Sing It Loud hails from Minnesota, but is currently touring the U.S. on the Motel 6 Rock Yourself to Sleep tour with bands like Every Avenue, There for Tomorrow and The Secret Handshake. Pat, Nate, Kieren, and Ben stopped by the J-14 offices to give us all the juicy details about their album and tour, and they shared a ton of funny stories with us. We were impressed by how well these guys know their pop culture and were super psyched to watch them perform their single "Sugar Sweet" live! Read on to find out more about Sing It Loud!
J-14: How did you come up with your name?
Ben: We had the hardest time finding it. We would book shows under fake names just to have a place holder. There is actually a line in one of the songs we were recording called "Sing it Loud" and we thought that was kind of cool. So we took it and changed the song lyric to "Sing Out Loud" so it wasn't too similar and it wasn't our theme song.
J-14: What is different about this album than your previous one?
Kieren: The first album we wrote really quickly. Kind of on a whim because we had to. This one we had a lot more time to write and a lot more personal experiences to write about. After touring for three years you go through some stuff together and individually as well. We were all eighteen when our band started. Now we are all turning twenty one so it is a while new level. All of the experiences that happened between those two ages. As recording goes, we didn't really try to do anything. We just did what sounded best for each song. We didn't have a set way or sound that we were going for. We just did it.
J-14: Where is your favorite place to make a pit stop on the road?
Nate: "Hot spots." It's a term we came up with for the best gas stations with the best restaurants around it. When you look at the exit signs, you look for the best combination possible and its called the "hot spot." Usually gas stations with food places attached to them. You don't want to stop at some creepy gas station with one pump with something like a Popeyes. We get really excited about it too. When we leave we're like, "Oh man. We've got to hit a 'hot spot!'" It is so funny because everyone will be asleep in the van and as soon as the van stops, everyone pops up and looks to see where we are to see if we are at a "hotspot."
J-14: Have you ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?
Pat: Nate has some good ones.
Nate: For Halloween, our band loves to go all out. We pick what we are going to be and it all works together. This past Halloween we decided to be Scooby Doo and the gang. So each one of us was one of the people. I was Daphne and was wearing the purple dress. I had the band on and everything and a scarf. I had pink tights on and Chucks. We performed in our costume. The crowd was feeling it and we're all vibing off of it. At the end of the second song, I go up to the monitor and put my foot on it and the monitor flies off the stage and I go right with it. I fall backwards with my bass in the air trying not to smash anything cause I didn't want to break it. I land straight on my tail bone and it was a five foot drop onto the crowd. They kept playing so I was like, "Shoot, I need to keep playing." So I'm laying on my back like a turtle trying to play in my costume. No one was stopping. Kiernan was finally like, "Stop!" I got up and just went, "Oh my gosh." I remember standing in the dressing room doorway and saying, "I think I'm the only guy I'll ever meet who fell off the stage wearing a dress in front of 1,200 people." There are videos and pictures.
J-14: Would you ever date a fan?
Nate: My girlfriend had no idea who the band was when I met her and it was awesome. She had never been to a show or listen to this kind of music. As we've dated, she had heard the name, but that's it. We went to high school together and I creeped on her in high school. She turned me down. I asked her to go to the movies on Myspace because I was too scared to talk to her.
Pat: It is nice if your girlfriend is someone you can talk to about things other than music. She has to be a normal person.
Are you a fan of Sing It Loud? Let us know in the comments!
Photo: Courtesy of Danielle Kepler
