This interview was originally gonna take place on the Dec 8th stop of the Fearless Friends Tour in Atlanta but then they broke down in Florida and couldn’t make the show. Thankfully, Telle was cool enough to make it up with an email interview. We discussed their setlist for the tour, his clothing line (Resist and Rebel), and why they chose a new producer for the upcoming record.
Please state your name and role in The Word Alive
Telle, I’m the vocalist for TWA.
What are some of your music influences and how involved in music were you growing up?
I wasn’t really involved with music until I was about 18-19. But I always loved it. Some of my influences today are Deftones, In Flames, Soilwork, Underoath, Thursday and many others (as far as this genre goes).
How was the Fearless Friends tour for you guys?
It was great, 1st US tour after Warped tour and we had a lot of fun. Our fans sang louder than ever.
How hard was it picking the setlist for the tour? I know it can get tiring playing the same songs over and over again. Looking over the setlist for the tour, you had the crowd favorites like “The Wretched” and “2012”, etc.
We try to pick a mixture of fan favorites, high energy songs and songs we enjoy playing live. Especially on a support tour we want to play songs that keep our set flowing and bringing a lot of energy to the crowds.
With that in mind, what’s a few songs that weren’t in the setlist that you would’ve liked to play if you had more time?
We wanted to play “The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules” but couldn’t squeeze it in unfortunately.
What’s one song that you haven’t played off the Deceiver yet that you’d like to?
We Know Who You Are, which I hope we can one day.
Deceiver is a year old; what are some misconceptions people have about the album?
I’m not sure of misconceptions really, I haven’t heard anything along those lines. I think the only thing people might think is that I didn’t do all of the singing/screaming. There was a misprint once upon a time saying that I only did singing; I do it all.
Are you on good terms with Greeley Estates and In Fear and Faith and would you ever tour together in the future?
We’ve toured with IFAF since I joined TWA twice now I think, and just haven’t been on any tours GE were on. We’re all friends though so of course. We’ve been on great terms for a long time now. It’s good to know everyone is happy where they are at.
You have a clothing line, Resist and Rebel; how did that get started?
Andrew from Woe, Is Me was in Abandon All Ships at the time, and on our Smartpunk Tour headliner. We met, became friends, and discussed starting a line, and then decided to do one together and the rest is history. Just released several new items yesterday actually!
Your main priority is obviously TWA, but do you always plan on continuing your solo work/side project in whatever form you can?
I definitely will always create all kinds of music, but TWA is where my heart is and where I belong. I don’t really focus on the other stuff unless I have a ton of free time. I used to have that, but we’ve been writing a new record, I own a business and produce bands on the side now so I don’t have a lot of time for writing my own things.
You guys played Warped Tour this year on the Advent Stage; are you playing the tour next year?
Nope, we’re taking a year off. We played the last 2 years and while it would have been great to come back again, Warped Tour is all about staying fresh and we’re taking a year off to try another summer festival tour. It’s gonna rule. We love Kevin Lyman and he’s been a fan of our band for the past few years, his support has meant so much to us.
Speaking of touring: in your opinion, which is the best/worst run venues from a production and band point of view?
Venues who take huge merch cuts because they want to make up for a lack of promoting.
You’re set to record with Joey Sturgis in February; what made you decide to choose him over Andrew Wade?
It wasn’t really a him over Wade thing, we love Andrew and we wouldn’t be what we are today without him. We just wanted to try something else and see what effect it had on us. We’ve only ever recorded albums with Andrew. It was between Joey and a couple other producers, we chose Joey ultimately because of his love for metal, with a huge genius for the production side of things and that was important to us this time around.
Last question; pick two songs; one from your catalog, that you want new fans to check out after reading this interview. And one song from any band/genre.
”Lights And Stones” by us, my favorite and “Disconnect” by Soilwork
