Autopilot Off Interview
What reaction has there been to the new EP?
Chris: Better than I could have hoped for honestly. It's kind of scary. We are new to a lot of people and at the same time we worry about our older fans and backlash or anything like that. So far everyone has really liked it. We like it a lot so we are really happy.
How did you decide to do an EP over a regular full-length?
Chris: We talked to Island last year. One of the things they wanted to do with us was to introduce us to a wider audience. We had our independent full length, but it never reached as many people as it was supposed to. It wasn't really advertised. The only way people could really get it was from us touring. The EP is more or less to set up putting out a full-length record.
Do you have plans already to put a full length out?
Chris: We've been writing songs. We have 4 or 5 songs down and we've been writing on the road. I think we might go into the studio next winter to have something out that summer.
Was there any pressure to record the album?
Chris: Not from the label. I think there was more pressure from ourselves because it had been a while since we put anything out. It was getting kind of hard playing the same songs all the time. I think the kids that did know us needed to hear something new. We felt the pressure more than anything. Originally it was going to come out in June but the label pushed it up to April because of this tour. I think that was the perfect time.
What was recording the EP like? Where did you record it?
Chris: We recorded up in Canada with Greg Norri who has worked with Sum 41. It was totally laid back. We had time to really work on the songs and get certain sounds that we wanted.
Have you had a chance to watch the other bands sets?
Chris: Yes, definitely. H2O was on the first half of the tour and this is Goldfinger's 3rd night. Were good friends with them and we watched them a bunch. Sum 41 puts on a killer show so we watch that as many times as we can. Sometimes we will hang out at the merch table, but most nights we check out the other bands shows. It's a good tour to be on if you like to watch bands.
What are your plans as a band after the tour?
Chris: This tour finishes in Vancouver on the 8th of May. I think after that we will head down the West Coast on the Drive-Thru Records tour with Finch and The Starting Line. I think after that we might even play some shows with American Hi-Fi. Then we will be home for a couple of weeks and then we'll go out on the Warped Tour for about six of the eight weeks.
Will you try to do anything different for the Warped Tour with your set?
Chris: Right now we are playing two or three songs off of the new EP. Probably by the Warped Tour we will be playing all of the songs on it. The songs are still pretty new to us. I think that people that just heard about us from the EP will be happy and older fans will be happy as well.
How did you sign with Island Records?
Chris: There were a lot of different factors that came into play. Our manager sent some demos we did to them, and they were initially interested through that. I think that a friend of ours who has an independent label that we originally wanted to sign with thought that we should be on a major label instead. I think he maybe whispered in their ear too, but he's not taking credit for it so I don't want to say who it is.
Question:
What kind of stuff have you received from fans?
Chris: The coolest thing we ever got, and I thing Sum 41 got one too, we got a kung-fu hamster thing that swings ninja things and sings Kung-Fu fighting which is really cool. In Japan, I guess their in culture, they bring gifts. This one girl brought these hand carved ornament things her grand-pa made. The kooky fans usually want stuff instead of giving us stuff.
Question:
What kind of experience was the Japan tour?
Chris: Actually there are people from Japan here tonight. They went to all of the Japan shows. Over there they are so insane for music. They are so enthusiastic. It’s great. We couldn’t have gone with a better band (Sum 41). It was awesome to play with them. We ad one day off in Tokyo so we went out with the guy who put our record out there. He was kind of our guide. We got lots of souvenirs and pictures.
Question:
What do you try to do on a day off?
Chris: Originally we were supposed to have a day off here. But they changed it to a show in Peoria. But originally we were supposed to play here tonight, tomorrow night, and then have a day off before we went to Milwaukee. I was hoping on the day off we could go to Wrigley Field. We played here last year at the Metro with New Found Glory and it was right across the street. I love baseball. I don’t like the actual game aspect of it but the history aspect of it. I’ve been to Fenway Park and Camden Yards last summer, but Wrigley Field is the ultimate baseball park you can go to. But now that we don’t have that day off, we’ll probably just go to the mall like we usually do.
Question:
How does the new EP compare to Looking Up?
Chris: I think it is kind of more grown up. Looking Up was a mix of older songs and songs we wrote for the album. The lyrics are a bit more mature.
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