Emery
From Badass to Badderass
2007-12-17
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Fresh off headlining the Tooth & Nail Tour with labelmates Anberlin, and still stacking accolades for their most recent full-length The Question, Emery are on the short list of must-see acts on this year’s Warped Tour. And though the six members of Emery—Toby Morell, Matt Carter, Josh Head, Chopper, Devin Shelton and Dave Powell—are certainly enjoying the spoils of success, the added pressures of being a marquee band are definite factors in both the band’s plans for their next record and their day-to-day life as Carter and Shelton explained before a recent tour stop.
Has becoming a headlining band, with the pressures of being the main draw, changed things at all for you guys?
Matt Carter: Having a bus and having someone to change your guitar strings, I used to think would be this big senseless luxuries, but you see that it’s the way you do business at a certain level. And subsequently it’s really made touring more fun, and more comfortable. But at the same time, the pressure is much more scary. Before, there was nothing to lose, if we go somewhere and people are there and they cheer, you win. Now, there’s a lot more on the line, more bills to pay.
Does that pressure carry over into the songwriting process for the next record?
Devin Shelton: We care about how we sound. If we don’t like the music that we write, then there’s no point in doing it. But we do have a little bit more of a pop mentality as far as, “Will kids want to hear this?” Especially for this last album and the album coming up, we think, “Okay, how will our music affect the people who buy it? What can we do to make more people want to buy it?” Not like we’re selling out or anything like that, we’re not doing anything that somebody else is telling us to do, but something that we want to do.
Matt: The truth is, if you’re in it for the money, then you’re not in the right business to start with. But at the same time, if you’re doing stuff in a totally selfish way and not thinking about your fans, or the industry or what other people are going to like, you’re going to be forced to stop because you won’t succeed.
How have your previous Warped Tour experiences been? Is it as crazy as people imagine?
Matt: It’s not as insane as you would think. I think it’s real uncomfortable for everybody, because everybody’s used to working from 7 PM ‘til after midnight, but when everybody’s off work at dark, no one knows what to do, so you just stand around and hang out.
Has becoming a headlining band, with the pressures of being the main draw, changed things at all for you guys?
Matt Carter: Having a bus and having someone to change your guitar strings, I used to think would be this big senseless luxuries, but you see that it’s the way you do business at a certain level. And subsequently it’s really made touring more fun, and more comfortable. But at the same time, the pressure is much more scary. Before, there was nothing to lose, if we go somewhere and people are there and they cheer, you win. Now, there’s a lot more on the line, more bills to pay.
Does that pressure carry over into the songwriting process for the next record?
Devin Shelton: We care about how we sound. If we don’t like the music that we write, then there’s no point in doing it. But we do have a little bit more of a pop mentality as far as, “Will kids want to hear this?” Especially for this last album and the album coming up, we think, “Okay, how will our music affect the people who buy it? What can we do to make more people want to buy it?” Not like we’re selling out or anything like that, we’re not doing anything that somebody else is telling us to do, but something that we want to do.
Matt: The truth is, if you’re in it for the money, then you’re not in the right business to start with. But at the same time, if you’re doing stuff in a totally selfish way and not thinking about your fans, or the industry or what other people are going to like, you’re going to be forced to stop because you won’t succeed.
How have your previous Warped Tour experiences been? Is it as crazy as people imagine?
Matt: It’s not as insane as you would think. I think it’s real uncomfortable for everybody, because everybody’s used to working from 7 PM ‘til after midnight, but when everybody’s off work at dark, no one knows what to do, so you just stand around and hang out.
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