Detroit is not a great place. Anyone who has ever had the misfortune of visiting the city (or seen a characterized portrayal of it on television or in film) would agree. Luckily for us music lovers, the people of Detroit love their music, especially rock and roll. Just ask dear old Uncle Ted. So it’s no surprise that We Came As Romans, one of the hottest rising names in the world of hard rock hails from the hard working streets of Detroit, MI.
We Came As Romans Interview
Since their formation in 2005, the band has released numerous EPs and two full-length albums, selling over 300,000 units worldwide, and has earned a dedicated fan base from a decade of constant touring across the globe. Currently performing on the main stage for Van’s Warped Tour, the group took some time to meet with us atop the penthouse rooftop at the Hotel on Rivington during the band’s day off.
For a group of 20-somethings – getting a day off in NYC only to be filled with press, interviews, and in-studio performances, there was a surprising giddiness and excitement in their step, as you’d expect a more tired and exhausted group for a busy day on their day off. That excitement came from the fact that the group was gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated third full-length, self-titled release on Friday. I sat down with the band to talk about the new album, playing warped tour, the state of rock music in the U.S. versus overseas, bootleggers, and more.
We Came As Romans Interview
P&W: How’s Warped Tour 2015 going so far?
WCAR: It’s been awesome. The days are insanely hectic, but the shows are great and it’s the perfect tour to be releasing an album on. You get to meet a lot of your fans and it’s really easy to make everyone aware that you have some new music coming out.
P&W: How many times have you done Warped Tour at this point?
WCAR: This is our third Warped Tour actually, third in the U.S., then we did one in Europe and one in Australia.
P&W: So how’s it different going around this time, as opposed to your first experience on the tour?
WCAR: It feels like we’re seniors. First year we didn’t really know what we were doing or getting into, but after the two that we did in 2011 and 2013 we’re coming into this one pretty strong. We know how to get to catering, how to get to signings on time, before we were just an absolute mess. Now we remember venues where the stages are located at and all that stuff before we even get to the city. It’s always nice knowing what you’re getting into before you get there. The schedule is so random, every day there’s a signing at a different time, and play at a different time and with the new album we’ve been walking around and selling it on-site. It’s nice to have at least one thing that’s a constant, which is knowing the venues.
P&W: Speaking of the new album coming out on Friday, what’s this project been like?
WCAR: I’d say it’s been a solid year. We took a solid amount of time off to write too, which has never really happened before. Usually we’re just writing in the back lounge of the tour bus while we’re on the road and we’re thinking about a bunch of other things too, so it was awesome to only focus on this songs. It was a cool process; we traveled around the country with it. We wrote some songs in Detroit, some in Nashville, some in L.A., we wound up writing about 35 songs.
P&W: So how’s the reception been to some of the new material while on Warped Tour?
WCAR: We’ve been playing two new songs, sometimes throwing in a third. We’ve been playing “World I Used To Know” and “Regenerate,” two songs we’ve already released as singles, and it’s been awesome. Kids like “Regenerate” since people love getting into the pit at Warped Tour, it really seems to be the highlight. “World I Used To Know” has also been getting a lot of attention on the radio so far especially for it not being out yet, same with Spotify. We’re having some success with both of them and it’s been awesome.
We Came As Romans Interview
P&W: So how does this album really make a step forward from your last album, 2014’s Tracing Back Roots?
WCAR: Having had more time to just focus on writing, we really learned more about the right way to work on a song. Through a lot of trial and error, we would write and write until we couldn’t write any more and it was so great working with producer David Bendeth because he’d be able to say why this song would work and why this one doesn’t. It took us a lot of tries but we were able to narrow it down to ten great songs. We’ve never had this much material so it’s been great to narrow it down and pick the best ones.
P&W: With the live DVD that came out in 2014, Present Future Past, what did you really want to capture with that project?
WCAR: We really just wanted to do an awesome live show and really showcase what the experience is like in the band. It was great that it was shot during a headlining set too so we could bring in all our production and make it all shine. It was just something we wanted to do since we’d never done a DVD of a full headlining set. It was actually the longest set we’ve ever played. Seeing other bands do it that we looked up to, we wanted to inspire fans the same way we were as teenagers.
P&W: What was weirder to wrap your head around, releasing an album for a label for the first time or a DVD?
WCAR: I’d say weird-wise a DVD, but the best feeling is definitely having your own record. That was crazy when our first one came out since we were so young, and that was always the end goal of the band to just release a real CD, not just demos in a basement, but an album with a producer. After that the goals were touring and as we did more and more, it just got better. I think we’re up to 35 countries now that we’ve been to. Releasing the first CD was crazy though, since we never thought the band would make it that far in the first place. Looking back to that and seeing where we are now, releasing our fourth CD, having played on five continents, we’ve played in every state besides Hawaii, it’s crazy how our goals and view of who we are as a band has changed.
P&W: With all the traveling you do and all the different countries you’ve played in, have you seen a difference in the reception of rock music here in the U.S. versus other areas of the world you’ve played in?
WCAR: When we’ve gone to some countries that I guess would be considered third world countries, the reception is much different. Even if they’ve never heard of your band, they’re just excited that you’re there. It means more to them since tickets aren’t cheap and they might not have as much money to spend, so when they get there they just lose their minds. In Japan for example, in between songs, no one talks or anything and it’s weird at first. They love circle pits in Europe of course. It’s also cool in South America, because they’re bootlegging our merch outside the venue and usually you only see that with huge bands who headline arenas, so it was flattering that someone thought we’re big enough to make a coffee cup with We Came As Romans on it. They had everything, beer mugs, shirts, ashtrays, poster, guitar picks. Some of their shirt designs were cooler than ours!
P&W: What do you think younger hard rock bands have to do, to start dominating the pop charts again?
WCAR: One of the big reasons for our band’s success is all the hard work we’ve had to put in. There are so many bands and tours and music being put out right now you have to do something to set yourself aside from the pack. Aside from putting out good songs and touring as much as possible, you gotta work super hard at your craft. We’ve always been grinders, I mean we’re on our fourth CD, sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and we’re still walking around Warped Tour selling CDs out of our hands like we did ten years ago. Just because we have label support and a tour bus doesn’t mean we can stop really hustling.
P&W: Is being on the road so much still really fun or have you gotten used to it and start to feel like a tough grind?
WCAR: A little bit of both. That crazy amount of excitement of being away from home and away from mom and dad is gone, but there’s still a lot of excitement from different reasons like just being out there and doing what you love.
The band’s new full length album We Came As Romans is officially out Friday July, 24 so head over to wherever you listen to your music and let it rip!
Article: Tom Shackleford
Photos: Merissa Blitz
