Cigarettes for Breakfast On the Making Of ‘Join the Circus’
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of 'Join the Circus?'
Life is pretty crazy. There are lots of ups and downs and twists and turns. At its core, Join the Circus is a story about spiraling through life, trying to find purpose, and sometimes just trying to get through the day. Life is a fucking circus, and we have no choice but to join in on it.
Can you talk about the recording and production process for this album 'Join the Circus?'
Yeah, so I do pretty much all the production and recording myself. I play all the guitars, bass, synth, drum machine and whatnot. Tony played all the acoustic drums. We got a little fancier with it this time and recorded them with Nik Bruzzese at The Gradwell House, which was a lot of fun. Vocals were kind of a rollercoaster on this record. Originally I was only singing a few songs, but Cam and I had a bit of a falling out, so I ended up stepping out of my comfort zone a bit and becoming more of the “lead” singer. Then recording CoCo was a breeze, they are insanely talented. But yeah…this time around, we got to work with some really cool people. Jeff Zeigler mixed it, and it was mastered by Ryan Schwabe. So I guess we took a little step outside of our DIY world, which was pretty cool.
Can you share any memorable experiences or stories from performing this album live?
Aw man, our album release show was crazy! We had this segment planned pretty early in the set, where the elephant from the Join the Circus music video comes out. People were getting down and going nuts for the rest of the show. The energy in the room was unreal. This tour has been awesome so far, though. People seem to really be connecting with the songs, and it’s been cool meeting and talking to fans about it.
What role do you feel emotions play in your music, and how do you channel them into your performances?
Music is an outlet driven entirely by emotion. All the frustrations, sadness, happiness, confusion, anger, love, whatever it may be, is infused into the music. When we play live, we feel it all and let it out. It gets really magical when you can feel that the crowd feels it too.
What has been the most memorable experience or achievement in your music career so far?
We’ve done some pretty cool stuff, but I think what we’re doing right now beats everything we’ve done so far. Figuring out how to do these songs live as a 3-piece has been a super rewarding experience, and Tony and Martin are some of the best dudes around. This tour has been really incredible so far. But yeah, making this record took 3 years and through all the ups and downs, there were many times I wanted to give up and throw in the towel. It all feels worth it now, seeing how people interact and connect with it.
