This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The early 2000s marked an insurgence of emo bands. Heavy guitar riffs accented strained vocals powerfully infused with emotion. For better or worse, the trend clumped many newcomers into a genre that most did not want to be a part of. Over the past decade, many of those bands have parted ways, but some still remain. Mayday Parade — a five-piece band from Tallahassee, Fla. — is one of those bands still going strong, with a Nov. 4 show set at The Complex in Salt Lake City.
The quintet broke out into the angst scene in 2006 with the release of its debut EP, "Tales Told by Dead Friends." The EP sold more than 50,000 copies without the help of a record label. Nine years and a record label later, Mayday Parade is celebrating its fifth studio album, "Black Lines," released Oct. 9 through Fearless Records. Lead vocalist/pianist Derek Sanders talked to The Tribune about making an intentional departure on the new album, trying to stay relevant in an ever-changing music world and the upcoming show in Salt Lake.
"Black Lines"
The overall goal with this album was for it to stand out and feel different. After our fourth album, "Monsters in the Closet," it kind of felt like we were starting to repeat ourselves and doing the same thing over and over again — we wanted to avoid that. We changed up a lot of things. We went with a new producer (Mike Sapone: Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run) to pull ourselves out of our comfort zone a little bit and challenge what we could do. We made an album that we are incredibly happy with. I don't know if this is really in the songs or the lyrics, but part of the message for us in retrospect would be that it's OK to take risks.... We could have done the safe thing and make the same kind of album that people were expecting, but it's good to take risks and challenge yourself.
Keeping it fresh
We approached [the album] differently from the start. In the past, whenever we were starting to bring in ideas, we would try and stick with the songs that sounded like Mayday Parade and not branch out too much. Now, it's like, just take any cool idea — no matter how weird or different is — and roll with it. It's weird how when you get into a routine going with the same producer and studio, you get real comfortable. It almost gets a little stale. You have to get somewhere else — somewhere new — that feels fresh.
Experimental tracks
The first song [on the album] "One of Them Will Destroy the Other," definitely shows a lot of progression. We have never done a song as aggressive as that one is before. Track three, "Hollow," is another one that in the past, we wouldn't have done a song like that. Brooks, our guitar player, sent over a rough demo of the guitar riff in that song by itself, I remember at first I thought, 'That's pretty cool, but I don't know if we could pull it off.' But that was the whole idea: it doesn't matter if it's different, let's just go for it.
Mayday Parade live experience
Its high-energy — [there's] a lot of jumping around and throwing guitars around. We also have ballads and stuff — more chill moments. It's nice to contrast the two: have everyone going nuts and then everybody standing in the room with lighters or cell phones in the air and singing alive. We genuinely have an amazing time every night when we play. We feed off of the crowd's energy and feel very connected.
The music industry nine years later
People weren't quite as connected back then as we are now. I think it's a good thing. There's a lot of people that will say bad things about the music industry dying but people are always going to enjoy music and find ways to listen to it. I think it's alive and well. It's tough because 20 or 30 years ago you didn't have many outlets to find new music. It was what you heard on the radio or on TV, and it was hard to discover new music. These days you've got everything out there right at your fingertips so you can consume all of this music. It's easy to discover new bands but it makes it a little harder to stay relevant when the next big thing is around the corner.
Staying relevant
We've been lucky to keep at it for 10 years and maintain. It's hard to know exactly what to attribute it to. I think it's a combination of a lot of things. Part of that is that we all really truly appreciate where we are and the fact that we are able to do this. We realize how easily things could have been different and we could have done so many different things with our lives but we're out here doing this and we all realize how lucky we are. We want to keep it going while we can is most of it. Luck is a huge factor as well but we've tried to work as hard as we can. —
Mayday Parade
P Mayday Parade headlines the Alternative Press tour, with Real Friends, This Wild Life and As It Is.
When • Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
Where • The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $25, $28 day of; Smith's Tix; all-ages show