Escape The Fate are on their way! Tickets are still available for their show with Written By Wolves this saturday night so I suggest you get on to it and grab some tickets before it’s too late – this is going to be a show not to be missed for sure!! And if this announcement has come at a bad time in your pay schedule – never fear, for we have a double pass to give away! Check out the interview below, answer the special question on our Facebook page (and give us a like) and be in to win!
Ahead of their New Zealand show this week, we had the chance to speak with leading frontman Craig Mabbitt on the overall progress of the band while he was on the way to the studio, recording a full-length record under his side project The Dead Rabbitts. He also talks about how he was able to move forward with Escape The Fate through those challenging moments of his career.
How’s your side project going so far?
Oh, it’s great. I’ve got Kevin [Thrasher, lead guitar/backing vocals] producing it so it’s been really fun doing a record with somebody that’s in your band. You’re kinda open to just try a bunch of random stuff and that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been having a good time doing the music together.
Are you working on an EP for The Dead Rabbitts or is it just like songs here and there?
No, we’re doing a full-length so we’ve been going hard. Kevin’s been working his ass off.
Is this his first time producing a record as well?
I’m pretty sure. I know he’s worked on songs and I know he’s written songs for people. He’s been our studio guy before he started touring heavily with us and being in the band. It was just me and him, and he produced it and mixed our My Chemical Romance cover that Rock Sounds just released. As far as a full album, I’m not too sure. I think this might be his first full-length album.
I know that last year you released Hate Me and you’ve been touring for the past few months. How has the reception been for the new songs?
The reception has been phenomenal. Everybody seems to really enjoy it. The reaction of the new album has been fantastic. One of the first tours we did off of it was a headlining for the US and we started playing our new songs, and you can really tell the people who like it when they’re already singing along with you and your record’s not even out yet. So that was really great, and then we did the UK right after that and the response over there was even greater. So we’re very very excited to come back down to New Zealand and Australia and see what the reception is like for you guys.
When I was listening to the record last year, I found that the songs were a lot more introspective and meaningful as well. What inspired you to title the record Hate Me?
Well, the inspiration behind the title just came from the crazy, crazy history that this band had. It’s felt like a revolving door with people coming in and out. Old members just being hooked on drugs or old members wanting to just go and completely become a lead singer. which is kinda weird. Like every single member that left now is trying to sing. It’s been pretty crazy and obviously, with how big social media is, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a band or if you’re just some normal person that’s just uploading videos to Youtube. You’re subjected to a lot of backlash and a lot of hate and a lot of warriors that have all this confidence at home but hide behind the computer screen and they can say some really mean things. We deal with that in person because of the history that this band has had. Instead of paying attention to that or letting that get to us, we decided to just call the album, Hate Me and it all revolves around that title track. That title track’s chorus was the first chorus we wrote for the album, and that’s pretty much what started it all off.
I know that your previous label, Interscope Records were taking creative control over your music. Obviously, during those moments, the band’s current status was probably hazy. How did you get through that challenge of just pushing forward and never looking back, despite all the hate the band was receiving from the fanbase?
Well, I have to give credit 100% to the fanbase just for that. There have been numerous times where at one moment it was just me and Robert [Ortiz, drums], sitting in the back lounge and we’re like, “Dude, what are we going to do?” We had another discussion thirty minutes before we were supposed to go on stage. Fans were connecting to the meaning, the lyrics, and the vocals and Robert’s like, “Dude, the fans still love it. Let’s stick with another album,” and I’m like, “Yeah, you’re absolutely right.” I owe all the credit to the fanbase for keeping this band around.
Was there a moment in time where you just wanted to quit Escape The Fate and just pursue your other projects?
Oh, absolutely. I think everybody goes through that and I definitely went through that. There was a moment in time on our first tour, eight or nine years ago now because I got the feeling that I just ran into a burning building. I was like, “What am I doing here? What did I just do?” I stuck it out. I stuck it out and I think that’s what you should do in all aspects of life. It always gets really, really dark before the sun comes out.
Looking back on your earlier days with Escape The Fate to now, what would you say has remained constant within the band?
I’d say that the one thing that has remained constant is my relationship with Robert. I think me and Robert got into music for the same reasons, and despite all the turmoil of everything that has happened in both of our lives, you gotta remember Robert has been here since day one. Robert has dealt with a little more than I have dealt with. I lost my whole band and he lost his singer, you know. We’ve been through everything together and we work completely opposite in what we like to do, and how we like to celebrate and just everything but you know, opposites attract and our dedication as a band has never wavered. I was even in Robert’s wedding; that’s how close we’ve become so it’s the fanbase and it’s the brotherhood that I have with members of this band. We’ve toured with a lot of people and it’s always very humbling because they’re always like, “Man, I would kill to be in your spot.” So you take a step back and realise that there’s a lot of people who would kill to be doing it and being at the level that we’re at and that’s very humbling.
Worrying about anybody that’s going to hate on your art or hate on your band means absolutely nothing. It really does not matter at all because people are going to say stuff because people like saying stuff. It’s like, bands get a lot of hate when their record’s different or they changed. At the end of the day, all that matters is the music. It’s a good song and people connect to that song – nobody’s going to give a shit about anything else. Nobody cares. They care about the music that’s going to put them in a mood; that’s going to get them up in the morning and go to work with a smile, you know; a song that they can dance to and sing along to at the end of the night. It’s all about the music at the end of the day.
Escape the Fate will be touring New Zealand this Saturday for ONE night only! See details below:
Escape the Fate @ Kings Arms in Auckland, New Zealand
Saturday, 1 October 2016, 7:00 pm
http://www.ticketmaster.co.nz