Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

There are 4 members in Nerds in Denial. Dashuan plays drums, Richie Cardiel plays bass and sings backup, Ben Hare plays lead guitar and sings backup, and Devin Johnston sings lead vocals and plays rhythm guitar.

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Nerds In Denial? How long has the band been around?

Nerds in Denial was started in 2011 by Richie, Ben, and Devin during their Freshman year of high school. Prior to that, Richie and Devin had done performances in the school talent show under "Echelon .45", but that wasn't really another band.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

The name of Devin and Richie's "Rap Group" during the middle school talent show was called "Echelon .45", though they only performed twice. After that, those two plus Ben, and previous member Andrew Carter formed a legitimate band that turned into Nerds in Denial. The original band name that we never performed under was called GPS. And now for the orgin story: One fateful day after school, on the way to play some music, and practice our covers, we were discussing our band name, and how GPS just didn't work. Devin had the idea for the word nerd, or geek to be in there. We liked the idea and toyed with different concepts till eventually Richie pitched Nerds in Denial, and the rest is history.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Devin Johnston did a lot of writing for the band on our upcoming album, though in every song we do a lot to make our parts our own. Thematically, we have written about our personal life experiences, both good and bad. What we're starting to drift towards is bigger issues, like politics, and social issues, that more people can connect with. 

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

There are too many to to name them all, but some of the bigger influences would have to be Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, The Black Keys, for modern bands. Then the Beatles, The Doors, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Jimi Hendrix are some of our favorite old school rockers.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

The Beatles were Devin, and Richie's favorite band growing up. Many bands have influenced our direction, but our love of music really brought us together. 

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …

Often times we will to a good stretch, and while individual members have some pre-show rituals, we always make sure we warm up vocally. Tai Chi is also fun.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

The highlight would have to be recording at FLCC with Queen V. It was a great experience, not only to practice our studio time management, but to get a bit tighter prior to recording. Tightness has helped us in every playing situation, be it live, studio, practice, or even improvisation. It's a magical thing when you have that connection with not one, but 3 other guys. We like to think we have something a little special.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

A tour with Cage the Elephant would probably be the best experience, not only for us, but the fans as well. Our music compliments theirs very vell, and vice versa. In addition to the auditory comparison, you will see visually that our performances have a similar level of high energy. Now we're not jumping off of giant speakers or anything, but we go hard. Really hard.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We will be releasing our debut album, "Take Two", on July 4th, 2016. Two singles, 'Crazy', and 'Starling' have been released, and are available to stream or download in the bandcamp link below. Our first video has also been released. It is featured on the homepage of our website (also below). Lots of exciting announcements are to come so stay tuned. And finally, we're not nerds.