American pop punkers State Champs have a lot to celebrate recently. They’ve released a highly impressive new album, played Sad Summer festival, and in September they’ll be headed back down under for an Australian tour. We caught up with the bands guitarist Tyler & drummer Evan ahead of their Aussie tour.
SCENEzine:
Firstly, huge congrats on Kings Of The New Age – this has definitely been one of my favourite albums of the year – you must be really proud of how it all turned out
Evan:
Thanks! That means so much to us we really appreciate that
Tyler:
We’re super pumped and glad you’re digging it
SCENEzine:
A big stand out track is ‘Everybody But You’,. Did that song come pretty quickly in the writing process?
Tyler:
Yeah, honestly that song was born out of a need – we needed a song like that and we actually had the post chorus part of the song in a different demo, and were really into the way it felt so we took that ten second piece from an entire song demo, and made a whole song out of it in one day
Evan:
It came super easy and there’s a lot of cool parts about it, like the acoustic section at the beginning where Derek says “fuck” – that was recorded on an iPhone – everything came together really quickly for that song and it just felt natural
SCENEzine:
How did it come about getting Tyler Posey in the video for that song?
Tyler:
We just texted him – we are all like 30 plus now, we don’t care – so we just asked him if he wanted to be a pizza guy in our video, and he said “yep”
Evan:
He’s been a friend for so long – we met him back in 2015 – he’s always been happy to help us out and he was in his element with this and became a great addition to the video.
SCENEzine:
It’s not long now until you guys get back to Australia – it’s been three years, you must be pretty excited to finally get back down here
Tyler:
Yeah, we haven’t been to Australia since Unify in 2019 and planned to come back for our big return in 2020 – and then the pandemic happened, so here we are in 2022 and we’re finally coming.
Evan:
Yeah we can’t wait! It’s gonna be amazing
SCENEzine:
Is there anything that you miss about Australia?
Evan:
Coffee…
Tyler:
Yeah, coffee’s really good – I’m partial to the cold coffees and ya’ll make a really nice espresso drink, so I’m keen for that when I’m there.
Evan:
And I’m very excited to get back to exploring. Last time we went we flew in for one show and had to fly out immediately after and it’s a shame going all that way without seeing your beautiful country – I feel like we haven’t been there in so long it’ll feel touristy again.
Tyler:
I’m really excited to hang out with people – I think Australian folks are so funny and entertaining and there’s typically a pretty good energy off most people that we meet – so we’re looking forward to hanging out with some Aussie Cunts…
SCENEzine:
I saw you guys back in 2015 at an arena show in Sydney supporting 5 Seconds of Summer – do you remember that tour?
Tyler:
Yeah absolutely! We were very underequipped to be playing arenas – it was fucking crazy!
Evan:
Growing up, my biggest dream was to be playing arenas and the fact that they took us on that let us play those rooms was incredibly special. We’ve toured so much over the years that some of them feel like they blend together – but that tour specifically will always be one of the highlights of our career because of how special it was for us.
Tyler:
It’s also funny cause they have all the amenities of an arena sized band – the catering was the best I’ve ever had in my life, personal trainers, cars – you name it, they had it! They had decoy cars, while we were in our airport rented vans going to Ibis Hotels on the stupid little bunk beds. It was funny the duality of the situation – they’re really kind people but it was funny to see two bands – one that had everything and one that had nothing.
Evan:
It definitely showed a lot about their character – the fact that they could’ve brought any band on tour and they picked us – they were super accommodating, showing us around and sharing the wealth – it was really cool.
SCENEzine:
And you guys are bringing The Maine to Australia – I’m guessing you’ve known them for a long time?
Tyler:
Yeah we have known them for 8 years now – 2014 – damn we’re getting old! We’ve done Warped Tour and Sad Summer together – we’ve actually toured together a bunch
SCENEzine:
You’re also bringing Hot Milk – which is super cool – we we’re excited for them to support Foo Fighters but obviously that got cancelled
Tyler:
I actually didn’t know they were going to be coming with Foo Fighters – that’s crazy! It sounds like we’re a consolation prize, but I think they’re gonna have fun with us
Evan:
It’s been great meeting them and getting to start that relationship before we even head over to Australia.
SCENEzine:
Have you guys had a chance to listen to Paperweight yet as they’ll be touring with you here in Australia?
Tyler:
Yeah we definitely watched a bunch of their videos – we really care about the bands that we bring, we thought they were really good!
SCENEzine:
You guys actually toured with one of my favourite Australian bands recently in the UK – Between You & Me – what was it like playing with them?
Tyler:
It was great – we knew Jai and Bassy from the band Sidelines who we toured with back in 2014 over there with Neck Deep. They started off pretty low-key with pop-punk covers and then out of nowhere Dakota came out – and then this most recent record came out with ‘Supervillain’ and I was like “holy shit – this is a fucking awesome song” these guys are massively talented and every song that comes out is really fucking good. We super appreciate them – we have some cool stuff coming up with them in the future that we can’t divulge… we super like that band – they love to have a good time.
SCENEzine:
When you guys are playing in Sydney, it happens to be the same day as Father’s Day – do you have any advice for State Champs fans that are having to decide between Father’s Day dinner vs. the gig?
Tyler:
I myself am a father – and I can tell you there’s one thing that dads want… they want to be left alone – go to the show! Get out of the house – men are so motivated to just fuck off and go and do nothing & have a beer – that is our motivation collectively.
Evan:
True – or you could bring your Dad to the show!
Tyler:
No, he just wants you to go and get the fuck out of the house – you’re probably 16 and making his life hard
Evan:
Bring your siblings and your mum – let your dad have this peaceful Father’s Day.
Tyler:
Do Aussie dads love to grill?
SCENEzine:
Oh yeah… but we call it barbecuing
Tyler:
Well get your dad a new barbecue set, maybe his favourite cricket team, hang out with him during the day. Let him know you love him and then give him what he really wants-
Evan:
-you go to the State Champs show!
SCENEzine:
Lastly, looking beyond Australia, I’m heading to Vegas to see you guys play When We Were Young Festival – you guys must be REALLY stoked for that
Tyler:
Yes sir!
Evan:
I cannot wait for that! When we announced that earlier this year, it was probably the highlight – so many bands that we grew up listening to and now we get to play alongside them – I’m hoping our set is nice and short so we can get to go and see as many bands as possible!
SCENEzine:
Do you have any advice for surviving Vegas?
Tyler:
Uhh… pace yourself my friend… have some fun and get some ignorantly large beverages, like a 3ft tall alcoholic slushy
Evan:
They also have insane food! But drink lots of water – it gets really warm!
Tyler:
Yeah – stay hydrated…but go crazy!
(interview by Christian Ross)
