Following tours with Ghost and Bring Me The Horizon, the Canadian band discuss the hype and how they're still evolving as a band
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00:00 I like that they're just open-minded, but they're also really honest.
00:03 They don't just lap up anything we do.
00:05 They're critical and stuff.
00:07 But I think they're really open-minded people.
00:08 I hope that we continue to attract really open-minded people.
00:12 It's my dream.
00:13 Oh my god, there's nothing worse than not liking your fans.
00:16 Like if you're like, "They're so annoying."
00:18 I really like our- I look out there and I'm like, "These are cool people."
00:21 And I'm not just saying that.
00:22 Hi, I'm Alia and I'm here with Spiritbox for the latest in Enemy's In Conversation
00:33 series.
00:34 How are you?
00:35 Very tired.
00:36 But happy.
00:39 So you've just wrapped up a sold-out run of the UK and Ireland on top of tons of other
00:44 tour dates.
00:45 How are you feeling?
00:46 The most tired I've ever been.
00:48 But in a good way.
00:49 I feel accomplished and it was fun.
00:55 And now I get to just not be so stressed about protecting my voice and let loose a little.
01:00 This is like the first interview or anything I've been able to do in the whole year because
01:05 I'm just always conserving my voice.
01:07 I was at your show on Thursday.
01:09 You did two sold-out shows at the Roundhouse in London.
01:13 What sort of went into the planning for that?
01:15 It was a lot of planning because we did a whole US headliner that had those video walls
01:22 and those platforms and stuff.
01:24 But now it's been two months since we had those and then we brought them back for the
01:29 UK.
01:30 Because we were in Europe doing a festival here and a co-headliner here and then opening
01:36 for a band here.
01:37 So it didn't make sense to bring all that stuff with us the whole time.
01:40 And so it was a little nerve-wracking but it was like riding a bicycle.
01:46 We got back into the flow of having all that stuff.
01:49 But for the Roundhouse shows, my team went all out.
01:56 All the touring team.
01:59 I'm very involved with that stuff and so is Michael.
02:02 But those guys helped us so much and they really tried to let Michael and I focus on
02:08 just performing every night.
02:10 And our lighting director, our video content guy, our tour manager, they worked so hard
02:18 to help us bring our ideas to life.
02:23 And I think that they did an incredible job.
02:26 It takes a whole big team to figure all that stuff out logistically and then also just
02:30 creatively.
02:31 That was new to me.
02:35 I've never had crazy pyro and stuff before.
02:38 And I always wonder how to incorporate it into your show instead of it just looking
02:43 like a tacky add-on.
02:46 And I think we did a good job.
02:48 I really liked it.
02:49 And it was making the gears turn for what else we can do.
02:56 I found that so fun.
02:57 It just made everything feel so much more dramatic, which I love.
03:02 And I also felt like your performance was sort of inspired by artists maybe outside
03:07 of the rock and metal world.
03:08 Are there any artists you look to for influences in terms of your live performance?
03:13 My answer is so typical of me.
03:17 Everything anyone ever asks me, I'm sorry, but the answer is always Beyonce.
03:20 Beyonce is my favorite artist.
03:23 But in general, just getting to watch anyone who plays to a large amount of people, I try
03:30 to study that.
03:31 Because I'm just used to playing shows in a club or in a festival situation where there's
03:37 jumbotrons.
03:39 And when you're playing a venue like the Roundhouse, you're not in either.
03:44 It's bigger than a club, so people can't see you from far away.
03:48 But it's not big enough where there's video screens so they can see your small movements.
03:54 So every time I get to play with a big artist, I get to watch them from the back of house
04:03 or on the side.
04:04 I try to see how can they make movements that are impactful but that are efficient, that
04:10 aren't wasting energy.
04:13 But my lazy answer is just Beyonce.
04:17 All I do is I go on TikTok and I just watch TikToks of her Renaissance tour.
04:23 So everything I do, I think of her, her little movements and stuff.
04:27 I'm obsessed with her.
04:29 It's kind of embarrassing, yeah.
04:32 Because I am obsessed with her.
04:33 I'm sorry, I can't help it.
04:35 I'm comfortable now just letting everyone know that I'm a 34-year-old woman who's obsessed
04:40 with another woman named Beyonce.
04:44 You just mentioned playing with bigger artists and you've had the opportunity to play with
04:48 a lot of other artists over the last year, including Ghost.
04:52 Have you picked up any advice from playing with these artists?
04:57 One of the biggest things is that I really appreciate their ambition.
05:01 Because when we played with Ghost, we went on tour with them, I feel like they bring
05:05 a stadium level show to an arena.
05:10 And so our goal on a smaller scale is to bring an arena level show to a club.
05:17 And then same thing with Bring Me The Horizon.
05:19 We did some shows with them.
05:20 I think they bring a stadium level show to an arena.
05:24 They're always going to be inspiring bands like us because I think that's just so ambitious.
05:29 It's so much more work than necessary to the ticket price and the venue cap, but that's
05:34 not why they're doing that.
05:36 And I see a bit of us in those guys.
05:41 It's almost like looking into the future, like if we can keep doing a good job, then
05:45 maybe we can do that stuff too.
05:47 It's not about like, "Oh look, we can afford all this cool stuff."
05:51 It's just kind of like the same as a music video.
05:54 It's like, why do we invest all this money and time into music videos?
05:58 It's just a part of, it's just like a different part of the music that's really important
06:02 to us.
06:03 And it's the same, that's the only way I can explain it.
06:07 It's like bringing a music video to real life and we just feel compelled to do it.
06:11 We just, like, can we do it?
06:13 So I love just getting to play with those bands.
06:16 Every time we do, I learn something from them.
06:19 And you've done, like you mentioned, you've done two headline tours and festival appearances
06:24 and support slots this year.
06:26 Have you learned anything from those live experiences that you're carrying forward into
06:29 new music?
06:31 Well, there's the instant gratification of playing something that, you know, there's
06:36 like a payoff, like the crowd can tell a breakdown's about to happen or it's like a really bouncy
06:41 tempo.
06:43 It's just so satisfying to have like that connection with a bunch of people that, like,
06:48 probably most of them don't know who you are and don't know your music, but they can still
06:53 have fun watching you and interact with you.
06:58 So I don't know if it would inform the music that we make, but I do feel strongly that
07:05 there's like certain types of music that don't translate to bigger venues and then certain
07:10 songs that do and just even certain ways of performing.
07:15 Like my screaming voice doesn't sound good in certain venues.
07:20 And I've actually like changed a little bit the way that I scream, like for the better,
07:25 because I realized in like a big boomy arena doesn't cut through.
07:29 I don't know, it's just like all learning experience.
07:32 If I think too much about that stuff, I feel like it will mess up when I'm creating stuff.
07:39 But when we are making something that's bouncy, I do envision those people bouncing up and
07:44 down.
07:45 Like I stand there and I jump up and down while Michael's writing a riff and I'm like,
07:49 "Make it a little faster."
07:50 Like he'll think about that when he's making something.
07:54 So I think like I even if I try not to think about that, I think I'll always like envision
08:00 those people and envision like a wall of death coming.
08:05 I can't help it.
08:06 It's just so satisfying.
08:08 And it's been almost two years since you released your debut album, Eternal Blue, which charted
08:13 really well.
08:14 And I know before that you had talked a lot about like sort of the hype that was surrounding
08:17 Spirit Box even prior to the album coming out.
08:21 How do you feel about that experience now that like we've had some time and you're on
08:24 the other side of it?
08:26 I felt really like weird about all of this goodwill towards our band.
08:35 Because I just feel like it's so hard to explain.
08:37 I feel like it's really hard to have both like commercial and critical acclaim.
08:45 And I almost feel, I felt like this weird, I was like, "Why are all these people who
08:52 haven't heard our album so excited for us to do a good job?"
08:57 Like everyone, I just felt like there was so much goodwill.
09:02 And I just, I was like, "I think it's just you're the new kid in town.
09:05 Like we haven't done anything to annoy anybody yet.
09:09 We haven't had time to mess anything up yet or make bad music yet."
09:14 You know, like unfortunately that's going to happen to us at a later date.
09:20 Normally you kind of figure that stuff out when you're young and before people discover
09:25 you.
09:26 But that was like a lot of pressure for me.
09:29 I think that like, because Michael and I have been trying to do this for such a long time
09:37 and it took so long before we were with Spiritbox and then after we started working on it for
09:44 anyone to give a shit about it.
09:48 We were almost like uncomfortable with like being embraced by any sort of like the music
09:54 industry because that's just not how we operated.
09:58 Like we operated by being like, "These people don't believe in us.
10:01 We'll show them."
10:03 And then now it's like we opened a door and everyone's like, "We believe in you."
10:07 We're like, "Well, are you sure?
10:11 Are you sure about that?"
10:14 But we're getting used to it.
10:15 I think that we just need the visual, like to actually physically see this stuff.
10:21 So like walking out to the sold out show two nights in a row, The Roundhouse, I like physically
10:29 saw it with my own eyes.
10:31 It wasn't like Spotify.
10:34 All that stuff is like so abstract to me.
10:36 Like anytime, "Look, your song is on the chart."
10:43 I'm like, "Will people come to my show?"
10:48 Because that's just something that you have to address head on.
10:53 I was like stressed out that all these people being like, "You guys didn't sell out your
10:57 show.
10:58 It was a bunch of bots bought your tickets."
10:59 And I know that's not true.
11:01 I can see the back end data.
11:03 You know, like, "Oh, it sold out in five minutes.
11:05 The bots bought the tickets."
11:07 But I will tell you, I was scared.
11:09 I was looking at all the seats when I was in there and I was like, "What if there's
11:13 no one there?
11:14 What if they're right?
11:15 What if they're right?"
11:18 So I'm still getting used to not having an opposition towards me.
11:29 And right now I feel like we have so many wonderful people in the music industry that
11:34 believe in us.
11:35 And then also our peers, all the other musicians.
11:39 Everyone's really nice to us.
11:40 And I think it's because they see that we're older.
11:44 They see that we are like old dogs trying to make it and they see themselves in that.
11:50 But then we're young and our bands, not us, we're old.
11:53 But our band's age, the age of the band Spiritbox is young because we only have one album.
11:59 So they also, I think, think of us like little brothers and sisters and they want to help
12:04 us.
12:05 So it's awesome.
12:06 I'm going to enjoy the goodwill for as long as possible and I'll ride that wave as long
12:13 as I can.
12:14 Because then eventually something will change.
12:18 But right now I'm just embracing it.
12:20 It's lovely.
12:21 Yeah, I think everyone's really excited to see what you're going to do next and where
12:25 sound will go next.
12:26 And I think I heard you say in an interview that it's sort of what happens in the moment,
12:31 like what comes to you after Michael writes a riff or something.
12:35 Has your writing process changed at all since you did "Eternal Blue"?
12:39 I think that I will become a better songwriter because I'm starting to feel more comfortable
12:48 being a little bit more literal in songs.
12:51 Sometimes hiding behind metaphors and stuff is safer, but it's also a little pretentious.
13:00 Because you're not really having to commit to what you're saying.
13:04 You're just writing something and you're not really worrying about does it connect to verse
13:08 one and the chorus and verse two and is everything like the full song is something that you're
13:13 actually trying to say.
13:15 So I'm trying to get better at that.
13:16 I think I'm getting better at that.
13:19 And then Michael's just becoming - he just gets better and better at writing songs.
13:24 So I have a lot to live up to because he'll present me with this song that I love.
13:31 So I think it's up to you guys to determine whether I executed that well.
13:38 I already want to write new stuff and outdo that.
13:42 And I want to challenge myself to do that.
13:46 But ultimately it's just all free therapy, writing.
13:51 So I can't help it.
13:53 I'm trying to keep it like that, not thinking about what our fans want to hear or what you
13:57 guys want to hear from us.
14:00 Just what comes out.
14:03 I just feel like if I can try to preserve that, then I think that will come across.
14:08 It's very innocent and very un-meddled with.
14:15 So I know it's like I can't - no matter what, outside forces will permeate into what I'm
14:22 doing subconsciously.
14:23 But I'm trying to just focus on does it make me feel happy to get this message out and
14:28 feel good to sing?
14:29 Awesome.
14:30 Let's cut it and put it on there.
14:32 So what are you thinking in terms of new music?
14:34 Is there an album, EP?
14:35 Because I know you did the Rotoscope EP last year and the Void this year.
14:40 So you have been keeping the fans consistently well-fed.
14:42 Is that something that you think you're going to continue?
14:45 Yeah, we have some new stuff on the horizon.
14:48 It feels really good to put out something that is cohesive.
14:54 But then it's just kind of like - the album too is so daunting.
15:02 Because we got so much free time to make the first one.
15:05 It was the pandemic.
15:06 We were all just hanging out, not doing anything.
15:08 Now we have - now instead of the band being our fantasy life that we got to escape to
15:14 from our 9-to-5 jobs, now the band's our job.
15:18 So we've got to feed everybody.
15:20 We've got to keep the lights on and stuff.
15:22 So we want to tour a lot, but we also want to take a lot of time to write.
15:26 Because I think that's where - this is like - being on tour, I love being on stage.
15:32 But the studio is where we are ourselves.
15:36 That's where Michael is himself.
15:38 That's where we are most comfortable.
15:40 There's no one looking at us.
15:41 It's just me, it's just me, Michael and Dan just hanging out.
15:45 So we want to get back there into our little safe space and hide away.
15:52 So I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised this year.
15:57 I'm just trying to be quiet about it.
15:59 You know all those things that take so long to get in line to launch.
16:05 So I'm like, until it's ready, I can't say anything.
16:08 It sucks.
16:09 I just want to give it out to everybody.
16:11 Is there anything you're super excited to do with your music going forward?
16:15 I think in an interview you said you're working on a concept EP album type thing.
16:19 Yes, yes.
16:20 I'm so excited about that.
16:24 I was just reading an interview that I had said about that before we were writing and
16:30 what I hoped to achieve.
16:33 And I totally forgot about the interview and I read it again or I watched - I think it
16:36 was a video - and I watched it again.
16:39 What I was hoping to do, we did.
16:41 So I think that how I was feeling then, I feel like I was able to bring that into the
16:52 new music that we've made.
16:53 And I hope that it comes across to everybody.
16:56 But we'll have to see.
16:58 Only time will tell.
16:59 So with the Rotoscope EP, that was really well received and I think people really responded
17:03 to the changes in your style.
17:06 Were you surprised or nervous about that at all?
17:08 Well, I didn't feel too stressed about it because it was the opposite of Eternal Blue,
17:15 how there's this big lead up and it was so - the drama and this climactic thing, "Will
17:23 they sell albums?"
17:24 This crazy press tour, we were in all these magazines and stuff and we've never done anything
17:28 like that in our lives.
17:29 So that was crazy for it to go from being in my office trying to, "Oh, can we go to
17:37 the coffee shop on our break?" or "Do I need to go home and make lunch at home?"
17:41 And then all of a sudden, there's like, "I want to cover my magazine."
17:44 That doesn't make any sense.
17:46 The Rotoscope one, it didn't feel stressful at all because we just put it out.
17:50 It was awesome.
17:51 So I really want to play all of them.
17:53 And for now, we've just been playing two of them.
17:55 But I want to play the whole thing in a row.
17:59 I love those songs.
18:00 They're very special to me.
18:01 I love them.
18:02 Were you surprised or anything about the live reaction to those songs?
18:07 Yeah.
18:08 I feel like this year, all of a sudden, I think we just became better performers.
18:14 The last year, we've been playing Rotoscope and I'm just like, "Why don't you like this
18:20 song, crowd?
18:22 I love this song."
18:23 And then all of a sudden, now we do our headline tour and we go to Europe and I tell everyone
18:31 to shake their ass during that song.
18:33 It's like a dancing song.
18:35 And everyone seems to have such a fun time.
18:38 And I'm like, "What happened?"
18:39 And I was like, "I think the change is us.
18:42 We finally have - we have no excuse anymore."
18:45 Our excuse is always like, "Well, we've only played a few shows."
18:48 But now we've played like hundreds of shows, I think.
18:51 So I think we're better at entertaining the crowd and better at connecting with them.
18:57 We're better musicians and performers.
19:01 So I think now everyone's having a lot of fun when that song comes on.
19:06 And you teed up Hysteria with being like, "There's a breakdown at the end as a treat."
19:11 I see a lot of people don't know that song and it's so weird when that song starts and
19:16 everyone's like trying to do a mosh.
19:18 I'm like, "No, guys.
19:19 I'm sorry.
19:20 Just give me like three minutes and you're gonna get a little mosh as a treat."
19:25 And you said this at the show and you said this before that with Spiritbox you wanted
19:28 to sort of - you were looking at - you said like songs don't have to be heavy in like
19:33 the musical sense.
19:34 Only they can be heavy in emotional sense.
19:35 Is that something that's still sort of informing your like upcoming music?
19:40 Yeah.
19:41 I just love the freedom to get to just do whatever you want.
19:44 It all connects together because the thing that connects it is that it's all written
19:48 by the same people, you know?
19:51 So no matter what, we're gonna have our love of metal music be imprinted on those songs.
19:59 But I think that it's just - instead of just trying to write for a subgenre, I think that's
20:07 just far too stressful.
20:09 I think a lot of people - that feels like cozy for them.
20:16 But I think for Michael and I that's stressful.
20:21 We're just writing music that we like and sometimes it's gonna be heavy sounding, like
20:28 feeling, and then sometimes it's gonna be really beautiful and light feeling and maybe
20:34 the lyrics are just a little bit heavy.
20:38 But I just find that to be so much more freeing.
20:41 Really, a lot of people really, really think about those things.
20:46 A lot of people - someone comes in and goes, "Alright, so the song needs to be - this is
20:50 the key that people like and this is the BPM people like and the song needs to be about
20:55 this."
20:56 But that's just not how we do things.
21:00 And so I don't know how it's gonna turn out until it's done.
21:04 But there's always gonna be - there's a common thing through it all and I think it's just
21:09 me and Michael.
21:12 I think that we'll always make heavy music.
21:18 But it's just fun to know that our fans are accepting of whatever we make.
21:23 They're letting us figure ourselves out in real time and even if they don't love it,
21:26 they're just like, "Sure, why not?
21:29 Make a piano ballad.
21:30 Go ahead, guys."
21:31 The loyal boxies.
21:33 The boxies, yeah.
21:34 I like that they're just open-minded but they're also really honest.
21:38 They don't just lap up anything we do.
21:40 They're critical and stuff.
21:41 But I think they're really open-minded people.
21:43 I hope that we continue to attract really open-minded people.
21:46 It's my dream.
21:47 Oh my God, there's nothing worse than not liking your fans.
21:51 Like if you're like, "They're so annoying."
21:52 I really like our - I look out there and I'm like, "These are cool people."
21:56 And I'm not just saying that because I want you to come to my shows and spend your money
22:00 and stuff.
22:01 I really mean that.
22:02 I feel really comfortable meeting them and talking to them and stuff.
22:06 And it's just cool that there's just all these random like-minded people all over the world
22:11 that are kind of into the same stuff that I'm into.
22:15 It's really cool.
22:16 That's really cool.
22:17 And it's great that you've been able to meet them.
22:18 Yeah, I know because the whole time it's been an intangible internet thing.
22:24 And I don't get to meet too many people because I'm just on constant vocal rest and it's very
22:30 hard to explain that to them.
22:32 So I'd rather just not meet them than not talk and they're like pouring out their story
22:37 to me and I'm like...
22:40 You know, when I do get to meet some of them, I've met some really cool people this year
22:45 and I don't forget any of them.
22:48 It's so cool to get to meet them finally because I've been wanting to perform for them for
22:56 my whole life basically.
22:57 So they're cool.
22:58 I like them.
22:59 And we're at that moment right now where we don't have any crazy fans.
23:02 Just nice people.
23:03 They're like, "Hey, your set was awesome."
23:04 They're just really casual and nice.
23:07 Until like...
23:08 I'm not scared of them yet.
23:09 It's just like another person that enjoys music that I get to say hi to.
23:14 So I really appreciate them.
23:16 Well thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today.
23:18 It feels great to get to talk and not be on vocal rest anymore.
23:22 I feel...
23:23 Normally I'd be like, "Oh my God.
23:25 How am I going to play this show?"
23:28 But now I get to just hang out.
23:29 So thank you for being my first non-vocal rest person to talk to in four months.
23:35 I feel very honored.
23:36 Thank you.
23:37 [Laughter]
23:39 (laughing)
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