Underoath

HEY GUYS THIS IS SHAUNA O'DONNELL AND YOU ARE LISTENING TO MUEN TALK BROUGHT TO YOU BY MUEN MAGAZINE AND THE GAUNTLET.COM. I AM AT THE PALLADIUM FOR THE 2010 COOL TOUR TALKING WITH DANIEL DAVISON OF UNDEROATH.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HI DANIEL, THANKS FOR BEING ON THE SHOW.
Daniel: Hey, thanks a lot for having me.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HOW DID THE TOUR GO SO FAR?
Daniel: The tour has been really good. This is the second to the last night of the tour and the shows have been great. All of the shows have been amazing and there have been lots of good dudes to hang out with. This is actually my first tour with Underoath, which has been really exciting and fun.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: I HEAR YOU GUYS HAVE A NEW LIGHT SHOW THAT YOU PUT ON DURING YOUR SET.
Daniel: Yeah, Underoath has always tried to step it up with each tour and this tour is no different. We built some different lighting rigs and LED bars. I have a good friend of the band's out on tour whose kind of a genius when it comes to building crazy stage set ups. From what I hear it looks awesome, I don't really get to see a lot because I’m in the back, but everybody seems to be stoked on it.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: NOW THAT THE TOUR IS ALMOST OVER, WHAT FOND MEMORIES WILL YOU TAKE AWAY FROM IT?
Daniel: Like I mentioned it was my first tour with the guys. I’ve known all of the guys in the band for ten years so it was an easy transition into it, but your first tour with a new band is pretty special. I made a lot of good friends, like the guys in Cancer Bats and Architects. The Architects van broke down on the first day of tour so three of them have been riding with us on the whole tour and then three of them have been with As I Lay Dying or the crew bus. We made really good friends with them.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN PUTTING A PACKAGE TOUR TOGETHER? DO YOU THINK IT IS NECESSARY THAT ALL OF THE BANDS ARE MUSICALLY COMPATIBLE?
Daniel: I think it kind of varies from band to band. Some bands have a fan base that is more open to different styles or genres. Personally that is my favorite kind of bill, where you can go see different bands that all have similar ties, but sound completely different. I think it makes for a more enjoyable experience, but then with some bands it makes sense that their fans are going to like bands that are inside this box and nothing out of it. It varies depending on the bands you are trying to package. I personally prefer the more eclectic line-up and I think this tour offers every aspect of heavy music.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHAT ARE THE PLANS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING?
Daniel: We have a week's worth of shows to get back to the east coast and then we have most of the rest of the year off. We will be back here in L.A. sometime in August to mix the record that we just finished. We will be out here doing that and then we have some one-off dates. We are going up to Alaska in September for a show. Hopefully the record is coming out in late October and then we will do a string of headline dates around that and maybe some international touring. It's all up in the air right now.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: YOU SAID THE ALBUM'S FINISHED?
Daniel: Yeah, we finished recording it two days before we started this tour. We just have to mix it and put the final touches on it next month.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: AARON CONTRIBUTED VOCALS; WILL YOU BE DOING THE SAME?
Daniel: No, I just helped write the record and play the drums on it. Spencer our lead singer has taken over both singing and screaming duties and he's killing it. He’s doing really well.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: YOU WERE FORMERLY OF NORMA JEAN AND THEN YOU TOOK SOME TIME OFF. DID YOU MISS BEING ON THE ROAD AND DECIDED TO JOIN ANOTHER BAND?
Daniel: Yeah, I was actually playing with another band called Colour Revolt just prior to Underoath calling me. It is an indie rock band out of the south with members spread out everywhere. I was doing that, loved it and recorded a record in February with them. That will be out in August as well. That band didn't really tour a whole lot, so I was able to balance what I was doing at home and do that band. Underoath called and asked if I wanted to come do it and I was like "Yeah." It just happened at the right time and it felt right from the start.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO BECOME A PERMANENT MEMBER?
Daniel: Yeah, I think so; we haven’t made any official announcement or anything like that. I assume that is going to happen.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HOW MUCH DID YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THE WRITING PROCESS OF THIS NEW ALBUM THAT WILL BE COMING OUT?
Daniel: They sent me three or four demos to learn. I learned those and three days later I was down in Tampa jamming with them. They called me and said “Hey we are recording the record in a month. Do you want to come do this?” We only had a month so it was just non-stop, but it was such a good vibe. Songs just kept coming and ideas were just flowing. Sometimes we were writing a song a day and then we would go back and refine them. It went really well. We had pretty much re-written the songs that they had written before just so that they would be fresh from this group. I don’t know how to say how much I contributed, but I was there and had ideas for every song.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: DO YOU THINK THE ALBUM TOOK A DIFFERENT DIRECTION BECAUSE YOU WERE INVOLVED?
Daniel: Yes, definitely, I think that the path they were on with Aaron was that they kind of butted heads a lot. I am more on the same page with the rest of the band, where Aaron was trying to do something different. When I came on board, from what they say, it meshed a lot better and writing went a lot quicker.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: YOU ARE ALSO AN ARTIST/ DIRECTOR/FILMAKER. TELL ME ABOUT THE PROJECTS YOU HAVE WORKED ON AND WHAT KIND OF FILMS DO YOU PREFER TO DO?
Daniel: Over the last couple years I’ve directed several music videos. That is pretty much the main kind of film work I do. It is all music related whether it is documentary type stuff or music videos. I will do experimental film work just for personal enjoyment as more of an art form. I shoot a lot of old Super 8 mm silent movie film and stunt motion. Over the last year it has been predominantly music videos ranging from bands like Manchester Orchestra to Copeland. It is usually bands that I have some sort of connection with, whether I know someone in the band or someone at their label. People kind of knew when I quit Norma Jean that is what I was doing. I’ve had a lot of jobs come through that.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: IS ISTHMUS STUDIOS YOURS?
Daniel: Yes, that is a company I started that my wife and I have run together for the last couple years. It’s on the back burner now that I’m going to be on the road full time again.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: NOW I ALSO READ THAT YOU MANAGE BANDS TOO, IS THAT TRUE?
Daniel: (Laughing) Yes, that’s true.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: YOU DO IT ALL.
Daniel: It’s kind of crazy especially now that I’m back on the road. I work with a company called Blood Company Management. It is made up of about ten managers and there is about forty to fifty bands represented. My old band Norma Jean is represented by them and that’s how I know all of the people there. They also represent Bleeding Through, Atreyu, Chiodos, but I personally work with the bands called The Chariot, Dead and Divine, Oceana and Bear Colony.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: OUT OF ALL THESE JOBS YOU HAVE, WHICH ONE DO YOU LOVE THE MOST?
Daniel: Being on tour playing music, I mean, it’s what I live for and it’s what’s consumed the last ten to fifteen years of my life. It’s what comes natural.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: DO YOU PLAY A LOT OF VIDEO GAMES ON THE ROAD AND WHICH ARE YOUR FAVORITES? WHAT DO YOU DO TO PASS THE TIME?
Daniel: I’m definitely not a video game dude, I don't really know anything about video games. I think the Underoath guys usually play a lot of video games. I know Grant the bass player lives for them, but for some reason on this tour he decided not to bring any. I'm involved with a lot of other stuff outside the band and that's what consumes my spare time. Any moment that I'm not doing this, playing or getting ready to play, I'm on the laptop or on the phone. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to juggle the two things, but it’s good.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW. GOOD LUCK ON THE REST OF THE TOUR AND ON THE NEW ALBUM AS WELL. BEFORE I LET YOU GO WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD OR SAY ANYTHING?
Daniel: Thanks for doing the interview with us and looking forward to meeting again.

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Tags:  Underoath  , Daniel Davison, interviews

Shauna O'Donnell    July 31, 2010