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Interview with Devin Shelton of Emery

May 18, 2009 by Steph

Emery, image used with permissionThis interview is with Devin Shelton, the bass player and vocalist for Emery.

I asked him a few questions about the band and their new album coming out June 2nd …In Shallow Seas We Sail.

How are you guys feeling about your new album …In Shallow Seas We Sail coming out June 2nd?

We are super excited about it. We feel like it could possibly be our best album to date…or at least the best representation of who we are as a band.

([click here] to check out our review of the album)

It’s got some pretty cool cover art (and looks like the same artist from the EP?). Who does that for you guys?

His name is Marc Johns. We came across him online and like his work, so we decided to use him for our EP and LP. We wanted to tie the records together in every way that we could.

How was your first European tour?

It was amazing. We had been so anxious to get there for so long and it was definitely worth it. We were fortunate enough to be on some festivals with some great bands like Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Inner Party System and several others. It was a great experience.

Are you looking forward to more time on the road with the Zumiez Couch Tour and your headlining tour? What cities are you most looking forward to playing?

Yeah. The tour will be interesting for us playing all mall parking lots, but it should be great. We are also excited about our headliner since our album will be out and we can play some new songs with some really good bands.

You guys tour pretty tirelessly. Is it hard being on the road all the time?

It definitely gets hard, but we have a good time since we are all best friends. We’re really fortunate to be so close. Dave and Toby are having kids this fall, so we will probably be spending more time at home in the future, which is fine by me.

What albums are you guys listening to right now? What’s going to be on your playlists while you’re touring?

Well…my wife bought the newest All-American Rejects, so I’ve given it a couple listens. Lovedrug’s latest album is cool. I’ve listened to our new record a good bit…but I imagine a lot of bands do that.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

We use to stretch out and warm up together, but now we kinda do our own thing. I try to warm up my voice and my body so I don’t pull anything on stage and focus my mind on what we’re about to do.

You guys have toured with some pretty amazing bands—Chiodos, Silerstein, Alexisonfire—who has been your favorite band to tour with? Or your favorite tour lineup?

We really enjoy touring with Canadian bands like Boys Night Out and Alexisonfire. We had a great time with Jonezetta and As Cities Burn, but we pretty much get along with most bands we tour with. Flogging Molly was awesome to tour with.

Emery, image used with permission

My favorite Emery song is “Ponytail Parade” from your first full-length The Weaks End really because of the great lyrics. What is your writing process? Does someone write lyrics, someone music? Do you all write everything? And where do you draw inspiration?

Toby and I write all the lyrics and most of the music. Matt writes a lot of music too. He is great at helping arrange the songs once we get a basic form. We usually write the lyrics once we have the parts arranged and know the form of the song.

The new single “Cutthroat Collapse” has some pretty heavy content. Are your songs autobiographical?

Some are, some aren’t. We write a lot of both. It just depends on the song and on the person who wrote it. Toby wrote this song and I’m pretty sure it’s not autobiographical.

It seems like you guys have found a perfect balance between heavy and melodic. What musical influences do you have and how did you come up with your sound?

Originally, we wanted to incorporate an indie rock/emo sound with a hardcore sound. We were big fans of bands ranging from Mineral, Sunny Day Real Estate, Pedro the Lion to Zao and Hopefalls to 90s rock like Tool, Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc…So I think our diverse taste in music came through when we wrote. Our earliest music had more of an emo/indie feel and eventually transformed to our more current sound. I was always a huge fan of good vocals and harmonies from R&B and other styles, so that has also had a huge impact on our music.

Anything else you want to say?

Buy our new album or else.

Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it and I hope to catch you guys play when you’re out on the road!

-Steph@A2S


1 Comment

  1. […] June 2nd, Emery’s new album …In Shallow Seas We Sail hits shelves (Click here for Our Interview with Bassist and Vocalist Devin Shelton). Now, I could tell you how Emery delivered on their ever present ability to seamlessly blend […]

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