
IPS: Hell yes, we will be front and center for both those two. We’ve all been fans of them for a long time and are stoked we finally have a chance to see them, especially in one place in the same day.
R13: Have you had a chance to play with any groups that you really find inspirational yet?
IPS: No one in particular, but we get inspired by playing with other great bands all the time. Not to kiss ass, but it seems even more so here in the UK. The bar is a bit higher than it is in America. Even little johnny’s highschool garage band seems to come out guns slinging. Thats inspirational. To see young kids come out, and play like seasoned veterans. Just playing so hard and tight, like they’d been touring for years. We were blown away last time we were here, and assume we will be again this time. Doing a tour here has definitely inspired us to be even more extreme and energetic live. I remember our very first show we played here was with Haunts. They rocked so hard. After we watched them, we were all like, ‘’oh so this is how its going to be’’ we have to bring it, every day, as hard as we can.
R13: What inspired you to start creating electronic music, most rock bands say that they picked up a guitar and went from there but you don’t find so many synths and keyboards lying around in people's attics?
IPS: That's the beauty of the computer age. We started this band off of all pirated sequencing programs. We just didn’t have the cash to drop on computer programs like Ableton Live, or Reason, so we stole them. As we went on and gained money from playing a few shows, we slowly acquired more gear. it was rough at first, trust me. Our nicest synth we have, we actually won in a contest. Access held a contest for the 10th anniversary of the Virus. Contestants had to make a video celebrating its tenth birthday. We won second place and they sent us a Virus. We couldn’t believe it. Neither will you after you see the video. Its ridiculous. Check it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxJzePA7CuE
R13: Is the programming created through an experimental approach or do you have a clear idea of what you're aiming for?
IPS: Totally experimental. It all starts with a sample someone recorded, or a beat someone made. And it all goes from there.
R13: What can we expect from the album?
IPS:This album is very reflective of the members of this band, and it definitely shows how diverse our musical tastes are. It goes from heavy rock songs like Don’t Stop, to more pop oriented songs as well. While still keeping our general sound and tones. Some of the closed minded that have only heard Don’t Stop may be a little thrown off listening to the album. There is definitely no clear genre. But it’s totally honest. The songs are the exact songs we wanted people to hear. we wrote what we wanted to write, and recorded what we wanted to record, and this is what we came up with. We are very happy with the outcome, and hopefully there are going to be people that will agree.
R13: You played Camden Crawl earlier this year, what's the response to your live shows been like in the UK?
IPS: I feel like people that have seen us are pretty excited about our band. I like to think we bring a lot of energy to the table. I’ve heard the UK can be hard to please, so we were a bit nervous coming in for the first time. But thus far, we have been pleased with the crowd response. We are even more excited this time around now that Don’t Stop is getting some television and radio play. We cant wait to see how it has gone over here in the UK. Being three thousand miles away, its hard to gauge if things you are doing are working or not. We are about to find out.........
R13: You're currently touring the UK, what do you enjoy the most about being on tour?
IPS: It’s like going on vacation, except being surrounded by sweaty dudes all the time. Thankfully we are all very close. We laugh a lot, we always have a great time. Being somewhere totally new just adds to the excitement. It’s almost surreal. We are all doing something we’ve always dreamed about. Sometimes it’s hard to believe. I don’t even think my parents believed me when i said we were coming here. I can’t wait to send them a picture of us playing Projekt Revolution. They are going to freak out. But I think my favourite thing about being on tour is playing for new faces. People that have never heard us, and don’t know what to expect. When someone comes up to us after a show and is like, ‘’Holy Shit, you guys just blew it up.’’Theres nothing better than that.
R13: Coming from what's been described as a small town, was it hard to get your music heard and how did the record deal come about?
IPS: It’s so easy to get your music heard now. With the internet, especially myspace. If you are making good material, people are going to find out about it. The days of endlessly shopping your music are over. If you’ve got something worth listening too, chances are, labels will be coming your way. It’s almost too much. There are some young bands out there that have solid songs, and are getting snatched up by labels before they’ve even played their 10th show. Everyone needs time to develope and find their distinct sound. I think there’s a mad rush to find the next big thing, and young bands are getting far to focused on all the wrong aspects of music, and forgetting just that. Its music. Make some first before you get caught up in all the politics.
Our record deal went down just like that. It was a total surprise. I was working full time at a car dealership, and Patrick was working at a factory that made stucco. I had even bought a house, I was totally ready to start my real adult life. We put a few songs on myspace and a few months later it popped. Id be at work fielding calls from major labels, and literally freaking out. I called my friend Steve Penta who worked in the new media department at Island at the time to help me out. I had no idea what to do. We didn’t even have a band together to go showcase. After no time at all we recruited long time friends Jesse and Kris, and we practiced for about 4 months and started playing shows. We signed with a subsidiary of Island about 3 months after that, Stolen Transmission wasn’t aware of my connection to Steve at the time. It all came together very quickly after that. He is now our manager and directs all of our video content. Everyone that’s involved in this band knew each other before this project. I feel more than lucky to be doing this with long time friends.
R13: What's been the most inspirational thing that you have heard/seen/read recently?
IPS: This isn’t that recent, but a year ago we saw Daft Punk in New York. The fact that their show is that massive is incredibly inspirational. We strive to be that big. Not even in popularity, which don’t get me wrong would be awesome, but just in presence alone. Their show is so much larger than life, its amazing. They make you feel like if you ever met them in real life youd crumble at the mere sight of them. Like they could burn holes through you with there eyes. Some super hero shit. That’s inspiring.