Knoxville, TN pop-punk outfit On My Honor will be releasing their upcoming record “I Never Deserve The Things I Need” June 11 via Little Heart Records. The album is being produced by The Swellers‘ frontman Nick Diener, and we recently caught up with the band to get a little insight on the recording process.
Check out the interview along with the band’s upcoming tour dates right here.
Jay Stone (Dying Scene): First off, guys, thanks for taking time out of your notoriously busy schedule to answer a few questions. Greatly appreciated.
Lucas: Thank you guys for giving us a chance to talk about the record.
First and foremost, probably the biggest news from the OMH camp lately is the upcoming full-length, “I Deserve The Things I Need,” and the inclusion on AltPress’s “100 Bands To Know in 2013” list. Sounds like this is shaping up to be yet another busy year in the On My Honor camp.
Lucas: For sure! We do everything we can to stay as busy as possible. We don’t wanna be at the end of this thing one day and have to look back and feel like we didn’t put 100% into doing this everyday. Pretty much all of our time has gone into this band for the past 6 years and even though it doesn’t feel like it all the time, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We love doing this, we enjoy the experience, and we hope we get to do it for a long long time to come. We’re super excited about this record. The response and support so far has been amazing. Alternative Press including us in the “100 band you need to know” list for this year kind of blew us away. We’ve been told a lot of things were going to happen over the years and 90% of that stuff doesn’t work out. I read the email about 5 times before I believed it was real. haha. Things are going great!
What can OMH fans (and punk fans in general) expect to hear from “I Deserve The Things I Need”? Any different influences this time around or surprises in store for listeners?
Lucas: Every time I read an interview from a band I like about a new record they’re putting out they always tend to say the same things, that they’ve grown but not strayed too far away from their roots or something like that. We had a few goals artistically going in, but for the most part we didn’t really try to make a certain kind of record. We knew what we didn’t want to do. We knew we didn’t want to make another skate beat/breakdown/anchors are dragging me down bro/pizza and friends record. Not that we don’t enjoy some of those bands, but those bands have done/are doing that so we have always wanted to be something else and offer something else.
Musically I think there are definitely songs on the record that sound like the On My Honor that everyone is used to, but then on some songs if it wasn’t us singing on it there’s no way you would know it was us from our previous material. We focus on the music first. We always try to make sure the songs stand on their own musically before we start trying to blend it with things we’ve written or Drew’s written lyrically. We feel like if you can’t listen to a song sans vocals all the way through and be captivated by what its doing, you’ve written a bad song. Not to say that every song has to be super complex, but the music should say something too. The faster stuff is faster than we’ve ever played. The slower stuff is way slower than we’ve ever been before. Some songs sound like early 2000’s pop punk, one is acoustic in 3/4, one has an organ in it with two harmonizing guitars capo’d at two different frets, and one is a straight up rock jam in 3/4 with pretty much no lead guitar (which we’re really not used to). We really tried to not be scared and think “this doesn’t sound like us” because every time I’ve heard a friend’s band say that about a song it was one of my favorites. We feel like everything has blended well, but no one is going to say “all these songs sound the same” for sure. Lyrically, the record is really depressing at certain parts. Usually when we write we try to put a positive spin on a bad situation. To me, this record is just kind of like “what if this never gets better? What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with everyone else?” There is no positive spin on a lot of this because we just weren’t feeling like that was there for us at the time. The main thing we tried to do was make art that was reflective of what we’ve been going through the past couple of years.
Drew: Musically, everything Lucas said hit the nail on the head, in terms of what we were shooting for and the boxes we always try to stay outside of. Overall, I would definitely agree that the record lacks in some of the positivity that a lot of people have heard from OMH in the past. It’s hard for me personally to not try to put a positive spin on bummer situations. A lot of Nature & Nurture certainly had that. A lot of this record for me is about frustration, in a way. N+N was a look into impact–the way one’s settings, relationships and environments contribute to developing a person. With I Never Deserve The Things I Need, I looked at a lot of those situations and realizations addressed on N+N and life happenings since, with the view that entitlement can be sort of a joke. People think they deserve things, particularly in the music community, when in all reality most of the better things that come about have the hand of others in them. Even the last track on Nature & Nurture, “Under Yellow Lights” has the line “We can’t take care of ourselves.” When you get older, that idea becomes a scary thing. Dependency and feelings of isolation can be frightening, and there’s definitely something upsetting in realizing that. I’d have to say that this record holds far more internal and external frustration than anything we’ve written in the past.
You guys did some work with Nick from The Swellers this time around. How did that relationship come about, and what did Nick bring to the table that proved different from your past recording experiences?
Lucas: We played a shit show together in Utah in like 2009 or something like that. They were headed to meet up with another tour and hopped on kind of last minute. We had heard of The Swellers before but became really became invested in their band after that night. They played incredible and they treated us really well. We were just starting out really touring at that time. A lot of bands that are ahead of where another band is really try to make it clear that they’re cooler everyone. The whole “I’ll smile at you and say hi and cut you off after two seconds and walk away because I have to make it clear to you than I’m fucking awesome” thing. They weren’t like that at all and it just made us like the band more. We wanted some outside perspective on the songs this time around so I hit Nick up and he remembered us and we spent a week up there working on the songs. He brought a lot to the table. We had everything pretty much written at that time, but he gave us a lot of perspective on how to structure the songs in a more digestible way, how to make the vocal melodies, etc
You’ve got a lot of interesting, involved stuff (backpacks, hoodies, viewing parties) available for pre-order on “I Deserve The Things I Need,” along the lines of some of the things that bands offer on crowd-funding (Kickstarter, etc) projects. It seems like this is becoming the new norm for bands that aren’t in the top 1% of acts now. What’s your take on that, and how have fans responded to the pre-order?
Lucas: I think if you’ve been at it a while and have a fan base that actively wants to support you then its a great thing, as long as the band doesn’t abuse their fans. I don’t ever see us doing a kick starter, but I don’t see anything wrong with it if a band needs some help and the fans want to help. I do think its ridiculous for a band to ask for 30,40,50 thousand dollars to make a record and tour. Its like hey man, why don’t you just get a job when you’re home instead of living in your mom’s basement being a “full-time musician.” Instead of spending $30,000 on a big name producer spend $5,000 on your hometown studio. With the pre-order, we were just hoping to make enough money off the pre-order to pay for the pressing so we wouldn’t go in debt releasing it. Anything extra we make off that goes to press vinyl, fix the van, order more merch etc. With the pre-order we put up we wanted to give people a lot of options. Packages start at just $5 for the CD (which feel like is a great deal for a full-length) and go up to like $100 for the big bundles. We honesty figured we wouldn’t sell many of the higher priced ones, but if someone wanted a big bundle we wanted to be able to provide that. We’ve sold a lot more of those than we ever figured we would already. We’re pretty overwhelmed and grateful for all the support we’ve received with it so far. The overall response to the pre-order has been great. If things keep going the way they’re going we may get to be a full-time band soon which would be unbelievably great. We already tour as much as a full time band does, we just have to kill ourselves in between tours to stay afloat.
Your last EP, “Nature & Nurture,” was obviously received well by critics and fans alike. Did the band feel pressure to match the level of sincerity and honesty that made “N&N” so well-liked?
Drew: I don’t think I’ve ever felt pressured to be sincere or honest in writing. There are bands I dig that I feel that aren’t very deep. But just because I like pop music or catchy songs from time to time doesn’t mean that I give it the credit I that I give sincere lyricism and song-writing. I write all of the time–lyrics and free-writing right next to journal entries. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t write a song that I didn’t believe to have some form of truth or sincerity in it. That’s always been the point of this to me, and will be for as long as it lasts. There’s something very personal in everything we try to do, and that’s honestly been the most rewarding part of making music for me. Nothing compares to or feels as important as knowing that the things I say or the way I feel at a certain time could inspire someone else, or make them feel understood or less alone. I’d rather have five people tell me that a song I wrote helped them through a tough time, or helped them understand themselves better, than 10,000 people singing along to some generic lines that mean nothing to me. I’ve never really perceived that approach to be an option.
You recently wrote a lengthy blog post summing up the “Nature & Nurture” chapter in OMH’s career. You detail having come to a few ‘crossroads’ type moments over the last couple years. What keeps that band positive and focused on staying the course in spite of the obstacles you’ve come up against?
Lucas: I just feel like this is what I’m meant to do. For every time something awful happens or things don’t go our way, something picks me back up when I need it the most. It could be a facebook message from a kid in Germany asking when we’re coming back or a kid at a show telling me our songs mean something to him. It could be a five minute moment of clarity driving through Texas at 3 in the morning. More than any of that, I just enjoy performing and writing music and I can’t imagine my life without On My Honor.
Drew: For me, it’s a feeling that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be. It’s tough, sure, and there are times that I don’t want to do it. The fact that I’ve been given an opportunity to share those struggles and any others with people who need someone to share that with keeps me going, though. When I was younger, I remember hearing certain records and having my mood or entire life perspective begin to change. The fact that there are people I can do that for blows me away. That’s why I feel an obligation, and blessed at the same time, to share that and to be as honest and diligent as we can be in doing so.
On My Honor is a notoriously hard-working, road-tested band. You’ve obviously seen and experienced some pretty negative things along the way, and yet you’re known for being a band that wants to make a positive impact. Based on some of those road-blocks you’ve encountered and the negative things you’ve witnessed, do you ever find yourself fitting off the “eff its” and having some of that negative energy creep into your new material?
Lucas: I think that’s definitely happened on this record. Its not that we don’t have a positive outlook on things anymore, its just that we needed to get that negative energy out of us. Some of the saddest bands I know have some of the happiest people. Its a very therapeutic thing.
Drew: Definitely. We’ve never tried to mask any of that, but on this record, it’s almost like we tried to embrace it a little more, especially lyrically.
You guys are from Knoxville, Tennessee. Nashville and Memphis obviously have the market cornered on Tennessee music. What can you tell our more sheltered readers (and editors, frankly) about the state of the scene in Knoxville?
Drew: I’m fiercely proud of the Knoxville music scene. Seeing it grow over the years and go through the changes it has makes me proud. Younger bands pop up all of the time, and there are people who have been in and out bands as long as we’ve existed, still coming out and supporting other shows all the time. I’m seriously glad to be grounded there and a part of it.
Lucas: Knoxville’s scene is as good as any honestly. For punk rock, it destroys Memphis and Nashville. I try to tell touring bands to come through Knoxville instead of Nashville or Memphis. People are super supportive here. There’s a lot of complainers in every scene though and we’ve got those too. Every town you go to has a bunch of kids/bands that say stuff like “the scene is dead” and “the scene sucks.” There’s very few towns we’ve
ever been to that have a truly dead scene. In my opinion what you have is bands that work hard and bands that make excuses.
For a change, there are currently no tour dates scheduled (at least publicly) for On My Honor. I know that you guys just got off the road and may still need a chance to catch your collective breaths, but what does the rest of 2013 have in store, particularly after the album drops in June?
Lucas: We just finished a tour a few days ago to get us up here to Philly to record. We’ve been in the studio ever since. As soon as we get out of the studio we’re announcing another tour that’s already booked and we’re working on another after. We’re hoping to do our first support tours
later in the year and we’re planning some overseas stuff.
Anything else you’d like Dying Scene’s readers to know about On My Honor?
Check us out at www.facebook.com/onmyhonor or over on twitter @onmyhonorband. Our new record “I Never Deserve the Things I Need” is up for pre-order at www.onmyhonor.bandcamp.com. If you like what you hear and want to support us getting to your town, pick it up and help us out.
Thanks again for taking the time, fellas. Here’s to a big 2013 for OMH.
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