PropertyOfZack Interview : : Set Your Goals
I’m very happy to be posting my exclusive interview with Matt and Dan of Set Your Goals. The interview took place on February 3rd on their tour in support of Motion City Soundtrack. The interview reveals some big news about an upcoming tour and the recording of a new album. Enjoy the read.
1. For the record, could you please state your name and role in the band?
Matt: I’m Matt and I sing.
Dan: I’m Dan and I play guitar.
2. You guys were here just a few months ago on the Fall Ball tour with Mayday Parade and The Academy Is… how did that tour go for the band?
Dan: It was cool. A little different, but playing for some new crowds was definitely worth it.
POZ: Most of the fans there were probably not used to your sound, did they give a good reception?
Dan: Yeah, definitely.
Matt: We always love playing for new fans.
3. The Motion City tour is just starting, but how is it so far? Can’t hurt to have your friends The Swellers with you.
Dan: It’s been good.
Matt: We love The Swellers. And Motion City has been really great so far.
4. This Will Be The Death Of Us was released pretty much a half a year ago already, are you guys happy with the reception it’s gotten?
Dan: It’s been good.
5. The writing on it compared to Mutiny is obviously much deeper and thought out, did that process come together as a joint effort or just the experience each band member gained in the years between the two records?
Will: Haha, do you want to take this one?
Dan: I mean, it was a combination. Yeah, it was definitely more of a group effort as far as input on the record. I think it was definitely, as far as the lyrical themes, more thought out and more focused in parts. Our producer, Mike Green, definitely had an impact on how well the record turned out. It wasn’t all on purpose, but we definitely were striving to make it as good as we could.
6. How was it working with Hayley Williams for a song on the album? Do you think “The Few That Remain” adds an extra spark to the album with her appearance?
Matt: I mean yeah, maybe not the way we intended it to. Uh, I mean it definitely picked up a bit of buzz for the record. That wasn’t our intention though. We made it very clear with the label when we were going over our advertisements for the record. We didn’t want it advertised on the sticker that goes on the cover. We wanted to sell our own record. We didn’t want it to boost record sales or whatever.
Dan: It was really causal for us. We’re friends with her and she was hanging out one night in the studio and we jut kind of thought to ask her if she wanted to be on the record. We didn’t really think it was like going to be a big deal or anything. But, I mean, obviously it ended up being such. Which is cool, you know, it’s always good to have a little extra something to get some attention. But it was really just more of a “hey, do you want to be on our record?” kind of thing. It was no big deal.
7. After this tour you guys are heading over to do Soundwave, stoked for that?
Dan: Yeah, I am super stoked.
Matt: We love Australia.
Dan: Love Australia and plus there are a few bands on that tour, for me personally, like Faith No More and Jane’s Addiction who are a couple bands that have been my favorite bands since like 15 when I first started playing music. So the fact that we get to be on the same festival as them is fucking awesome. So I am going to be like a little kid there.
Matt: It’s literally just like there’s so many styles on that fest and like they’re all awesome. It’s like someone took my iPod and put the bands onto the festival. So I’m really excited.
8. What are some of your favorite cities or countries to tour in?
Matt: Australia’s my favorite country.
Dan: Yeah dude, Australia’s definitely up there. Japan’s awesome, England’s awesome. As far as cities in America, Cleveland’s always good to us.
Matt: Boston’s always great and Philly.
9. You just said you were going to be playing with bands you grew up listing to so is it kind of surreal to be good friends and touring buddies with New Found Glory and other bands who you listened to while growing up?
Matt: That’s awesome too. I’d say New Found Glory and Saves The Day were like the two big bands we’ve had that experience with.
POZ: Oh, I didn’t know you guys toured with Saves The Day.
Dan: Yeah, it was a couple years ago, that was awesome.
Matt: Those are the two bands that got me into the hardcore and punk style. I didn’t really get into blink-182 at first; I thought it was kind of cheesy. I liked them as they progressed to sort of find their style. New Found Glory and Saves The Day… I remember at the time I was only into hardcore and punk and I went out to the record store to buy CD’s and there was a box with Saves The Day in it in the rock section and I was just like “this is so weird” to me.
POZ: Yeah, I’m seeing both of them on New Found Glory’s ten-year tour. That should be rad.
Dan: I wouldn’t say we wish we could be on that, but that would be fucking awesome. It would be pretty ridiculous. But we actually do get to be at home when they play in San Francisco, and that’ll be fucking incredible.
Matt: Yeah, I’m really bummed we didn’t get to be apart of that.
Dan: Plus Fireworks is on that too so it just makes it sweeter. Fucking good tour.
10. Then fast-forward to summer and Set Your Goals will be one of the bigger bands on the Warped Tour. You guys have participated in that for the last few years, are you continuing your run at it in support of The Death Of Us or as a tradition?
Matt: I mean, we didn’t do it last year and we decided if when we finished up on ’08 that if the conditions were right and we were into the bands and stuff that we would do it. We’re on a bigger stage this time and uh, there’s some decent bands this year. I like this lineup a lot more than last year.
POZ: Yeah, last years wasn’t too great.
Matt: I was gonna say, this years a lot better.
11. The first half of 2010 is more or less all planed out for the band, but what should we expect after summer ends?
Matt: Hopefully some writing. We’ve been writing a little bit and hopefully we’ll get in the studio around winter. And we can start working on our new album.
POZ: So new album maybe early next year?
Dan: Quite possibly. It definitely will not be three years. It will definitely not take as long as This Will Be took.
Matt: I mean, by the time we get into the studio it will have already been a year; it’ll be a good time.
12. You guys already said you want to record, but what else do you see in the future for Set Your Goals, past 2010?
Dan: Still just more touring.
Matt: Growing, hopefully. We always just want to keep growing and doing new things we haven’t done yet, like new countries. Just new tours, all kinds of stuff.
13. Three years ago you released Mutiny, did you guys have any dreams of coming to where you are today?
Matt: No man, if you took me back to the time when we were recording Mutiny I was like “wow we’re recording a full-length, I never thought we’d be doing this.” When we started the band it was like, “cool let’s play some local shows with friends” and then we put a demo up on Myspace and a bunch of people said we needed to go on tour and we were like, “really? Alright, I guess we’ll try that”
14. How do you think websites like AbsolutePunk and other sites like that have helped you really get out there?
Matt: I think definitely AbsolutePunk and Alternative Press have helped us out a lot. Those guys have always had our backs and we definitely appreciate it. The fans have been supportive, the readers have been supportive. The people who run the sites have always looked out for us as well.
15. Well, I think that’s all, is there anything else you would like to add?
Matt: Follow us on Twitter, twitter.com/therealsyg. It’ll have updates on our headlining tour in the spring, I forgot to mention that.
Dan: Oh yeah.
Matt: We’re going to announce that in two weeks. We’ll have updates on that on Twitter. We’ll post information on tickets and stuff.
POZ: When will that tour be around? In May?
Matt: It’s uh, April 16th to May 16th.
POZ: Alright rad, thank you.
