As Florida’s favourite sons, A Day to Remember prepare to unleash their sixth album Bad Vibrations upon us all when they arrive Down Under in December.
There was nothing but good vibes coming from front man Jeremy McKinnon when he called in to have a chat while on the road in the US in support of punk rock juggernauts Blink 182. “This tour with Blink has been absolutely incredible! We’ve been going over really well with their fan base and everyone’s been really respectful and receptive to what we’re doing,” McKinnon says.
“But even more importantly, Blink has treated us better than any band we’ve ever toured with – and I’m not just saying that to suck up,” he laughs. “Those guys have been super legit and humble, and it’s felt real when we’ve chatted with them. As a fan growing up on their music, I couldn’t have asked for them to be any cooler – they’re really awesome to us.”
There has been no shortage of hype online for their first album since 2013’s Common Courtesy, with their lead single ‘Paranoia’ viewed six million times (and counting) on YouTube, followed closely by the title song ‘Bad Vibrations’ at a respectable two million plus views.
“We’ve been playing ‘Paranoia’ here every night for a few months and that goes over really well,” McKinnon says. “It feels really natural in the set-list, so I could see that one as a part of our show forever, as long as people want to hear it – and we played ‘Bad Vibrations’ a handful of times,” he adds. “Everyone seems to go nuts, so we’re very happy.”
However, life hasn’t always been so rosy for the five-piece. In 2011 the band filed a civil suit against their label Victory Records, claiming they were owed over $75,000 in royalties. A lengthy legal battle ensued with Victory counter-suing them for a breach of contract, but in 2013 the court handed down permission for the band to release their fifth studio album, Common Courtesy, on their own label ADTR Records.
Subsequently, their first self-released album went on to be a major success with both critics and fans alike, and in turn gave the young band the rare opportunity to harness complete creative control. McKinnon says that they relished their new found freedom during the making of Bad Vibrations.
Enlisting the help of some of punk rock’s most respected names, including Bill Stevenson (Descendents), Jason Livermore (Rise Against) and legendary engineer Andy Wallace (The Misfits, Bad Religion, Atreyu, among others), ADTR embarked on a memorable adventure to a cabin in the woods, and began to make music.
“We were just trying to get away from our everyday life. We got into the groove of recording in the town we live in with the same people every album, and it just got really comfortable in a way that we started to feel uninspired,” McKinnon explains. “Every single step of the record is completely different to anything we’ve ever done. It’s some of the heaviest material we’ve written but it’s the happiest we’ve been – we’re just flying by the seat of our pants here!”
When & Where: Festival Hall, Melbourne – December 14
Written by Natalie Rogers
