Jenna McDougall - Tonight Alive (06/02/2012)
Ahead of their appearance at Push Over 2012, The 59th Sound spoke with Tonight Alive vocalist Jenna McDougall!
Tonight Alive has achieved some major success; has there been any moment where it really hit you how far you’ve come?
Thanks a lot! We were in Bali last year where we stayed at the Macbeth villa in Ulluwatu. It was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen, right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. We didn't understand what we'd done to get there!
I have heard your album, What Are You So Scared Of?, was aiming for a less edited sound than we see from many artists and bands nowadays; how important was this for you?
Authenticity is definitely something we held in high regard through the recording process! Our first two EPs were self funded, and with not a lot of money to play with through highschool we couldn't afford to take our time and get everything right. I love our earlier stuff for what it is but with the album we didn't want to rush anything or cut any corners. It's so easy to leave everything up to editing but we worked our butts off 10 to 12 hours a day and pushed every single one of our limits til we got the results we were looking for!
How was working with Mark Trombino (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Valencia)?
Mark was perfect for us. He knew exactly what we wanted and he knew how to get it out of us!
Having a female lead and being well-known is relatively rare in the pop-punk genre; do you believe your experience as a band is differentbecause of this?
In all honesty I think it has made a difference but I'd like to think having a female member isn't our only asset. We take our songwriting seriously and very personally and feel that what our music means to our listeners is much more of an asset than anything else!
You performed at Bamboozle Festival last year; how did fans respond during the festival?
It was a pretty surreal experience. The crowd started off small but by the end of our set it was full! The fact that we were extremely underground at that point (having it be our first time in the states) made the crowds receptiveness all the more special.
Including your recent American tour have you found any major differences between Australian and American audiences?
As a support band in both Australia and America it's kind of standard to have to work the crowd really hard and prove yourself as a band. We've found that in the states though the audiences seem a lot more open minded and are there for the whole experience of the show rather than just the headliner. To us there's nothing like a home show though and it's out of this world to finally be able to headline in Australia.
Push Over has some quite different genres in its line-up; what kind of music are guys most interested in listening to?
I think the only thing we don't listen to is Aussie hip hop.
Which of the other bands on the line-up would you all be most interested in seeing?
It will be awesome to catch up with some friends of ours in Skyway and Northlane, but I'm most excited to finally see Parkway Drive in action!
What kind of music influences affected the sound of the band and the album What Are You So Scared Of?
Thrice and Rufio!
Will the release of the album in the U.S. in February have any new or different material?
They will be getting a slightly altered track listing from the original release with a couple of extra b-sides that are yet to be released in Australia!
Finally, can Tonight Alive fans look forward to any new material in the next few months?
We've been working on the next lot of material for the second full length and I am just so excited about it I don't think I'm going to be able to keep it all to myself this year [laughs].
Casey Cunningham
Tonight Alive has achieved some major success; has there been any moment where it really hit you how far you’ve come?
Thanks a lot! We were in Bali last year where we stayed at the Macbeth villa in Ulluwatu. It was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen, right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. We didn't understand what we'd done to get there!
I have heard your album, What Are You So Scared Of?, was aiming for a less edited sound than we see from many artists and bands nowadays; how important was this for you?
Authenticity is definitely something we held in high regard through the recording process! Our first two EPs were self funded, and with not a lot of money to play with through highschool we couldn't afford to take our time and get everything right. I love our earlier stuff for what it is but with the album we didn't want to rush anything or cut any corners. It's so easy to leave everything up to editing but we worked our butts off 10 to 12 hours a day and pushed every single one of our limits til we got the results we were looking for!
How was working with Mark Trombino (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Valencia)?
Mark was perfect for us. He knew exactly what we wanted and he knew how to get it out of us!
Having a female lead and being well-known is relatively rare in the pop-punk genre; do you believe your experience as a band is differentbecause of this?
In all honesty I think it has made a difference but I'd like to think having a female member isn't our only asset. We take our songwriting seriously and very personally and feel that what our music means to our listeners is much more of an asset than anything else!
You performed at Bamboozle Festival last year; how did fans respond during the festival?
It was a pretty surreal experience. The crowd started off small but by the end of our set it was full! The fact that we were extremely underground at that point (having it be our first time in the states) made the crowds receptiveness all the more special.
Including your recent American tour have you found any major differences between Australian and American audiences?
As a support band in both Australia and America it's kind of standard to have to work the crowd really hard and prove yourself as a band. We've found that in the states though the audiences seem a lot more open minded and are there for the whole experience of the show rather than just the headliner. To us there's nothing like a home show though and it's out of this world to finally be able to headline in Australia.
Push Over has some quite different genres in its line-up; what kind of music are guys most interested in listening to?
I think the only thing we don't listen to is Aussie hip hop.
Which of the other bands on the line-up would you all be most interested in seeing?
It will be awesome to catch up with some friends of ours in Skyway and Northlane, but I'm most excited to finally see Parkway Drive in action!
What kind of music influences affected the sound of the band and the album What Are You So Scared Of?
Thrice and Rufio!
Will the release of the album in the U.S. in February have any new or different material?
They will be getting a slightly altered track listing from the original release with a couple of extra b-sides that are yet to be released in Australia!
Finally, can Tonight Alive fans look forward to any new material in the next few months?
We've been working on the next lot of material for the second full length and I am just so excited about it I don't think I'm going to be able to keep it all to myself this year [laughs].
Casey Cunningham