TMF: You guys got a new album coming out. You guys have been kind of quiet the last couple of years.
AAR Mike: Yeah, we took a little time off to write to make sure we wrote well – not just shit out an album.
TMF: Do you think it is an improvement over the last album?
AAR Mike: You know, I would like to think it is. I think the consensus with all of us is that we were all super stoked about it. We think it’s an improvement. So far, from the few people that have heard it, it seems to be what everyone thinks which makes us happy.
TMF: Have you played any of the new songs for the crowds?
AAR Mike: Yeah. We always play a song called “Dirty Little Secret” and the title track, “Move Along.” We’ve been playing those songs for about three months now and then throwing in a couple of the others randomly. It’s been getting some good responses.
TMF: How is the new album different from your previous record?
AAR Mike: It definitely was a different approach to the writing of it. The last one was Nick and Tyson were like sitting in a room, flushing everything out like adding all the layers and demoing even before going to the studio. This time we all got together, all four of us in a room and flushed out the songs as a live band rather than recording the songs on the record and then figuring out how to play them live like the last record. This album kinda did it beforehand. I think that definitely shines through more.
TMF: Is there any centralized subject matter on the new album?
AAR Mike: Not particularly. It’s definitely dramatically different from the album. Like the last one was pretty much rooted in one relationship which I had. And, this one, we have done a lot of other stuff. We have seen a lot of the world so the subject matters vary a lot more.
TMF: How do you like doing Warped tour opposed to small shows or a regular tour?
AAR Mike: I love it! I have so much fun on it. I have to admit though our crew guys work like hard as fuck on this tour. It’s kind of miserable to actually work the tour because it’s just so hot and so much work. But, as someone who is able to go out and play then the rest of the day to walk around and enjoy it, it’s so much fun. You meet so many cool people and see some of your old friends. I love it. It’s the best tour of the year.
TMF: Have you guys done a video for the new album yet?
AAR Mike: Yeah, we did one for a song called “Dirty Little Secret.” There was some confusion about what was going to be our first single. It was going to be “Move Along” now they are pushing “Dirty Little Secret.” We did the video and saw the final edit of it like two days ago. Hopefully, it’ll be on TV soon.
TMF: I have heard “Move Along.” I haven’t heard “Dirty Little Secret.”
AAR Mike: Oh yeah? They keep saying that it (“Move Along”) will be the next single so we are hoping cause that’s the song we’re behind the most. You know, it’s kind of even. We put ’em both up on the internet around the same time. I think “Move Along” is one that kids who don’t know the song can kind of- by the end of the song, feel the vibe of it and get into it. We’re cool with either one if kids like it.
TMF: When you were taking these years off to write, did you have any particular influences or albums that you listened to often during this time?
AAR Mike: I think it was more a lack – trying to fill a void hearing any music to help us just get centered on it and write. It made it very “us” I suppose. We definitely cut ourselves off from the rest of the world so we could write and not think about who we were writing for or what we were trying to do with songs – just kinda see what came out and make it the best it could be.
TMF: After Warped Tour, you guys are going on a tour in support of the record?
AAR Mike: Yeah, we’re going to Europe for about a month and Australia for a couple of weeks then come home to do a headlining tour. It might be like October. We’ll do like probably two and a half months in the US.
TMF: Do you know who you’re touring with?
AAR Mike: Not yet. We are still trying to get it together. There’s so many great bands right now but there’s also so many great bands that are doing other tours. Trying to find everybody that’s free.
TMF: If nobody else had any time conflicts, who you would ideally like to do a tour with?
AAR Mike: We have been hanging out a lot on this tour with the No Use For a Name guys. I would love to do a tour with them. It would be an honor to be able to tour with those guys. Strike Anywhere are really cool dudes. It’d be awesome to do a tour with them. I’d love to watch them every night. And, of course Motion City Soundtrack we have toured with a bunch before. They are like our best friends so it’s always great to tour with them.
TMF: Your last record kinda like blew up really quick. Did anyone really expect that or see that it had the potential for that?
AAR Mike: We all believed in it. We didn’t see the success that it had as quickly as it was. That blew our minds. Our whole goal was to be able to keep touring and essentially to make enough money to get gas and go to places to eat. That’s all we ever shopped for so when we started blowing up, you know, every tour we did there would be more and more kids. It was crazy. We didn’t expect it. It was awesome though.
TMF: Do you plan on taking another break for the next album as you did for this one or do you plan to tour awhile?
AAR Mike: We are definitely going to tour for a long time and try to work this record out as much as we can. We missed touring. We want to get to the fans. We want to stay on the road for a long time and get that out of our system again. We’ve talked about trying to keep writing on the road this time instead of it being time to get off and us being like, “Oh shit! We gotta hurry up and write something.” But, it’s so tough to find a time and money to find a place to do it. So, I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.
