I chatted with Ryan from Failure Anthem about their new album and tour!
Q: Where are you from?
I’m from Clinton, North Carolina. It’s about an hour from the coast. A good mix of stuff to do there.
Q: Growing up, who were your influences?
My parents are from Oklahoma, and love country music, so that’s what I was brought up on. When I got older, KORN, Limp Bizkit..ya know, the hardcore stuff. ::laughs:: Now I’m all over the place. I get teased because I’ll listen to girly Top 40 and R&B stuff.
Q: What was it like being in the recording studio for your first album?
It was cool and laid back. Kyle and Drew did the whole record. Kyle would come up with a riff, and we would build on that. We would nitpick sometimes, but in the end it all came together. JD had LONG nights in the recording booth. I remember a few were thirteen or fourteen hours straight. We wrote 35 songs for the record, and whittled them down to 11.
Q: What is your song “Paralyzed” about?
It’s about a person, or place, that when you’re around them you find yourself in a WOW moment. You stop, look around, and realize greatness.
Q: Can life get tough on the road for you guys?
We have total travel days of 70 I believe, with one day at home in there. The perfect time is the ramp up period where everyone is excited. That phase will last about two to three weeks ::laughs:: while we see new friends and old ones on the road. After that, people start getting sick and beat down emotionally…you’re away from everything you know.
Q: How did the name “First World Problems” come about for your album title?
There’s such a sense of entitlement in our society today. We’re more concerned on how many pumps of creme we have in our latte at Starbucks, than pandemics and world hunger. It’s a broad look at what we’ve created as a society.
Q: Are you excited about your show here in Baltimore?
Very! We’ve played around the city, but never IN the city. So it’ll give us a chance to experience it finally.
Failure Anthem plays Rams Head Live with Apocalyptica on 5/19!
Follow Failure Anthem on Twitter
Visit Failure Anthem’s Official Website
[follow_me]