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I think I might just be the luckiest music journalist to grace the internet. Luck of the irish perhaps? Whatever it is,
I always seem to discover some of my favorite bands when I go to a show to cover someone else. In recent months that has
happened at more shows than I can remember. My experience with Seattle-based This Providence was no different.
I was already set up to cover the headliner of a show locally and noticed This Providence was on the bill as well. I
set up an interview and found myself talking to lead vocalist Dan Young and guitarist Gavin Phillips before the show. I'd
like to say right off that Dan and Gavin are two of the nicest guys I've had the pleasure of interviewing. The best part
of the evening, however, was getting to hear their set. Dan Young is an incredible vocal talent, and combined with the excellent
musicianship of the entire band created a flawless performance I won't soon forget. I sat down with Dan and Gavin to talk
about life on the road and what's coming up for This Providence.
ROCK ON REQUEST: If you don't mind, could you introduce yourself to the readers of Rock On Request and tell us what each
of you do in the band?
DAN YOUNG: I'm Dan and I sing.
GAVIN PHILLIPS: I'm Gavin and I play guitar.
ROR: Can you give us a quick history lesson on This Providence? How you all came together?
DY: Yeah, I started the band with two other guys who are no longer in the band. Gavin, he joined us because we were
just playing together as a joke really. When he joined us it became This Providence. The other two guys, Phil and Paul,
left us and then we got two new guys, David and Ryan. Then Sean was a recent addition, so now we're a five piece. This is
his first tour.
ROR: Dan, you used to play guitar also right?
DY: Yeah.
ROR: So now you're strictly focusing on singing?
DY: Yep.
ROR: Do you like that better?
DY: Yeah, it's good. I really like it.
ROR: Dan, you came to the US from Australia just six years ago, correct? Do you think coming to America afforded you
more opportunity as a musician than you would have had in Australia?
DY: Absolutely, yeah. In Australia there are less people, that's one thing. And obviously the music scene here is much
bigger.
ROR: When did This Providence sign with Fueled by Ramen and how did all that come about?
GP: We signed with Fueled by Ramen in 2006, actually when we were in the studio recording the new album. That's when
all the paperwork was officially dealt with.
ROR: Fueled by Ramen has some of the hottest new acts in alternative and modern rock on their label with Panic at the
Disco and Fall Out Boy. Did that influence your decision to sign with them? Did you have other labels coming at you?
DY: We found out that the label we were on was selling different records, so there wasn't too much label interest right
away. There was a little bit, but usually that turns labels off because it means they're buying you out. But definitely
having bigger bands on Fueled By Ramen just shows us that they work hard for the bands and they do what a label is supposed
to do, they promote the band and get them out there.
ROR: Exactly.
GP: That wasn't the main reason we signed with them, we just honestly clicked with them as people.
ROR: They're growing so much. Every day I think I see more and more bands on the label. I think that must be good for
you guys too.
DY: Yeah.
ROR: Your self-titled debut with FBR released back in September and has done quite well. What would you say sets this
album apart from your first release, 'Our World's Divorce', and how do you think you've grown as a band between albums?
DY: Yeah, one of the main things that's different is the production on the record. The record just sounds a lot better.
That's one of the main things.
ROR: Now did you use the same producer for both albums?
DY: Yeah.
GP: It was our first record, his first record that he ever produced was our first record. He had a lot of growing to
do as we did as a band as well. You wouldn't even know it was the same producer.
ROR: You've said that this album is very spiritual. Can you elaborate a little bit on that for me and tell our readers
what that means to you?
DY: I guess it is a lot of me just being honest and challenging a lot of stuff that I was taught. I grew up in a Christian
house and I just kind of believed everything I was taught. In just the last couple of years I've just been figuring out what
of that is truth and what is, you know, making my personal beliefs rather than my parents and what they believed. At church
you are taught a lot of stuff that isn't necessarily true or isn't necessary to be taught, you know, just fine details. I
don't know, the record is just a lot of me finding out what I believe and what I struggle with and that kind of thing.
ROR: So who does the songwriting?
DY: Gavin writes all the music and I write the lyrics and the melodies.
ROR: Speaking of lyrics, This Providence was recently included in AP's list of 100 bands to watch. Congratulations by
the way. Dan, you were quoted as saying in that article that you think a lot of times people overlook the lyrics in a song,
and they don't really get a picture of what the song is actually about. Maybe you can let your fans know through this interview
what it is that you are trying to convey through your lyrics and why they should enjoy them as much as the music itself.
DY: That's hard to summarize. I think people like certain kinds of lyrics. They like lyrics that sound cool...
ROR: Catchy?
DY: Yeah, catchy and that kind of thing. I think too often they overlook what exactly the song is talking about and
that sort of thing.
ROR: They aren't taking in what it means?
DY: Yeah, exactly.
ROR: I would think that would be important to you as an artist to get that across to them and have them take it in.
DY: Yeah, right.
ROR: I want to talk about touring for a moment. You guys have been out on the road doing various tours for the past
two years now nonstop?
DY: Pretty much, yeah.
ROR: That's got to be tiring after awhile.
GP: There was about a six month break when we were in the studio and recording some changes, but other than that, yeah.
ROR: Which is still constant work.
DY: Mmm hmm.
ROR: I know Dan you recently posted on your blog about how much you love being on tour and just going out and playing
shows. Obviously not everyone enjoys being out on the road as much as you do. It's hard work. That's something I hear
from every band I talk to, how that's just their favorite thing to do. What I want to know is what the down sides of being
constantly on tour are. What is it that makes it rough and how do you cope with it? There has to be down sides.
DY: (laughs) there are plenty of down sides.
GP: Just being away from home is rough. You miss a lot of things at home. You miss people and things. Sometimes you
just miss being at home. Like for me on this tour, I've actually had some health issues. I have to get my wisdom teeth pulled
out on tour and it's just kind of rough. I wish I could just be home.
ROR: And just take care of yourself...
GP: Yeah. But, I mean, still it's what we love.
DY: I guess another hard thing is that, you know, it's kind of like your family in this van together. Sometimes everyone
wants their own space and you don't get much of that on tour.
ROR: I wouldn't think so. This is your new family.
DY: Right.
ROR: You all have loved ones I'm sure, girlfriends or whatever at home. How do you cope with that, with being separated
from the ones you love and how do they cope with it?
DY: Honestly, for me sometimes I just kind of shut down and really don't talk to people back home as much as I should.
That's kind of like, from moving countries it's just been something that I've just done to survive because it hurts a lot.
Actually, what's really important is to just talk on the phone as much as you can.
ROR: And e-mail.
DY: My mum really hates, like she's just really starting to have a hard time with me being gone. I should probably give
her a call after this actually.
ROR: (laughing) Me too actually, now that I'm thinking about it.
GP: Sometimes talking with them too much can actually make it tough.
ROR: It makes it harder?
0GP: Yeah. It's just like you really have nothing to say except how much you miss them.
ROR: I'm sure it gets depressing.
GP: You have to be very selective of who you have in your life too, they have to be understanding.
ROR: Right. I think that would be the hardest part for people in your industry. It's hard to see how anybody does it
anymore, as far as relationships are concerned. I always think it's great when it does work out.
DY: Yeah. It's a silly thing we do.
ROR: Let's talk about your fans. You have been gaining a big fan following since you've been out on tour. All the bands
I've had the pleasure of interviewing recently have one thing in common, they actually take time out after shows to meet with
the fans and form a more personal relationship with them than bands ever did in the past. Was that something you made a conscious
decision to do when you went out on tour, or did you see other bands doing it and think, "Hey, that's cool...we should
do that too?"
GP: We started from the ground up. At this very venue, we played here in front of about 10 people a couple of years
ago. It was just something that came naturally early on. We didn't have very many fans and we just came out and talked to
the ones we did have, and we were very grateful for them. We just tried to maintain that mentality. We always try to go
out there and talk to the fans every night. We've also seen other bands doing it and it helps a lot too. They feel more
connected with you and that's important.
ROR: Right, and that's what keeps them following you from state to state, buying your records, etc. I think that's really
a great thing that's happening right now. How much does the internet and sites like Myspace and Live Journal help to keep
the relationship you have with your fans going strong even when you aren't seeing them at shows?
DY: Um, it does a lot. It definitely opens up a lot of doors and that kind of thing.
GP: With the internet it's a lot harder to keep in touch with everybody because there's so many people on there. We
at least see what their all saying, we get their support. We don't have time to respond to each person.
ROR: That's cool. I think especially with sites like Myspace and Pure Volume you can really get your music out there
so much easier to people who haven't seen you out there at a show. I was looking through some of your message boards and
people would post topics saying, "How did you hear about This Providence?" Pretty much unanimously it was from
something off the internet.
DY: Yeah, that's cool.
ROR: This tour that you are currently on with Cute is What We Aim For, how much longer does it run and what's coming
up for This Providence once it's over?
GP: I think it ends on the 16th or 17th of March. Then we do a little bit of touring home with Brighten and a couple
of other bands, back up to Seattle through California. Then there's more touring ahead after that. I'm not sure how much
of that we can announce just yet.
ROR: Sure. Do you see a headlining tour coming your way soon?
GP: Well, that's going to be a small West Coast/California headlining tour for us.
ROR: Everything happens in California.
GP: Well, it's on our way home. It's not our big headliner or anything. It's just that we haven't been to the West
Coast in awhile and we're just going to give back to California. They've been with us since the beginning.
ROR: Would you like to take this opportunity to send a personal message out to your fans? Is there any personal message
that you'd like to give to them?
DY: I don't know (laughing)...
GP: Thank you so much for all the support through the years...
DY: Yeah.
GP: It means a lot to us and we hear you all. Keep it up.
ROR: I'd like to finish by asking you a few random questions just for fun. Are you game?
DY: Yeah, we love them.
ROR: These are "This or that" questions. If you had to pick one, which would it be? Matchbox cars or Hot
Wheels?
DY: I was a Hot Wheels kid.
GP: I don't even know what the difference is. I had Hot Wheels as a kid.
ROR: They all look the same right?
DY: Yeah.
ROR: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera or Jessica Simpson?
DY: Uh, none. (laughing) At this point it would be Christina Aguilera I think.
GP: Christina Aguilera is definitely a better singer. The new album I love. I actually listen to it.
ROR: Ninja turtles or Power Rangers?
GP: (without hesitation) Ninja Turtles.
DY: Yeah, Ninja Turtles.
ROR: Who's your favorite Ninja Turtle?
DY: I don't know their names.
GP: Donatello.
ROR: Men at Work or Right Said Fred?
DY: I don't know who the second one is.
ROR: I'm too sexy for my shirt....
DY: Oh. I'd probably go with Men At Work.
GP: Definitely Men At Work.
ROR: Thanks guys. That was fun.
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