Against The Current is currently enjoying a jam-packed summer on their first Vans Warped Tour and have certainly been making a name for themselves as of late. The YouTube sensations who built up a large following covering songs such as Carly Rae Jepson’s “Good Time” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Catch My Breath” have come a long way in five years. Powered by front-woman Chrissy Costanza’s powerful, soaring vocals, the trio released their debut album, In Our Bones in late May and have relished significant success.
With a record deal in place with respected Fueled By Ramen Records, the pop-rock threesome is ready to take the world by storm (if they haven’t already yet). We caught up with Chrissy, Will Ferri and Dan Gow this week on Warped Tour during their stop in Charlotte to discuss In Our Bones, their decision to almost completely do away with backing tracks and their recent adventures in Disney World!
First off, I heard you all went to Disney yesterday on your day off?
Chrissy: Yeah, in Orlando. It was a lot of fun.
Is that the best possible day off?
Chrissy: I mean, for me it is (laughs).
Besides from Disney, how else do you spend a day off on tour?
Dan: Go-karting is pretty sick.
Will: I just bought a mini-bike so I’ll probably spend quite a bit of time on that.
How do you balance the life of someone in their early 20’s and the rock star lifestyle?
Will: We’re pretty busy so we’re usually on the road, but I feel like we separate the two pretty well.
Chrissy: It’s sort of the life we grew up around. Will’s older brother was in a band and now manages us and we grew up around them. It’s natural. It’s not weird or stressful or different. It’s exactly what we expected and what we wanted to be doing.
So you’ve just been living this lifestyle for so long that it’s become normal for you?
Chrissy: Yeah, for sure.
Congratulations on your debut album, In Our Bones and all the success you’re generating. How challenging was it putting together your first full-length record?
Chrissy: We spent a lot of time figuring ourselves out beforehand, doing EPs, touring and meeting our fans. When we did it, we just did it. It wasn’t something we thought about. Obviously there was pressure to make it as great as it can be especially because it was five years coming, but we did what we always do which is what feels right to us. What’s natural and genuine. We’re really proud of it.
Was In Our Bones originally planned as an EP and later turned into a full-length record?
Chrissy: Yeah. We planned on doing a third EP originally, for a really brief amount of time, that was the plan. The longer we took before getting into the EP, it was time to do the album. It wasn’t time to do another EP.
Did you have any specific goals going into the album?
Chrissy: Personally, I wanted to try different vocal styles which came through well for me. Especially doing “Wasteland,” which is very different from “Running With The Wild Things,” which is different from “Forget Me Now.”
You signed with Fueled By Ramen Records recently who’ve helped other notable bands including Paramore, Panic! At The Disco and Twenty One Pilots achieve profound success. How’s that experience been thus far?
Dan: It’s been great. Everyone has been really nice and all the bands have been helpful.
Since the beginning you’ve played with touring members. How important is it to you to bring those guys along and what was the mindset in that decision?
Chrissy: Our roots have been in bands. Ultimately, that’s our thing. It’s about the music. We like having production and there’s no gimmick. Our two live members Roo and Joe are just as important as the three of us. They’re permanent live members. It’s not like anyone could be in because they’re as much a part of the band as we are. They don’t necessarily write with us or do the marketing and album art design, but they’re as much apart of the show as we are. It’s important for us to have them.
There’s still plenty more stops on this year’s Warped Tour, but what are you’re plans following the summer?
Dan: We leave for a World Tour like two-weeks after Warped Tour. We’ve announced Europe and there’s more dates coming soon.
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