DEFEATER released their much anticipated follow-up to their debut album a few weeks ago – and “Empty Days And Sleepless Nights” lives up to the expectations. The band delivers a musically diverse and highly emotional album that continues the story of “Travels” while offering the same depth in both lyrics and music. Followed by a successful European and Australian tour, DEFEATER proved to have become a tremendous live band. Enough reasons to ask Jake (guit.) a couple of questions. His answers shed light on many interesting topics, including a few political ones. Interview

Your European tour is over - what will be the lasting memories?

 

Every trip to Europe is unreal- this last time we were so psyched to see

such a positive reaction to the new material. Since it was a shorter tour

with longer drives, there wasn't as much of a chance to see things besides

the clubs we played in, but it was great to hang out with old friends we met

on former tours and meet a bunch of rad new people.

 

Which shows have been the best?

 

This is tough. Literally every show on this tour was good. Berlin is always

great- Hamburg and Trier were insane, London and Holland were highlights.

Vienna. Damn. Rosswein, the last show, was one of the best shows and a

really good note to end on.

 

How did CARPATHIAN turn out as touring mates?

 

They were great- we thought a straightedge band might get bummed about us drinking, but we all got along really well. Both bands are pretty laid back.

It's a bummer they've taken a hiatus, but they all seem to have other bands

and projects to focus on for the time being, so we wish them well with

those. Keep your eyes on WAR BRAIN and COLOSSUS- I'm sure any "members of

CARPATHIAN" band will be worth checking out.

 

Did this tour differ from your last years one - if yes, in which way?

 

First off, it was way shorter which meant less time for hanging out. Also,

it was winter, which puts a damper on things. Overall there was less

nonsense and shenanigans- we promise to make up for it next time.

 

On it goes for you to Australia - what do you expect of that tour?

 

That tour actually ended a few weeks ago now- we had no idea what to expect,

but it was fantastic. Australia and New Zealand are great places if you like

going to the beach and jumping off of cliffs. MILES AWAY took insanely good

care of us and made sure to show us as much of their country as we could

see. FIRES OF WACO is a great bunch of dudes too- check out their debut full

length, "Old Ghosts Never Sleep". Good, political melodic post-hardcore.

 

What are your further tour plans for 2011?

 

In a few days we leave for 3 weeks in the US with LA DISPUTE. Really stoked

for that. Then we'll be taking most of the summer off while Andy's on Warped

Tour with Greenvans. Then Jay gets married in September. We're working on a

US tour for October and November, but nothing's certain yet. Then we'll be

back to Europe as soon as we can, sometime in 2012.

 

Seeing that Andy is running Greenvans: do you take care that what kind

of vans you're using when you're touring Europe or Australia?

 

We'd love to do every tour in a veggie oil-powered van but logistically it's

kind of impossible; right now there isn't a Greenvans-type company on either

continent. We need Andy to start Greenvans Europe and Greenvans Australia.

*laughs*

 

Before we get to your new album, let's talk about the controversial

things you've said about soldiers and how we need to give soldiers our love,

respect and all that... this didn't come up fine with many hardcore kids,

what is understandable given the strong left-wing movement of them. What did

you want to say about soldiers and their fate, their troubles, their

problems?

 

 

 

Thanks for asking this- but before I answer this and the next few questions

I'd like to point out that we're just a few regular guys who happen to be in

a band. None of us are political analysts or policy makers. Anything we or

any other band says is just one person's opinion. Check the facts and draw

your own conclusions. That said, I'll give it a shot-

 

There are a range of political points of view within DEFEATER, so it's

difficult to speak for all of us. We all believe in supporting individual

soldiers because they're people in a difficult situation, but at the same

time, and because of this, we are all strongly anti-war. These two ideas are

difficult to communicate in a 20-second speech in the middle of a set, and

it's been no small point of discussion within the band.

 

Being anti-war means doing more that just saying "fuck war" and then going

about your day. To be anti-war is to actively work for peace, at home and

abroad, both on a large scale and with the people around us. This could

include intelligent anti-war activism, providing adequate services for

returning soldiers suffering from PTSD, or running your car on biodiesel or

riding a bike to decrease dependence on foreign oil.

 

We thanked soldiers, I think (although Derek was the one that included that

in the thankyous) because we've all had friends or relatives who've come

back from Iraq or Afghanistan with physical and psychological scars that

they didn't receive adequate support for. In some cases, like a close friend

of mine's brother, this can be fatal- complications from PTSD were largely

responsible for his suicide. This is something that's all too common today.

Which means we need to both offer the love and support we can to the

soldiers that need it, while working to end the wars the US is involved in

as quickly as possible.

 

What do you think of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?

 

That's a broad question. I'm going to answer this one as Jake and not

necessarily speaking for all of Defeater- the wars in both countries are a

mess. The "War on Terror" creates more terrorists with each incident of

civilian casualties. The US had suspect motives for entering both countries,

especially Iraq.

But, a lot of people we care about are over there, too. And we hope they all

come back safely.

 

And what do you think of the current situation in Libya? Should the US

intervene in that?

 

It depends on what you mean by "intervene"- so far the UN is aiding the

rebels to protect the Libyan people and the US is just acting as a member of

that coalition to prevent genocide. Let's hope they act wisely and that it

doesn't go beyond that.

 

One thing the US does a comparatively good job of is welcoming refugees and

political asylees. We should keep doing this- especially because that

conflict has already created hundreds of thousands of refugees.

 

Finally, let's get to your new album: where do you see differences to

"Travels" and the "Lost Ground" EP? And where are similarities?

 

There's a lot more of a dynamic range on the new record than “Travels” or “Lost

Ground”, even if you don't take the acoustic EP into account. It felt like a

natural progression for us, but at the same time a song like "Empty Glass"

would stick out more on travels or even lost ground than on “Empty Days And Sleepless Nights” Lyrically,

although the point of view is different, it's the same series of events as

”Travels”.

 

Did you approach the songwriting and recording session in much the same

way as ever?

 

If by "same way" you mean "really stressful" then yes *laughs*. Andy and Jay

wrote more of the heavy record in the studio than they did for previous

releases, while Derek and I wrote the skeleton of the acoustic EP relatively

quickly. This made the compositions feel more spontaneous but the process of

fleshing them out and re-arranging them took months of work afterwards,

which was longer than we'd spent on any release before.

 

How much of the lyrics have been planned in advance? Who’s the main

character of the story this time?

 

The main events of the story are decided before Jay and Andy write the

structures for all the songs- it gives them something to work with while

writing. The actual lyrics are written after the song structures. The main

character this time is the older brother from "Travels".

 

Do you have your next album or EP planned out already?

 

Nope- we've got some ideas for a few different releases but are a long way

from really focusing on the next release.

 

You’ve released the album as nicely laid out CD including a strong

booklet and as a vinyl version... do you think that people will acknowledge

the effort? it seems like CDs and digital music in general aren't getting

much apprehension lately... might it be a way for bands like DEFEATER to

sell their albums as vinyl versions only?

 

I think the vinyl/digital download combination is a good one- people are

going to steal electronic music, but it's portable and most musicians are

just flattered than anyone is listening, whether or not they bought it. Mp3s

will never be a substitute for the large-format artwork and concentrated

listening experience of a record, though.

 

Do you dig vinyl at all? If yes: what are your favorite pieces and why?

 

Hells yeah- either CONSTATINE "Kensington Heights" or the WEAKTERHANS

"Reconstruction Site". Or "End Measured Mile" by MAKE DO AND MEND - it has

some of the coolest die cut gatefold packaging I've ever seen.

 

Do you have bands besides DEFEATER?

 

Yeah, a few of us have other projects - I'm in DREAMTIGERS, an indie-rock

band. Mike's in MAKE DO AND MEND, and Derek has an acoustic solo project

called ALCOA.

 

Can you live off your music plus the record studio plus Greenvans and

all that or do you have to take regular jobs in-between tours too?

 

Wait- are you hiring?! We all work a lot when we're not on tour. Andy and

Jay work like the dickens on Greenvans and Getaway (http://www.thegetawaygroup.com/), whether we're on tour or

not. Derek works at a record store. Mike and I work whatever random jobs we

can get- any random day will find us as a barista, bartender, construction

worker, english teacher or picking Alice Cooper up from his hotel. Literally

anything, haha.

 

What does your family think of your lifestyle?

 

We are all extremely fortunate to have families that support us playing

music. Thanks guys!

 

How old are you now? How long will you do this lifestyle, what do you

think?

 

We're all 26-30, so we're not really young kids anymore. I think the short

answer is "as long as possible"- we all found ways to make touring and

writing music work while not starving to death so far, and want to keep

doing that indefinitely. I'm sure that'll get trickier the older we get, but

we'll keep trying to make it happen.

 

Final words, greetings, shout-outs?

 

Thanks for asking good questions- hope to see y'alls soon! And check out our

friends in ALL TEETH on their upcoming Euro tour with THE CARRIER in July.