Interview

On May 3rd at the Van's Warped Tour in Camden, NJ, I had an interview lined up with Steven and Matt from San Diego's My American Heart. The pop rock band has dealt with a lot of adversity in the past, but nothing seemed to faze Steven, who was constantly in a state of laughter. Read on to hear what they have to say about their band, their new album, and their future endeavors.

EP: First of all, can you guys please state your names and what you do in the band?

Steven: I'm Steven Oira and I play drums.

Matt: And I'm Matt VanGasbeck and I play guitar.

EP: You just recently released a new record, "Hiding Inside The Horrible Weather," can you explain the meaning behind the title?

Matt: It's like the whole theme of when a lot of negative stuff happens to you, you gotta look past it. I mean, for us, there's been a lot of stuff going on- there was a member switch, and a lot of backlash and all that. I mean growing up and stuff, everyone in the band has taken a lot of flack and it’s just kind of like, well you know, we're just gonna keep going…

EP: Flack for what though?

Steven: It's like as much as we get through so much shit-

Matt: We've had some pretty bad drama, there's always some stuff that comes up…

EP: What kind of drama?

Steven: Business drama, band drama…

Matt: Well, just like prior members, prior managers, just a lot of negative things. We're just trying to work past it.

EP: Can you explain why some of your previous members left the band? What happened exactly?

Steven: [grabs the mic] This is the story about our member switch. First of all, it started out with Steven drums, Larry singing, Jesse bass, Jeremy Mendes guitar and Clint Delgar guitar. Clint left the band in '05 because of high school. But then we all dropped out of high school to pursue the touring life. So we brought in this guy who used to play in a band called Mr. Valentine, and his name is Brian Warren- now he's in a band called Weatherbox, which is on Doghouse Records. We toured with him for a while, but then he quit the band because we didn't smoke enough pot back then, and he smoked A LOT of pot. So he quit the band. So then, bass player Jesse started playing guitar and we got this dude from Iowa to play bass for like one day- and then his uncle died and he quit. And then we found Dustin on Warped Tour, and Dustin is a heart throb and he plays bass and shit.

EP: Does it bother you how girls always give him all the attention?

Steven: I don't give a fuck. (laughs) He can have all the pussy, they're all like 14 or 15 year old girls anyways. And then Jeremy went crazy because he did too many drugs and he was on tour and was too fucked up and couldn't handle it. And he wanted his girlfriend and his parents to help him, so he quit and pulled out. Then we tried to give him another chance to play a festival with us, and he bailed out again. But then we heard that Downtown Singapore was calling it quits- so we called up our good buddy, "Spud" a.k.a. "Matt."

EP: No one else refers to you as "Spud" anymore, why is that?

Matt: I guess it's a DC thing, like a home thing…

EP: Waldorf, Maryland, right.

Matt: Yeah, it's weird, it's like a select few people call me that. It used to be the majority of people, and it was my name full time- but now there's probably about 20 people on the tour that call me "Spud," and the rest call me "Matt" now.

Steven: I call him "Spat."

EP: I read that you worked with James Paul Wisner, the producer behind albums by bands such as Underoath and Dashboard Confessional - what was the experience like working with him?

Matt: It was pretty crazy, he's a weird guy.

Steven: James Paul Wisner- he's so… crazy. He's like quirky as hell- but he's a genius. We'll make a song and he'll be like, "Let's put some stuff here, and some magical powder there, and make a moment here."

EP: A moment?

Steven: Yeah, yeah he's like all about the moments, creating moments in songs. He's great. He was the perfect person for this record.

Matt: He has his house set up as a studio, so it was kind of awkward because his wife's there, and he's got a cat, and kids… and well, you know we're not the quietest bunch. So it was kind of interesting- but it was fun in the same way because it was kind of like camp. We just lived in Florida all together and didn't know anyone else really. We all lived in the same hotel room-

Steven: Yeah, this really dinky, crack whore hotel room. We bought bikes from Wal-Mart because we're too young to rent a car. So we rode our bikes to the studio- 2 miles there and 2 miles back every day - and I'm still the fat kid.

EP: How long were you there in Florida with him working on it?

Steven: Six weeks.

EP: How do you think the new album has been received by your fans?

Steven: Well, the fans don’t like it as much, because we don’t scream anymore- well I think that shit's gay. (laughs)

EP: How was the writing and recording process different from your previous releases now that Spud is in the band?

Steven: Oh shit, well it was different for me because Spud is Mr. Bluesy… Mr. BB Mak- no wait, I mean Mr. BB King. He's into a really different style of music.

EP: I hear he's a great guitar player.

Matt: (shrugs) Pretty good, I guess…

EP: So how has this year's Warped Tour been going? Do you have any crazy stories from tour so far?

Matt: Well not that we remember, which is probably a good thing. Well, Steven jumped on top of the bus the other day, and it was awesome. Steven…uh…got a little intoxicated-

Steven: Inebriated

Matt: And jumped on top of the bus while me and Kyle, our tour manager, were inside. And we're just like, we hear this banging noise- so I run outside and I'm like, "Steven’s on the bus!" and Kyle's all like, 'Steven, get off the bus!" And he won't get off the bus, so Kyle climbs up to get him down and I thought it was about to be like Mortal Kombat (laughs). And then what happens is, Steven slides down this street sign. And when he's back on the ground, the bus driver walks up and sees Kyle up on the roof and he was like, "What the fuck?"

Steven: And the tour manager's supposed to be the guy who keeps everything under control so I'm all drunk talking to the bus driver like, "Na na na! Kyle, get off the bus! Look at him! He's not trying to keep anyone sane or organized- he's on the bus, drunk!" …oh and I pooped my pants the second day of this tour.

EP: That is incredible…anyway, so I've heard that Hot Rod Circuit has taken over your bus?

Steven: Hot Rod Circuit has not taken over the bus, Hot Rod Circuit has added on to the party on our bus!

EP: How do you guys know each other?

Steven: Well because they're like legends-

Matt: Well they were asking around to see if any bands wanted to split a bus, and we said it was cool, so it worked out.

EP: I saw you guys play at Warped Tour a few years ago, well, without Spud. Do you feel that the whole Warped Tour scene has changed recently? The kids seem to be getting younger and everything…

Steven: Yeah the kids are definitely getting younger.

Matt: It’s like TRL now.

Steven: Warped tour used to be this cool thing for bands you've never even heard of, you know, like a cool punk scene. But now its like, "I'm gonna be a pop kid! And listen to Cute Is What We Aim For and Paramore, and be really cute with my friends!"

EP: Yeah and then kids feel like they've got to dress a certain way and act a certain way.

Steven: Yeah dude, the headbands are out of control this year, out of control.

Matt: I thought you kind of had a hand in that Steven?

Steven: I had no hand in that! Headbands and booty shorts, that stuff is everywhere.

EP: Can you describe how you guys all met each other and first formed the band?

Steven: Me, Jesse, Larry, and some old members, we all went to high school together. And it's kind of weird because we were all in different cover bands, and then the cover bands broke up so we made this band…and then we just started playing together.

EP: You were really young at the time of your first album's release- what has been the most valuable lesson that you have learned while dealing with the ins and outs of the music industry?

Steven: Don't trust anyone. And don't trust anyone with a mustache. (laughs)

EP: What bands did you grow up listening to? Like, what influenced you to want to play music when you were younger?

Steven: Green day, NOFX, Michael Jackson, The Beatles…the good shit.

Matt: I listened to a lot of crazy shit. I listened to my dad's stuff when I was a kid, so I was into bluesy shit. But then I got into Smashing Pumpkins and stuff like that, so that's where it kind of started, with Offspring and Smashing Pumpkins.

Steven: Hell yeah.

EP: When you finally get home from Warped Tour, what's the first thing you are going to do?

Matt: Get in a van and go to Texas.

Steven: What we're gonna do is wash our clothes, take a shower-

Matt: Sleep for four hours-

Steven: And then get back in the van and tour. And then we'll get back ten days later and we have two days off before we go to Europe for three weeks. We don't really get a break until we land back in the states after that.

EP: Who are you touring with?

Matt: Madina Lake in the UK.

Steven: and the Higher.

EP: Do you have a favorite Warped Tour date yet, or has it all been a blur?

Steven: Houston was tight.

Matt: Yeah, because it was indoors, it was awesome.

Steven: It was cool for us, but not cool for the fans. The kids hated it, they were all like, "Ewww it's indoors, this sucks."

EP: What do you do to pass all the extra time that you have on Warped Tour?

Matt: We've been playing later in the day, so we wake up at like 9:00 or 9:30 and go put up posters and flyer the lines in the morning. By the time we're done with all that kind of stuff, we still have 4 hours to do nothing really. So we just chill, or sometimes we take naps or watch movies.

Steven: We wait in lines. Warped tour is all about the lines. The line to take a pee, the line to take a shower, lines to eat, lines to play-

Matt: what's worse about it though, is when you have a day off- and everybody will have a day off in the same town- but there's still lines.

Steven: We're like, "fuck!" You're trying to get a cheeseburger at McDonalds- but then Alkaline Trio is in front of you. So we're still waiting in fucking lines.

EP: Do you guys have a day off in Philly? Or are you leaving tonight to go somewhere else?

Matt: We go to New York tomorrow.

Steven: I want to go to Gino's to get some Philly cheese steaks.

EP: I've just got a few more questions. You guys have been signed to Warcon for a few years now. How did Warcon first hear about your band and how did you decide on that label?

Steven: Yeah, Warcon approached us a couple years ago, which is funny because it's Kevin Lyman's label, who runs Warped Tour, which is cool but…you'll see…this is to be continued… It's a great label with great bands and great staff and great opportunities… Warcon records… there you go.

EP: What is your opinion on albums leaking in advance?

Matt: Ours definitely leaked in advance.
.
Steven: Yeah, a good month in advance.

EP: We're you real pissed?

Matt: Uhh, well we all knew it was gonna happen. Whenever it's finished, we probably shouldn't hear it until it's released. Because what happens is we all have a copy and we're like, "Ok don't tell anybody and don't show this to anybody"…but then it gets out. I thought I was pretty covert with that shit, but apparently not. But I think our label sends out promotional copies to a million people too, so that's an easy way for it to get on Lime Wire.

EP: If you had the chance to open for any band, what would it be?

Matt: Radiohead

Steven: Hmm, any band ever?

EP: Yeah, ever.

Steven: Ever, ever?

EP: Yeah, they can be broken up, or even dead. Whoever you want.

Steven: You know, I want to sound really cool, but I don’t want to sound stupid. I'm gonna say Death From Above 1979.

EP: What music have you been listening to recently? Anything new?

Steven: Because of spacey Casey, lots of country.

Matt: Yeah, Hot Rod Circuit is always listening to country, so like Hank Williams and stuff. They're always having sing-alongs, so it's kind of opened my eyes to that. I mean it's basically borderline blues, kind of the same thing- without all the poppy singles- if you know what I mean. A little bit more straight forward.

EP: I think that's about it. Do you guys have any final words you'd like to say to your fans?

Matt: Please buy our record.

Steven: We love every single one of you, fans.

Matt: We love you, fans.

Steven: Yeah, don't do drugs, try to stop global warming, and…cinco de mayo…fuck a duck! ...just make us look cool.