State Champs Massive Announcement! (Derek DiScanio)

[SPEAKER_00]: Our second album around the world and back is 10 years old this year and everyone's keeps asking where is the tour, where is the anniversary tour, we're going to do it, it's just going to be at the top of next year. [SPEAKER_00]: You're getting the exclusive by the way. [SPEAKER_00]: We're also out of contract with our record label. [SPEAKER_00]: More money you make, the more money you're going to watch go away. [SPEAKER_01]: With state champs ever do a live album.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've thought about that. [SPEAKER_01]: Who are your top three performing bands that you've seen live? [SPEAKER_01]: The just blew you away. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to put a data, remember, in this as far as, like, top three, because Sean, the violin player of yellow car. [SPEAKER_01]: How come stories so far and ever does interviews? [SPEAKER_01]: Is that personal thing? [SPEAKER_01]: 15 years of state champs.

[SPEAKER_01]: How do you figure out how to keep reinventing the sound and keep the energetic shows so alive to make people want it to keep coming back? [SPEAKER_00]: It's a great, great question, man. [SPEAKER_00]: I think 15 years is something that I never thought we'd get to as a band number one. [SPEAKER_00]: The live show I think is still the most important thing that I think about every time. [SPEAKER_00]: what's next? [SPEAKER_00]: How are we going to keep the integrity and whatnot?

[SPEAKER_00]: But I don't think it's ever been a question of like how are we going to completely redefine ourselves as a band in our sound, sonic layer, anything. [SPEAKER_00]: I think we've we've established something and built a community around this certain thing that has worked for us. [SPEAKER_00]: And yes, we're going to try new things and try to develop it and still be the best at it and better ourselves and set other goals.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's not like we're trying to [SPEAKER_00]: pull a 180 on anybody in any sense. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think if anyone asks how what's the difference between album one and album five, well, they're all still pop punk, right, but there's a little bit of like maturity in some areas, but that's the easy way out of saying yes, this is more mature, but I think. [SPEAKER_00]: Collaboration has been a big part of it.

[SPEAKER_00]: How much should like you have to be able to open up to other people hearing about what's going on with you and also being able to be able to say Yes, I want to see that through even though if you doesn't seem like something you want to hear right from right from the get-go Collaboration has in you guys all the With any other as a band or other people that are in the room with us other songwriters that we work with other producers that we write with Usually we used to be like uh-uh, we're our own band.

[SPEAKER_01]: We know what we want no producers no outside [SPEAKER_00]: At least when it comes to the writing, we're going to be like, here's our song, you make it sound good. [SPEAKER_00]: Now we're okay to be like, what do you think about the lyrics of this? [SPEAKER_00]: What do you think about the structure of this? [SPEAKER_00]: Does this need to change, blah, blah? [SPEAKER_01]: Do you view the band as your baby? [UNKNOWN]: 100%.

[SPEAKER_01]: So how is it for you to let Mark Hopper's or John Feldman come into this writing room to where you created this thing? [SPEAKER_01]: But now you kind of do want that outside voice. [SPEAKER_00]: I think especially with Mark Hopper's, for example, that was like respecting your elders, 100%. [SPEAKER_00]: And not going to say no to Mark Hopper, especially when we did do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: On our third album I think so when Mark Hopp is comes in he's like I want to talk about lyrics I'm like okay Mark, let's talk about lyrics I've maybe other people in the past so I've been like I'm scared I don't like or I don't want to like I like my lyrics Mark was like What are you reading right now? [SPEAKER_00]: Like what it will books you're reading and I was like Mark I don't read any books.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry [SPEAKER_00]: So, but now I'm open to be like, what are you reading? [SPEAKER_00]: You know, like, I would have been scared to ask that back then. [SPEAKER_00]: Nowadays, I'm like, well, you tell me about what you're reading. [SPEAKER_00]: I want to hear about your influence and what you're feeling right now. [SPEAKER_01]: For you to go into a session with something like that, are you having outside ideas already going into it?

[SPEAKER_01]: Or are you just trying to figure out something from scratch? [SPEAKER_00]: It's always different, man. [SPEAKER_00]: It's always different. [SPEAKER_00]: There's no right or wrong way to start the song.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes I'll come in with, say, I have this like, [SPEAKER_00]: full notes like note in my phone that's just lyrics or starter ideas and a lot of them just come from like things I've like think of in the shower while I'm driving right before I go to bed it happens all the time right before I fall asleep and I'm like man I got to remember to put that in my notes thing tomorrow.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a lyric catch you home just like one line and like I'm like oh that guy could base a whole song around that so but then I'm like if I don't take out my phone if I don't roll over and open my phone and put it in my phone it will be gone forever. [SPEAKER_00]: So I need, so it's always right before I go to bed. [SPEAKER_00]: I'll roll over, like barely be awake still and put that one line of my phone and then I'll thank myself for it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like a week later when I'm in the studio, I'm like, what was that one thing? [SPEAKER_00]: Open up and it's there and like, guys, I got this thing. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's write a song about that and like that's all it needs to start. [SPEAKER_00]: I wanna base a song around that one line. [SPEAKER_01]: You have your whole life to write your first album. [SPEAKER_01]: So how have you evolved as a writer from the finer things up until now?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think the vulnerability factor has been a huge thing. [SPEAKER_00]: I think from album one, I never wanted to talk about my feelings. [SPEAKER_00]: I never wanted to talk about outside things going on with relationships, with friendships, with family, anything like that. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I was so introverted, so held back and like, never.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was never the guy that wanted to talk up, make it seem like I was down or never seemed like I had anything mental going on and one, especially within my band. [SPEAKER_00]: I was never wanted, I would just kind of show it and be like, here's the lyrics guys, and they would even be like, okay, cool, I hear some stuff in there, but I don't want to talk to them about it because I know he doesn't like to talk about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now when we're writing songs and we're in the studio, I'm more available and emotionally available to the guys to be like, what do you really mean by that, and I used to be like, don't worry about it, that's just what it is. [SPEAKER_01]: Is that the repath of self discovery? [SPEAKER_00]: I think so too. [SPEAKER_00]: I think absolutely. [SPEAKER_00]: I think just I've noticed myself that it's okay to not be okay, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it's okay to be like, yeah, I'm kind of going through it. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, well, let's talk about it. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's write a song about it. [SPEAKER_00]: That's what Ryan Tyler, Evan, all three of my other bandmates. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, are they like to do that? [SPEAKER_00]: And they've seen growth within myself by me being okay with doing that. [SPEAKER_00]: And it's made for better songs. [SPEAKER_00]: It really has.

[SPEAKER_01]: Do you hear that in the songs that you're putting out now? [SPEAKER_00]: Totally, totally, especially like on the new album, like the song called Too Late To Say, for example. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a song about being saying that you're scared. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a song about being like, hey, man, I'm growing up.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, we're all adults in here, but we've been doing this band thing for like 15 years, so that's all we know, but then when you put it in a broader perspective, it's like, [SPEAKER_00]: We're buying houses. [SPEAKER_00]: We're starting families. [SPEAKER_00]: We're having to fend for ourselves. [SPEAKER_00]: We have to get health insurance. [SPEAKER_00]: What the heck how do you do that? [SPEAKER_00]: I'm scared as hell. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's write a song about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's okay. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's I would have never done that when I was 19 20, you know. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you think you kept most of that core fan base from the beginning? [SPEAKER_00]: I think a lot of them. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so is that rare for abandoned in your. [SPEAKER_01]: genre music. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's rare for a band to be a band for 15 years in our genre.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I think it's totally, I think it's definitely a cool thing to keep that core fan base that we've had for so long. [SPEAKER_00]: But it's kind of limited us to be like, well, are we just going to be that band that keeps our core fan base that lets us play those same size venues for as long as possible and kind of hit this ceiling. [SPEAKER_00]: It's been important to us to now set goals and be like, how do we grow this thing and make it bigger than what it already is?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because we could be very [SPEAKER_00]: that level that we've gotten to and ensure enough it's great but we've never seen it decline and that's been very, very important to us and now I got chills in that because it's so rare I know it's really tough man and it's I'm at risk of sounding like I'm on grateful sometimes when it's like well I mean we can't just like be happy with that you know when you get to that level say you're headlining how subluses you're headlining the like the

[SPEAKER_00]: There's not many bands that you can then support and be an opener for after that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the bands that you can do that for, there's so much competition of every band in the world that wants to be on that opening slot for an arena tour or arena tour amphitheater tour, so we take pride in our, you know, networking and how we've, like presented ourselves and grown ourselves as a band that it makes other bands that are now friends of ours that we used to just want to be like and have influenced us, made us want to be a band in the first place now take us on tour still with where we're at.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like we just got off tour with a data member and yellow card and did amphitheaters across the East Coast and it was just incredible. [SPEAKER_00]: It made us be like, this is how we continue to grow. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm out there on stage, full sold out amphitheaters going, Who's seen state champs? [SPEAKER_00]: Who's seen state champs for the very first time right now? [SPEAKER_00]: Just a check. [SPEAKER_00]: And it's the whole place, man. [SPEAKER_00]: It's the entire place.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, I see like some familiar faces out there in the pit. [SPEAKER_00]: But that's how we keep this thing growing and that's how we continue to push forward. [SPEAKER_01]: So for you as a frontman, how do you figure out how to get those people who are there seeing you now to come back next time you come to town? [SPEAKER_00]: You got to work for it. [SPEAKER_00]: You really got to work for it.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I take, I like that pressure of being like the guy that needs to win them over. [SPEAKER_00]: So it's like, it's so but easy when it's the state champs crowd at the House of Blues. [SPEAKER_00]: I know they're all, they all know the words. [SPEAKER_00]: They know the songs. [SPEAKER_00]: They're there for you. [SPEAKER_00]: I can put the mic down and I can just listen to the crowd singing and that's wonderful. [SPEAKER_00]: It feels amazing.

[SPEAKER_00]: but at the opening slots, I have to really, like, one I have to sing all the words. [SPEAKER_00]: I can't give it to the crowd because it'll be silent out there and you'll feel bad. [SPEAKER_00]: You'll feel bad. [SPEAKER_00]: But, too, you have to engage. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to be like, who's having a good time? [SPEAKER_00]: You gotta amp them up for the bands that they are there to see. [SPEAKER_00]: You ready for a dad and fucking room, I'm bad.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever, like, stuff like that, get them going. [SPEAKER_00]: And then I always say at the end of the set during secrets, because we were playing it last when there's a break in when I'm singing, I go.

[SPEAKER_00]: if you've had a great fucking time with us today who would come back and see us again next time we come back to you so and so city yeah the whole place goes nuts and that's where like we got them we did it you know and then we go out and we meet fans afterwards it's important to engage with the fanbase [SPEAKER_00]: On this tour, we were going out into the crowd with 10 tickets and we go out to the lawn, way up in the cheap seats, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And we'd find people with state champs merch or moms with kids, stuff like that. [SPEAKER_00]: And we'd be like, hey, you guys want better seats. [SPEAKER_00]: And we'd like go out and make people take pictures. [SPEAKER_00]: We'd give people upgraded seats. [SPEAKER_00]: That's how you continue to grow and make sure that you left the stamp on the show. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's pretty cool. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a good feeling.

[SPEAKER_00]: So looking back on the state of remember yellow car tour, do you think it was successful for you guys one to accomplish 100% yeah like that's that's one of those few scenarios where we can still build and we can like steal other bands fans right because that's all we can do at this point we already have our own fan base and like our core people that we know are going to buy the tickets. [SPEAKER_00]: How do we push from 2000 to 4,000, you know, and that's where we're at right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's doing festivals. [SPEAKER_00]: It's doing those support tours and it's continuing to want more, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Because if, and it's fine if we didn't want that, don't give me wrong. [SPEAKER_00]: There was a time in my, in the career where we were like, yeah, this is cool. [SPEAKER_00]: We could like chill and keep doing this and put it on autopilot, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Now, we want more out of it. [SPEAKER_00]: So let's push it to the limit.

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[SPEAKER_01]: So now you guys just finish this tour with data remember yellow card. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you start working on an album are you already planning out the next headlining tour going back to those same cities that you were just at to try and get those people to come. [SPEAKER_00]: Totally. [SPEAKER_00]: That's the idea.

[SPEAKER_00]: You want to think about how can we now maximize like going back to those cities ideally you put tickets on sale immediately the day after you're there because you want it to be fresh in people's minds. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, but can you do that legally with the contracts after the show's over. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it depends on some of these big festivals.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's what's called radius clause right where it's like you can't play with sometimes within a year like within like a hundred mile radius of those things like. [SPEAKER_00]: like Coach Ella, for example, is a big one Lala Palooza. [SPEAKER_00]: They do stuff like that, where it's like, if you're playing our festival, you cannot play within like a year within a hundred miles of this festival. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what makes it so exclusive.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're going to pay you the big money. [SPEAKER_00]: So you have to take that. [SPEAKER_00]: Some of the smaller stuff for the support tours opening for bands like a data remember.

[SPEAKER_00]: usually it's not as big of a deal like once that shows over you can put it you can put a show on sale so we have to think strategically like that but as far as new album and stuff goes we're already thinking about that as well um so it's new music when do we do the headline tours we have other festivals to look forward to it's going to be a busy next year I think we're also out of contract with our record label so we've now done five records with with our record label so that was your original contract yeah

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, well, we, we, we resigned a couple of times. [SPEAKER_00]: I think the first one was maybe two albums, and then we did one, one, one. [SPEAKER_00]: We kept re-signing every time. [SPEAKER_00]: So we'd, we always loves our relationship with our record label. [SPEAKER_00]: It, who knows, maybe this is the time where we start to reach out and think about other options. [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of bands are thinking really creatively these days when it comes to releasing music.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some are starting their own record labels. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly. [SPEAKER_00]: self-releasing and going independent completely which is so much work and who did that successfully I think a lot of bands have tried it. [SPEAKER_00]: I think technically the main had tried it before. [SPEAKER_00]: I think bands like Circus Survive had done it before.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to say any wrong bands if I guess but uh [SPEAKER_00]: Um, I've heard mixed reviews on that idea because it's so much work. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to become your own record label, your own publishing, your own this and that. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to distribute your own ways and find ways to get it in the hands of record stores and things like that. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to press the vinyl yourself. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to make the CD.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't even know if bands make CDs anymore. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, is that even an option for you guys now? [SPEAKER_00]: I know you're a fan base, but I mean, this is a question for the viewers. [SPEAKER_00]: Do you guys buy CDs anymore? [SPEAKER_00]: Who willingly do you, or, I feel like bands are selling more vinyl than CDs? [SPEAKER_01]: Like, because it's more of a collector's piece of cake.

[SPEAKER_01]: Totally, totally, because I don't have all these vans, I don't even have a record player. [SPEAKER_00]: Me neither. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I have all of my, like, all of champs vinyl variants of everything, like all the different colors and all the splatters and whatnot. [SPEAKER_00]: and the test presses, but they just sit on a shelf, man. [SPEAKER_00]: So some people really do like to collect and listen to vinyl.

[SPEAKER_01]: I respect those people so much because they love the art of it. [SPEAKER_01]: They live in the sound of it. [SPEAKER_00]: But cars don't have CD players anymore, do they? [SPEAKER_00]: So, so I don't think CDs are a thing anymore. [SPEAKER_01]: But even me, if I want to listen to one of your songs, I'm like, Boop, rather than, hey, let me go plug this in, turn this on, get the record, put it up. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna figure out the scratch thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: And maybe this is so like, [SPEAKER_00]: modern of us to be talking like this but like I don't know man maybe it's not as big of a deal as just making sure that year but record labels also have such good relationships with with streaming platforms like Spotify Apple music so they have you they have you a way better chance at getting on new music friday on the [SPEAKER_00]: all new punk in like that kind of things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure enough, a lot of it can happen organically, and it has for us before. [SPEAKER_00]: Spotify did a really cool thing for us when this last album came out, they put us on the Times Square Billboard, which was amazing, like the big long one at the corner of Times Square. [SPEAKER_00]: And that was just from Spotify being like, hey, we're excited about your new album. [SPEAKER_00]: Will you send us your most recent logo and most recent photo of you guys to use for press?

[SPEAKER_00]: And we didn't even know what they were going to do. [SPEAKER_00]: And then the next day it showed up on Times Square. [SPEAKER_00]: And my mom was like, I'm going down there. [SPEAKER_00]: I got to try because she lives in Albany a couple hours away. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So she drove right down eight lunch, like, and one of the restaurants with the view of times where it kept taking selfies, like with our billboard. [SPEAKER_00]: Next year, it's so funny, man.

[SPEAKER_01]: Having five full lengths out now, being a band for 15 years. [SPEAKER_01]: How do you think the industry treats you? [SPEAKER_01]: Do they treat you a little better than they used to? [SPEAKER_01]: Because you've been around for so long, not even the fact that you have a loyal fan base, but the fact that you're still going. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's a little dis and a little of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Think since we've been a band for so long, yes, we found our way to establish our legacy and plan our flag in the scene as some of the, but at the same time, I think a lot of like industry folk press are looking for the next best thing that's young and fresh too. [SPEAKER_00]: So we have to find ways to make sure that we're still balancing not becoming the old guy band. [SPEAKER_00]: And but while also like doing for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the term legacy starts to creep into something like us five albums and 15 years as a band. [SPEAKER_00]: We always considered ourselves like the baby new band trying to insert ourselves in the scene. [SPEAKER_00]: We're not the baby band anymore. [SPEAKER_00]: We've got five albums out. [SPEAKER_01]: But I still feel like you have so much youth because the performance is there and the music is there.

[SPEAKER_00]: I do too, and maybe it's just because pop punk is it's so youthful that it never seems like you're an old band. [SPEAKER_00]: But there's definitely bands in our space that I'm like. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, those guys have been doing it for a minute, bro. [SPEAKER_00]: So how do we balance that? [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like we've done a good job of it so far, though, you know? [SPEAKER_01]: So what do you have planned now for the rest of 2025?

[SPEAKER_01]: Are you guys already thinking about that? [SPEAKER_01]: I hope you already have that planned out. [SPEAKER_00]: The rest of 2025 is, uh,

[SPEAKER_00]: Pretty set and stone right now we're about to go on another short tour through November that's like small we wanted to go back to the basics kind of and like remember where we came from which is like sweaty small punk clubs like with no barricade small stages and so we did that we're going to do like 10 or 11 shows on our way down from Ohio down to Florida for vans warp tour because the warp tour finishes in in Orlando in the middle of November.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we're going to do all these packed out small clubs 300 cap basically 300 people in there. [SPEAKER_00]: And they're all sold out. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a little dangerous at times, but we're going to make sure nobody gets hurt. [SPEAKER_00]: Lots of stage dives crowd surfing and kind of like remember our roots type thing, which is going to be cool. [SPEAKER_00]: And so we'll do warp tour then.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then in December, we're going to go over to the UK. [SPEAKER_00]: We're supporting our friends Don Broko. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, they are. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: And they do still do so well. [SPEAKER_00]: They smash arenas in the UK. [SPEAKER_00]: It's around out the holidays in December. [SPEAKER_00]: One being Wimbly, Wimbly Arena in London, which is going to be a bucket list one for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: See it goes back to those goals that we've been trying to achieve. [SPEAKER_00]: Who else can we support? [SPEAKER_00]: How do we get in those big rooms? [SPEAKER_00]: How do we steal other bands' fans? [SPEAKER_00]: It's another example of that. [SPEAKER_00]: So we're very grateful for it, man. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be cool. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you get offered a tour slot on a data-remember yellow card? [SPEAKER_01]: Or how does that work for the opening acts?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty funny what the data remember when it was actually only supposed to be a yellow card tour. [SPEAKER_00]: like we accepted a tour from yellow card to be supporting them as the direct support underneath yellow card. [SPEAKER_00]: And then it wasn't until like maybe a week before that was supposed to be announced that we heard, hey guys, change plans, a data remember is now adopting your tour.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we were like, [SPEAKER_00]: Sick, that's great and like and it's going to be in bigger rooms. [SPEAKER_00]: It's now going to be in amphitheaters. [SPEAKER_00]: And since it was a yellow card tour, we're already like you guys make the decisions. [SPEAKER_00]: We're just there because you can't you don't choose the cities or choose the venues when it's not your tour.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you already okay to before the routing we okay to we okay to and we saw the routing was supposed to be smaller rooms in different cities and then we just got like hey. [SPEAKER_00]: Change your plants like this is what's going on now.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's now a data-remember yellow card tour together And we're like that's great because it's right in our wheelhouse of like pop punk Like I see meets like a little heavier and like more aggressive It's like we're the perfect band to be supporting both of those bands. [SPEAKER_00]: So Yeah, we accepted the tour and then we just see the list of cities list of venues and then we get ready to go [SPEAKER_01]: What is the backstage life like on a day to remember yellow card tour?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty funny because they're kind of older and like they all have like families and kids and staff especially in Florida where they're both from. [SPEAKER_00]: They had hundreds and hundreds of family. [SPEAKER_00]: It must have been like a family reunion, essentially, for y'all a card and a data member. [SPEAKER_00]: There's little kids running around.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's like, there's like, they're playing games, and there's like, make up and face painting, and there's balloons everywhere. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, is it a birthday party? [SPEAKER_00]: What's going on? [SPEAKER_00]: No, they just, they all have families, and they all have really, really cool family members, and everybody, I met so many of their brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and aunts, and uncles, and like, but everybody's super, super cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: on days where it's not like that. [SPEAKER_00]: Sean the violin player of yellow card is like me and him talk golf all the time Because he's like a he could be a pro golfer He gulfs every day gets up in the morning and goes golfing at like six a.m.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even on tour even on tour He brings golf clubs out with him and he's out every day and he plays with like some of the pros that are if he's in their their town or whatnot I'm not a morning person so I'm like Sean you go do that and like we'll play on a off day or like we'll play on the weekend It's a we never got to on the store mainly because he likes to get up in the early.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so sorry Sean you get up too early [SPEAKER_00]: Um, a data member will just pop into our green room all the time. [SPEAKER_00]: They'll come in and ask a Ryan my base player for like fashion advice because he's like the vintage clothing guy. [SPEAKER_00]: Neal will come into our green room with like two shirts be like Ryan, which one this one this one.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, like, I don't know, we'll just hang out and shoot the shit, have drinks, and, you know, we, we gifted them a big bottle of tequila on the, on the last day of tour to say thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: And then I think they might have scrambled and been like, damn, we didn't get them a gift. [SPEAKER_00]: And then like 15 minutes later, they came back like, we got you vodka. [SPEAKER_00]: We're like, you only did like, so we just got you a bottle tequila.

[SPEAKER_00]: You losers, but that was still so nice of them. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, they didn't know us anything. [SPEAKER_00]: Neither did we to them, but like, [SPEAKER_00]: We wanted to show our appreciation because a data member is literally one of the bands that made me want to be in a band who when I was in high school, right? [SPEAKER_00]: And now to consider them close friends of ours and just homies that I can text all the time and ask for advice. [SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty special.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's really cool. [SPEAKER_01]: What is it like for you as vocalists to see Jeremy go from singing to screaming? [SPEAKER_00]: Scared. [SPEAKER_00]: It makes me scared for him, but like he has that so dialed. [SPEAKER_00]: He's been doing it for so long, right? [SPEAKER_00]: I can't imagine doing it having to do the singing and then go back to the screaming like as much as he does. [SPEAKER_00]: And they don't take a lot of days off and he's doing it for 90 minutes at a time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like on that tour with us, I'm not screaming. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm only singing. [SPEAKER_00]: We're only doing 35 minutes. [SPEAKER_00]: Sure enough, I know what it's like to be the headline or two, but not with the screaming man. [SPEAKER_00]: That's crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: You have to like, [SPEAKER_00]: That's very technique based, I think, because if you try to do that the wrong way, you're going to screw your shit up. [SPEAKER_00]: You love out your voice.

[SPEAKER_00]: Totally, totally. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think over the years, I know he's had issues in the past. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I used to watch their DVDs that came with their albums back in the day. [SPEAKER_00]: And they were talking fast. [SPEAKER_00]: And I love those. [SPEAKER_00]: I kind of want to bring that back. [SPEAKER_01]: Some 41, I think I wanted the best ones with the second album, Hel song. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah, yeah, that was a really cool thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, used to watch those with like census fail and throttles and Hawthorne Heights, right? [SPEAKER_00]: So cool, and a data member being won too. [SPEAKER_00]: And I remember one happening with him with his voice going and that's when I found out with throat coat T was. [SPEAKER_00]: Like that was, he was like, I wanted throat coat from the store, but they didn't have it. [SPEAKER_00]: So I was like, what's that?

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's the reason I drink throat coat T is because of Jeremy, I haven't told him that. [SPEAKER_00]: I try not to fanboy too much sometimes. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm like, I used to do this and that. [SPEAKER_00]: I used to like know everything about you without even being friends with you. [SPEAKER_00]: So I try not to ask too many questions and punish, you know, but it's really, really cool to be able to do that when I want, you know.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have Ryan Key coming over on Wednesday. [SPEAKER_00]: Cool. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have any fun stuff that I can ask him about? [SPEAKER_00]: Ask him about his new leather rubber pants that he wears on stage. [SPEAKER_00]: He's a great guy, man, and the yellow card's another one that I just grew up with.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dude, Ocean Avenue was my first ringtone that I ever bought on my first cell phone, but it was the 8-bit version of Ocean Avenue, where it's like just ding ding ding, bang, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding

[SPEAKER_00]: that camaraderie that we do now, thinking about it from 20 years ago to now, it's super, super cool, man. [SPEAKER_01]: For the inner workings of your band, there's four members. [SPEAKER_01]: How do you guys decide for who does what, who's responsibility, who's not feeling like they're putting in too much work compared to the other people? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it's tough.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think we've ran into problems and we still are learning how it works with the balance of like delegating roles within a band. [SPEAKER_00]: I say this way too much. [SPEAKER_00]: I envy solo artists, pop stars, rappers, DJs that are one entity that make the decision and there's one cook in the kitchen. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, because what if the vote is two, too? [SPEAKER_01]: How do you guys decide what's going to happen? [SPEAKER_00]: We still try to figure that out.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we literally flip a coin. [SPEAKER_00]: It's crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: Really? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Because it would be much easier if it was three or five and odd number where there's always going to be a swing vote. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, luckily a lot of the time it is like majority rules or it's three against one. [SPEAKER_00]: I've been outvoted three to one plenty of times. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm the littlest things, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: When it comes down to like merch designs, set list, picking a set list. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, [SPEAKER_00]: But those are the things where it's like, sometimes you have to be able to give up your pride a little bit and be like, listen, we're gonna do plenty more tours, we're gonna put out plenty more shirts, let this one go. [SPEAKER_00]: It's fine. [SPEAKER_00]: You don't need to be a stickler about it because that's how inner turmoil starts, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's how bands can break up if you really have too much pride. [SPEAKER_00]: So you have to be willing to trust your homeies too and your band members with things. [SPEAKER_00]: Whether it's big decisions, little decisions, we have to be willing to talk things out.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we've found the wrong ways to go about that [SPEAKER_00]: It turns into this issue and maybe management has to get involved and it's like, hey guys, we got to talk about this, but we've been really good about figuring that out within ourselves lately and just being like, hey, let's hit the group chat. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get on a call or let's go to lunch and just be able to sit down and be like, what do we really want? [SPEAKER_00]: What, let's be intentional about everything.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's been our huge thing in the past like year or two every decision that we make with purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: with purpose. [SPEAKER_00]: What's our intention here? [SPEAKER_00]: What are we trying to achieve? [SPEAKER_00]: Rather than just like this seems like the move, let's do that. [SPEAKER_00]: Or the fans are like this or it's it's it would be pretty expected of us to do this or make this decision. [SPEAKER_00]: No, it's like what do we want out of this?

[SPEAKER_00]: What do we what do we want to achieve? [SPEAKER_00]: Do we want to do we want to do we want to radio hit? [SPEAKER_00]: Do we want to just play this? [SPEAKER_00]: Do we want to climb our way up the ad mat and towards the headlining thing? [SPEAKER_00]: What do we want? [SPEAKER_00]: And that's been important to us lately. [SPEAKER_01]: Was that always [SPEAKER_01]: Um, or was it ever rocky even that it was definitely rocky at times for sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's got to the point where it's like man, and I mean, doing anything for 15 years. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think it can be as smooth as possible, and especially if you factor in things like [SPEAKER_00]: the time of COVID right where it's like what's going on there? [SPEAKER_00]: Are we even going to tour again? [SPEAKER_00]: What do we do to keep ourselves relevant? [SPEAKER_00]: It was definitely a tough thing for a while, but it's over time.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's gotten easier and we're still learning like I said every day. [SPEAKER_01]: How does the payout work for a band? [SPEAKER_01]: Is there just one big bank account and then it just gets paid out every two weeks, every month? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, every band goes about it differently.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some bands do like an actual payroll set up where it's like a fixed income that like is a salary based essentially so they get a paycheck every two weeks and everyone lives off that sure it's like monthly or things like that we don't do it like that at one point we did, but we found it to not work as well as we wanted it to.

[SPEAKER_00]: Every band makes different amounts of money too, and it's not steady because we do different tours, we do different festivals every year that can generate different incomes. [SPEAKER_00]: So we can't really fix ourselves to a certain set salary every time. [SPEAKER_00]: And there's different bills and different expenses to pay along the way completely. [SPEAKER_00]: The more money you make, the more money you're going to watch go away.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're building out of your state. [SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, you expenses for production, how well do you want your stage to look? [SPEAKER_00]: How many people did you bring on that tour to work for you? [SPEAKER_00]: What kind of vehicle were you traveling in? [SPEAKER_00]: Were you in one of the big boy buses? [SPEAKER_00]: Because there's goes 100 grand right there on a tour.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, and then on top of that, you're paying your manager, you're booking agent, you're record label, everything in between. [SPEAKER_00]: So it's crazy when I see gross profit from a tour, and then here's all your bills. [SPEAKER_00]: And they go, [SPEAKER_00]: So we try to do it tour by tour, where we go through the list with our business managers at the end of like, okay, what's left? [SPEAKER_00]: What's healthy to keep in our band bank account?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because there's another tour coming up right around the corner. [SPEAKER_00]: And you're going to need startup expenses for that, to pay for flights, to pay for freighting, for shipping all of your gear, to get to the tour. [SPEAKER_00]: It's such a, I'm so happy, I would never be a band manager ever. [SPEAKER_00]: I can't imagine that it's interesting how much you know about this. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, are you just, I feel like you're kind of rare where you're informed about this.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's funny though. [SPEAKER_00]: It's thank you for making it sound seem like I do know a lot. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know enough. [SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, I should be more informed honestly on the actual numbers behind it, but I try to because this is our livelihood, right? [SPEAKER_00]: And like this is it for so long.

[SPEAKER_00]: We tried to make it not about the money, but now we're all in our 30s and we have to be able to live, you know, especially like we're all scattered into in families, kids, houses like duh. [SPEAKER_00]: We have to make sure that we're making the right decisions. [SPEAKER_00]: We're not getting screwed over.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I should keep more of an eye on it, and needless to say, but I do know how quickly everything goes and like how much it takes to run the ship that is a full-time touring band, and it's an early man. [SPEAKER_00]: So it makes us try to cut back when we can on certain things, but we don't want to cut too far back and not put on the show and be living as comfortably as we need to for morale on tour.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like that's a balance in itself, too, that we always have to talk about and find the sweet spot.

[SPEAKER_00]: Totally, we go through budgets every tour where it's like here's how much it's going to cost you to do this that being said Do you guys want to travel in a big boy bus one of the even bigger boy buses or maybe dial it back and do one of the like a little more RV style like this and that or you could do it in a van and get hotels every night and then you see how much you're going to make there and our drummer always goes let's do that man. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll drive the van. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll get hotels every night and it like triples are income at the end of a tour if we do it like that. [SPEAKER_01]: But I've crazy to even get a hotel and it makes that much more money. [SPEAKER_00]: I know. [SPEAKER_00]: So it's crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: Then living on the tour bus sometimes.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, but guys ever splurge on the biggest tour bus that you were like, yeah, we did and then it's I hated that we did that because we were like, we can't live we can't do anything less than this moving forward. [SPEAKER_00]: That was kind of bad for our ego. [SPEAKER_00]: you know, and not break up as a band because it's hot, sweaty, summer, dusty, everywhere. [SPEAKER_00]: You needed a nice shower and you needed a nice bed and comfortable living.

[SPEAKER_00]: First stuff like that, it wasn't always like that. [SPEAKER_00]: We did do one warp tour in a van and sweat it out, but I was only like 20 years old at that point. [SPEAKER_00]: So I was just excited. [SPEAKER_01]: Was that the most profitable one for you? [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, absolutely. [SPEAKER_00]: Totally.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, more money, more problems, but you also want comfortability and you want to be able to [SPEAKER_00]: You want morale to stay high within the band because the more uncomfortable people are, the more they're going to bash heads and that's how bands break up, man. [SPEAKER_00]: So we've learned so much along the way when it comes to that process. [SPEAKER_01]: This is so fascinating. [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Sharon. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, of course, man.

[SPEAKER_01]: Wow. [SPEAKER_01]: When have you seen the band can come up the most? [SPEAKER_01]: Is it after a hadvining tour? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, usually on a headline tour because that's where the best deals come in. [SPEAKER_00]: And you know, you can also do things like if VIP meet and greet. [SPEAKER_00]: That's a huge thing when it comes to doing a tour like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a difference of tens of thousands, [SPEAKER_00]: hundreds of thousands of dollars when you do the 50 people come in early before the show and they get to meet you take pictures hang out They get a merch package.

[SPEAKER_00]: They get to buy merch before everybody and they get that barricade spot at the front because they're in there before everybody else People will pay a lot of money for that on top of that sometimes we do what's called like the gold package where We'll pick five people who and if it whoever gets to buy them first They get to stand on the stage with us while we play that's and they get that every door.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've only started doing it the past like one or two [SPEAKER_01]: Do you do it on data memory or a card? [SPEAKER_00]: No, we can only do that when we're headlining. [SPEAKER_00]: It's funny though, when you get to a certain point too, you don't really care about the money for certain things like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: A data member, for example, on this past tour, they would go out right before they would play into the lawn, like I talked about before, and they would pick maybe like 30 people. [SPEAKER_00]: And they would say, hey, you guys, like I like your data, remember shirt, you guys want better seats and come with me. [SPEAKER_00]: So they didn't even know what was going on. [SPEAKER_00]: They would get brought right up to the stage and there's a big platform behind the drummer.

[SPEAKER_00]: On the stage, in full view of everyone else in the crowd, and they get to stand right behind the drummer, like 30 people. [SPEAKER_00]: And they're all just rocking out on their shoulders and like they stay there, the whole entire show and it's free. [SPEAKER_00]: They just get picked out of the crowd. [SPEAKER_00]: That was so cool. [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, man, respect. [SPEAKER_00]: Cause they're not asking for money. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, they're making enough.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're doing just fine. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's cool to give the fans a cool experience like that and offer stuff like that. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, you've done countless shows, countless tours, countless festivals. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Who are your top three performing bands that you've seen live that just blew you away?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to put a data member in this as far as like top three because I had to I watch them every night and I really do appreciate and give them so much credit for how much they put into their live show. [SPEAKER_00]: They make sure that their stage production and song by song there's new elements being added in. [SPEAKER_00]: like how engaged you keep a crowd even myself as someone who gets to watch it every night.

[SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to make sure I was out there watching every single night just in case something new happened or just to make sure just just to be there and be like wow these guys are pros and they know what they're doing. [SPEAKER_00]: Another band I would put up there's Boys Like Girls whenever we tour with Boys Like Girls I have to watch them every day. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm a fan of the songs.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a fan of their swag, you know, as a band and like they're like, yeah Martin has that. [SPEAKER_00]: Martin's he's show time all the time and he's [SPEAKER_00]: Locked in, you know, and I love watching that and just at what he's going to do his little nuances and everything the leather jacket primetime like it's awesome [SPEAKER_00]: And then on top of that, I'd put Blink when I did two in there.

[SPEAKER_00]: We just did a couple festivals aftershock being won and then this four-quarter festival in Pittsburgh. [SPEAKER_00]: Their communication and the way that they talk on stage, it makes me want to be funnier in a sense without trying to be funny. [SPEAKER_00]: It's just a weird thing. [SPEAKER_00]: It makes me realize no matter how old you are, you can still make...

[SPEAKER_00]: dick and fart jokes on stage and make fun of yourself and be vulnerable and just like not give not give a shit basically like that's the essence of punk rock to me and uh doesn't matter how their stage looks doesn't matter about them playing the best or having the best songs they're known for being a crappy punk rock band but they're still the best of the best and are so pro about it and can make fun of themselves the whole way and people are so engaged so that's three different like styles of me wanting to learn from the others you know

[SPEAKER_01]: What are the top three pop punk albums you're listening to now? [SPEAKER_00]: It is so funny, man, like I'm in a pop punk band and I'm submerged in this pop punk world, but I don't listen to a lot of pop punk. [SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty wild. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you know where the album comes out? [SPEAKER_01]: You're, I have to check this out. [SPEAKER_00]: No, I mean, I'll listen to it, but I don't listen to a whole lot of pop punk. [SPEAKER_00]: It's wild.

[SPEAKER_00]: I actually, I do really like the new a data remember record. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's cool. [SPEAKER_00]: The new yellow card record is cool. [SPEAKER_00]: Did you like the starting one? [SPEAKER_00]: I love the starting line. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so I like the new starting line record a lot. [SPEAKER_00]: I do like the new starting line record the starting line is probably my favorite band He's coming over in two weeks. [SPEAKER_00]: No shit. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love Kenny. [SPEAKER_00]: He's a great dude and like I love if you I listened to a lot of his interviews and whatnot Just because of his story and how young he started right. [SPEAKER_00]: How old is he I think he had I think he was like 15 when they first broke You know on on drive there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, so and he was like the youngest little kid in the scene, but like [SPEAKER_00]: grew that into the machine that is the starting line, but even the ups and downs with them as a band, like, they didn't really blow up the same time and watched bands like fall up. [SPEAKER_00]: My comical romance go. [SPEAKER_00]: Paramore, right? [SPEAKER_00]: And they kind of got left in a little bit of a shadow, but held strong.

[SPEAKER_00]: And now they're still putting out some of the best music ever, it's so cool. [SPEAKER_01]: This is their first album in 17 years? [SPEAKER_00]: The long time. [SPEAKER_00]: Crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: Direction. [SPEAKER_00]: Starting on Direction is probably my favorite album of all time. [SPEAKER_00]: Really? [SPEAKER_00]: So you can tell them I said that. [SPEAKER_00]: I love this song Island, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Islands on that.

[SPEAKER_01]: I remember that music video came out. [SPEAKER_01]: That was a bonus. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, that's the thing. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't listen to a lot of new pop punk. [SPEAKER_00]: I still go back and we'll listen to starting line direction, acceptance, phantoms. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I'll go back and listen to... [SPEAKER_00]: old the main albums, you know, like I still do. [SPEAKER_00]: The main has so many albums.

[SPEAKER_00]: I can just flip through that are just geography all the time. [SPEAKER_01]: Every two years, new album. [SPEAKER_00]: I know. [SPEAKER_00]: There's a so consistent. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how they do it. [SPEAKER_01]: Is that is that impressive for you as another artist to see that every two years that have a whole new album?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's funny though because now every two years putting out an album might not be enough, you know, because of the intention span of the viewer of the listener. [SPEAKER_00]: If you take two years off, [SPEAKER_00]: People might forget about you at this point. [SPEAKER_00]: So you need to kind of like fill the gaps with things. [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, touring will help. [SPEAKER_01]: EPs and covers. [SPEAKER_00]: EPs and covers.

[SPEAKER_00]: I like to think about what if you just start playing the single game and just put out a single every month or something like that? [SPEAKER_01]: I think that audience will get their fixed up. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: That's the thing. [SPEAKER_00]: It's almost going to take some trial and error to see what the fans are interested in. [SPEAKER_00]: How it engages how it how the number stack up against that if like people or is that too much?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know or do you put a single out every couple months and then at the end of it? [SPEAKER_00]: At the end of the year say great remember all those singles we put out here's the album That's all those songs, but with that you don't get anything new in fresh one See album comes on. [SPEAKER_00]: Is that me? [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, that's kind of how I feel because I heard can you be slowly talking about how if you want to be taken seriously?

[SPEAKER_01]: You have to do the full album. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, because otherwise if you're dressed strap in singles, it's it's just the singles game [SPEAKER_00]: That's true. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because then once the album comes out, you want to be able to be like, here's all the, I want to listen to all those songs I haven't heard yet. [SPEAKER_01]: And if they're just not filler songs, but they're not as catchy as the other ones. [SPEAKER_00]: But that's the issue.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes bands like the fans will go, oh, well, all the good songs haven't been released. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, and now the ones that I haven't heard yet, I don't, I just want to go back and listen to the other ones. [SPEAKER_00]: But that's the, that's the glory and the challenge in making an album is that there's no fillers, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And making sure that you're not just like, well, [SPEAKER_00]: that one can go in the album, but it's not gonna be a single. [SPEAKER_00]: You can't have that mindset, you know? [SPEAKER_01]: I think some 41, all-killer, no filler. [SPEAKER_01]: That's all filler. [SPEAKER_01]: It's in the title, isn't it? [SPEAKER_01]: Every song's in it. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I think that's one of the best albums of all time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: How do you feel about the whole pop punk revival in the past couple years? [SPEAKER_01]: I know you go out in DJ Emo Night. [SPEAKER_01]: Does that help you guys get exposure to a different audience or is that pretty much your audience that's there anyway? [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's a little bit of both. [SPEAKER_00]: I think the Emo Night stuff is very cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: It keeps like the... [SPEAKER_00]: The modern factor of, you know, where a pop punks at and makes people, it makes it, it gives it such an nostalgic feel obviously and remembers like we're all like, we're all here because we like the same shit and that could be any type of music, but it's just the Emo Night thing and the Emo Night name has built such a.

[SPEAKER_00]: a brand for itself that only helps bands like us if we're still trying to carve our way up the mountain as a band and whatnot.

[SPEAKER_00]: The revival I think is only helped and I'm just curious like it's very fascinating to me to see where the trends are going like you know I thought maybe the pop punk revival was over and it was all country in the past year everything's switching over to country and I thought bands were going to start to like put a country twang on themselves or something like that but that's not really the case I see it start to kind of come back to the pop punk wave but now

[SPEAKER_00]: Who knows, man, I'm just excited to be here. [SPEAKER_00]: The thing is, regardless, like we know with state champs where we're at and what works for us and we're not gonna like go switch it up and pull up complete 180 on everybody. [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna just do what we want. [SPEAKER_01]: What made you finally decide to do a self-titled out when was that a tough decision for you guys saying this is state champs? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it totally was.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's our fifth album and this is that kind of defines who you're sound. [SPEAKER_00]: Totally. [SPEAKER_00]: When you go, this is self title, people go, okay. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you better bring it then. [SPEAKER_00]: This better be like the epitome of state champs are of said band name. [SPEAKER_00]: I think most bands probably put out self title down like their second or third album, but we waited until five.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't want it to be so obvious to everybody that it's like, right? [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't want people to think that just you made itself title because you couldn't think of an album name. [SPEAKER_00]: That wasn't the case at all. [SPEAKER_00]: We actually had a few ideas that I was ready to like. [SPEAKER_00]: totally use. [SPEAKER_00]: And that kind of almost still show in the album. [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted to call this album embedded or like forever embedded.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I wanted it to be like, because I knew I wanted to brand the trophy. [SPEAKER_00]: Finally, that was another thing. [SPEAKER_00]: We didn't know when it was the right time to brand a trophy as state champs. [SPEAKER_00]: Like it was, we thought it was way too easy.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I wanted to like, I wanted the album cover to be like a trophy kind of like stuck in cement, stuck in and it's like kind of carving your name in the cement and forever to like plant yourself in [SPEAKER_00]: But I felt like that almost was a little too easy to. [SPEAKER_00]: So when it came down to it, it's like, when the album was done, we were listening through all and picking the winners for the album, we were like, man, this just sounds like how we want to be perceived.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if anyone were to listen to stage jumps for the first time, we want them to hear this album, you know? [SPEAKER_00]: So that's when it was like, [SPEAKER_00]: are we leaning towards self-titled right now? [SPEAKER_00]: Is that what we're talking about? [SPEAKER_00]: We're like, yeah, like it started to all make sense and fall into place. [SPEAKER_00]: So I just want everybody to know we didn't immediately go to self-titled because we were out of ideas.

[SPEAKER_01]: The self-titled album's been out for over a year now, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: How do you think it's been perceived? [SPEAKER_01]: It did it do everything that you wanted it to do? [SPEAKER_00]: I think so. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's great. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's [SPEAKER_00]: Well, kind of how I gauge when an album comes out is like how it goes over live and how many of those songs you can fit into a set list. [SPEAKER_00]: That's a good way to get it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and without it feeling like, oh, those ones are getting stale. [SPEAKER_00]: You gotta go back to the hits. [SPEAKER_00]: No, like I find ourselves front loading heavily with some of these newer songs. [SPEAKER_00]: And right from when it came out, we did the headline tour for the self titled album, the day that it came out. [SPEAKER_00]: Like we started our tour. [SPEAKER_00]: And I was, I'm always worried about that too. [SPEAKER_00]: The album is just coming out.

[SPEAKER_00]: But we were looking out at the crowd line for the first show that day the album come out, everybody had headphones in. [SPEAKER_00]: And everybody was listening to the new album like the day. [SPEAKER_00]: Got to learn the lyrics. [SPEAKER_00]: They came out and then sure enough they knew it. [SPEAKER_00]: Like it didn't take long at all. [SPEAKER_00]: So sure enough I would still like an album to come out and then maybe do the tour in a month later, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So like a couple weeks later. [SPEAKER_00]: So that they have time to let it sit. [SPEAKER_00]: But we didn't see too much of a lag in that. [SPEAKER_00]: People were already screaming the songs. [SPEAKER_00]: And we get so much stuff online that's like, well, how come we haven't played that one song,

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, you don't want to do overdo it too much and now it's just so hard to pick a setless because we've got five albums So it's like how much you got to give the new album its flowers But you have to make sure that people don't forget about the old stuff and think that you're just trying to like feed them all the new shit You know, you got a balance it out with everything in between and not forget about enough [SPEAKER_00]: We'll do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: We'll pick a whole set list and then be like, oh shit, we forgot about that one entire album. [SPEAKER_00]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: So now we're going to go reform it. [SPEAKER_00]: It's hard, man. [SPEAKER_00]: What it's also fun, you know? [SPEAKER_01]: What I think is so cool for you is now that you're coming up to the time where you can do the new album and tours, but you can also do a 10 or 15 year anniversary tour. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I know.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's what we're planning right now too. [SPEAKER_00]: Our second album around the world and back is 10 years old this year. [SPEAKER_00]: And everyone's keeps asking, where is the tour? [SPEAKER_00]: Where is the anniversary tour? [SPEAKER_00]: Because now it's about to be over for 10 years. [SPEAKER_00]: But we're going to do it. [SPEAKER_00]: It's just going to be at the top of next year. [SPEAKER_00]: You're getting the exclusive, by the way. [SPEAKER_00]: That's so cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're getting the exclusive. [SPEAKER_00]: We're working it all out right now. [SPEAKER_00]: We're designing the posters We picked the rooms. [SPEAKER_00]: We picked the cities. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's gonna be about eight cities eight shows in In our biggest markets, and so it's gonna be New York Boston. [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna do one LA show. [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna do Philly. [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna do Philly goes off.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Philly is gonna be we're doing Chicago and there there gonna be some of the biggest venues that we've ever played We're really taking a swing here [SPEAKER_00]: Because it's our second album, which we consider probably our breakout biggest album at the time and maybe still some a lot of our fans favorites. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's the one that has secrets in all of our history. [SPEAKER_00]: And so it's like some of the biggest songs are from that album.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have to pay tribute to it in some way and we have to do it big. [SPEAKER_00]: So we're we're going to do it front to back. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think so. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I haven't talked about this with the guys. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if I want to play it in order. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: But we might have to redesign it for the time. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, maybe. [SPEAKER_00]: But then that's not it.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're probably going to do the album and then go off stage, come back out and do another set. [SPEAKER_00]: Like another set of full of all different songs. [SPEAKER_01]: People are losing their shit right now. [SPEAKER_00]: We got to get we got to do something special, man. [SPEAKER_00]: It's only right. [SPEAKER_00]: So that'll probably be announced very soon. [SPEAKER_01]: And you already have in mind who the opening actually be?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yep. [SPEAKER_00]: We're just about to solidify that. [SPEAKER_00]: I can't give away anything for there. [SPEAKER_00]: But there's some cool bands. [SPEAKER_00]: One being one of our favorite bands growing up. [SPEAKER_00]: Legacy act that is now back in better than ever. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's very cool and exciting for us too.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the you know, we have one and then the LA one is probably one of my favorite younger newer bands on the scene that is blowing up right now. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'll let people make their gases. [SPEAKER_01]: You tell us the LA venue. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we're going to do the will turn. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, excited about that. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_00]: We played it once before or maybe once or twice, but one time was opening for another band.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it was was sleeping with sirens. [SPEAKER_00]: And then another time we did headline of it. [SPEAKER_00]: We didn't sell it out. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's the goal this time. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have to go back and listen to the album front to back to learn the lyrics? [SPEAKER_00]: I probably will. [SPEAKER_00]: You know what, not really, but there's a couple that we've never ever played live ever. [SPEAKER_00]: So on that album. [SPEAKER_01]: Why?

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: No, I better. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, maybe just because of the live energy, but we have to play at this time. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to need to one, relearn a lot of lyrics, and learn to sing it live for the first time in some cases. [SPEAKER_00]: So it's pretty cool, man. [SPEAKER_00]: It's exciting time. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you think your voice has changed that much to where you won't be able to hit anything? [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I think it'll be okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the glory with being in a band these days is like sometimes in every band does this. [SPEAKER_00]: You can drop the keys of certain songs if it's a little too high for you. [SPEAKER_01]: For the entire song? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you can do that. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you can just say one song in particular on the album is just a little too high for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can then just take everything and drop it down, like one key or a half a step even and just so it's a little bit easier for me to sing. [SPEAKER_00]: It's fine. [SPEAKER_00]: And then even if I'm feeling more confident on some nights, I can switch our right back up. [SPEAKER_01]: Are you ever not in the mood to play? [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: It makes me sound very ungrateful though. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like first-world problems, you know?

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's like any job, any job that anybody has. [SPEAKER_00]: Even if you love it, you know, you know, overwork a day in your life, you love what you do. [SPEAKER_00]: That doesn't mean that every day you're going to wake up and love and want to do that thing, you know? [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes you're terrible there. [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you're sick. [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you've got other personal shit going on. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, and that's okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: Needless to say like once I get on stage and I like give myself a little bit of a pep talk, look what you get to do, look at how look at the the change that you're like giving to people and like how you can make someone's day by just being up there and engaging with someone or meeting someone. [SPEAKER_00]: Once I get on stage it all kind of goes away, but that doesn't make it tough sometimes, you know, you wake up and just not feeling it.

[SPEAKER_00]: But you find ways to kind of [SPEAKER_01]: Let's say you're performing in the biggest venue and you could only play one song. [SPEAKER_01]: What's the song that you're performing? [SPEAKER_00]: It's probably got to be secrets, I think. [SPEAKER_00]: Secrets is just our biggest song that's what, when I think about it, it's like, Secrets is the song that we will never not play, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's either that or everybody but you is another big anthem, like, anthemix song of ours. [SPEAKER_00]: But I could be selfish and just, [SPEAKER_00]: say one of my favorites that like and losing myself is another one of my favorites and that's on around the world and back as well. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's probably always been one of my favorites. [SPEAKER_01]: What's your favorite song to close with now?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's Ben secrets forever and we took a tour often did everybody but you last.

[SPEAKER_00]: we could also maybe go back and do say like silver cloud which we've been playing first forever when you did everybody but you did you do secrets right before it I think so and then you did the fake a buy i think so that's and that's another thing we kind of need to change the uh the dynamic of the on-core maybe we just need to get rid of it completely what that's the lead singer why why why why why why why why I know it's sometimes a little cheese ball they kind of walk

[SPEAKER_00]: go and then we're all in for the hit we know you're gonna come back out and we know we know you're just standing over there like yeah and we're like and that's that is what we're doing sometimes or actually a lot of the time we're waiting for Tyler to pee because he always has to pee and and I'm like I'm like Tyler they're gonna stop chanting one more song come on hurry up yeah [SPEAKER_00]: He's like, I'll be right there.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's peeing, or we're just waiting to be fine. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, let him keep going a little bit more. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to get louder. [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to get louder and then we run back out there. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a little cheesy sometimes. [SPEAKER_00]: So maybe we just start saying, hey, we got three songs left. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's it. [SPEAKER_00]: So give us all you got because we're not coming back out. [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you like it or not.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: I did remember just did that. [SPEAKER_00]: That's why I bring that up. [SPEAKER_00]: They did that. [SPEAKER_00]: They were like work. [SPEAKER_00]: We're putting an end to on course. [SPEAKER_00]: We have three more songs and give us everything and did you think the audience felt that? [SPEAKER_00]: No, we're sad. [SPEAKER_00]: No, I know they were satisfied.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were satisfied because I think at that point they knew that okay, well, they played all their hits. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think there's anything they would play that we didn't want to hear. [SPEAKER_00]: And when they get done, they turn all the lights on and they start playing the house music. [SPEAKER_00]: So people know that it's over. [SPEAKER_00]: It's one thing if you just go, thank you, good night, boom, and then it's just black and silent.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because then people know there's more to come. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, otherwise people start showing people out, securities like, all right, everybody. [SPEAKER_00]: They start sweeping stuff. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, who knows? [SPEAKER_00]: My mind changes on that all the time. [SPEAKER_01]: Who is your favorite day to remember song life? [SPEAKER_00]: I really like the song LeBron. [SPEAKER_00]: They have a song called LeBron. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a new album.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's really good. [SPEAKER_00]: And specifically for that song, they would bring out a big basketball hoops that on each side of the stage. [SPEAKER_00]: And then they would throw all like like beach ball sized basketballs into the crowd. [SPEAKER_00]: And it would be a contest as to which side scores more points. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, so it's just perfect for us on called LeBron, you know, and there's shooting basketball beach balls into the hoops.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was fun to watch every night. [SPEAKER_00]: And then they've got Pyro going and confetti, and here I am in my mind, I'm like that must cost so much money. [SPEAKER_00]: I'd love to see your budget at the end of the tour. [SPEAKER_00]: But you got to spend it to give people that show that makes I've never seen anything like that I have to go see them next time.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the mindset that I think about like I want to make sure that my fans think that when they leave our show But I also want to make sure that I can pay my rent When you're doing the arena tour in the UK, do you guys already have everything planned after that? [SPEAKER_00]: No, not yet. [SPEAKER_00]: That's another, I think we try to go to, we've got so much stuff coming up with.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like warp tour and the headline tour and the small clubs and then we've got, we're putting so much of our attention on the around the world and back anniversary stuff for next year that I almost think we've kind of forgotten about the UK thing. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm gonna leave here and make a call and be like, hey, it does everything good for this. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: First of all, we got a lot going on, man. [SPEAKER_00]: But it's not a bad problem to have.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's all exciting, shit, man. [SPEAKER_00]: And it makes me very grateful to be as busy as we are, [SPEAKER_01]: When state champs gets to warp tour, who's bus are you guys going on to first, who's coming on to your bus? [SPEAKER_00]: Um, to rekindle hang out. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's probably boys like girls, um, I've got to think of who's on warp tour, neck deep story so far, uh, the main if they're playing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um, we have a core group of friends that are always kind of, uh, you know, just hopping on each other's bus in the green room, pranking each other, whatever, or like friends that'll, I know will be on stage next to us watching for your strongs and other one. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, plenty of camaraderie and plenty of, there's plenty of small talks to be had everywhere you go out warped charred. [SPEAKER_00]: There's no, you'll never be bored.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, that's to say with everybody, but you, in the collaboration with Nectip, would you guys ever do another collab with them? [SPEAKER_01]: Was that, how do you guys figure that out? [SPEAKER_00]: I would love to do another collab with Nectip. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that's ever off the table, and I think we have so much crossover love and same kind of group of diehard fans that they would eat that up any time we do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: When we were just in Kentucky for a festival called Ladder than Life, Nectip was also on tour. [SPEAKER_00]: They're on tour with the story so far right now. [SPEAKER_01]: And are you going next week? [SPEAKER_00]: Are they playing here next week? [SPEAKER_00]: Saturday and Saturday and on. [SPEAKER_01]: I think I'll be away. [SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, otherwise, I would be there.

[SPEAKER_00]: I kind of forgot to ask Ben about coming up and singing with us on stage for everybody but you sure enough we're getting ready to play this song and he's already up there. [SPEAKER_00]: Like he, what, none of us asked him, nobody talked to him. [SPEAKER_00]: He was just up there putting his ears in ready to sing and that's, that's my guy, man. [SPEAKER_00]: That's, I own so much for that. [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't have to do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: He could have just been like, and maybe he wasn't in just like any other day what we were just talking about. [SPEAKER_00]: If you're not in the mood, you're not in the mood. [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes I hate bothering people. [SPEAKER_00]: He would be like, hey man, what do you do the thing with us? [SPEAKER_00]: Like, come on. [SPEAKER_00]: But he was right up there. [SPEAKER_00]: He came right out saying, killed it. [SPEAKER_00]: The crowd went nuts.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, thanks. [SPEAKER_00]: That's my guy. [SPEAKER_01]: Is that easy for when someone's a feature on a song? [SPEAKER_01]: They could just put their in ears in and they're synced up. [SPEAKER_00]: And since he's done it with us so many times, we do have it locked in like that. [SPEAKER_00]: If it's the first time that someone's done it, maybe it's a little, a little tougher. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you want to do it at sound check first to make sure that it's like all good to go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um, but with Ben, he doesn't care. [SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't need much. [SPEAKER_00]: He's like I'm gonna put my ears in you know how goes and he has a good relationship with our crew guys that work there He's like, hey guys, I'm here. [SPEAKER_00]: Give me the mic. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going out there boom. [SPEAKER_00]: Done. [SPEAKER_01]: This story so far just released a live album would state champs ever do a live album.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I've thought about that [SPEAKER_00]: And it's funny because we have the same management as the story so far so they brought it up to us too. [SPEAKER_00]: What do you guys think about doing a live album I'm not a huge fan of live albums, but listening to the story so far is one I'm like that's fun is really cool. [SPEAKER_00]: I know and the thing is we have live versions of certain songs out on Spotify.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it was the around the world and back extended like Deluxe Edition that there's a couple live versions of songs and yeah I think it was just so picky and such like a perfectionist with effect Yeah, my vocals and everybody in the band too.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, oh, if there's a little club there There's a little little little miss note or something sure enough with these live stuff You can edit it and you can do overdubes and things trying not to rely on that though because you still want it to have the integrity of a live version of a song [SPEAKER_00]: I'm open. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm more open to it now. [SPEAKER_00]: I think I was just a little stickler about it before I'm like oh, I heard that we got to fix it.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I don't want to like be all about that. [SPEAKER_00]: I wanted that. [SPEAKER_00]: I want to make sure that we're one a good band and to not fixing things too much. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I love a state champs like it would be cool. [SPEAKER_00]: And now I think about it more more. [SPEAKER_01]: Would you ever do another acoustic? [SPEAKER_00]: acoustic for sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I would definitely do it because I know that the fans love that and every time we do some kind of acoustic versions of songs or stripped down versions of songs. [SPEAKER_00]: They eat it up. [SPEAKER_00]: So and that's what I came from in the first place. [SPEAKER_00]: That's what I wrote my first songs on and what a lot of state champ songs are just written on an acoustic guitar in a room. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's a bit of this day. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, sometimes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, sometimes that it's just like myself or me and Ryan or me, Ryan and Tyler sitting in a room, just kind of jam and I think that's the most important thing with writing a song is how do you know you have a good song? [SPEAKER_00]: You know you have a good song if you can sit in a room with just one guitar and play it and it sounds like a great song. [SPEAKER_00]: If you have to have too many bells and whistles and added things to it, then like maybe it's not.

[SPEAKER_00]: You need to break it down to the core of just like cords and a vocal and that's how you know you have a good song. [SPEAKER_01]: You guys went to Joshua Tree last time to do this. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Took a couple songs from there. [SPEAKER_01]: Would you do another experience like that for the next album?

[SPEAKER_00]: Definitely we we want to do another remote writing session, but we don't want to do anything we've done before We were already talking about stuff like that. [SPEAKER_00]: No, right not not Alaska the one thing that got brought up the other day was Montana I've never been have you been to Montana? [SPEAKER_00]: I've always wanted to go. [SPEAKER_00]: I've never been and I've been surprisingly expensive Is it actually yeah, damn it?

[SPEAKER_00]: I looked into it last year was cheaper to go to Europe. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh damn. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's like we had it's like we could go to like [SPEAKER_00]: Highland or Dubai or something like that, but like I want to be like secluded But not too far away and like somewhere beautiful. [SPEAKER_00]: That's inspiring, right? [SPEAKER_00]: So I feel like Montana might be kind of cool Alaska and I knew of you in my head with Alaska too Maybe do it on a cruise Yeah, we're doing it.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're doing it. [SPEAKER_00]: We're doing it. [SPEAKER_00]: We're doing a Emo cruise coming up at the beginning of next year. [SPEAKER_00]: The Emo's not dead cruise. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, with you Are you gonna go? [SPEAKER_00]: I think so. [SPEAKER_00]: We did it last year and it was awesome. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it was our first time ever on a cruise too [SPEAKER_00]: And what is it just bands playing all day on the band's play all day and there's different levels.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a venue underneath the boat that's more like a house of blue style venue. [SPEAKER_00]: And then on the top there's the ocean surrounding and pool decks main stage. [SPEAKER_01]: It sounds like a millionaire kid just got his wish. [SPEAKER_00]: I know dude. [SPEAKER_01]: That's like all my career bands on about. [SPEAKER_00]: And I want free food all day and free booze. [SPEAKER_00]: And I want a casino in it that's open 24 hours.

[SPEAKER_00]: What could more could you ask for? [SPEAKER_00]: Do you gamble? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: What do you play? [SPEAKER_00]: I play blackjack and roulette. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, cool. [SPEAKER_00]: So we'll have to hit the tables then, too. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's such a cool thing, man.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that's another cool experience that, like, we're just so thankful to be a part of all these different variations of how we can portray our band, like, never thought we'd play in the middle of the ocean on the cruise with the heck. [SPEAKER_01]: It's a good real listen, your own stuff. [SPEAKER_00]: I actually do. [SPEAKER_00]: I do listen to my own band. [SPEAKER_00]: Uh, What are you looking for? [SPEAKER_00]: More often than not.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's just for gratification for myself, making sure that I sounded the way that I want and that I wouldn't change anything. [SPEAKER_01]: Are you going back to album one? [SPEAKER_00]: No, no, mainly like the newer stuff. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, when an album is done and it's not out yet, I'm listening to it every day. [SPEAKER_00]: And then it comes out and then I kind of judge how well it did by how long much longer after that I want to still want to listen to it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And right now, I still go back and listen to the self-titled album and it's almost been out for a year. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm like, okay, like it makes it. [SPEAKER_00]: And I don't know if like, [SPEAKER_00]: makes me almost sounds stupid. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like am I listening to it just to give myself that gratification? [SPEAKER_00]: It's not.

[SPEAKER_00]: I actually enjoy listening to it, but I'm making myself little notes to on things that I would have done differently or how could I done this better and it's just sits in my head moving forward for the next one. [SPEAKER_01]: And you're even hearing that now a year later when you could have done different? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and that's why I kind of have to be like, okay, it's done.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, in order, otherwise I'll pick it apart and like want to retract things or redo things or add things, but you never want to add too much when you're in the studio. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, at some point you got to be like, I'm happy with this. [SPEAKER_00]: We need to just move on and we need to, we need to put it out. [SPEAKER_01]: Are there any songs on state-cham self-titled that you didn't love as much at first? [SPEAKER_01]: Been now.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's really growing on to you. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, actually the last song, the last song on the self-titled was called Golden Years. [SPEAKER_00]: And I thought it was just a little bit. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, the guys really liked it. [SPEAKER_00]: I just didn't know if it was right. [SPEAKER_00]: It's a little bit of a different sounding song. [SPEAKER_00]: I kind of compared it to almost like a yellow card style song.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it was just a little more like rock and not as much like cool state champs. [SPEAKER_00]: But now let's do it. [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, I'm glad we took a chance on something different. [SPEAKER_00]: That was maybe outside of my comfort zone and just I had to own it in that time. [SPEAKER_00]: Be like, okay, if we're going to do this, I need to like completely invest in myself in it. [SPEAKER_00]: And I did.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm happy that I did do that and open myself up to be like, [SPEAKER_00]: It's okay to not love everything you do, but invest yourself in it and give it all you got. [SPEAKER_01]: Who would be a dream producer for you to work with? [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, there's a combo of two producers that I've been wanting to work with, that I have in the past on certain collaborations, but not on a full-state champs album, and that's Andrew Goldstein and Zach Servini.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: Those two together, I think, would do it make a really good-state champs album. [SPEAKER_01]: I just saw Zack's name on an album somewhere. [SPEAKER_00]: I was really, well, we were just talking about Limbisket. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, he didn't even think of Limbisket as Limbisket. [SPEAKER_00]: I was looking at the composers and his name was on there. [SPEAKER_01]: So he did that entire song? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think he produced it one more time.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think he produced it one more time. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: And he did the last full album, too, of theirs. [SPEAKER_00]: Of Limbisket. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Wow. [SPEAKER_00]: And like produced and mixed it all. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think he's just the best of the best.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he also does a lot of like, he does all-time low, you know, he does, um, [SPEAKER_00]: He has his hands and plenty of baskets in the modern day rock and roll scene and uh Is he in LA? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he's here in LA.

[SPEAKER_00]: The only time I did work with him while he worked for John Feldman when we did living proof that third album, but he was just like the engineer, studio engineer before he really made a huge name for himself and then uh we are cool and then we worked with uh him and Goldstein for the first time when we did our collaboration with Simple Plan, this song called Where I Belong. [SPEAKER_00]: And that was when I was like, oh man, these guys are pros.

[SPEAKER_00]: I want to get in here with the state champs full band and do it in album But they're so busy. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like guys carve out some time for the champs, all right. [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go I was driving in my friend's neighborhood and who do I see walking none other than Andrew Goldstein? [SPEAKER_00]: No way I'm full. [SPEAKER_01]: I go.

[SPEAKER_01]: I love Friday night [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's been around so long and has, I mean, made such a name for himself as a songwriter, doing so much stuff with like a black bear, specifically in all the hits that he's produced, super, super cool, I'm really proud of him. [SPEAKER_01]: Is his studio in LA? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, right. [SPEAKER_00]: I think he works at plenty of different studios and he has his own space here in LA, too, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: Wow, what a hero. [SPEAKER_00]: So cool, man. [SPEAKER_01]: How come stories so far and ever does interviews? [SPEAKER_01]: Is that personal thing? [SPEAKER_00]: How come this story so far doesn't do interviews? [SPEAKER_00]: They don't care, they don't care and they don't want to. [SPEAKER_00]: They are the only band that I think has gotten away with not doing press and, like, there last few years, like, 14 years ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, finally I think Parker opened up and did some, like, very personal interviews of for the last album when he did, like, GQ and Rolling Stone. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, he did. [SPEAKER_00]: And those are the only two interviews he's ever done. [SPEAKER_00]: And they're very, very, no, I'm not, I'm not quite sure. [SPEAKER_00]: It was a video. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, not video. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it was probably in person or a phone call that turned into a print piece.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: but I was, I've never read other people's interviews, but I think it was so exclusive. [SPEAKER_00]: Like no one had heard a peep out of him forever. [SPEAKER_00]: And I've been through a lot of shit, and I was very proud of him for being as vulnerable as you was. [SPEAKER_00]: And it was like cool, I think, for everybody to kind of get a first look finally after 15 years into him, and it made the state of their band a little bit more special, I think.

[SPEAKER_01]: You like their live album? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I do. [SPEAKER_00]: I like it and it's funny they've been attaching it to like all the clips and stuff they've been putting on Instagram and I'm like, yeah, this is cool. [SPEAKER_00]: It made me go back and listen to them. [SPEAKER_00]: Like on my speakers at my house the other day listen to like Like all this time and a bunch of of the other hits on their most recent album in the live setting.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's cool especially with listening hearing the crowds sing it to throughout the whole thing. [SPEAKER_00]: It's is fucking awesome. [SPEAKER_01]: I never liked big blind up until the live one. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And then it really got me into it. [SPEAKER_00]: It's funny how that can work to your live version or if you see it live. [SPEAKER_00]: Like that's another thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: If I'm so like, I consider our live show to be more important than listening to the record. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, if I think that, if that's my opinion, why wouldn't I want to do a live album? [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's almost like oxymoron. [SPEAKER_01]: What would you do? [SPEAKER_01]: 20 songs in the perfect world? [SPEAKER_01]: Perfect world agreed to doing it. [SPEAKER_01]: And then the whole medley of the entire catalog.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think it would be a mixture of everything, and it would be kind of great. [SPEAKER_00]: Just hits, if you will, probably 20 songs, best of the best. [SPEAKER_01]: Don't wait for the 20 year anniversary. [SPEAKER_00]: No, no, no, no, no, no. [SPEAKER_00]: That would be too long. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see. [SPEAKER_00]: Because that we'd have to wait four more years.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I talked to Aaron to last be about the almost. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And my only regret was that I didn't push for a little reunion deal. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I saw the clip. [SPEAKER_00]: He said he doesn't want to do it anymore. [SPEAKER_01]: So I feel like it's my due diligence on behalf of the people to at least push for it. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly.

[SPEAKER_01]: So thanks for implanting that and I assure other people will thank you to you mentioned earlier that your contract was up with your record label. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have ideas of what you want to do now going forward?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's just like we're talking internally right now between the four of us as a band first before we even go back to management to our now label it to be like, because going back to being intentional and like, what's our purpose and what do we really wanna achieve next? [SPEAKER_00]: It's a big decision whether or not we, and I know there's gonna be meetings that people wanna take.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we're gonna take every opportunity and every meeting with people as far as what our options are out there. [SPEAKER_01]: as far as outside labels? [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, as far as other labels go, we'll sit down with our label that we are with right now. [SPEAKER_00]: It's whether or not we want to chase a bigger dream of something like a big radio hit and do go major label. [SPEAKER_01]: Is that something you want? [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't know what's realistic and what's not with our world right now. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think nothing's impossible. [SPEAKER_00]: But it's whether or not we want to like shoot for the stars and take a risk there, or if we want to just maybe kind of see what the best opportunity to do, you know, the next best version of what we have ourselves and see what other resources are at our expense by meeting certain people that we haven't sat down with already.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it's an exciting slash scary slash nerve wrecking time to see what's next for us, but ultimately I'm excited to see what what happens. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll we got to sit down first. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm huge on talking to my peers. [SPEAKER_01]: I do people from Facebook, from Instagram, other podcasts, there's other YouTubers. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you reach out to other people that are your size bigger, smaller, just to get other perspectives?

[SPEAKER_01]: People have been down that path? [SPEAKER_00]: I make a mental list. [SPEAKER_00]: I think every time I'm of like, who has gone through a certain similar situation and who do I think could shed some light? [SPEAKER_00]: And there are. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think, uh, do you just call [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, actual text or DM or whatever. [SPEAKER_00]: One will probably end up being John from the main. [SPEAKER_00]: I was down with John from the main.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll sit down with potentially Jeremy from a data remember. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because they went through a lot. [SPEAKER_00]: They've been through a legal issues too. [SPEAKER_00]: So I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want that to like scare me, but that's a whole different story. [SPEAKER_00]: So, but everybody knows it would be so good. [SPEAKER_00]: John would be good, because I think they've been through the like, [SPEAKER_00]: All different sides of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: They've tried the major thing. [SPEAKER_00]: They've tried independent labels, and they've tried self-releasing. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think I'd love to pick his brain about like, what worked? [SPEAKER_00]: What do you wish went different? [SPEAKER_00]: What was a bad choice? [SPEAKER_00]: What it was never, never again. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I've never actually asked him those questions. [SPEAKER_00]: So it would be interesting.

[SPEAKER_01]: because they're also working on their next one, too. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I don't even know if they're with a label or not. [SPEAKER_00]: So I just want to check in and be like, how's my friend? [SPEAKER_01]: I think they, they're last one, didn't they partner with somebody? [SPEAKER_00]: I think so. [SPEAKER_00]: I think so. [SPEAKER_01]: So, but they still have the own, their own distribution or something like that. [SPEAKER_00]: That's what I mean.

[SPEAKER_00]: All this, all those deals get very, like, particular and everything's different. [SPEAKER_00]: So I just want to know, I just want to make sure that I'm in good hands, essentially. [SPEAKER_01]: Do you have any songs in the pipeline that you think would be a good pop radio hit? [SPEAKER_00]: There's ideas out there, there's stuff that was maybe left on the table from the last album or two albums ago that were like, yeah, if we were going that route, this would be perfect.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it wasn't ready for the time being. [SPEAKER_00]: So who knows, maybe we jump back and like pick apart from those like the vault of demos that we have, which we do. [SPEAKER_00]: We have a lot of like vault songs that like may may never get heard by anybody. [SPEAKER_00]: And then there's ones that maybe we just need to re-flash out. [SPEAKER_00]: So that's it, I get excited thinking about it. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm thinking in Orion, key class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Who knows, man? [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe some Parker Cannon on the Evalvo. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, who knows? [SPEAKER_01]: Who knows? [SPEAKER_00]: You never know. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, man. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a lot more collaborations in the future. [SPEAKER_00]: That's for sure. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, wherever you guys go, I'm sure it's going to be the best decision you guys do. [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks, Troop. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, thanks for coming by this is awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's been great to be back, man. [SPEAKER_01]: Go see the, the, the, the, the new tour. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, man, we'll be back. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll be, we'll probably be in your city soon. [SPEAKER_00]: So please come out and see us. [SPEAKER_01]: Is there a name of the tour or what is it? [SPEAKER_00]: Um, no, there's no name for the tour. [SPEAKER_00]: It's just small rooms across the east coast down to warp tour.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you're in, in, in the area of Orlando warp tour, we'll see you then. [SPEAKER_00]: But then we'll always be back and keep an eye out for those anniversary shows for around the [SPEAKER_01]: Well, see you guys. [SPEAKER_01]: That is so good. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.