Frontman of Australian pop-punk With Confidence Jayden Seeley reminisces how the band got signed to Hopeless Records and reminds artists that music is their job.
Music Connection: So to start things off, you actually signed with Hopeless [Records] at the beginning of the year. Congratulations, by the way!
Jayden Seeley: Thank you very much!
MC: How did that whole deal get started and how did it end up happening?
Seeley: They actually heard our EP Distance, which is the second EP we ever released, and I don’t know I guess it was just a bit of luck and then a few of the staff at Hopeless heard it. Apparently they have these sort of board meetings where they show a bunch of new music and they played the EP and apparently it was the first time in awhile that everyone at Hopeless was really excited, and the next day they contacted us and said they wanted to work with us.
MC: Cool! Then that happened really quick!
Seeley: Yeah! I mean the negotiations went over for ages but the interest was there, which was really, really cool.
MC: You guys also just recently released your album [Better Weather]. Can tell us a bit about the album for people who haven’t heard it—which, you’re missing out, by the way if you haven’t—but for the people who haven’t heard it, tell us about it and the inspiration for it.
Seeley: Better Weather was written over the period of 2015 and it’s something that just sort of came together naturally. We never really set out with a purpose or a goal and wanted to write an album. We knew what we needed to do, we had like two EPs out, the next step was an album and we just started writing songs about what we were going through, what our friends were going through and it ended up touching on some serious issues because everyone in the band was somehow related to something that was going on. We touch on stuff like a lot of mental illness and general positivity, trying to have the right outlook on things. That’s something we’ve really tried to go for in Better Weather. And I’m happy with how it turned out! People are really liking it.
MC: Well like I said, if you haven’t heard it, you’re really missing out. That’s one of the things I really like about your music, you mentioned you touch base on some kind of heavy subjects like mental illness, but it’s great that you kind of shine a light on that because I feel like there’s such a stigma about mental illness where people just don’t want to touch it, you know? So I really like that you guys shine a light on it and try to look at it more positive.
Seeley: Yeah, like we could talk about how terrible it is and how negative it is all day but it’s just the idea of just trying to be positive about it. It is what it is, people suffer from these sort of things and that’s okay. But we do what we can to stay positive and work with the situation.
MC: It’s okay to not be okay sometimes.
Seeley: That’s exactly right!
MC: And if there was one song on the album that you would use to introduce yourself to new fans, what would it be and why?
Seeley: Oh. That’s a very hard one.
MC: It’s like picking your favorite child, right?
Seeley: I know!
MC: People get really upset when I ask them that one.
Seeley: I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite child but I’m going to go ahead and say “Keeper.” Probably because it is in that middle ground of catchy poppy melodies but at the same time still has that aggression, which we’ve tried to go for in the album. I think it’s a good blend of what to expect from Better Weather, for sure. So listen to “Keeper.”
MC: To switch gears, since we are at Warped Tour…This is your first one, so what were your expectations when you came out here? Did you hear any crazy stories? Were you scared, like “Oh my god, this is going to be terrible!”
Seeley: Back in Australia we’ve toured with a whole bunch of bands that are from the States, are from the U.K., that have done Warped Tour and a few bands on it this year, and they all had their two cents to put in. There were a lot scary things. A lot of people saying this is going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done but also the best thing you’ve ever done, tips here and there.
I wouldn’t say I knew what to expect because Warped Tour is like a completely different monster. It is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced, so I don’t know if there were any expectations but whatever they were, it just completely blew them out of the park. I love Warped Tour; this has definitely been one of the best times of my life. I’ve enjoyed the fuck out of the last three months and I’m actually kind of sad that it’s the last week of Warped.
MC: I feel like it’s gonna be like a nostalgic thing, kind of like in school, it’s hard but once you get to the end you’re like, “Aw man.” Play that graduation song by Vitamin C.
Seeley: Yeah! Yeah, I feel like they will play that at some point and I probably will cry. Hug all of the bands that we’ve been hanging out with.
MC: Has anything crazy happened—that you’re allowed to talk about? I know sometimes people are like, “Yeah it was crazy but I can’t talk about it, I can’t tell you anything.”
Seeley: There are a lot of things that I will not talk about! I think one of my favorite memories so far, that is like ridiculous…so basically at night on Warped Tour we have barbecues and a lot of the bands come, but this only happens when it’s a late bus call. So like when the next show is really close together, we had one night when the bus call was 10:30 [p.m.], which is very early, but somehow we managed to have the biggest night we’ve had on Warped Tour. We had about 40 people in our bandwagon. Bandwagons are like small buses. They accommodate maybe eight people, so we had 40 people in our bandwagon, booming music, singing karaoke through this terrible microphone and people were crowd surfing! Some people were throwing frisbees around. Everyone was doing shots. Everyone had a beer. It was insane! We couldn’t fit anyone else in there. That is one memory I will never forget.
MC: I’m trying to imagine that many people, because I see it in my head and I’m like that’s a lot of people in there.
Seeley: It was a sea! It was amazing. I love it!
MC: And what would be your best advice for a band looking to do Warped Tour—now that you’ve got one under your belt and everything and kind of know what to expect?
Seeley: I think that if you are lucky enough to be asked to come on Warped…some things you need to know are buy a dolly that doesn’t have small wheels so that when you’re loading merch in it doesn’t break because so many have broken this tour. Stay hydrated, for sure, that’s very, very important. And know when to not party. I think it’s very hard for us, when we started, we just wanted to hang out with all the bands every single night but at the end of the day you are doing a job. You need to be on your A-game during your set everyday. When you meet people that listen to your music, I don’t want to be hungover for that because those people want to meet us, they don’t want to meet some three out of 10 version of us. So I guess you need to remember you’re doing a job and all though the partying is amazing, you need to know when to stay in sometimes.
MC: For my last question: what is it that fans can expect from you coming up for the rest of the year? Are you guys touring?
Seeley: Yes, so the rest of the year we are touring heavily, actually. After this we are going straight to the Philippines, so we play some shows there. Then we go back to Australia, where we’re doing Motion City Soundtrack, which will be really cool. We also have a couple tours in Australia planned after that, like small runs that aren’t announced yet, but keep an eye out. And then we go to U.K. and Europe with Real Friends and Knuckle Puck at the end of the year.
MC: Dang so we don’t get you anytime soon then!
Seeley: No, hopefully, hopefully early next year.
For more information, visit withconfidenceband.com.
