First of all, how does it feel knowing Do You Feel turns 10 this year?
It's hard to believe. Everything still feels like it's just the beginning to me so it's a bit surreal to see a "10 Year" celebratory stamp next to it. I'm perpetually in a state of creating and moving forward so it's kind of nice to pause for a second, reflect and just be grateful for how awesome RS fans are for being on this journey with me. Unreal.
How did you feel when the album came out?
I was elated. A lot of work went into that album. There was a lot of electricity surrounding the release of it which is always a beautiful feeling.
Where do you think the album fits in the band's legacy?
I'm not sure one could say it's the best album in the discography, but it's certainly, at this point, the most widely known due to timing and the state of music when it was released. So whatever that means!
How did you approach writing?
I'm always so heavily inspired by my current state and surroundings. And there was so much inspiration to draw from while writing Do You Feel. I wanted to make a record that made people come alive and be provoked to action. That could look different for different people. But the underlying feeling was the realization that the possibilities are endless and we hold so much power individually and together to make an impact in this life... to help. To get out of our own minds. It was a nomadic era of life for me, I was technically homeless which was so freeing. I saw songs and life in everything I looked at. I still absolutely do... but there was a certain youthful pureness and perhaps naivety in a sense that really fueled those songs.
Do any of the themes touched on the album still hold relevant for you after 10 years?
Honestly, I think a lot of the underlying themes still hold relevant. Hope and an uncanny desire to fight for it, pain, forgiveness, optimism... I wasn't interested in making a timely record. Well I should say there might be one moment to "file under 2007" on the album which we've never really played (high life scenery) a jolt cola fueled infused song about the scene, so it will be fun to bust out that one on the tour. But when I hear more of the unsung songs like Waiting, Run To You, Colors, So in this hour... my heart kind of cracks a little in a good way. I can't wait to play this record...
What were your hopes and expectations for Do You Feel during the writing and recording process?
I was certainly swinging for the fences, but on my own terms. I wanted to write a record that ignited peoples hearts and maybe even the radio. But it all came from an integrous place... I wrote and played everything on the album with the exception of some incredible guest musicians; we got to work with Stevie Wonder's horn section which was a dream. So I wasn't playing the game fully for better or for worse, meaning I wasn't having folks come in and give me songs for top 40 radio. That concept seemed evil and blasphemous to the spirit of rock and roll to me. I think there was an expectation from the label that I could be a pre-bieber esque type bieber in terms of success at that time... but that never really set well with me.
In those early years I remember having to subtly wave a flag reminding people that I was a musician and not a bop magazine cover kid. Such a strange memory but I look back on playing bamboozle at giant's stadium and the police having to hold back a sea of excited and highly determined girls by using a table barricade in front of our merch table where I had come to say hey to fans. I think we were right in between motion city soundtrack and minus the bear and I felt kind of strangely embarrassed about it in my core as they looked on during the madness as awesome it was... but now looking back I just think it's so rad. Embrace your fans. Period.
When you were in the studio, how was your morale?
Emotional. So fun. It was really the greatest experience; the excitement of being in those classic studios. I played the actual snare drum recorded on Smells Like Teen Spirit on the song, A Song Is Not A Business Plan. I was making a record in the rooms where classic records were made and that really fueled my excitement. I'm such a fan of music and artists and just soaking up living in a good moment that it was surreal to be around those spirits. One day Trent Reznor was in studio 1, I was in studio 2 and Joe Cocker was in studio 3.
That will put you in an aware, sober state. And it came with pressure. The bigness of it, the money going into it at points would really weigh on my mind and keep me up some nights as it was all on my shoulders. So it was a balancing act of just having a blast but working as if it was life or death in a sense. I had a lot of nervous and excited energy all day and Sunset Sound studios had peanuts every where, that was their thing, great gear and peanuts. So I think I nervously and excitedly ate all of the peanuts and got a bit jolly puffy. I had to get real into running when I finished the album.
When was the last time you listened to the record? Are there memories and emotions that come back?
If I ever listen to it I'm rather blown away by the sonic nature of it. Chris Lorde Alge did his thing mixing it, which is great. I remember one of Jim Wirt's biggest sonic impacts on the album was having me double every single guitar part and sometimes punching in chord by chord by chord while tuning meticulously every 15 seconds to make it sound like a hot rodded stereo image of blazing perfectly in-tune guitars. I have to admit I kinda resented that because it didn't as feel musical to me... but when I listen back, that is why it sounds like a hot rodded explosion of perfect guitars. I certainly owe him for that. He was such a joyful and talented person to co-produce that record with. We spent about 2 months recording the album, and the vast majority of it was spent recording meticulously doubled guitars. We did everything else very fast in comparison. I haven't really done it that way since but it was a very structured and disciplined way to make a record that yielded really pleasant results/
What do you remember most about making the album?
Just an overall sense of so much hope and excitement and gratitude that I was getting to make my first major label album that people might potentially hear. And the studios. And living in Los Angeles for the first time. The first record I made I slept on the floor of the studio for a month to be able to afford it, the second we made largely in a studio apartment, so it was a huge deal to have a bed to sleep in and these classic studios to go to. I wrote the album in 2 months in an apartment there by myself. I only wrote the 13 songs on the album plus one b-side that never came out because I had to go home for Christmas and just never finished it. That's a rare approach anymore, now it's write a million songs and widdle it down to an album. I want to get back to that approach but the songs surprisingly flow more than they used to; there's a lot more to sort through now.
Were there any bands in particular you enjoyed playing with while touring for the record?
We co-headlined the AP tour on that record with All Time Low. Lovely guys. Sonny Moore was on that bill as well. Sonny is a sweetheart and those guys in his band were great. That was a fun tour. We did our official headline tour after that in the fall of 08 and took out Phantom Planet, a band I was obsessed with in high school that wrote unbelievable songs.
Did you ever expect the album to have the influence it did?
Anytime your art connects with anyone is a blessing. You can't ever take it for granted and you can't ever expect it. For some reason this album connected with a certain group of people in a way that opened the door to more of my other music. Something about this album created more of a strong bond within the trs fan/family. It was kind of the start of what became this particularly special culture of our fans which is hard for me to explain just what it is. But it's special and it's just something I cherish. They are the lifeblood. In a musical sense, it's wild to meet people now that are in bands that will mention the record to me as an important one to them. Harry Styles told me his very first concert was going to see us in Manchester because he got really into the song Break It Out.
I was in a writing session recently with Sleeping With Sirens and Kellin was saying he wanted to come pop in and sing on a song at one of the dates because he's really into that record. It's really humbling in a way, having other artists high five you for your art that were once singing along in the crowd. What a trip. Music can travel a lot further than you ever could think. When you do this for a long time you end up becoming friends with artists you may have grown up listening to because you start playing together or your paths just begin to cross; I still will go get in the front of a crowd and sing my heart out to my favorite bands even if we got coffee the week before. You can't ever stop being a fan. That's when the inspiration slows down.
Do you remember what you were listening to at the time?
I remember listening to a lot to Pedro The Lion's "It's hard to find a friend". It was the polar opposite vibe of what I was doing so it would help me come down from the electric excitement of 12 hour studio days on my way back to the apartment. David Bazan has this cathartic, soothing almost medicinal spirit about him.
Looking back on things 10 years later, would you change anything about the release?
I don't think so. I think behind the scenes everyone felt the album could have had a little more juice behind it. The label was incredible but went through massive changes only a few weeks after the album came out, our A&R guy was let go and we began to get a little lost in the shuffle of the major label machine. But thankfully our fans championed the album and the music really spread in a grass roots kind of way which largely set up the fact that I'm still doing this and I truly feel it's still the beginning. Life is long. I have a lot more songs to sing. This is going to be fun to celebrate this moment though. But there will be more to come.
