Ahead of their recent UK tour with Alesana, PT sat down and had a quick chat with Jag of A Skylit Drive.
Paul: Hello! Please introduce yourself and your role in the band.
Jag: My name is Jag, and I’m the singer in A Skylit Drive.
Paul: For those who haven’t yet heard of A Skylit Drive, how would you describe the band and which one song would you suggest new fans listen to first?
Jag: Hmm, I’d have to say we’re like a modern day Rush but heavier. If I had to pick one song as a suggestion to new fans I’d say “Wires and the concept of breathing”.
Paul: How did you get together? Which bands did you grow up listening to and who influences you, both as musicians and as writers?
Jag: The majority of the band all grew up together, and were in previous bands together. Cory and myself came into the picture afterwards. I grew up listening to bands like: Kiss, Def Leppard, The Offspring, Green Day, Blink-182, Quiet Riot, and many others. I think I had a pretty good mix for a youngster. To this day I’m influenced by groups such as: Jimmy Eat World, Copeland, Dream Theater, Circus Maximus, and others.
Paul: How did you hook up with Fearless Records in the US and then with Hassle here in the UK?
Jag: The whole Fearless Records deal kind of came out of nowhere really. Randomly at a hometown show one of our managers Eric Rushing brought it to our attention that Fearless was interested in us. From there things just went down the road they were suppose to go. To be honest, I have no idea how Hassle was brought into the picture, but we couldn’t be happier to be working with them!
Paul: ‘Adelphia’ came out last year and made the top 60 or so in the Billboard charts – did you ever expect it to chart so well?
Jag: After “Wires…” hit a mark around 170 or so in the Billboard 200 we had hopes the next record would surpass it, but I personally never saw it climbing that high! We were overwhelmed with how well Adelphia did, and are still surprised at how it’s doing. It’s awesome!
Paul: The album is a concept record – why did you decide to tell the story over the course of an album and what inspired you to write it? Is it autobiographical?
Jag: Myself and the rest of the guys in the band are really into telling wild stories. The weirder and more obscure; the better. It just seemed fitting to tell a really elaborate/spooky story. The next album will not be a concept record though. We like to change things up from record to record.
Paul: You came over to the UK at the end of 2009, how did you find the shows? Did you have any expectations and were they exceeded? How did you find the UK crowds compared to American ones?
Jag: We were totally surprised by the crowd response in the UK. We were told numerous times before we went overseas that it would be like starting over, and to not set our expectations too high, but I swear some of the crowds over there squashed some shows in America! There will always be the random shows that don’t feel right, but I know I never felt like I was starting over at ANY of the UK shows.
Paul: You’re coming back over very soon, what can we expect from the shows this time round?
Jag: Expect all you’d hope to see from A Skylit Drive. A wild, intense, sweaty night.
Paul: Are you working on any new music yet? When can we expect a follow-up to ‘Adelphia’?
Jag: We HAVE started writing for the next album actually. We’re taking the entire summer off to take time and write this next album exactly how we want it. Expect the release in early 2011.
Paul: You’re covering Journey for the next Punk Goes… series – not tempted to do ‘Don’t Stop Believin” then? If you had been part of the Punk Goes Pop record, which pop song would you have covered and why?
Jag: My personal reason for not wanting to do “Don’t stop believin” is that it’s the typical choice. Someone hears that a band is covering Journey they automatically assume it’s that song. We’d rather surprise people and do another unexpected Journey classic. I really think people will be surprised when they hear our cover! We had an absolute blast recording it. If it was my choice on Punk Goes Pop I would’ve done “Down” by Jay Sean.
Paul: If you have any messages for our readers please leave them here:
Jag: Thank you all so much for your endless support. You made us feel right at home last time, and we couldn’t be more grateful for that. We can’t wait to party it up with the UK again!