May 19, 2007
This Providence – Gavin Phillips, Dan Young, David Blaise

This interview was done with Sara of Shiny Silver Fords.

C = Cath, S = Sara, Dan = Dan, D = David, G = Gavin

C: For the record, can you state your name & what you do in the band?
G: My name is Gavin and I play guitar.
Dan: I’m Dan and I sing.
D: I’m David and I play bass.

S: This is your last day of the Paramore/Quietdrive tour. Is there anything that makes this particular tour stand out more than others?
Dan: This tour is -
Paramore: (Walking past) This tour is awesome!
Dan: (To Paramore) We’re just trying to figure out why this tour stands out. We’ve toured with you guys before.
G: This is probably my favorite tour that we’ve ever done. We love the Paramore guys. We’ve spent time with them & toured with them already, so we were really excited going into it. The Almost was on the tour for a little while, and they were amazing. It’s just been a really great tour.
Dan: This tour has been really good for us as a band, too, just becoming better friends.
D: This is my first time being with Paramore. It was weird starting out when everyone knew each other. Sean and I were the only new ones, but they are really awesome guys... and girl.

C: What made you decide to go on the road with Paramore again?
Dan: They invited us! And we were like, “Yes… Please.”
D: We were like, “Sweet!”
G: We were more than willing.
Dan: We were stoked. We love those guys… and girl.

S: What are some of the most memorable moments on this tour?
D: Everyone getting sick.
Dan: Last night was a good show. It was David’s birthday yesterday. We sang happy birthday to him and Paramore came out…
D: And dumped like a gallon and a half of water on me.
G: And it got on everybody and went all over the stage.
Dan: It was a water show!
G: The first show was very memorable, too. It was really exciting & packed. Plus, we got to meet and play with The Almost. Bamboozle was amazing… It was on the side of the tour, but it was incredible and we’d never done a festival before.
Dan: It was a good crowd, too.

C: What are your plans for when after the tour is over? Are you planning on recording a follow-up album anytime soon?
D: We plan on writing.
Dan: We have three weeks off and we want to spend that time writing. Then we’ll be touring for two weeks with A Change of Pace in June.
G: We are going to be recording one song, but it’s for a compilation. I don’t know if we can talk about that, but It’s going to be fun.
Dan: We are all really antsy to write new stuff, so depending on how this summer shapes up as far as touring, that decides how much we write. Right now, it’s pretty open.
G: We might be doing a lot of writing and planning for the next record.

S: This Providence has gained a good amount of popularity over the last year. In this past year how have you grown or changed as band?
G: The members changed…
Dan: Besides member changes… We were a four piece before and now we are a five piece, so I’m just singing. That dramatically changed the live show. That’s probably the biggest thing. I feel like it tightened up our live show, too, because I’m not playing guitar – I was really sloppy.
G: Actually, every tour we sound tighter than I ever heard before, because every time we get a little bit better and united as a group.

C: What was the music scene like where you grew up? Did it influence your sound or did you look for your bandmates to help create your own sound?
Dan: We all grew up in different places… I grew up in Australia.
G: And I grew up in Montana and Seattle.
D: I grew up in Arizona.
Dan: As far as when I started getting into music and wanting to be in a band, I had some influence from Seattle but not too much. Bands like The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World... I guess MXPX and Blink 152 were big bands that made me want to start a band. I’m sure they are for a lot of people in our age group.

S: If you could tell people one thing about your band what would it be? What are some stereotypes about your band that aren’t true?
Dan: Something I’ve been saying on stage every night is that each one of us is Christian. We try to abolish the mindset that people have of Jesus and God because there are a lot of Christians out there that are misrepresenting Him. We feel like maybe we can be a voice that is showing people that God is love, He’s great, and He’s not judgmental.

S: What made you want to do that knowing that you may get some negative feedback from your audience?
Dan: With anything that you take a stand on, there is going to be negative feedback. To me, that’s a sign that you are probably doing something right. It’s important for me because I’ve seen so many people dismiss the possibility of there being a God because of the way He is being misrepresented. That upsets me. I really get ticked off at people claiming to be Christians and not showing people love. I am a Christian and I even used to be that way - I used to be very judgmental. I would say, “Oh, that person isn’t going to go to Heaven, they’re going to go to Hell.” It’s a thing that’s impacted my life, realizing that people just need to be loved. They don’t need to be told that they are going to Hell. It’s important to me and I just want people to understand. If I get negative feedback, so be it.

C: There are a number of religious and political bands out right now. What’s your input on whether or not fans agree with the views of the band?
Dan: I would say half the people don’t really care. They are just there to have a good time and listen to music, which is fine. There are a good number of people who are interested in that kind of thing, though. I’m not too deeply involved in politics, but the whole spiritual side of things obviously effects me a lot. In our society, which is very materialistic and what you see is what you get, I would like for people to begin to ask questions as to why life is the way it is, and why there is a right and wrong. I don’t know how many people agree with it, but I just want people to start asking questions. That’s all I’m concerned with.

S: What are some of your favorite songs that you have written as a band?
Dan: Right now, my favorite is probably the last track on record, “The Pursuit of Happiness.”
D: I’m going to have to go with the last track as well, because we always hear the other songs because we play them live every night.
G: For me, it’s more of the ones that the kids react & respond to the most, like “My Beautiful Rescue” or “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”. They are the best to play because they bring about the most energy.

C: Were you surprised with the unexpected success of “My Beautiful Rescue,” and that that was the song that many people chose as their favorite?
Dan: It kind of surprised me.
G: No one was betting on it, except for me. I was pushing for that song, but we were collectively going for “The Road to Jericho”. That song kids just weren’t having as much as “My Beautiful Rescue,” so we switched our focus.

S: Are there any connections between “Our Flag Is White” and “Losing Control”?
Dan: Yeah, the songs are kind of about the same thing. They share the theme of surrender.
G: They both have some lyrical similarities.
S: Yeah, that’s what I was wondering. I noticed that.
G: But, they are way in the background in one part. The music that I was writing at the time was more similar songs.

C: What’s your definition and view on bands selling out? Do you think a band can retain their underground fans if they choose to be sponsored by a company?
G: I don’t really believe in that term. There are different bands that go into music for different purposes. For some, sadly, it’s not really their passion so much as it is a business thing. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that… necessarily.
Dan: Some are passionate about business, some are passionate about music.
G: Some are passionate about money.
Dan: You can’t be in a band without being passionate about it, otherwise it just doesn’t work.
G: At the same time, a lot of these bands that get pigeonholed as “sell outs” aren’t. They are just trying to make a living. This is a very hard industry to be in and survive off of, especially if you have aspirations to start a family someday. Who knows what can happen.
Dan: As far as sponsorship goes… If you are going to get free stuff, then why not? I mean, would you? Most people would say “yeah”. It’s free stuff, it helps. I’m not really into whoring yourself out… There are different boundaries for different people. Everyone has their own convictions, but I wouldn’t point to a band and say, “Oh, they are selling out” unless they were working exclusively for some company.
G: I mean, it’s hard to balance. For me, it’s just as much of an art to write a great pop song that everyone loves as it is to write something that is different and artsy.

S: What sets you apart from other bands?
G: I don’t know how to answer without sounding egotistical.
Dan: Not all bands lack this, but a lot of bands lack depth on the lyrical side of their music. That’s my department - I spent hours and hours on the lyrics of this last record and that’s something that I’m proud of. I guess I can use that as the answer.
D: I guess, coming into the band, I always thought the band had this technical pop side. It was like a pop song, only more intricate. I thought it was a just really cool sound that a lot of bands were not doing. So, it was refreshing.

C: So what were you doing before you were in This Providence? Any interesting jobs?
G: I was in high school.
D: I worked at McDonalds once, for about six months.
Dan: Yeah, I just came out of high school. I was in community college and working for a painting company.
D: I was in local bands, just trying to make music.

S: What would you like people to take away from your music?
G: A t-shirt. [laughs]
Dan: I’d like for the songs to be stuck in people’s heads. That’s always a good sign. Like I said before, I’d like if they looked at the lyrical side and hopefully that would lead them to ask questions about life.

C: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Dan: I’ll be 32…
D: I hope to have a beard.
G: Hopefully David can grow facial hair by then.
D: I would really like that…
G: I have no clue.
D: Yeah that’s really hard… 10 years.
Dan: The music industry is changing so much now. It’s so unpredictable, but I’d love to still be making music and still have a fan base. We’re all on the same page with that.

C: If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring 3 things with you, what would you bring and why? You can’t bring anything that would get you off the island, because that’s cheating.
Dan: Well Gavin has this. What’d you say?
G: Well we were both thinking Locke from Lost. He hunts, he solves mysteries -
D: He obviously has some kind of magical power. What else? Water… a water tower.
[Everyone laughs]
G: Yeah, a water tower.
Dan: A box of matches?
G: That’s three things… Does Locke get 3 things?
D: What?
G: He’s a person, too!
[Everyone laughs]
D: A knife.
Dan: A beach ball.
G: A beach ball and a mirror.
Dan: A volleyball net.
D: A flare gun.
Dan: Well we wouldn’t need that if we can’t get off.
D: We can just use it for fun!... A pirate.

C: If you could have any superpower what would it be? Why?
G: To fly.
Dan: Flying is a pretty standard one.
D: Super strength.
G: Basic. Maybe invisibility.
Dan: That’s creepy.
[Everyone laughs]
G: I don’t mean it in that way…
D: The ability to walk through walls -
G: Or see through wood.
D: See through wood?... Just wood?
[Everyone laughs]
G: Seeing through stuff really wouldn’t really do much, especially if I wanted to get somewhere -
D: Teleportation. That’s mine.
G: That’s cool. Teleportation. Or flying really quickly.
Dan: Hey, fly at the speed of light.
G: That’s like teleportation!
D: Okay, we are going with teleporting at the speed of light.

C: Closing statements?
G: If you haven’t, buy the record.
Dan: Brush your teeth twice a day.
D: Drink lots of water.
G: Vitamins are key.
Dan: Wear ear plugs when you come shows… if you like coming to shows. If you only come to a show once every 6 months then it doesn’t matter.