Published by
Rhea on
February 26, 2008
With an hour left until the doors open for the show, I had gotten the chance to interview front man Derek Sanders from the band Mayday Parade. I found that it was interesting to discover his point of view on how it all got started. “Getting started and getting our music out there is the first thing,” Sanders tells us, “I feel that people like bands because it’s the trendy thing to do or, a lot of it also is based upon appearance and it sucks that that’s the way it is. I wish it wasn’t depended all upon that and was based on the music, not how the band looks or whatever.”
Starting out in 2005, Mayday Parade has come a long way. Mayday Parade is a group of five guys from Tallahassee, Florida. “Me and Brooks, one of our guitar players, we have been in bands together since the seventh grade, and the first band that I was ever in, he was in it with me. Most of the guys in the band I met in high school and two of the guys, (drummer) Jake and (guitarist) Alex I didn’t meet until a year or two after high school,” Sanders says. Sanders had wanted to be in a band ever since he saw his older brother in one. In sixth grade, he had asked for a guitar for Christmas and his career began there.
Mayday Parade had released their EP Tales Told By Dead Friends in November of 2006 and then not much longer after that, they released their debut album A Lesson in Romantics in July of 2007. “It’s rock music that’s pretty poppy and hopefully catchy,”Sanders comments, “My favorites are Take This to Heart which is track ten and track twelve You Be the Anchor That Keeps Me on the Ground. (Track twelve) has always been one of my favorites, I just like a lot of slower songs like that”. While on tour, Mayday Parade gets involved with the crowd and they just love their fans. “It’s so cool to see kids and hear kids singing along. It’s one of the greatest feelings ever.”
With the many new and young bands out there, Mayday Parade is one that is worth checking out. Mayday Parade is currently on tour with Emery, until March 22 and will soon be going on tour with My American Heart (April 10 - May 1). Look for them coming to a city near you. To view more pictures, visit the gallery.
Published by
Rhea on
February 3, 2008
Starting out small and working their way up is a young band straight out of Chicago, IL. The Audition is an alternative/rock/pop band that gives their music something that no one else has. With their debut album Controversy Loves Company (2005) came many hits. Among these hits are “You’ve Made Us Conscious”, “Don’t Be So Hard”, and “Approach the Bench”. Last month, January 22nd to be exact, The Audition had released their new album titled Champion.
“We are really confident with this new record, we are really confident with what we wrote,” comments front man Danny Stevens. “It overcomes all of the obstacles and gets to you. I think if this album gets into the right hands and is listened to with the right ears, it will come out on top.” Their new album is a compilation of genres including rock & roll, country, and even a little bit of R&B.“ I really like this one song off of our new record. It’s called What Gets You Through the Night and it’s like a power 80s song. I have to say I really really like it. It sends chills down my spine when I hear it.”
The Audition was recently on Tourzilla with the bands Boys Like Girls and All Time Low. With this tour, they have ended up creating some life long friendships. “Playing music is always the first thing, but the friendships that we gain with all of the other band members are important as well, ” Stevens says about tour. The Audition is currently headlining the Pac Sun Tour with Envy on the Coast, Danger Radio, and Another Day Late. This tour will end on February 16th at the Sonar in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Audition does have their musical influences and for Stevens it’s artists like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Rascal Flats, Brad Paisley, Rod Stewart, The Faces, and Led Zeppelin. “I’ve always enjoyed music, everybody has at some point, but I remember listening to records with my dad.”
If you get the chance to see The Audition on tour, be sure stop by and say hi to Danny and the rest of the guys of The Audition. “ I love meeting our fans, that’s part of what I enjoy to do.” The band loves their fans so much that Stevens sometimes even literally stands on the crowd and let his fate be decided by their fans. “Well, I mean physically and literally. It’s like metaphorically our fate does stand in our fans hands.”
With all of their hard work, it is starting to pay off for the guys of The Audition. With creating many loyal fans, friends, and relationships with other bands, they are living out their wildest dreams . This is one band that, if the right people get to them, will most likely will come out on top.
To view more pictures, visit the gallery.
