sailor’s talk magazine ISSUE 9 | MAY 2016
OUTLINE IN COLOR - RARITY - AFFIANCE - FIREKID
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STAFF
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF // FOUNDER // PHOTOGRAPHER // ART DIRECTOR JAKE LAHAH DESIGN ASSISTANT // TIFFANY CHACON PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS // ALEXA FRANKOVITCH, BROOKE LONG, CAITLYN WILLARD, JAKE LAHAH, KRIS KOELEWIJN, PENELOPE MARTINEZ, RYAN STACEY, TIFFANY CHACON WRITING CONTRIBUTORS // ALEXA FRANKOVITCH, KAMNA TALWAR, LEE BARICH
INFO
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WEBSITE: sailorstalkzine.com CONTACT: jake@sailorstalkzine.com GET CONNECTED FACEBOOK: /sailorstalkzine/ TWITTER: @sailorstalkzine INSTAGRAM: @sailorstalkzine TUMBLR: sailorstalkzine.tumblr.com
SPECIAL THANKS TO: BIG PICTURE MEDIA, ALYSSA DEMPSEY, LISA GARELICK, DAYNA GHIRALDI, SECRETS, CAM BIRCHILL, AMY SCIARRETTO, ATOM SPLITTER PR, AFFIANCE, DEVOUR THE DAY, FOR TODAY, LUIS ROSALES, FIREKID, ILANA GOLD, ATLANTIC RECORDS, JESEA LEE, HIGH ROAD PUBLICITY, ALYSON STOKES, HEATHER GRIFFITH, FEARLESS RECORDS, MIKE CUBILLOS, EARSHOT MEDIA, OUTLINE IN COLOR, RARITY, HACKTIVIST, + MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ON THE COVER
SECRETS // 28
Bands Vs. Food Tour // 6 Firekid // 10 Hackivist // 12 Affiance // 14 Devour The Day // 16 Rarity // 18 Outline In Color // 22 Album Reviews // 26 Gallery // 36
S D N A B . VS
D O FO
TOURHOTOS
P + W S E L REVIE A S O R S I U BY L sailor’s talk | 6
The Bands Vs. Food Tour featured some of the topnotch metal artists in the scene. Featuring all previous main stage Warped Tour headliners, this show could have easily been headlined by any of the bands. With an absolutely phenomenal performance from all the bands, each band brought out a unique and engaging performance that was action packed and in full throttle. Check out some of the photos our photographer Luis Rosales took from the Baltimore, MD date of the tour. Kicking off the first day of the Bands vs Food Tour after a short run of “The Road to The Bands vs Food Tour,” We Came as Romans and Miss May I, come back with friends, For Today and Memphis May Fire who would co-headline the tour for this heavy hitting lineup. For Today would kick off the tour at Baltimore Soundstage and would give it all they got starting with “Forced into Fire.” The first thing you noticed was how extremely well lit the stage was for house lights, plenty of front white lighting, perfect amount of colors and strobes. The band would go ahead a 7 song set list in what seemed like a short amount of time, they didn’t spend too much time talking and made it all about the music. Shortly after their set, Miss May I comes on stage next and absolutely destroys it. In typical Miss May I fashion, front man Levi Benton was being his extremely energetic self, taking advantage of all the room he had on stage from being on one side of the stage one moment, and runs over to the other side the next. The band played a little longer set of 9 songs playing their best from all their albums, starting from “Deathless” and going back to “At Heart.”
‘Regenerate’ from their latest self-titled album which set the intensity level for the set pretty high. Everybody on stage took advantage of the 2 levels that they were jumping off to make for some perfect jump shots and even just standing on top to get a better view of the whole crowd. We Came as Romans did their thing as they finished with ‘Hope’ and gave Memphis May Fire their chance to take the stage and finish off the night. Now Memphis May Fire had a similar stage setup, just with fewer risers, but that meant nothing as they always put on a spectacular set. Matty Mullins decided to slow it down about half way into their set with a different version of “Miles Away” and “Be Careful What You Wish For” which had a more bluesy feel to the guitars while vocals remained the same. After that they picked up back up to finish with “Vices” off their Challenger album. This tour was nothing short of phenomenal as you could be happy with whoever headlined since it was that stacked.
Co-headliner, We Came as Romans, was up next where they had drummer, Eric Choi, on the second tier of their stage. The band opened up with
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FIREKID
st RECOMMENDS
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st RECOMMENDS Hailing from Muscle Shoals, AL, Dillon Hodges, who also goes by the name firekid, has been bringing his alternative rock, with a hint of bluegrass jams, to various cities across the nation. Having just finished a tour with Kaleo and the recent release of his self titled album last year, firekid has proven himself as an emerging artist. Having won the National Flat-Picking Guitar Championship at the age of 17, he is the second youngest person to do it. His 2015 debut release hones in on bluegrass roots while keeping a pop edge that is specific to our time. Some of the songs like “Gospel” and “Statues” from his release exemplify this notion perfectly with electronic elements that resonate and follow the vocals. This mixture creates jams that are not only engaging to the listener but also create a story telling element. His self titled release is a film that touches on concepts of his hometown along with personal narratives in his life that have influenced it. Be on the lookout for firekid as he is currently supporting Brett Dennen on his headliner right now that will last until the beginning of June. words by Jake Lahah photo by Jess Diaz
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Progressive, experimental, and heavy hitting group Hacktivist just recently released their album Outside The Box via Rise Records. For a grim feeling album with an experimental “rap” edge to it, this group is nothing but pure ingenuity with what they are putting out. We spoke to the bassist Josh Gurner to get some insight about the album and what the band is up to now.
So you guys released Outside The Box this year with Rise Records. Briefly explain the writing process for that. What was it like, was there any difficulties in producing this album? A debut album never comes together without some difficulties! We hit the road pretty hard from day one which limited the amount of time we could spend at home writing and recording. Outside The Box was produced at our guitarist Timfy’s house, so any time we played a show, we had to dismantle the whole studio which was pretty disruptive. So you guys kind of “rap” or do spoken word in your music and it’s something unique that we really haven’t seen before. What inclined this style of music? How would you describe it if you can even describe it?
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It started as an experiment that went really well! Timfy was recording some of J’s grime tracks when he showed him some riffs he’d been working on. J loved it and put down some lyrics on the spot and that tack became our self-titled track. The album reflects a much broader look at our personal influences, which is what keeps our sound quite unique. What was it like recording some songs with some of the all stars like Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari? Was there anyone in particular you really enjoyed working with on the newest release? Why? We were really lucky to be able to work with a lot of close friends on the album. With the hiphop influence, we thought it would be cool to follow in their footsteps and get our whole crew involved! Rou and the Shikari guys have been like big brothers to us so it was inevitable we’d get him involved on a track!
Your album artwork has a very grim and horror feeling behind it. What was the concept behind this?
or message you guys are trying to see out to people? Or is it just a bunch of dudes who like to create music? Elaborate.
The artwork was done by a really talented local artist called Luke McDonnell. We wanted to capture the feeling of the grim future we’re unfortunately hurtling towards, but still hold a spark of hope for change.
Anybody that’s been to a Hacktivist show can tell that we have a lot of fun doing what we do. All of our shows are more like parties and we love spreading those good vibes, but we’re also taking the opportunity to direct light on to some issues that we feel are important. We’re not here to dictate how to live your life, just to compel you to think outside the box.
What plans do you have for the upcoming couple months? What can people expect from you guys? The album has finally been released so we’ll be touring that around the world as best we can! We’re currently on our longest headline tour in Europe so far, showing off our new material. Whenever we do get some breaks, we have some very interesting ideas we’re playing with already. Lastly, what does Hacktivist stand for as a group? Is there any sort of accomplishment
Anything else to say to fans? Don’t let live music die. Support your local bands and your local venues. If you ever see H in your neighbourhood, get yourself to the show and come say hi! interview by Jake Lahah photo provided
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Released eariler this pastMarch, Affiance have released their EP Gaia. While the EP was completely crowd-funded, it allowed for the band to create their most dynamic release to date. We spoke to guitarist Brett Wondrak to get some insight on the release and what it is about. How was the writing process for your EP, Gaia, which released on March 11th? We took our time writing Gaia. By the time we recorded the album, we had written at least 14 rough drafts. Once we fleshed out all of our ideas we were able to pick the 7 songs that both fulfilled the musical direction we wanted to head in and made the most cohesive album possible. How is the EP different from other material? How do you think the band has progressed musically in terms of instrumentation and song structure?
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I think this is the heaviest, vocally driven album to date. We tried to write parts that left plenty of room for Dennis to explore vocal ideas. As a result, Gaia is the most dynamic album we’ve written. In a recent interview with Revolver, Dennis Tvrdik stated the release was “a new era” for Affiance. Can you elaborate? We treated this album like a rebranding for the band. We only held to the core of what people love about Affiance. Everything else was up for grabs, so we were much more willing to explore a new range of heavy and soft songs. This lead to us writing songs
that have pleasantly surprised both our fans and critics. How has the response been to the title-track, which premiered at the end of February? Our fans have been completely on board with everything that we have released so far. It’s been very encouraging to see such a positive response to an album that we poured our lives into. Affiance starts tour the same day as the release. What are you most excited for on the upcoming tour?
other times our singer, Dennis, will find random, hilarious tangents to entertain our fans between songs. The primary focus for our shows is for our fans to have fun, unforgettable experience. What are your intentions when you perform? As a guitarist, I try to strike a balance between playing my parts as perfectly as possible and having the energy that people expect from an Affiance show. What are some plans for after the tour? Any summer plans yet?
It’s always exciting to hit the road with new material. You can truly see how engaged people are with your music when they’re up front singing along with songs that haven’t even been released as singles yet. That kind of excitement and support is very encouraging.
We plan to get out and support Gaia as much as possible. We haven’t announced any specific tours yet, but our fans can plan on seeing us a lot this year.
How would you describe a typical Affiance show?
Thank you to all of our crowd-funders who supported Gaia. Without your support, this album would not have been possible!
I can honestly say that every night is different. So much so that I don’t even know what to expect when I climb onstage. We read the crowd really well so some shows will be a crushing, intense set, while
Would you like to add anything else?
interview by Kamna Talwar photo provided
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With their album S.O.A.R. being under the radar since it’s release in April, we caught up with rock group Devour the Day to chat a bit about the album. How did the band form? Any connections through each other?
write a song about it and it one of our favorite songs to date.
Joey (bass and cowriter) and I have been playing together since high school. Ronnie was a replacement drummer that was just too good to let go and our guitar player was the singer for a band I produced a few records for. They broke up and he was and is a perfect fit.
It has been close to 3 years between this release, S.O.A.R. and Time & Pressure. What is your writing process like?
What is the meaning behind your title album, S.O.A.R.? It is an acronym for “Suffer Overcome And Recover”. We had a tough time making this record. Joey and I are best friends along with being co writers. That can make things complicated. However, we decided to
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We just record little ideas and groups of words. Then every once in a while we sit down and go through them and put a song or two together. then after sometime, we take a listen to everything and put a record together. We see what we are missing and fill the gaps. Sometimes that means writing new songs. It’s daunting but a lot of fun and worth the struggle. How does your current album differentiate from your debut album, lyrically?
Some people consider our first record one giant disstrack. We won’t exactly agree with them but we had a lot of anger in the making of our first record. This time we directed that frustration towards different things. We are very very proud of this new record.
What do you believe a band must always stay true to in order to achieve a successful journey?
What are your main goals to achieve as an entirety of a band? Is there anything you would like to prove?
Any words to your new and current fans?
I would like to prove that we can do this for a living. Right now we are doing great and we hope it doesn’t stop. This is a privilege. We are lucky. For those who have yet to listen to your music, how would you describe your genre?
Themselves. not knowing who you are comes through in your music. Trust me.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to support us. Those of you who are new, thanks for listening and we hope to see everyone at a show. interview by Tiffany Chacon photo provided
I don’t know. I can’t stand thinking of music by genre. I believe people should just listen and decide for themselves.
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For a bunch of kids that decided they should just start jamming together, Hamilton, ON group Rarity have recently released their album I Couldn’t Be Weaker. We spoke to member Evan Woods about the release and what the band has been up to back on the Silverstein tour.
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Do you have other jobs besides the band? Any family duties or outside projects you are involved with? Yea we all have jobs. Some work at the local mall, a bowling alley and our drummer works at a hockey rink (haha). Loeden our singer makes music videos also! As for outside projects we also have a joke hardcore side band called the 27 Club! Does your hometown have a big impact on where you are today as a band? I’d say so! There’s so much talent in Hamilton and the GTA in general. We couldn’t live in a more inspiring place. Nothing but bands to look up to and bands that always have your back. When we were younger all we looked forward to was the next local show, whether we were playing it or not! Not to mention Silverstein who we are currently on tour with are from 15 minutes down the road. Those guys have been like parents to us and have helped us push our band to new levels. Who or what inspired the sound you have today? We’re a bunch of kids who tried to write music that plays to all of our strengths as musicians, as well as writing the music that we are personally stoked to listen to. Our new album is a product of us collectively saying “is this sick? yea? then it goes on the record!” haha. Weirdly enough the bands that inspire us the most are the bands farthest from our genre. We’re all a bunch of metal heads! How did you get signed to Rise Records? What’s it like working with them and do you feel they meet the accommodations you need? We dropped our first song “Anne Hathaway” independently with a home made music video and Rise and Goodfight Management took interest quick, hitting us up about working together. They took a huge chance on us and we couldn’t ask for a more supportive team. They have our backs and when you are a young band like us that truly means the world. We feel like we have the support and the means to grow into whatever band were comfortable being. We’re still finding ourselves but because of them it is a very enjoyable transition. Now that you are signed, have your responsibilities as a band changed? If so, explain.
Oh yea, we’ve been thrown into a much bigger world than we thought we were ready for (haha). This is a job now, there’s rules and values we have to uphold. Best job in the world though! You guys released your first EP with Rise Records in February 2015, can you explain the writing/ recording process? That EP was written and recorded way back when some of us were only 16 years old. Once our current line up was set, we immediately started to gel musically. I remember sitting in our singer’s garage bouncing a million ideas back and forth on acoustic guitars, just hanging out all summer and making songs. We pumped out a few tunes and tracked the EP locally, putting everything we had into a proper release. After our local release of Anne Hathaway, the EP was release over a year later than we planned because we were given the chance to put it out via Rise Records. What do you enjoy most about being musicians? Is there a specific aspect that you enjoy about it such as writing, live performance, or touring? I’m a nut for writing songs. I’ve become obsessed with structures and transitions and all that jazz and now I can’t stop humming ideas and melodies into my phone every chance I get. Our first record isn’t even out and I’ve got a trillion ideas for the second aha. There is no part of being a band that I dislike, but creating music is definitely my favorite. Right now you are on a tour with Silverstein, Being as an Ocean, Emarosa and Cardinals Pride. What is it like being on tour and how does it feel to play with some of the biggest bands in the industry? We were nervous at first but like I said earlier, Silverstein and every band on this tour have been wonderfully supportive like band parents to us! We work our butts off every night but it feels like we’re always achieving more! Our hard work has a purpose and that’s a wonderful feeling. Not to mention we get to watch some of our favorite and most inspiring musicians every single night. We straight-up learn something new every day! interview by Jake Lahah photos by Ryan Stacey
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For a six-piece band spread across the nation, writing is not easy for Outline In Color. With their newest release Struggles that was released via Standby Records, Outline In Color are easily pushing the boundaries with this one and it’s avant-garde nature. Even though the group is spread across the nation, it didn’t stop them from producing one of the most interesting album releases of this spring. With all the right factors in place, Outline In Color have produced what may as well be their best release to date. Six is a handful, especially with writing and coming to a consensus on ideas and final decisions. “Usually a couple of us write together,” drummer Nick Taylor explained. “And then we bring it to someone else. It’s usually step by step because if there are too many cooks in the kitchen at the same time we end up…” Guitarist CJ Cochran interrupts commenting on the writing process, “It stresses me out. If we were all in the same room together nothing would ever work ever. Everyone would be like ‘Yo, do this! Do that! Do this!’ But if you bring an idea to the table that’s already kind of there, it works better.” The number of band members is not a problem for them though. For Outline In Color, many of the members are spread across the country. Unclean vocalist Trevor Tatro explains, “the entire band lives spread out across the country so it’s like two members here, two members there, two members there. So we can email shit back and forth - it’s just way easier.” Written over the course of the year, Struggles was manly written by Tatro and their clean vocalist K.C. Simonsen. Tatro explains about the writing process, “I moved up to Oregon for a couple months with our singer K.C. K.C. did predominately most of the writing on the record and I helped write a little bit.”
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Cochran states, “I help write a little bit, not too much. Pretty much K.C. would bring us a rough draft of a song and I would be like, “Hey, this part is cool. This part sucks, let’s fix it.” Always constantly checking each other, Outline In Color is able to collaborate to create something very unique. Their newest album Struggles, that was released via Standby Records, shows it all. Soft and solemn fills are juxtaposed with an album complete with aggression and experimentation. Listening to the album is like a roller coaster in the way that the songs switch from very hardcore unclean vocals to more light hearted choruses. But the album is more than just a formal breakthrough for this band, it was the first album they had the right logistics to produce it. Tatro explains, “This is our first album that we’ve gotten to do everything that we wanted to do. We got the budget that we needed for it. We got to work with a producer that we’ve always wanted to work with, we had alms a year to sit and write it. It was comfortable in every aspect, and it came out exactly the way we wanted it to. We’ve been doing this for 7 years, so yeah. I mean, this is the album that I think is going to make a name for us.” The title of the album itself speaks on the concept of struggles. With the quest for understanding the inner demons and the need to conquer struggles, the band used this idea to fuel and drive their newest release. Tatro explains, “Basically the album has to do with anybody who deals with their own struggles; their own demons. I personally was very addicted to opiates for years. Something I’ll deal with and battle with for the rest of my life. Our singer has his own issues and his own addictions.” Pulling from real life experiences the band taps into the private space with this one. It’s this kind of notion that shows that Outline In Color strive for artist integrity. “I think, personally, integrity - I don’t know. As long as you’re happy with what you’re doing, and you don’t give a shit about what anyone else thinks; I mean if someone else says you’re selling out and you’re actually selling out (like you’re trying to make money from what you’re doing and it’s not really who you are) I think people can sniff out bullshit. If you’re being genuine, that’s keeping your integrity. To me, if you’re staying genuine, you’re staying passionate,” Trevor stated. It’s this type of artist credibility that shows that Outline In Color isn’t in it for the fame. Struggles is definitely an album and chapter in their artistic career that will shape them for the long run. Be sure to check out the album available now via Standby Records. photos by Tiffany Chacon interview by Tiffany Chacon + Jake Lahah story by Jake Lahah
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ALBUM R Pierce The Veil - Misadventures Fearless Records Release: May 13th, 2016 San Diego’s Pierce The Veil is one band that continues to emerge in the on-going music industry. Waiting three years since their last album release, Pierce The Veil dropped their brand new album, Misadventures, May 13, 2016. Continuing the unique vocals by front man, Vic Fuentes, the album begins with “Dive In”. “Dive in, take a breath, blow the smoke through the hole in my chest.” Releasing all of the frustration of what the music industry can do to the dedication of a band, PTV holds on to the passionate reasons of why they started this dream in the first place. With about a minute left into the song, a surprising guitar solo brings the head-banging in. Misadventures gradually brings back memories from when you were a kid. If you were one that listened to music, such as NOFX, “Texas Is Forever” is the song for you. The energy of the second song includes a great combination of what Pierce The Veil is about. Lyrically, anyone can relate to the ups and downs of relationships, and this is what PTV explains. Especially with lyrics like, “Here we are, crashing once again into the center of your moonlit face. Our caved in ribs, your tears they fall on my tongue, and our lips are letting go as we laid on the side of the road.” Pierce The Veil composed impressive harmonies with uplifting guitar riffs, loud, soothing drums, and solitary, strong vocals. What I appreciated most about this entire album is the realness it provides. Each song includes a short story that every fan and/or listener can relate to. Misadventures ends with a song called “Song for Isabelle”, who actually is a real person that PTV sees on tour very often. She has suffered from mistreatment from other, and this song demonstrates the connection between her and the band. With that said, there’s no argument as to why this album is called Misadventures. Pierce The Veil has a magnificent way of expressing their beliefs and personal issues through music. Using strong, emotional, yet exciting, upbeat rhythmic melodies, Pierce The Veil does not disappoint with their musicality. Misadventures delivered exactly what every PTV fan has been waiting for in the past three years. Pierce The Veils begins their headlining tour June 5th in Las Vegas. Be sure to catch them along with supporting acts this Summer. review by Tiffany Chacon
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REVIEWS Rarity - I Couldn’t Be Weaker Rise Records Release: April 15th, 2016 Rarity’s newest release I Couldn’t Be Weaker, released April 15th via Rise Records, is the perfect get ready for summer jam record. The band has created an album driven by emotion through its tone and pop-punk drive. Opening up the album with “Hollow”, Rarity presents the listener with a fast driven pop-punk song that carries throughout the rest of the album. Songs like “Effexor” and “Inhale” are similar to this in the way that the rough vocals resonate well with the power drive of the songs. The album’s drums are one of the predominant elements with the really sharp sound of the bass throughout each song. This drives the listener to that notion of it being music with a pop-punk breakdown. “Palette” begins with some screechy sounding vocals that clash well the sling of the bass guitar in the song. This shows an interesting level of tone and aggression that lets the viewer hone in on the lyrical content. Overall the album is a powerhouse of pop-punk breakdowns and is driven by the relational elements of the vocals and drums that energize the listener through the album. review by Jake Lahah
Greaver - The Faun Cardigan Records Release: April 29th, 2016 Greaver, post-hardcore quintet from Durham, North Carolina, have released their album The Faun via Cardigan Records on April 29th, 2016. The album opens up in a dramatic fashion creating a release that focuses on the emotion and energy of the sound. With dramatic breakdowns and harsh vocals that are upfront in fashion, Greaver blends this with experimental fills that challenge the boundaries of the post-hardcore scene. Fueled by the aggression of the vocals, the band introduces this in their second song “A Poisoned Well”. With fast melodic guitar breakdowns and clashing drums, the instruments make a level of ambience that compliment the loud and aggressive unclean vocals. It has a tipsy feeling to the guitar that is juxtaposed nicely with in-your-face experience of the voice. “First Touch” and “Third Eye” has an inclusion of the voicemail sound throughout the song. With this dramatic voice of female in the background, they use the content of this as the only lyrics on these songs. This is something new we haven’t seen and it sets the tone to a much more serious level. The Faun exemplifies a range of vocals that have similarities to similar to bands like Dance Gavin Dance or A Lot Like Birds, but it falls on the line of a more dramatic and aggressive edge. review by Jake Lahah
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In 2015 Secrets departed from their lead vocalist Aaron Melzer. Since the depature of their previous vocalist and the introduction of new vocalist Wade Walters, the band has made some serious changes. They released their album Everything That Got Us Here via Rise Records in the beginning of December. Having to tell fans about this change and dealing with lineup issues is the least of this bands worries. They are far more concerned with dominating this summer’s Vans Warped Tour.
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A few weeks ago I met up with San Diego native band Secrets about halfway through their U.S. headlining “Everything That Got Us Here” tour. We stood in the middle of the 16th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, PA, chatting and watching people celebrate the weekend at the outdoor bar below us. “Living together is like playing a song – a song that everyone knows,” guitarist Michael Sherman voiced. “You just start over the next day.” Having made it halfway through the current tour, the guys were in the thick of it, cramming themselves into a van, driving across country, and playing a show almost every night. “I mean whenever we seem out of it, it’s exactly because we haven’t gotten enough sleep for the past two weeks; we drive all night. We take turns driving, there’s six of us, so every couple of days you drive,” drummer Joe English added. But while the days may seem monotonous in theory, the members of Secrets surely don’t see it negatively. “There’s no rules, we can play whatever but we have a set list. I’m not tired of it yet,” Richard Rogers, clean vocalist and guitarist said. “Yeah, I get more excited as the show goes on,” vocalist Wade Walters added. And while they have intensity and energy on stage, the group is completely laid-back behind the scenes. As we strolled the streets of Pittsburgh, the guys said hi to fans lined up at the stage door, and chatted completely candidly about their lives on and off-stage. “We go through phases, like one day I’ll hate Joe, and one day Michael will just hate everyone. Everyone stinks but it’s cool,” Wade mentioned when talking about what it’s like to be together 24/7. “Didn’t you try to smother Richard the other night?” Joe asked. “No I just put a bunch of soap in a pillow case and started womping him,” Wade responded, laughing. Sincere and hilarious, we continued our conversation over dinner at the crowded sandwich shop down the street.
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In late 2015, Secrets announced that their former vocalist Aaron Melzer would be stepping down from the band, with Wade Walters joining not only on their next tour, but on their next album as well. “It was a pretty smooth transition actually,” Richard stated. “Aaron had to fly home in the middle of our tour with The Devil Wears Prada so we flew out Wade and his audition was actually a headlining one-off we did in Kent, Ohio, and he crushed it! Telling the fans was tough, but they took it really well.” “Literally, he [Richard] called me and was like hey, we lost our screamer, do you want to come out? I flew out the next day and just flew into that situation,” Wade said. After releasing both a statement from Aaron as well as from the remaining band members, fans responded with grief but understanding, as well as a predominant air of positivity. And while some may have responded negatively, the band made a point to keep going strong. “We just do what makes us happy and look at the positives,” Richard said. “We didn’t want to tell people without something to back it up so we waited until we were going to release our first single “Left Behind” from our new record Everything That Got Us Here. That way the news was softened by a new song showcasing how great Wade is.” With an optimistic reaction to the single, Secrets released their latest album Everything That Got Us Here, with a title and lyrical theme hinting at a major transition for the band. “I had been thinking of this theme for the album since before the member change,” Richard stated. “It’s basically about everything we’ve gone through as a band,
what the people around us have gone through, and what I’ve personally experience in my life. I touch base on love, addiction, heart break, self harm, and how important it is to keep going no matter what life sends your way.” As we finished up dinner and headed back to the venue, each member seemed completely relaxed and content. Richard headed off to take a nap and Wade told a story about sitting next to Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath at a bar; they weren’t worried about the evening’s performance or audience reactions, but about where they were going to do laundry this week. Following up after the tour, Richard mentioned that they all loved it. “It was amazing to have rooms full of fans there for us. The response was great. Pretty much all of the feedback was positive, unless they were lying.”¬ And with Secrets on the bill for this year’s Vans Warped Tour, the guys have a few more months of jamming themselves into a van to look forward to. “I look forward to this tour every year and we are all very honored to be a part of it,” Richard said. “It’s a huge deal! Tons of friends: Ice Nine Kills, Issues, Crown the Empire, Too Close to Touch, and so many more bands we’ve toured with and can’t wait to hang with again.” They will be hitting every stop on the tour, with only two major goals: “Play the best sets we’ve ever played, and party a little less... Just a little though.” Be sure to catch Secrets this summer on the annual Vans Warped Tour, and pick up their newest album Everything That Got Us Here in stores or online. photos by Alexa Frankovitch interview by Alexa Frankovitch + Jake Lahah story by Alexa Frankovitch
Secrets - Everything That Got Us Here Available now via Rise Records
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GALLERY:
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COMEBACK KID PHOTO BY RYAN STACEY sailor’s talk | 37
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AUGUST BURNS RED PHOTO BY ALEXA FRANKOVITCH sailor’s talk | 39
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FIREKID PHOTO BY JESS DIAZ sailor’s talk | 41
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HOODIE ALLEN PHOTO BY ALEXA FRANKOVITCH sailor’s talk | 43
WE CAME AS ROMANS PHOTO BY LUIS ROSALES sailor’s talk | 44
A DAY TO REMEMBER PHOTO BY JAKE LAHAH sailor’s talk | 45
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SLAVES PHOTO BY TIFFANY CHACON sailor’s talk | 47
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BETWEEN THE BURIED AND MEN PHOTO BY ALEXA FRANKOVITCH