Grand Ambitions

 A good friend of mine, Armando Olivas aka Mondo of Mondo’s Music Box on KUCR, aka WackyMondo, aka Awesome, told me that I had to cover The Swellers for the blog.  I looked into them and really dug what I listened to. It was also intriguing to find out that they were supporting Paramore on their upcoming US tour. So, I shot them an E-mail and got a quick response from Nick.  Enjoy!

P.S. You can see the awesome that is Mondo at www.twitter.com/wackymondo or www.tumblr.com/mondosmusicbox.

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Grand Ambitions: Howdy! Can you introduce yourself and what you do in the band?

Nick Diener: I’m Nick and I sing and play guitar in The Swellers.

GA: One thing I’ve noticed after watching your Youtube videos is that you guys seem like really good friends and you guys are always cracking jokes. Is this something you do for the videos or are you just that funny all the time?

ND: I think that’s the only way for us to stay sane on the road. We’re a bunch of goofs, so we have to find out how to entertain each other on 9 hour van rides. The camera only picks up about 5 percent of how ridiculous we actually are. “Funniest band on the road” was a title given to us by our tour manager, Dave Kloc.. but he’s about 75% of the wittiness.
 
GA: You recently signed to Fueled By Ramen. Tell me a little bit more about this decision. Were there any other labels you were considering?

ND: There were a couple labels we were talking to, and a few that were talking to us and we didn’t talk much back.. but FBR was the label that felt most like home. They stuck by our side for like 8 months before we signed, constantly seeing how we were doing, they came into the studio while we made our record, etc. Just all really great people. Felt like they’d be able to really grow WITH us, instead of just put out record after record of doing the same old thing.
 
GA: What has been your favorite tour so far?

ND: This summer might have been our favorite time. We did the Western US with Living With Lions and became best friends with those dudes, then the Gig Life tour with Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, Fireworks, and Gravemaker was RIGHT after. The Lions tour was amazing because we got to headline a lot of the shows, then the Gig Life tour was amazing because we got to play to so many people who had never seen us before. It’s great being on the road with good friends.

GA: You’re touring Paramore at the end of September. How are you feeling about that?

ND: We’re ecstatic. We’re all big Paramore fans, and Hayley has been a big help getting us comfortable with Fueled By Ramen and just being a great supporter of our band. We’re gonna be playing to an entirely different type of crowd, but given the style of our new record, I think it’ll go over really will with those kids.
 
GA: Did you expect when you began playing as a band, that one day you would tour with Paramore?

ND: When we began playing as a band in 2002, Paramore didn’t exist. But after we saw them live and got their record in 2007, we knew we’d be a good match and have a blast playing with them someday!
 
GA: You have a new album coming out on September 29th, Ups and Downsizing, and you recently put up the cover art, album art, song lyrics, and explanation of your inspiration for every song.  What prompted this? How will this enhance the experience of listening to your new record?

ND: We wanted to give everyone a heads up that we care about things like that. Our lyrics mean something, our album art means something… we put a lot of blood and sweat into our work (no tears, we’re tough). So when people hear the record, we hope they understand a least a LITTLE bit where the song came from, and what it means to us when we’re playing onstage.
 

GA: Have you gotten any negative feedback from your fans in regard to you signing to FBR? If so, what do you have to say to these fans, if anything? 

ND: A couple people were confused. I don’t blame them. a DIY touring aggressive fast band signing to a label that spawned the success of paramore, fall out boy, panic at the disco, etc etc.. hardly makes sense. We’ve gotten some concerned emails like “you guys won’t change or sell out, right?”. I think anyone who knows us personally knows the answer to this question.  We just want to play our songs and hang out with our friends on tour. If anything, i’m glad we get to branch out and show our music to a lot more people. the more people we reach, the louder our voices are. can’t wait to see what happens!

GA: Anything you’d like to add?

ND: Thanks for the chat, I hope everyone picks up “Ups and Downsizing” when it comes out on Sept 29th!