I See Stars Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 2nd 2010 11:23PM by Angel Garcia
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I See Stars is a popular new band from Warren, Michigan that burst onto the electronic/post-hardcore scene with their hit album '3-D.' Fans can't resist the six-piece group of heart throbs that belt out catchy choruses and woo everyone with their rhythmic melodies. Lead guitarist Brent Allen was interviewed so that the public can gain some insight on this fresh band that will be performing at the upcoming SXSW music festival.

Describe your sound in your own words.

That's kind of a trick question. There's no way to put my finger on exactly what we sound like, but it's definitely a blend of electronic, pop, hardcore and new wave. I'd like to say that we have a new wave sound. If I were to talk to people that aren't familiar with our band, I'd probably tell them that it's best if they just listen to us.

What are your music influences?

We have a broad knowledge of music and bands. We listen to a lot of different kinds of music and all of it inspires us in its own way. I'd say we listen to the radio a lot. Apart from that, we like to keep in touch with mainstream and secular music alike. I mean, we listen to so much -- from the hardest to the softest kind of music. Everything from Converge to Owl City inspires us, and I know that they're on pretty opposite ends of the spectrum, but even all of the stuff in between is influential.

How did your band form?

We've all been friends for a really long time. We go all the way back to high school and even elementary. I See Stars has been playing together under that name since about 2005.

How did you come up with your band name?

I can't say that there's so much of a story behind it, it kind of just happened at a park one night. We were done playing music and were just hanging out and we thought about our band name at time -- which happened to be Stating The Obvious -- and just decided that we didn't like it. We just came up with I See Stars and thought, "You know what? This works. It sounds good and it just rolls off the tongue."

What do you like the least about being on tour or being in the band?

It's mostly just personal things, I suppose. I don't think there are enough issues that make me dislike anything outside of that. Mostly we all just try to get on the same page. I think that hardest part about being on tour all the time is committing to everything so completely. You have to always think of the band first. Everything has to be about the band and bettering the band before bettering yourself. It's a huge commitment. You have to let go of your pride and your ego entirely -- which is a lot to sacrifice for something that starts out as just a hopeful thing that we're diving into. You have to give every ounce of yourself. All your energy. All your passion. It all has to go into the band.

But you definitely get a lot of support from friends and family?

Oh yeah, definitely. We wouldn't be who we are without our family and everyone who believes in us. We're really happy with the team we have going. Everyone in our lives is so supportive.

How about your fans? What are they like?

They're different from place to place. Every city we go to we see so many levels of fans. We have die-hard fans that come to every single show in some places. But, everywhere we play, our goal is to win over the people who don't really know us or who haven't gotten around to it at all yet. The fans we do have are incredibly supportive, and I'm really happy about that.

Have you ever experienced anything crazy on tour?

We've had some fun experiences but we've also had some experiences where things haven't really been on our side. We've gotten into accidents in the van before. Once we drove 40 hours straight from Detroit to San Diego and we didn't make it to the venue until an hour before we were meant to be on stage. It's hard to keep tabs on every single thing that has happened because so much time has passed for us. It's all been a huge rollercoaster, really.

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