Key Percussion

There was a point in my life when I used to listen to hard rock with a hint of metal. When I started to develop my own taste in music, I got into much softer music that had a light-hearted, fun, jovial sound and message. One day, laying in the grass in the Boston Commons with Kelly and a few of our other friends, we were laying back and listening to music when a song came on. It brought  happy thoughts and I of course had to know who this band was! "I Fight Dragons" was the answer and of course, I fell for their nerd-tastic, upbeat rock vibe. 

 

First, starting with fun questions: What unusual superpower would you want to have?

I would love to be able to turn any food into smoked salmon using only my willpower. 

 

What kind of movies do you guys like?

I'm quite partial to action and superhero movies myself, I think of my musical tastes as quite refined but my cinematic tastes are pretty darn mainstream.  A complete sidetone but Hook came on TV this weekend and I luxuriated in re-watching the whole thing, that movie is badass.  Some of my favorite movies of 2014 were Guardians of the Galaxy and the Lego Movie (probably no surprises there).

 

What is your guilty pleasure?

Epic fantasy literature.  It doesn't even have to be good epic fantasy, I devour George RR Martin but I also devourTerry Goodkind, for some reason I just can't get enough of that genre. 

 

Now for the serious questions, you've toured with a lot of amazing bands, which tour was the most fun for you guys? Why?

Wow, that's a really tough one.  We had a complete blast on our first tour ever with mc chris and Whole Wheat Bread, those guys are all awesome and in some ways that was the most fun because it was all so completely new.  But we had a great time with 3OH!3 and Cobra Starship, that tour was insanely fun because it was a crazy pop tour.  We've also had a great time both times we've done the Warped Tour, and I can't leave out our touring with The Protomen because those guys are just insanely awesome and we always have the best time with them.   Plus the time we took MC Lars and Skyfox out on our own club tour was a blast.  This is a horrible answer because there were great things about every tour we've done :P 

 

"The Near Future" was an album a long time in the making with a lot of set backs, what's the best part about finally being able to release it last month?

It really was a long time in the making.  I'd say the best part was feeling like all of the setbacks were 100% worth it.  We didn't know when we decided to scrap our first recording sessions if it was going to be the right decision in the end, we didn't know if we could even do any better, and we were throwing away a lot of money.  But finally getting the album in people's hands was so rewarding because we felt like they really got everything we were going for, and it all felt worth the wait. 

 

Now that the album's finally been released. what are your feelings about the final product?

I suppose I already started answering that one, but I can honestly say this is my favorite I Fight Dragons album ever.  I love all of our albums, but this one feels authentically 'us' in a really cool way, and I think we're all individually and collectively over the moon about how it came out. 

 

With new music to be performed, does this mean you'll be touring in the near future? What's your first stop going to be if so?

Absolutely!  We've still got a lot of crap to get together before that can happen, but we'll definitely hit the road this year.  A few places we'll absolutely have to hit: Denver, NYC, LA, Seattle, Portland, Orlando, and all the spots in between :D 

 

"DEMOlition" was an album made up of demos that never made it onto "KABOOM!" because they were never completed, how do you know when a song is finally completed? How did you end up finishing the songs for "The Near Future"?

Well, technically the aspect of "completion" to me means a real studio recording.  The songs on DEMOlition and on "The Future Imperfect" are primarily demos that we never did a fully real version of in studio.  There are a handful of b-sides that we recorded in a studio but that we never properly mixed and mastered.  It's really hard to know when a song should be on an album and when it's not going to make the cut, and our decisions often change throughout the process of recording (clearly!).  Several of the songs on "The Future Imperfect" were actually going to be on The Near Future during the first recording sessions, specifically "Burnadette" and "No!", but we decided in the end to switch them out for "Pretend" and "Chicago," which I think were definitely good moves for the album. 

 

Any sneak previews you guys could give us and your fans of upcoming releases or news?

We're hitting the studio this coming weekend to finally record a full version of "Rewind,"  our theme from ABC's The Goldbergs!  Keep an ear out for it soon!