Warped Rewind Vol 2 - The Maine
"The road does a lot to you... Young adults have to figure out college or get a job or something, you know, but we kind of grew up on the road, so I think that was a major thing." - Garrett Nickelsen
By: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn
Who am I most excited to see on Warped Tour 2018? THE MAINE. I can answer that without any hesitation. The Maine was my very first concert 9 years ago, and they truly have been a huge part of my musical journey. They've built such an amazing community and have remained the most genuine, humble guys I have met. I also had the honor of interviewing Garrett four years ago at Warped Tour. I had just bought a camera about two weeks prior. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was stoked to be interviewing my favorite band and having the opportunity to interview them. I also had the chance to shoot their Lovely Little Lonely Tour (PHOTOS/REVIEW HERE) last year. I'd like to say I redeemed myself. In the meantime, check out this week's Warped Rewind:
Vans Warped Tour - July 13th, 2014
Xfinity Theater (Hartford, CT)
GN: Garrett Nickelsen (Bass)
AL: Alyssa Legato (Interviewer)
NH: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn (Interviewer)
AL: The last time you guys were on Warped Tour was quite a while ago - is it just like you remembered it, or is it any different?
GN: It's exactly how I remember it. It's weird waking up and being like, "Wow, I've been here before!" Yeah, it's the exact same.
NH: What were some of the challenges that you faced when recording Forever Halloween that you didn't face when digitally recording previous albums?
GN: Ummm, I don't think there was really anything that was difficult.. It was just a new thing. I think if anything, it was more fun, just because we all sat in a room together and had a good time. So yeah, I think that it was more fun than difficult. We worked really fast. I mean, we had a good chunk of the record done quick, and I think the most difficult part was kind of, at the end, figuring out what to do with extra time. Like, we ended up recording a punk EP just for fun, and like a cover of Neil Young, just like a bunch of bullshit at the end, but it was a lot of fun.
AL: What made you finally decide to record a studio version of "Ice Cave"? I'd been waiting for that.
GN: I mean we never really wanted to, we always talked about not doing it, and then we had the idea of the deluxe edition, and we thought that four songs kind of wasn't enough, and we didn't really have anything else, so we were like, "Fuck it, let's just do it." It was fun, we did it at our studio in Phoenix (AZ). It was one of the first full band things we got to record there. So yeah it was just us figuring out our studio and doing a song we had done before.
NH: Has your writing process changed at all over the years? Your lyrics and music have come a long way - do you attribute that change to anything other than just being more experienced - both musically and personally?
GN: I mean, I think the road does a lot to you. When we first wrote, we had never toured before, so we didn't really know what that was like, and you kinda figured out who you are, I guess. Young adults have to figure out college or get a job or something, you know, but we kind of grew up on the road, so I think that was a major thing.
NH: What is your daily routine like during Warped Tour?
GN: Get up at 8 o'clock, eat a Clif bar, find a port-o-potty, drink water, umm, then it's around 9 o'clock. vThen we get a bunch of CD's ready to go sell to the line, and then around 9:50 we find out what time our set is and write it down on our white board thing, and then we go outside and talk to kids, and we're usually out there until about noon, and then we either have to play, or you get like 10 minutes to sit down before you go to the line for catering, the line for catering takes about an hour.. It sucks. And then, you play at some point in between that, do a signing, and the interviews, and then you get in line for dinner, and then you're done. If you don't play after you eat. And then you sit around.
AL: Kind of a fun question - Can you describe the color red without using the word red?
GN: Hmm…Coca-Cola.
NH: What is your guilty pleasure song or artist?
GN: (Long pause) …I don't know! That's hard… I don't really know.
AL: No worries if you don't know one.
GN: I seriously can't even think of one. I might just shout something out in like a minute, because I really don't know.
AL: I don't know if this is some kind of secret, but what is the significance of the numbers 8123?
GN: Oh it's just an address. An address to a place that John (O'Callaghan), and Eric (Halvorsen) from A Rocket To The Moon, and Max, our old tour manager, John.. oh I said John.. Well there was like this whole group of kids that grew up together, and they went to this parking lot that they used to go and smoke cigarettes at.. I think cigarettes. Something, they used to smoke something, I don't know. But yeah.
NH: We're both studying music industry at the University of New Haven - our college has a huge music industry and sound recording program. If you have any advice for anyone going into the music industry, what would it be?
GN: Ummm…it's not easy, and don't trust anyone.
*BONUS FACT: The Maine always meet fans at Warped Tour for FREE. They understand that we care about them/their music; and they care about us. I highly reccomend taking the time to A) catch their phenomenal set B) take a few minutes to talk to these fantastic guys. “People shouldn’t have to spend a ton of extra money on tickets, or to meet a human being. We want our fans to feel like they are a part of something big, and that they won’t have to go broke supporting us." -The Maine, ALT PRESS
