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Interview by Nathaniel Lay
Your last record, Never Back Down, was your first on a label, but you had released a handful of EP’s before it. What can you tell us about your already decent sized discography and your sound progression?
We honestly don’t even consider our old EPs the same band bc we feel that we finally found our true sound when we wrote Never Back Down. Don’t get me wrong though, we’ve definitely had a long journey to get to the level we are at in our career and wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything in this world.
You now have a new lead singer. How did the member change affect the band and their sound? Was he part of the writing of this album or did he come in after the songs had been created?
We think that Andrew has been a solid fit for us. Our sound has matured a little. I think we have taken what we did on NBD and finely tuned everything to be a mature/smoother blend of what our band wants to represent. He was a part of the writing process of ‘Momentum’ from day 1 and we’re glad he was.
How did Andrew DeNeef come to taking the singer position? How has he moved into the performance of older songs?
We’ve been touring this country for a couple years straight now and have made a lot of friends along the way. Andrew was actually a mutual friend that randomly heard about the opportunity and went for it. I know he puts a lot of pressure on himself while preforming song from NBD bc he wants to prove to people that he was the right choice. He’s definitely handling it well.
Andrew’s voice has this alternative rock/punk rock sound to it that is a bit surprising at first, but it works wonderfully. As a result, Momentum feels like it may fit better in the scenes the band grew up around (90′s rock). What can you say about all this?
It’s funny because everyone in our band loves all the late 90′s/early 2000′s alternative rock bands such as Third Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Gin Blossoms, etc. We definitely don’t take offense to that observation at all because that’s a genre of music WE actually enjoy listening to.
What kind of lyrics will we find on this record? Any themes? Anything particularly important or meaningful?
I think the idea behind this record was to let people know what we’ve been doing since the release of NBD. The changes in our lives, relationships we’ve lost/gained along the way and the idea that change can be good at times.
Why the title Momentum?
We wanted something simple that would sum up this album in one word and we all decided ‘Momentum’ fit.
Tell us about the recording process of this record
It was kind of strange to be honest. We did everything kind of backwards. We also made a lot of trips to Taco Bell and the liquor store.
How did you guys approach writing this record, especially since you had just received a new lead singer?
Technology is a beautiful thing these days. We spent a lot of late nights on Skype & FaceTime with Andrew because he was living in Phoenix, AZ at the time. It made the initial writing process a little difficult at times but also exciting because that was something new for all of us.
What guest spots made it onto the record? How did they come to be?
We have Dave Stephens & Kyle Pavone of We Came As Romans on our song, “Family Ties”. These guys have been our good friends since both of our bands started playing music together forever ago. We’ve grown up together and decided these two would be the only people that we wanted on this track. Especially because the song is about friends, family and everyone in our lives the cares about and supports our dream.
Are you guys excited for returning to the Scream It Like You Mean It Tour?
Of course! This tour is like a Summer boys camp full of really good people/friends. We’ve played shows with over half of these bands in the past and excited to be sharing the stage with them again all Summer long.
What other touring do you have planned for this summer/fall?
We will be returning back to Canada in the near future and are currently working on the rest of our fall schedule. I hope it’s a Nickelback or Britney Spears tour. Fingers crossed.
Momentum has a good variation to it, as have your previous releases. What music influenced you the most this time around?
You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Let’s just say we have a very wide range of musically influences haha.
What else would you like to tell your fans?
Thank you for all the support so far! Don’t be afraid to talk to us on Twitter or Facebook and also, LET’S PARTY!!!!

