PropertyOfZack Interview : : The Wonder Years
I’m very happy to finally be releasing my interview with Casey Cavaliere of The Wonder Years. The band released their brand new album, The Upsides, today. I thought it would be a good idea to post the interview on the release day as a form of celebration for the album. Everyone give a big thanks to Casey Cavaliere. Enjoy the read!
1. To start things off, could you state your name and role in The Wonder Years?
My name is Casey Cavaliere, and I play guitar for TWY.
2. 2009 is over. How was the year on a whole for the band?
2009 was definitely a year full of ups and downs. It began with our old van almost exploding 10 minutes before midnight last new years eve in Aurora, IL, but ended with the very successful launch of new tracks and pre-orders for our 2nd full-length record The Upsides! A lot happened in between that, however, including an east coast tour in June, a month in the UK/Ireland/Russia in july, and 2 months touring the US with A Loss For Words, Energy, We Are The Union, and Fireworks this past fall. So, to put it simply, we’ve been keeping busy since we all finished college last spring…
3. The Upsides is being released on January 26th, what should we expect to hear on the album that differs from Get Stoked On It?
The Upsides definitely shows us progressing musically, as well as lyrically. The new record has far more “substance” than GSOI did. It has a message that means a lot to us, and a general theme tying every song together. Two things you won’t hear on The upsides, however, are synth and breakdowns. Since GSOI came out, we have grown as a band and realized that these two things didn’t have a place in the kind of band we had become. This is not to say that we have anything against synth and breakdowns ( in fact, I couldn’t be more excited for the new motion city soundtrack record, and some of the guys’ favorite bands are hardcore bands), they just weren’t us anymore and we had to be honest with ourselves.
4. What’s your favorite part about the recording process?
There’s a part of recording, usually about 8-10 days in to the process, when you start to hear the songs really come together. MattBrasch usually tracks his rhythm guitar stuff first, depending on the song, so by the time I start recording my parts we begin to get a feeling for how the track is shaping up. While this makes recording my parts that much more exciting, it can also be a bit nerve-racking. If we still aren’t hearing things come together after all the guitars have been tracks, we start to question the song all together. Thankfully we seemed to avoid this issue for the most part while recording The Upsides, and I think it shows.5. What does the line “I’m not sad anymore” mean for the band and this album?It’s almost like a mantra for this album. It came about from a social trend we noticed not only at home, but in every town we visited on tour. It seemed as though too many kids had become content with being miserable, and had given up on the idea of being happy. ”I’m Not Sad Anymore” became a reminder that it’s ok to be down at times, but you don’t have to stay there. It was something our singer would repeat to himself during emotional low points in the hopes that if he kept repeating it, he would eventually believe it. This got him through the rough points in his life, and when we began putting songs together for the record, “I’m Not Sad Anymore” became the perfect symbol for everything we wanted to accomplish with The Upsides.
6. What were your biggest influences while making The Upsides?
We had been listening to a lot of different stuff ranging from The Hold Steady to Piebald. I think a lot of that comes through lyrically on the record. In terms of arrangements and song structure, you can even probably hear us paying tribute to bands like Thursday or Brand New. We’ve always been huge fans of Fountains of Wayne (and not just that Stacy’s Mom song!) and I think any band can learn a lot about pop songwriting by listening to those guys.
7. Can you tell us the story behind “Washington Square Park”?
It’s a song about struggling through the rough times we all go through in our lives, and seizing every opportunity you get to be happy. We all feel like we get trapped sometimes in the monotony of our routines, and Washington Square Park is a reminder to enjoy the small victories in life. The line about leaving “a lot of blood in California on our first trip out west” is an actual quote our singer said to a friend of ours about some of TWY’s first tours. Being 3000 miles from home and playing first when nobody knew our band or cared, we quickly learned that we had to perform for ourselves sometimes and hope somebody noticed. If you’re going to do something, give it everything you have, cause you never know when you’ll get another chance like it.
8. What do you currently think of the pop-punk scene? There seem to be two different sides: “modern” pop-punk and “real” pop-punk, which is the category many would place The Wonder Years in. What’s your take on it?
I think it comes down to a matter of honestly. Some bands aim to please as many people as possible with their songs and lyrics, while others tend to focus on themselves and the more personal experiences and beliefs they have. The most important thing is writing music that you believe in. All of TWY’s songs are based on real observations or experiences that have actually happened to us. As long as band’s write about what they know and care about, it shouldn’t matter how they are labeled. With that being said, we are honored to be a part of this new wave of great pop punk bandslike Fireworks, Title Fight, The Swellers, This Time Next Year, Set Your Goals, and Four Year Strong just to name a few, and are proud to call many of them our good friends.
9. Can you drop any hints for what will be happening after the record is released in terms of touring?
The record comes out January 26th, and that week will see us playing 5 consecutive release shows in the Boston, L.A., Philly, Cincinnati, and Detroit areas. After that, we will be doing a full US headlining run with Therefore I Am and Man Overboard. Beyond that we will probably be doing some support tours that have yet to be confirmed. But, I will say that one of those tours is with a band that I know a lot of Wonder fans have been waiting to see us tour with, so we are all very excited about that. Additionally, we will be playing the Music Saves Lives showcase at SXSW this year, which will be an amazing experience I’m sure.
10. What are you most excited for in 2010, music related and non-music related?
I’m pretty sure I can speak for all of the guys when I say we are really excited for the new Motion City Soundtrack record. I’m sure that it will be getting a lot of air time on the wonder van stereo this winter and spring. Outside of that, I’m looking forward to touring, seeing all of our good friends around the country, and possibly visiting some new places international this year…
11. What is your favorite part about playing live in front of your fans?
I know every band says this, but with TWY, it couldn’t be more true: Our fans are the most dedicated and supportive I have ever seen (next to maybe ICP juggalos, but that’s a whole different ball game). Playing live and seeing the effect our music has on people and how it inspires them is unbelievable! Their passion and intensity keeps us going and inspires us to keep doing what we love. When your on the road for a long time, it’s hard to find a steady support system when times get tough. Luckily, our fans are there every night screaming back at us, serving as our motivation to keep pushing through whatever might be troubling us at the time.
12. Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you can relate to anything I’ve said in this interview, please pick up a copy of our new record The Upsides from www.nosleepstore.com, and keep supporting independent labels and your local music scene. Without these things, bands like us wouldn’t exist.
