Derek Sanders - Mayday Parade (01/12/2012)
We recently spoke with Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade about their recent U.S. tour, upcoming trip to Australia and work on their future album.
Hi Derek, this is Beth, thanks for talking to us today.
You’re welcome, thank you.
So how are you going today?
I’m doing great! We just got home yesterday from our tour in the U.S. with The Maine so I’m excited to be home for a little bit and looking forward to going to Hawaii and Australia soon.
And how was the tour?
It was a blast. It was so much fun. We love the guys in The Maine, we met them about four years ago and then toured with them a good amount of times so its good to be on the road with them and it was very successful. A lot of great shows and it kinda went by fast. It’s crazy it’s already over.
Was there anything particularly exciting from the tour?
Honestly, pretty much every night is a lot of fun and any night can be a crazy good time. We’re very fortunate to have toured with some awesome bands, the tour we just did with The Maine and The Postelles was so much fun, and just flew by. It’s hard to pick one particular thing or experience but I guess just whenever you have bands on the road together, things can be pretty wild and a lot of fun.
Having recently been on The Vans Warped Tour, how did you find touring smaller venues?
Warped Tour is such a cool experience and it’s very different from club touring, but I think it’s really cool to be able to do both. There are pros and cons to each one and I like being able to switch it up and do Warped Tour every now and again and do regular tours as well.
As you mentioned earlier, you’re heading down to Australia soon; are you guys excited for that?
Yeah, I’m very excited. It’ll be our third time coming over and each of the other two times it was so much fun. Soundwave, which we did in 2011, I think was one of the coolest things we’ve ever done. It’s such a awesome tour so we’re very pumped to get back over there again.
I wish we had more time, we’re only there for about three days so I wish we had a little more time but it’ll be great.
How does it feel to know that for your first headlining tour in Australia you’ve sold out 3 of the 4 shows?
That’s wild for me. That blows my mind. Especially because I feel like things have grown in Australia faster than anywhere else really. We’ve been to a couple of places, like the UK we’ve been to seven or eight times now and it’s been a gradual build through that. Where as Australia, we played about five years ago with Paramore and the next time we came out with Soundwave things were kinda huge. And now like you said this time the shows are mostly sold out so it’s very humbling and very exciting.
And obviously you won’t have much spare time on the tour, but is there anything you’re looking forward to squeezing in between the shows?
I’m not sure, I guess it just depends on how much time we’ll end up having. I know we have to fly the nights in between to get each city, and the two shows in Melbourne on the second day so I know we’ll be pretty busy. But hopefully we’ll have time to at least go do something.
Well hopefully you can find a few minutes to spare.
Is the pace of this tour different from your tours through the U.S. or are they usually this busy?
Yeah, well it does depend on the tour. The one that we’re about to do is much busier than normal. For example when we did Soundwave where there is a day off pretty much every other day and so on that tour you get to go around and spend a lot of time sight seeing and that sort of thing. So it really just depends on the tour and how much time you have with the scheduled flights. But this is definitely one of the faster paced ones for sure.
And how did you find the Soundwave tour that you were on?
That was one of the coolest things ever. We all loved it so much. They really treat all the bands so well at Soundwave and doing a tour of that calibre with Iron Maiden and Slash it just blew my mind. And not to mention there were a lot of our friend’s bands. The Maine was on it, Every Avenue, Breathe Carolina; it was cool to be with our friends in a different country and have a cool experience like that.
So I guess you’ve been stepping up the tours in Australia since you’re first time here with Paramore in 2007.
Yeah for sure. That first time with Paramore was awesome. We did Japan and Australia with them and that was our first overseas adventure that we ever did so it was really special.
Are you hoping to come back to Australia for a longer tour soon?
I don’t know, there are no solid plans as of yet but I would hope in the next year that hopefully some time in 2013 we can make it back over. Australia is definitely at the top of the list of places that we like to go and places that we do well internationally so I’m sure we’ll be back plenty of times.
Mayday Parade has cover of Somebody That I Used To Know on the recently released Punk Goes Pop volume 5. How did you guys find recording that?
It was great. We had two days off from Warped Tour over the summer and we were in Southern California and we went and recorded the song with Mike Green. That was our first time working with him on anything and he was great.
It was a cool experience, we all loved the song and it’ so much fun to do those Punk Goes… things where it’s a change from the normal studio experience and we get to have fun and be creative. We had a good time and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I think it was my favourite of the Punk Goes… songs that we’ve done.
You’d mentioned in recent interviews that you’re looking to start working on a new album, is there any work that has started on it yet?
I have a lot of ideas that I’ve been working on and everybody individually has ideas they’ve been working on. And then we’ll start getting together here in just a few weeks and we’ll start putting all the ideas together and we’ll write the next album and record it early 2013 sometime. Then hopefully have it out by late summer or early fall depending on how everything goes, then some touring and do the whole thing over again.
Is your normal writing process starting out separately and then bringing everything together later on?
It’s kinda different for every song and for every album I guess. For the most part somebody will have an idea that could be as simple as just a small bit of the song and some ideas are more finished when they come in or anywhere in between. And then we’ll all work things out playing through the song several times working together for about a month or two just playing through the ideas and the songs everyday getting them together and then go record them. That’s pretty much the way we’ve done it.
And has what you’ve been working on so far been sounding like your previous albums or are you looking to head in a different direction?
I think it will probably be along the same lines. I think there are things that change along the way, we have grown as people and musicians and a band. So I think there are some things that we’d like to try out and do, but for the most part the ideas still the same. We just like to get together and write songs that we want to play and songs that we love and we go record them. It’s about as simple as that.
Obviously as you mentioned earlier, once the album has been released you’ll be touring again; is there anything planned at this stage or is it still in the works?
The only focus right now is really on the next album and then we’ll see after that. I’m sure we’ll be out on the road again before too long. But like I said the main thing right now we’re worried about is just the next CD and then everything else will hopefully fall into place as we go.
Well you’ve got a couple of days break before you head off on tour again and then time after you get back from Australia; is there anything you’re looking forward to doing now that you’re home?
Really just staying at home with my family. I’m excited about the holidays coming up. It’s always good just to have some time off at home and relax. I have a daughter, so I really enjoy what time I have when I can be at home with her.
So you’re planning on spending the holidays at home this year?
Yeah this tour coming up in Australia is the last thing we have for a while, pretty much until we write and record the next album and then hit the road again. So this is kinda it for a little bit.
And finally, if you were able to choose your own tour lineup of bands both past and present, who would you like to tour with?
I don’t know, that’s tough to say. There’s a lot of bands in this genre that have influenced all of us and inspired all of us like Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, any of those bands would be just incredible to tour with. And those bands are still around so maybe we’ll get the chance.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Just thanks to everyone for the support and we’re pumped to be coming down to Australia for the third time. We’re pumped that we’ve been able to keep this band going for seven years, which is a long time, and we’re very lucky to still be doing it. So thanks to everyone for keeping us around.
Well thankyou very much for talking to us, and we look forward to seeing you in Australia very soon.
You too!
Don’t miss out on seeing Mayday Parade in concert.
Sydney – 7th December at The Hi-Fi (AA) – sold out SOLD OUT
Melbourne – 8th December at Billboard (Afternoon AA, Evening 18+) – SOLD OUT
Brisbane – 9th December at The Hi-Fi (18+) - www.thehifi.com.au
Bethany Williams
Hi Derek, this is Beth, thanks for talking to us today.
You’re welcome, thank you.
So how are you going today?
I’m doing great! We just got home yesterday from our tour in the U.S. with The Maine so I’m excited to be home for a little bit and looking forward to going to Hawaii and Australia soon.
And how was the tour?
It was a blast. It was so much fun. We love the guys in The Maine, we met them about four years ago and then toured with them a good amount of times so its good to be on the road with them and it was very successful. A lot of great shows and it kinda went by fast. It’s crazy it’s already over.
Was there anything particularly exciting from the tour?
Honestly, pretty much every night is a lot of fun and any night can be a crazy good time. We’re very fortunate to have toured with some awesome bands, the tour we just did with The Maine and The Postelles was so much fun, and just flew by. It’s hard to pick one particular thing or experience but I guess just whenever you have bands on the road together, things can be pretty wild and a lot of fun.
Having recently been on The Vans Warped Tour, how did you find touring smaller venues?
Warped Tour is such a cool experience and it’s very different from club touring, but I think it’s really cool to be able to do both. There are pros and cons to each one and I like being able to switch it up and do Warped Tour every now and again and do regular tours as well.
As you mentioned earlier, you’re heading down to Australia soon; are you guys excited for that?
Yeah, I’m very excited. It’ll be our third time coming over and each of the other two times it was so much fun. Soundwave, which we did in 2011, I think was one of the coolest things we’ve ever done. It’s such a awesome tour so we’re very pumped to get back over there again.
I wish we had more time, we’re only there for about three days so I wish we had a little more time but it’ll be great.
How does it feel to know that for your first headlining tour in Australia you’ve sold out 3 of the 4 shows?
That’s wild for me. That blows my mind. Especially because I feel like things have grown in Australia faster than anywhere else really. We’ve been to a couple of places, like the UK we’ve been to seven or eight times now and it’s been a gradual build through that. Where as Australia, we played about five years ago with Paramore and the next time we came out with Soundwave things were kinda huge. And now like you said this time the shows are mostly sold out so it’s very humbling and very exciting.
And obviously you won’t have much spare time on the tour, but is there anything you’re looking forward to squeezing in between the shows?
I’m not sure, I guess it just depends on how much time we’ll end up having. I know we have to fly the nights in between to get each city, and the two shows in Melbourne on the second day so I know we’ll be pretty busy. But hopefully we’ll have time to at least go do something.
Well hopefully you can find a few minutes to spare.
Is the pace of this tour different from your tours through the U.S. or are they usually this busy?
Yeah, well it does depend on the tour. The one that we’re about to do is much busier than normal. For example when we did Soundwave where there is a day off pretty much every other day and so on that tour you get to go around and spend a lot of time sight seeing and that sort of thing. So it really just depends on the tour and how much time you have with the scheduled flights. But this is definitely one of the faster paced ones for sure.
And how did you find the Soundwave tour that you were on?
That was one of the coolest things ever. We all loved it so much. They really treat all the bands so well at Soundwave and doing a tour of that calibre with Iron Maiden and Slash it just blew my mind. And not to mention there were a lot of our friend’s bands. The Maine was on it, Every Avenue, Breathe Carolina; it was cool to be with our friends in a different country and have a cool experience like that.
So I guess you’ve been stepping up the tours in Australia since you’re first time here with Paramore in 2007.
Yeah for sure. That first time with Paramore was awesome. We did Japan and Australia with them and that was our first overseas adventure that we ever did so it was really special.
Are you hoping to come back to Australia for a longer tour soon?
I don’t know, there are no solid plans as of yet but I would hope in the next year that hopefully some time in 2013 we can make it back over. Australia is definitely at the top of the list of places that we like to go and places that we do well internationally so I’m sure we’ll be back plenty of times.
Mayday Parade has cover of Somebody That I Used To Know on the recently released Punk Goes Pop volume 5. How did you guys find recording that?
It was great. We had two days off from Warped Tour over the summer and we were in Southern California and we went and recorded the song with Mike Green. That was our first time working with him on anything and he was great.
It was a cool experience, we all loved the song and it’ so much fun to do those Punk Goes… things where it’s a change from the normal studio experience and we get to have fun and be creative. We had a good time and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I think it was my favourite of the Punk Goes… songs that we’ve done.
You’d mentioned in recent interviews that you’re looking to start working on a new album, is there any work that has started on it yet?
I have a lot of ideas that I’ve been working on and everybody individually has ideas they’ve been working on. And then we’ll start getting together here in just a few weeks and we’ll start putting all the ideas together and we’ll write the next album and record it early 2013 sometime. Then hopefully have it out by late summer or early fall depending on how everything goes, then some touring and do the whole thing over again.
Is your normal writing process starting out separately and then bringing everything together later on?
It’s kinda different for every song and for every album I guess. For the most part somebody will have an idea that could be as simple as just a small bit of the song and some ideas are more finished when they come in or anywhere in between. And then we’ll all work things out playing through the song several times working together for about a month or two just playing through the ideas and the songs everyday getting them together and then go record them. That’s pretty much the way we’ve done it.
And has what you’ve been working on so far been sounding like your previous albums or are you looking to head in a different direction?
I think it will probably be along the same lines. I think there are things that change along the way, we have grown as people and musicians and a band. So I think there are some things that we’d like to try out and do, but for the most part the ideas still the same. We just like to get together and write songs that we want to play and songs that we love and we go record them. It’s about as simple as that.
Obviously as you mentioned earlier, once the album has been released you’ll be touring again; is there anything planned at this stage or is it still in the works?
The only focus right now is really on the next album and then we’ll see after that. I’m sure we’ll be out on the road again before too long. But like I said the main thing right now we’re worried about is just the next CD and then everything else will hopefully fall into place as we go.
Well you’ve got a couple of days break before you head off on tour again and then time after you get back from Australia; is there anything you’re looking forward to doing now that you’re home?
Really just staying at home with my family. I’m excited about the holidays coming up. It’s always good just to have some time off at home and relax. I have a daughter, so I really enjoy what time I have when I can be at home with her.
So you’re planning on spending the holidays at home this year?
Yeah this tour coming up in Australia is the last thing we have for a while, pretty much until we write and record the next album and then hit the road again. So this is kinda it for a little bit.
And finally, if you were able to choose your own tour lineup of bands both past and present, who would you like to tour with?
I don’t know, that’s tough to say. There’s a lot of bands in this genre that have influenced all of us and inspired all of us like Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, any of those bands would be just incredible to tour with. And those bands are still around so maybe we’ll get the chance.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Just thanks to everyone for the support and we’re pumped to be coming down to Australia for the third time. We’re pumped that we’ve been able to keep this band going for seven years, which is a long time, and we’re very lucky to still be doing it. So thanks to everyone for keeping us around.
Well thankyou very much for talking to us, and we look forward to seeing you in Australia very soon.
You too!
Don’t miss out on seeing Mayday Parade in concert.
Sydney – 7th December at The Hi-Fi (AA) – sold out SOLD OUT
Melbourne – 8th December at Billboard (Afternoon AA, Evening 18+) – SOLD OUT
Brisbane – 9th December at The Hi-Fi (18+) - www.thehifi.com.au
Bethany Williams