Jim Adkins discusses taking a breather from Jimmy Eat World by going solo for the first time, exploring and reinterpreting ‘50s and ‘60s pop music, and why he’s releasing his songs individually instead of as an album.
Interview: Jim Adkins
Interview: Mike Shinoda of Fort Minor
Mike Shinoda explains why he is bringing Fort Minor back, details his new song “Welcome” and its 360 video, describes his evolution as a musician and lyricist, talks about collaborating with Harvard, and reflects upon the past and future of Linkin Park.
Interview: Ellie Rowsell and Joel Amey of Wolf Alice
Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell and drummer Joel Amey talk about the inspirations behind Wolf Alice’s debut album My Love Is Cool, what some of the different reactions they’ve come across thus far have been like, and why learning to follow your gut is important.
Interview: Dustin Kensrue
Dustin Kensrue discusses his long-awaited second solo album Carry the Fire, collecting old ideas and turning them into songs, approaching love songs from a different perspective, improving as a storyteller, and what it’s like for Thrice to be back.
Interview: Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan
How’s it feel to finally have your new song, “Saturday,” out?
We’re excited! It’s been a long time since we’ve put out new music. The last thing we did was like this little EP that was a little bit of a b-side, I guess, quote, unquote — songs that were leftover from the Get Your Heart Onalbum. We take a little bit of time in between records because we go on tour for two, two and a half years on each cycle. Then we stop for a few months, catch our breath, and then we start writing and we write for a long time. We wrote for like a year and a half on this album. We wrote like 70-75 songs. It’s definitely exciting. People have been waiting and we’re finally able to give them something they can listen to and get stoked about the album. It feels good to feel like, “Okay, we’re kicking up in gear,” and we’re slowing switching from writing, making the record, and recording it, to actually having music out and going back on tour and planning some shows and the album cover and all that. So it’s exciting that we, as a band, have the luck and the privilege to be doing it for a fifth time.
Read More “Chuck Comeau of Simple Plan”NOW.HERE Stream ‘New Perspective’ EP
I recently came across this Italian pop-punk band called NOW.HERE. Usually when I hit play on a band labeled “pop-punk” cynicism gets the best of me. My history with the genre is as old as my history online and most of the time I just sort of feel like I’ve heard it all before and that nothing can excite me in this space anymore. Then I stumbled onto the new EP by NOW.HERE. These four songs, crafted by 5 kids from Italy, hit me in a way that very little in the genre has in years. There’s an urgency and energy that reads as authentic and fresh to me. I went from “man, this would be my favorite find if I was in high-school” to “I keep coming back to this more than I expected” to “fuck, this is really good” to “see, I still do like pop-punk” to “yeah, this is one of my favorite finds in a while.” If you’re looking for a great pop-punk EP or maybe just looking for something to relight that air-guitaring jump-kicking part of your soul — start with NOW.HERE.
Interview: Miguel
Miguel Pimentel discusses wanting to establish an identity on his third album Wildheart, what being wild-hearted represents, how he’s grown as a songwriter and live performer, and why his L.A. roots will always play an important part in who he is.
Interview: Nate Ruess
Nate Ruess explains the decision to go solo on Grand Romantic, why he always ends up writing about heartbreak, and how lucky he’s been to work with the people he’s met throughout his career.
Interview: Keith Goodwin and Dan Schwartz of Good Old War
Lead singer Keith Goodwin and guitarist Dan Schwartz discuss Good Old War’s new album Broken Into Better Shape, the challenges of continuing as a two-piece, their positive outlook on songwriting, and how they are able to get all those gorgeous harmonies.
Interview: Sam Harris of X Ambassadors
Frontman Sam Harris discusses the autobiographical concept behind X Ambassadors’ debut album VHS and its hit single “Renegades,” how a love of film influences his music, what it’s like co-writing for Rihanna, and why endurance is the key to success.
Interview: Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou
Vocalist Aaron Weiss unpacks the apocalyptic imagery inside mewithoutYou’s newest release Pale Horses, why he likes to explore each album from a different perspective, and how that left him at his most unguarded while trying to reconcile his love/hate relationship with religion.
Interview: Jon Foreman
Jon Foreman discusses his new solo undertaking The Wonderlands, the challenges of writing a song for each hour of the day and working with 24 different producers, why embracing the chaos in life is important, and what’s next on the horizon for Switchfoot.
Anti-Flag – “Fabled World” (Single Premiere)
Anti-Flag are now ten albums into their career, but there’s no shortage of ire from the current social and political climate to fuel the punk iconoclasts. This is made a evident by the first single, “Fabled World,” for which you can watch the new video in the replies. The aggressive political punk anthem appears on American Spring, which drops on May 26th via Spinefarm Records.
Read More “Anti-Flag – “Fabled World” (Single Premiere)”Interview: Eli Maiman of Walk the Moon
Guitarist Eli Maiman discusses how Walk the Moon’s sophomore album, Talking Is Hard, differs from the band’s debut, what attracts them to the ‘80s, and why they pride themselves on their live show.
Cartel – Acoustic Sessions
Cartel hit the studio with Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount to record some acoustic renditions of their favorite tracks off their classic album, Chroma. You can find a playlist featuring a special video performance of these five songs after the jump.