[Ace proceeds to test the tape recorder, “TESTING! HELLO?” Yep, it works]

So, if you’d like to start off by introducing yourself that’d be great.

Hi, I’m Ace. I sing and play guitar in The Early November.

The band recently releases it’s third full length. It hit #31 on the Billboard charts during it’s first week. Did you ever expect to achieve such a recognition?

I was pretty excited about it. But then, the second week it dropped a good amount. Then MTV dropped the video and radio doesn’t want to play the single. Not that we care about radio or MTV, it’s just a bummer. I really don’t care about that though, because you don’t need that to be successful because it’s not about that. It was a bummer though if we’re going to talk about numbers.

What kinds of things were you looking to change or improve upon, when looking back on The Room’s Too Cold

I guess what I wanted to change was the overall morale of the way we all think. Musically, I didn’t want to change anything. I’d like to stop yelling. That’s basically it. Other than that, everything was good.

It’s been nearly three years since we’ve seen a full length from The Early November. What has influenced the song writing for the songs that you’ve written during that time period?

I guess just every day life. A lot of it is influenced by being in the music business. We’ve been in the business for about six years now and we’ve seen how things get done and how things really work. It’s nothing like what you envision as a kid, when you’ve daydreamed about it. I’ve really gotten to see a lot of things in this industry and I think that really influenced a lot of the writing for the record.

In previous articles on The Early November, it has been stated that during the recording for the first two albums, things were pretty hectic and stressful. How was the recording process this time around? Was it any easier?

No, not really. Like I mentioned earlier, if there is one thing I could change, it would be our attitude. I’ll be honest with you. We’re kind of a downer type band. The way we see it, we’re just not positive together, that’s all. That’s what I’d like to see change.

The album was produced by Chris Badami. He also produced the band’s other records. What is it that keeps you guys working with him? Do you feel that it’s best for the band seeing he produced the other records? Do you feel that doing so might put any limitations on the band recording wise?

Any limitations, I’ll take it. It doesn’t really matter. It’s so much better recording with somebody you feel comfortable with and have a good relationship with. He doesn’t just produce the records, he’s like another part of us. I consider him family, so it’s like going to record with a brother who I never get to see. Working with him has been great every time so far. He’s an amazing guy.

The album has been said to be more of a leap both musically and lyrically when compared to the previous albums. What influenced the band to create a concept album and did the idea work out as well as you had initially envisioned it?

Well, I wanted to do a concept album to really push myself. Nobody really wanted to do it and wanted to stray from it. To be 100% honest, I wanted to do to something that would really challenge us and...

Take a risk.

Yes, take a risk. It’s great and I really am happy with the way that it did turn out. It’s not 100% of what I envisioned, but making what I was tried to make, I’m not going to say it was a success but it wasn’t a failure either. It’s nothing like what anybody expected our band to do.

You seem a bit uneasy about it, but I’ve read nothing but great reviews on it. It has to make you feel a little better.

Right. It’s good, it’s just scary for everyone in the whole project. Not just the band, everybody else working for it. It’s scary. I’m happy with it.

Can you tell me why “Hair” was chosen as the first single and video for the album?

We figured that because the album was such a different style record, that we might as well pick a more off the wall, odd type song. We hoped with “Hair,” that our fans would get it and so would other people and not just get stuck as a emo-punk band or whatever. That’s why we chose to do that. To throw a little bit of differentiation in the mix from what people are used to hearing from us.

During the recording, the band picked up another guitarist, Bill. What influenced the band to add an additional member at this point in the band’s career?

None of us really are that talented, musically. He’s actually really good. If you actually watch what we play, we’re not that talented. Bill on the other hand, he’s very skilled. That’s why we decided to add him.

A major part of a live performance is connecting with the crowd. How would you define performing and the importance of live music?

It’s the most important because it’s how people really connect with your band. When you see how someone talks and how they present themselves, you get a better vision of them. It’s really important. We try to stay positive, but again we’re not the most positive people. A lot of times on stage, we don’t look at the crowd, we look down. But we try to interact with the crowd as much as we possibly can. We try to make it fun not only for us, but more importantly for the people who come out to see us. It’s extremely important.

Warped Tour has about a week and a half left. What has been your favorite Warped Tour experience so far?

Wow. I don’t know. My favorite thing about the Warped Tour is the food.

Well, you guys are at Six Flags. Have you guys had a chance to go on any of the rides?

No, we did not. But I would love too.

That sucks. Do you guys have a busy schedule ahead of you?

Yeah, we need to be packed and out of here by 11 tonight. We don’t have too much time to hang out today.

You guys are set to head out with New Found Glory in the fall. How does it feel to go on tour with some old label mates of yours?

We’ve never toured with New Found Glory and it’s been a goal of ours since we’ve been a band. It’s going to be a dream almost, because one our goals was to tour with Saves The Day and we toured with them and that was amazing. We toured with Less Than Jake and that was amazing. Now we get to tour with New Found Glory. There are only a few more bands in the same category that we consider our favorites, that we haven’t had the chance to tour with yet. We’re all really stoaked about it.

That’s awesome. I have one more question for you. If you were to create an infomercial about buying your record, what would you tell your listeners?

[Laughs] First of all, if I were to create an infomercial... wow. The possibilities are endless with this one. I’m not a good salesman. I have a problem with selling things. If it were me, I’d just be like alright guys. I’d be all monotone like that too because I’m not very good at selling things.

Okay, so you’d need a little assistance from Billy Maze?

Oh yeah! There you go! He would definitely hook it up. There you go. I would hire him. I would hire Taboo guy, what’s his name?

Billy Blanks?

Yes! I’d hire him. I’d be like, “If you want a body like that, buy The Early November record and that’s what will happen.”

[Laughs] Awesome. Thank you!

Right on. Thank you.


Thank you to Ana at Drive Thru, everyone at MSO, Amanda Moore and Ace.

For more information on The Early November: www.theearlynovember.net or www.myspace.com/theearlynovember.


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