Their last album “Black Lines” came out on October 9, and they’re gonna to celebrate their 10th career’s anniversary. Mayday Parade are one of the most famous band in the pop punk scene and they’ll come back to Italy on February! This is our interview with their drummer Jake, who told us their feelings about this new album!
Hello guys! It’s a pleasure to have an interview with you!
This year you’re going to celebrate your 10th career’s anniversary! How do you reassume these ten years? Do you regret anything and did you expect this moment in a different way?
I don’t think we regret anything. We made some mistakes trying to figure ourselves out over time but I think all that helped create who we are now. We’re more confident and more together as friends and as a band. We know what we want now and there’s a confidence to us that we lacked before. It’s a good time to be us.
Black Lines is your fifth album. Why did you choose this title and what about the cover album? Where are the cartoons?
The title was an idea I had while writing the record. Like I said, we’re more confident now and the name gives me that feeling of confidence. It’s basically all the things you wanted to say but couldn’t. You could say the Black Lines represent all five members but that wasn’t our intentions. The lines do, however, form letters. Have fun figuring that out.
This album sounds darker and heavier than previous. The creative process and the song’s composition werethe same for this new one or did you change your way to work?
We didn’t really change much. We just decided to finish all our ideas. You can fall into a bad habit when writing and sometimes convince yourself that what you’re writing doesn’t sound like your band so you abandon it completely. We didn’t do that this time. We finished all ideas no matter how heavy, good or bad. Everyone really stepped up and helped make this record happen regardless of who wrote the song.
During these years you’ve been in the Vans Warped Tour, and you have also shared the stage with other bands. What was the best tour ever and with which band would you like to share the stage in the future?
We always have a good time with The Maine and decided to head back to the UK with them at the start of 2016. Every time we tour together it’s amazing.
You’re on tour right now! What’s the impact of the new songs on the crowd? What should we expect from this live tour? And what about the setlist?
After playing these new songs on the AP Tour, I’ve come to realize people are still learning the songs. Over the course of weeks, you see the reaction growing which is amazing and was totally expected. We expect the UK and Europe to be wild when we play the new jams. There will definitely be an energy in the room. That’s for sure. As for the set list, you know I can’t spoil too much but we’ll definitely be playing a good mix of old and new.
In February you’ll come back to Italy! Is there any funny stories about the time you’ve spent in our country?
We always have a good time in Italy! We tried finding a food on a Sunday during a siesta and we nearly gave up. We didn’t realize the entire city shuts down so it took us forever walking around until we finally found a place. It was our first time eating authentic Italian pasta and was worth the journey. Rome was pretty amazing too 😉
Your fans are so loyal to you from the beginning of your career. What’s your secret with them?
I don’t think there’s a secret haha. We’re just real, down to earth guys who happen to play music you enjoy. We like chatting with fans whenever we see them.
Thank you!
Noemi Schiari
