PropertyOfZack had the chance to interview Ace Enders a few weeks ago when he pulled into New York City at the beginning of his Pay What You Want Tour with Mansions. Ace and I discussed the shift in his career once the Kickstarter project was revealed, his new album, Gold Rush, the new tour, and the future, among other things. Read up below!

We did that interview together in December…
The interview that said it all. The very controversial interview that started a mess.
POZ: So then things changed pretty quickly from there. How was it seeing that response?
Ace: Seeing the response that everybody had was definitely huge for changing and wanting to give it one more good heave hoe. I think that was the thing that made me not stop yet. The mentality of asking if it is actually realistic to keep this going will always be there, but we’re definitely still kicking.

It was a tough interview to do, but what was it like mentally for you in the months before letting the public know?
It was real tough, man. It took the cap off the lid and let it air out a little bit.

You launched the Kickstarter with the wanted goal of $10,000 in a month. Within 24 hours you had beaten that goal and ended up raising over $30,000. Did you expect to even reach the first goal?
It was a weird thing because you never know how people will react to those. It was pretty awesome though. We thought it would take a lot longer.

Did the fact that so many people pledged so much boost your moral in general?
Sure. It definitely made me feel good. I’ll leave it at that.

While people were more than willing to help out, the Kickstarter also got a lot of negative comments.
People want to find a problem in anything. That’s just how it is. I don’t hold it against anyone, but sometimes it’s hurtful. You don’t like to look at it or think that people could possibly say that, but I was just trying to be as honest as possible. I’m not complaining. I don’t complain about it. I don’t say, “Oh poor me” ever. I know that I’m really fortunate to be doing what I’m doing. At the same time, this is who I am and what I do. It’s like asking someone to completely change their life. Anybody who has to completely change their life, it puts you in a weird place. I think anybody that’s going to take that and turn it into something it’s not is not really looking at the real story.

Like we mentioned, you raised three times the amount you had planned on for Gold Rush. What are you doing with that extra money?
It all went into a lot of past band debts that we had that we’re still working on. A lot went into the production of setting everything up on this tour as well and allowing us to do that. That’s been a big part of it. Also to do anything we could with the record.

Gold Rush was released just two weeks ago and it featured nine tracks. How has the reception to it been so far?
It’s been good. I can’t complain. I’m pretty happy with it. Everybody’s been pretty great. It’s definitely really positive. It’s the most positive general response that I’ve ever had.

The music behind the album is fairly different from other work than you’ve done. Can you talk about that?
It started because Jose had to leave the band and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I started planning for the record and started making songs with the loop station. I’d loop all these pieces, and that’s how the record came about.

The lyrics are definitely a little different for you.
The lyrics are the darkest I’ve ever gone. It’s so funny because people ask what happened to the sad songs, and it’s funny to me. Because this is the saddest I’ve ever written, but I’m glad it’s covered up.

There was a lot of confusion about you releasing a 7” on Doghouse Records. What happened there?
It’s a three song 7”. I still need to finish it. I’ve been slacking. It’s in the Gold Rush vein.

You’re on the second night of the Pay What You Want Tour. The concept behind it is stemmed from your Kickstarter I imagine, but it’s a pretty gutsy move. I assume you’ve seen the numbers for sales, how are the dates doing?
Last night was great. Tonight I think is going to be good. We’ll just continue to see how it goes.

Were there a lot of nerves setting it up?
We went with all the promoters that were really confident in doing a good job. So far it seems to be doing pretty good.

How is it doing all the looping on stage?
It is very stressful. Especially getting used to it. I’m sure once I’ve done it for a whole tour I’ll feel a little bit better, but right now I’m freaking out inside.

You’re also doing a meet and greet sort of thing with fans before who pre-ordered tickets. Are they what you hoped they’d be?
Yeah, they’re actually better. I had a great time today and yesterday.

This is being filmed for a documentary. When would you like that released?
In the fall.

If this tour is successful in the way you want it to be, will you continue on with touring?
Yeah, we’ll see how it goes. We’re putting a lot of focus on the documentary and that’s our thing. It’s not just about relying on touring. This documentary is extremely important. We’ll see how it turns out.

Is there more music in the works as well?
We’ll see. Everything right now is seeing where it all goes. I’m not making plans or being hard-headed about it. If it’s not in the cards, we gave it a try.