Interview: Take Us To Vegas

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Words: Jen Rees

You guys have had a busy time this year! You are releasing a new album soon, fans are pretty excited, is there a date set for release?
RYAN: We are still nutting out a few things but we are aiming for late January/early February.

Mike Champa (from For all those Sleeping) features on ‘Victims’ can you tell us how that came about?
Well we actually met at Brisbane Vans Warped tour because we shared a gear room. We met him and he was kind enough to stick around and watch us play. Then after that we just kept in touch, this song popped up and we thought his voice would be perfect.

What was it like working with him?
Really easy! We had to send the song over to him from here but then he just jumped in a studio in the States and banged it out in a day. We were pretty stoked!

How did the writing process go on this song? Did Mike assist or only sing on the single?
Well for this song it was actually 100% Dean. Sometime that dude just rocks up with a whole song done and we don’t have to change anything. As for Mike’s input, we just asked him to add his special flair to the song.

The message is loud and clear in regards to the song but can you explain to us the meaning behind it in your words?
Well to me the song is a direct attack at discrimination. It is crazy how in this day and age we are so open to casting judgment and criticizing someone’s beliefs or way of life just because they are different. We should all be open to others morals and values and welcome them instead of casting a vicious gaze. We are supposed to be different and you should be proud of your differences, because at the end of the day if you can’t be proud or believe in yourself how do you expect others to.

The music video for your new song “Victims” is very confronting especially for those that have gone through similar experiences that is portrayed in this video. Who came up with the concept for the video?
That again was Dean. He kind of had this song planned from the beginning and one thing I have learnt is never to get in the way of a man’s creative juices haha.

I imagine it took a while to shoot the video, how was that experience for you?
It was about half a day for just the band stuff but the director Adrian made it heaps of fun.

What is your favourite part of the video?
The second chorus slomo scream and also the gay guy’s dad. They nailed their roles!

I say that you should be extremely proud of how this video and song have turned out, how does it feel to get so much positive feedback from your fans?
It is amazing! Every morning I wake up I am just so happy that people listen to our music and feel a sense of freedom from what may be weighing them down. Also they are all the most loving and most interesting people I have ever met.

Thanks Ryan! Best of luck!