By Cristina Carrazza--Regional Head, Midwest
If This Providence haven’t caught your attention yet, then you’re definitely missing out in one of the best pop rock bands around. The Seattle based quartet has shared the stage with bands like Paramore, All Time Low, and The Cab. After releasing their third full-length album “Who Are You now?” last spring, the Seattle based quartet geared up for a very successful year. Their first single “Letdown” caught the eyes of MTV and was featured as a Discover & Download and the band spent most of their time touring with Hey Monday, Ludo, and Cartel. Now, This Providence is gearing up for a tour with Motion City Soundtrack, Set Your Goals and The Swellers. Before a headliner show in Chicago, I talked with vocalist Dan Young and drummer Andy Horst about the band’s very successful year.
Cristina: How would you describe This Providence?
Dan: Usually we say we’re a pop rock band. We really respect bands like Jimmy Eat World.
Andy: A lot of people tell us we’re more “indie” compared to other bands in the genre.
CC: Specially in the Fueled By Ramen category.
AH: I think it’s a compliment.
DY: I don’t mean to be boastful but some people approach songwriting as “what song is going to get us famous.” We try to put our music before thinking of that. We try to write music that we enjoy writing.
CC: Your third album “Who Are You Now?” was released last march. I know for Andy (and David) it was the first time being involved in the recording aspect of the band.
AH: For me, I was stoked to work on my first full length, real record. I’m really proud of it. It has carried us a long way this past year. We were on the road for nine months in 2009. It’s been crazy to see our art, in a sense, take us all over the place. For me it’s been cool to be part of it. I finally have something to be like “oh I’ve finally done something.”
DY: I personally think it’s our best record. It’s my favorite I’d say out of the three.
AH: Me too.
DY: It was David’s first time recording on the album too. Poor David picked up right after we finished recording our second record. We all have a good sense of ownership. We’re like best friends.
AH: It came about, writing wise, differently than the previous records. Me and David were both involved.
CC: I know you two were involved in the touring aspect for a while before going into the studio. So did the songwriting came about more smoothly this time?
DY: “Our Worlds Divorce” was stuff that I wrote when I was in High School. That one was like good friends making a record. The self-tilted was more professional because we had this new guy who had never toured with us come in and play drums. We just signed to Fueled By Ramen so we tried to make a record that would fit on the label a bit more. This record, we were just like fuck it. Let’s do what we want to do. Let’s do a record we can call our own.
CC: You guys probably felt more comfortable with the label and with the band in general…
DY: Exactly.
AH: We knew the business better.
DY: And after you get off stage, and you play songs you feel good about. These songs feel right. I’m happy to be presenting these songs to people.
CC: You guys have been touring a lot this past year. You guys toured with Ludo, and the Let’s Make A Mess Tour with those acoustic shows beforehand.
DY: The preshow hangs!
AH: We did it right under the railroad tracks last time we were here. You couldn’t hear anything it was so loud.
DY: That was fun. We got to meet a ton of fans. The whole goal of it was to connect with people and that was really awesome. It just got tiring after a while. We would drive up to the venue. Wanna get some food? Nope you have to set up the tent. It’s not that I didn’t like doing it. I loved it. But it’s a tiring lifestyle. It’s work. It’s funny because it’s fun to do because you’re playing music but it’s also your job.
CC: The “Keep On Without You” music video was released not so long ago. I know it’s all over MTV.com
DY: Sadly we didn’t get as much out of it as before. The first single, “Letdown,” got a lot more exposure. And we were on Alexa Chung. We released the video at the end of the year and I guess it got lost in the hustle and bustle. But it is definitely my favorite music video. I really like it. At least for the fans that we have, they really like it too.
CC: It did make MTV’s Best of 2009 list with craziest concept.
AH: Oh yeah.
DY: I didn’t even know!
CC: Now you guys are on tour with Motion City Soundtrack, Set Your Goals, and The Swellers. Well, it started last night…
DY: It went really well. For the first show of the tour, it went well. I can already tell it’s going to be lots of fun.
AH: First shows are always so sloppy. It was still sloppy, but better than normal.
DY: One of the best first shows of the tour.
CC: And now a headlining show in Chicago tonight.
DY: We’re really unprepared for this. This is what we’ve always done as a band. We go on tour with other bands and play headlining shows when there are days off. We’re so unprepared. It’s going to be laid back, should be fun.
CC: So what’s in the future for This Providence.
DY: We’re not really allowed to disclose most of it, but I will tell you I’m excited for the future.
AH: Very excited.
DY: We just started writing songs for our new record. I don’t know when we’ll start recording that. That’s exciting! I love writing music. Songwriting is coming a lot quicker and smoother than last time.
AH: They’ll be some more touring in the spring.
DY: Tour wise this will be a slower year for us. That doesn’t mean we’re not working on some fun stuff.
CC: You guys toured a lot during 2009.
DY: We toured about nine months. We like being on the road, but Andy and I, in particular, hate being away from home.
AH: We’re home buds. I just want to sit at home, read, and cuddle with my dogs. But at the same time I love to tour. It’s really bitter sweet.
CC: You can always read on the road to balance it out.
AH: I do!
CC: What are you reading right now?
AH: For this tour, I started reading Lord of The Rings again. I’ll see how far I get.
DY: I started reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I put it down. It’s way over my head for now. It was written in like the 1800s so it has words that no one knows.
AH: Before we left I finished Robinson Crusoe.
CC: Well let’s end with anything random.
DY: Oh no, I’m really bad at this.
CC: Better than someone admitting that they don’t really brush their teeth on tour.
DY: I like that one.
AH: I do brush my teeth.
DY: I have a woman in my life to make sure I do that. I get in trouble if I don’t.
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