Being the new addition to Epitaph Records, post-hardcore five-piece band, Sleeping With Sirens, have really challenged themselves to be the band they want to be. With Madness due for release shortly, Kellin Quinn reflects his journey with the band and how this record has taught him many things about responsibility, and has provided him with a sense of awakening as an individual. Prompted by the positive reactions from fans towards singles, “Go Go Go” and “Kick Me”, it’s been anticipated that this release will be their best one yet.
So last year was a crazy one for you guys. From changing labels to the recording of your new album, how do you feel about these events happening within the last year?
I feel a little more at ease, now that the record is finished and it’s gonna be put out soon. I’m very, very excited about being part of the Epitaph family, I think it’s the right home for our band. I’m just excited to play new songs and to kind of start this new phase of our career in our band.
In terms of a band’s career progression, do you think it’s important to take risks when it comes to measuring the success of a band?
I think that it is important to evolve, change and grow because I think as human beings we do that. It only makes sense that your music grows and evolves with you as you change as a person. As far as taking risks, I think the idea of being in a band – putting yourself out there, being your lyrics and the things that you write is a risk in itself. It’s important to take risks but the most important thing for us was becoming successful and to constantly be engaged with our fanbase. Without their support, we would not be able to evolve, change and grow.
So I’ve heard many great things about John Feldmann. What was it like working with him on Madness?
He’s amazing. He’s very, very talented and he’s a very unique person. He’s very eccentric and honestly, he’s a lot like me in many ways. He always tells me all the time that he and I are very much alike. He’s very empowered by music and he’s very good at creating because he has such a unique vision for music that I feel like I was able to share this with him so well. To be able to put our heads together was a match made in heaven and I also think he’s a really good producer because he has the capability of opening up your mind to writing things that you normally wouldn’t think of.
I guess previous producers we’ve worked with have either been agreeing to what we do or are just unsure on what direction we wanted to take as a band and the great thing about John Feldmann is that he’s very hands-on and knows exactly what he’s supposed to do. He takes the songs and really structures them right and it’s a really cool thing.
It must’ve been amazing working with him. I noticed he’s worked with All Time Low for their new record, Future Hearts – he’s a done a lot for so many bands.
Yeah, he’s done a lot – The Used‘s first album, Story of The Year‘s Page Avenue… and he also worked on a Good Charlotte album as well. He’s definitely a producer that can work on all sorts of levels. He doesn’t have a spectrum so there’s really no dimension with him. He just kind of does it all and I think that goes back to him being visionary in that way.
So I’ve noticed the band have explored their fun side to the record with “Go Go Go” being so well-received by fans. Do you feel like the music video for that track was a spontaneous thing?
The music video was definitely a spontaneous thing. I actually directed the music video and I had the idea of doing that signage kind of thing cause I’ve always thought it was a trick when we would do a drive-by. I don’t know if they do that [in Australia] but people in the US do that to basically sell something. I thought it would be funny for our band to do the same thing with cool tricks on the side too. It felt like a fun and funny concept and it was basically showing us being us, you know. I think we’re a very silly band but at the same time we take our music seriously.
The actual song, “Go Go Go” was inspired by American Pie and I was thinking about the main character, Jim on his whole sexual conquest or whatever it is in that movie. The song is really about two young people not worrying about tomorrow as they’re choosing to live life on the edge and I think that’s where the spontaneity came from within the song.
I could tell from the video that you guys had a lot of fun being carefree with it because that’s what I got from watching it.
Yeah. I think a lot of kids that listen to our music need to kind of feel that way sometimes. Personally, I think everybody is way too serious all the time.
Being the lyricist of the band, would you say that you’re a storyteller of your own past or is it more towards the things that you believe in?
I think a lot of what I write is personal to me and I think that’s an important thing. Music is therapy to me and it’s always been a way for me to communicate how I feel. I think I need to have that in my own life and it’s like having a journal or diary of my own and I do like to write things from a very open-ended perspective. I like to have our listeners feel as if there’s different meanings to our songs and I like it that way; to basically have your own take of it and see how it works for you.
Do you think it’s sort of surreal that you’re sharing parts of who you are in your lyrics to thousands of people?
It does feel surreal; I think that being in a band and also being a father and a husband is strange in some ways because I see myself as some dude that just so happens to create music. It does feel surreal that people think that I’m special or something but honestly, I don’t feel that way at all. I feel like every kid that comes to our shows and everyone that listens to our music is just the same and I believe everyone has an equal opportunity to do whatever they want in their life. I think that as a society, we like to place a golden crown on all these entertainers but in my head, my goal is to let people know that everything that I am is very similar to who they are and I think that’s what makes this band and our music so special because we’re in it together for the long run.
We rely on our fans to help us get to where we wanna be and they’ve allowed us to tour and create songs and I think that’s the difference between musicians and people that work for major record labels. Yeah, they have billboards, the money, the promotions – they have all of that but what they don’t have is the loyalty of our fans that go out of their way to save their allowance to come see us at a show and there’s nothing that compares to that, you know? I think it’s important to let our fans know that we care about them so much and to constantly remind them that we’re not superior people.
A really insightful answer, Kellin. It really shows a good reflection of who you are as a musician and what you value as a person.
Thank you.
With Madness being another chapter for the band, what impact do you think you’re making with your music and how has this band shaped your life?
The band has shaped my life in a lot of different ways. I’ve been writing music and performing for a while and from the very beginning of the band’s career, I was constantly doing local shows as well as writing and making music too. This band has shaped my life because we formed when I was in a fragile state and it kinda picked up the pieces for me. It’s been a tough industry to work in and even though we weren’t making enough money to begin with, the people in this band created such a positive outlook towards my life and my growth as an individual.
There was this one time where I was in Germany and I got a text from my wife saying that she was pregnant and even though I was on the complete other side of the world, it made me realise the importance of responsibility. For them to see my daughter grow – it’s crazy and I think for all of us, this album is the most mature and the best sounding. It’s also my favourite album because I think we’re figuring out from being in this band is to realise our own responsibility for life in general and I think it all ties in together. I think the end result is this album and it’s very exciting to put it out there.
Madness will be released on March 13.
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