The Dangerous Summer - Mother Nature (June 14, 2019) Album • Page 103

So good! Anyone notice sonically it almost sounded better than the version we had last week a little? Not sure if they did another mix. Or maybe spotify makes it a bit brighter by default. Either way loving it!

 

This song is great. I’m not sure we appreciate just how crazy TDS’s story is - they put out a flawless classic to start their career, then spent 5-6 years making great music while going through the type of band drama that ends other bands in 15 minutes, fix all of that, come back, and become a better version of what they were in the first place. I have no idea how this band still exists or is this good, but I’m really glad for it.

 

Recent interview with AJ from Altpress.

Cool bits:

-One of the songs [that] is going to be on the EP actually, Aaron wrote and played all the instruments, and I sing over it. It’s pretty unreal and unique

-There will be singles soon [and] an EP that we are calling All That Is Left Of The Blue Sky.

And the video is out

In March 2020, you fulfilled your record contract with Hopeless Records, and you have since left the label. Why did you make the decision to leave Hopeless and go independent?
I have been signed to Hopeless since I was 18 years old while in my senior year of high school. Hopeless was a great independent record label, and they made us who we are today. After years of being in this industry, you really start to understand how it all works. Record contracts are essentially stacked against the artist pretty hard no matter who you sign to. It forced us to make all of our money off touring, which can be incredibly frustrating, and now with touring on hold, [it’s] near impossible. I think we are at a place now where we believe that we can do this on our own, and for once make money off music.

Out of all of our full-length records, not one has recouped. We have been held in a place where our art can’t even support us. In the digital age, I think more than ever, record labels are less necessary. We have access to all of the tools and services that labels use, so it is time to use them.

Now that you’re independent, do you feel that you have more creative freedom with your music and branding?
Luckily, Hopeless gave us a lot of rope to run with as far as our own creativity, but I think there are a lot less walls and a lot less structure. I think one of the most frustrating things can be when you want to decide your own release dates and your own schedule with your work. We always have off-the-wall ideas of how we want to roll out new songs, but in the music industry, there is a very specific outline that people follow. It’s one of the more maddening things to see, that every band follows the exact same pattern that repeats over and over again.

One of the main things we would like to push is we want to try to have a release every year. We want to get our art out to everyone. I think we saw a beautiful thing happen when SoundCloud became popular. You had artists making music and putting it straight online for consumption with absolutely no downtime. How magical is that? And the music that came out of that situation is nothing but that: magic.

What inspired you to create Molly Water Music? Will you be helping other bands release music through the label? Do you have anyone lined up to work alongside the label?
I actually started Molly Water Music out of my mania while dealing with the labels that wanted to sign [us]. I came to Matt [Kennedy, guitarist] and Ben [Cato, drummer] at the time and told them I would like to fund the new music myself and just wanted to attach my label name to it. We plan to release this new music, as well as a couple other projects I am working on. I have a side project with Derek from Mayday Parase coming out soon, as well as a solo project coming out. I wanted those to be safe under my little umbrella, and there are already a few artists I am talking to about doing releases [with]. One of them comes from Hopeless as well. I am not coming in trying to be a label to take over in any stretch. I more so want it to be a place for musicians to come to for answers and a safe place where the darkness of the industry doesn’t touch. Just fair and resourceful. The Dangerous Summer are a great experiment to run through the wringer.

You’ll be releasing your next EP through Molly Water Music, which you’ll be launching yourselves. What are the difficulties of starting your own label?
I think the hardest part is creating a solid foundation. We broke it down to the basics of what we needed to get this off the ground. Building our initial website, merch store and sourcing all the content and marketing strategies. We had to think about every single detail about releasing. It can also feel really loose at times when you don’t have a label breathing down your neck with a deadline. We just take this one step at a time, and brick by brick, we are making our own world.

What have you noticed as the greatest benefits of releasing music on your own versus through a major label?
I think just tasting the fruit of our own labor is the best and the learning involved. We have been taken to school on this trip. [We] are learning even more about how everything works and is supposed to flow. Also the money, we are now getting paid directly without the middleman. Fans don’t even think about these things, and many have asked me from time to time, “What is the best way [we] can support?” Well, if a band are on a record label, you can only really support a band on the road [and by] seeing shows. Artists receive very little from actual music, if any. When we were on Hopeless, we also signed away our rights to sell our own merch online. So we can’t even reach our fans unless it is strictly on the road. It’s pretty unreal if you think about it.

You mentioned that Aaron Gillespie worked with you on your upcoming EP. What was his involvement, and what was that experience like?
Aaron is the man and a legend in his own right. He really started becoming a brother to me. He’s eager and driven, and he is fighting the same way we fight for it. He randomly added me on Instagram one day. Me being the person I am, I messaged him right away and said, “Let’s make music together.” He said, “Fuck yes,” and we were off. We were writing songs together and vibing together, just for creation’s sake.

One of the songs [that] is going to be on the EP actually, Aaron wrote and played all the instruments, and I sing over it. It’s pretty unreal and unique, and that became his first involvement. He later came in and started sitting down on some of the tracks to help us write to the songs we were already developing as a band. He added something so beautiful to these songs and really brought them alive. It is sad because of COVID-19 we still haven’t even jammed in a room together. That will be one of the first things that happen [when we can see each other]. He let us know he would also love to tour with us when his schedule permits, so we shall see what the future holds. The fit is unreal.

For the first time in your career, you have full control over your music, creativity, releases, etc. What was the most rewarding part of recording your new single “Fuck Them All” and creating the video? What was the inspiration behind “Fuck Them All”?
“Fuck Them All” is about the music industry, but not even specifically—more so the oppressors in life. The people that make you not be who you are meant to be. I have had a great psychedelic soul-searching journey over the past few years, and I really found out who I was. It gave me an incredible strength that I’ve never had before. I learned to shake off anything draining that was holding me down.

It was amazing to go into the studio and lay down this track and to do it ourselves and put up that middle finger to all the people that doubted us. The video was made in Richmond, which was really special to me, and we found a moped gang to join along. Shout out to Paul Leavitt [mixing], Will Beasley [producer] and Nick Marfing [on video] for putting in their hours to help us get our vision off the ground.

Your music videos released through Hopeless typically created a story, and the band were seldom in them. What was it like filming a video while the world is in quarantine and being a major part of it? Did you feel less pressure having creative control over the imagery in the video?
I still love the story videos, and, in fact, our next video is going to be a story video. love putting some great art alongside our music. I always say, “The kids don’t want to see us [Laughs.].” This just felt like something we needed to be a part of for this one and with a strong message. So, I just wanted it to reflect us as a band. I said to Nick, our director, “I’m not an actor, [and] neither is Matt. Let’s just be candid mostly alongside some performance shots.” I just wanted to home in on our culture and our attitude. We wanted to make it feel almost like a hip-hop video. The Dangerous Summer have always been rooted in our spirit in life; our fire to keep living, keep dreaming, keep partying. We live every day like it is our last, and I wanted to capture that feeling. We can’t stop [and] we won’t stop.

Toward the end of the video, you’re seen putting a stack of papers into a bonfire surrounded by friends. What were those papers, or what did that scene represent to you and Matt?
It is the end to all of the old and onto something completely new. We have made it to the future.

What do fans have to look forward to next from the Dangerous Summer?
We have a lot, and we are still building. There will be singles soon [and] an EP that we are calling All That Is Left Of The Blue Sky. There will be touring once [lockdown] is over, there will be merch and more content to follow. For everyone that knows the story, we got a chance to live again—we came back from the dead. We are not wasting a single moment of our time now. We are going to run until it’s over.

 

Imagining Aaron play over RFTS and War Paint songs is just *chef’s kiss*

 

Yikes at alt press exclusive, but you really just gotta learn to take the good with the bad with this band. Song is growing on me already.

 

Yeah that’s a big yikes, especially with all the news about them and the Austin Carlisle stuff.

 

But shout out to @Yellowcard2006 for pasting the article as to not give them clicks

 

Awesome interview. Still wish we knew a little bit more about Ben's departure but as my boring office coworkers would say, "It is what it is!"

 

So we're also getting an AJ solo project AND a collab project with the dude from Mayday Parade?? That's sick!

 

Yeah I just love this band. This is great.

 

Why is that?

 

Oh dang didnt realize the video was up! Watching now

 

AltPress has been proven time and time again to be a scummy publication for a number of reasons, so limiting their clicks is always a good thing in my eyes.

 

Fuck Them All: The Dangerous Summer Takes Control of Their Future

“If I was tired of this band, I would have ended it at Mother Nature, called it a day and do a mic drop – it would be a great album to end things on,” he states. “But I care too much about this band and I love it. This EP is like a restart and we want to push further into the future.”

“With the new record, the way we’re making music now is so different and so crazy,” he adds with a quiet laugh. “I got into a lot of songwriting in LA, working with pop people and hip-hop people and making different types of music. We’re kind of making music like rappers using drum and guitar loops and playing it with real instruments. People are going to hear a different sound from us and see us grow as artists.”

 

Nice!! A new era is upon us.. cant wait

Its interesting he mentioned drum loops, as a drummer I've been noticing thats one of the bigger changes for them. The beats no longer have that improv fills every few measure style etc. That seems to have ended on s/t...mother nature I was always curious if they recorded some drum part live and then looped it for each section. Only because once the beat is set in those songs. (Outside of maybe virginia).. there is no variance on the drums. Like say blind ambition. The beat is crazy exact for each section. Or starting over. Always wanted to ask Sam how much was a live take verses it looped for each section. Anyone notice this?

Anyway it does add a cool element and new direction for them

 

Sam would come in here and chat occasionally, not sure if he frequents these parts much anymore. @Samuel Pura

 

Damn I'm gonna have to get that new mens shirt they just dropped

 

Was looking at that shirt but the shipping is sooooooo expensive (to get it to the UK). It's literally $2 less than the shirt itself!

Anyway I'm super excited for the upcoming EP - when do you guys think it's likely to be released? Is before September, or October at the latest, optimistic?

 

Next single is in August so September/October seems resonable. It's only 6 songs so no point in doing more than 2 or 3 singles.

 

I dig that shirt, but I'm anticipating vinyl + t shirt bundles when the EP gets officially announced so I'm gonna wait

 

This may be an Unpopular Opinion but I just need to get this off my chest.
I’ll preface this with: I’ve been a diehard fan of TDS since ‘08, I’ve bought all their albums, bought some Merch a few times, and have been to two shows. I love this band.
However, ever since Mother Nature, there’s been a lot, and I mean a lot, of references to drug use and the state that drugs put you in. On Mother Nature, 7 out of 10 songs have multiple drug references, and it’s more than just weed. They just started a record label named “Molly Water Music”, an obvious ode to MDMA. The music and melodies have been stellar, and I enjoy the lyrics and vocals, but its beginning to be a little much. I am praying this next EP isn’t all about drugs and psychedelic states. Maybe i was too young to notice, but RFTS and War Paint were so pure and heartfelt. I feel like i’m alone in this opinion, but I had to just say it. Lastly, AJ frequently posts stories on IG about drugs and smoking. I truly hope he’s doing okay through all this.
And, i’m not super anti-drug or anyrhing; it’s just a constant overload and I’m feeling myself having difficulty relating to the music now.

 

This opinion has come up before you're not the first to mention it.

" I spent my weekdays in my car and the weekends drinking hard enough for two. "

"Like when I stood up all this cocaine hit my heart..."

"I drank the weekend to the ground, and you're in my arms"

I assume you know where those quotes come from...I can't think of any from War Paint though.

Though I do agree Mother Nature had more references to psychedelics than anything before. I think it's totally fine to say you don't relate to it personally I don't either (I don't drink or use any recreational drugs) but AJ overall seems really happy and motivated and doing well.

 

I can empathize with this. Cursing/drug or alcohol references/etc used to bother me too and always felt forced/cheesy or edgy for the sake of being edgy. I mean, I still sometimes think they bring down a song/album/artist for me. To this day I live a straight edge lifestyle and don’t swear. But I think the best thing you can do is to realize that these things and being “pure” or “heartfelt” are not mutually exclusive, and if this is where the artist’s mindset is, good or bad, it would actually be disingenuous for them to write otherwise.

 

I love dale jr lol

 

I appreciate someone getting it off their chest but I advise they scroll back through the pages. This has been brought up multiple times and covered for many pages in relation to drug use references etc.. almost beating a dead horse at this point