New Jersey pop-punkers MAN OVERBOARD are currently wowing audiences up and down the country supporting scene veterans Senses Fail. We sat down with vocalist Zac Eiestenstein and guitarist Justin Collier in London to see how things were going…
So guys, is it a relief to be back in the UK?
Zac: It’s really cool. We miss home, but you know. We found out the last night of our tour here in December that we were coming back and we’re happy to be here with a bigger band. Last time we were headlining so we get to play a bit bigger shows this time.
Senses Fail have been going for a lot longer than you guys – ten years or so now. Have you found there’s a much older crowd on this tour?
Zac: I don’t think so really. I feel they’re one of those bands that hit younger kids hard. I myself listened to Senses Fail a lot when I was younger. I think the crowds for them will always be younger people. That’s the type of market they reach the best. It’s the same with us, too.
Last time you were over was with Transit and All Or Nothing. What are your memories of that tour?
Justin: The worst memory was going to Dublin for the first time. I don’t remember the exact time but it was really early in the morning. The flight left at like 6am and we arrived ten minutes before. We had to go through security but we were only allowed one bag; we all had two bags so we had to condense. Joe from Transit almost died.
Before you released ‘Real Talk’ last year, the album leaked online and you decided to take swift action to get it released. What happened exactly?
Justin: It went out to about to ten people and one person leaked it. Me, our manager, Jessie, and Jeff from Run For Cover Records had a plan in case it happened. We got it rushed onto iTunes and put it up on Bandcamp. It seems like a really simple idea. “Oh the record leaked? Let’s just start selling it then”.
Zac: We were told by everyone that we handled it great. Sitting next to Justin in the van, hearing him say that, it just seemed obvious.
Justin: I don’t know why people haven’t done that before. If your album comes out and all you do is complain, people will be like, “Oh cool, dude. Way to be a little bitch!”
Now you’ve got a whole heap of releases coming out at the moment. Run us through them all in order!
Justin: We’ve got ‘The Absolute Worst’ 7” coming out on Rise Records on February 22nd. The we’ve got ‘The Human Highlights Reel’, which is the ‘Dahlia’ EP and ‘Noise From Upstairs’ EP, ‘Real Talk B-Sides, 2 new songs and a cover song coming out on Run For Cover Records in April and then in May we’re recording a new LP that’ll probably be out in September on Rise Records.
How’s the new record coming along?
Justin: We’ve got some demos. We’re buying a Pro-Tools rig so we can keep demoing while we’re on tour. Between this tour and Bamboozle we’re just going to live in the studio.
Zac: I’d say it’s about seventy percent written but we don’t have a lot figured out as far as exactly what we’re going to record.
Is it very much going to be in the same vein as ‘Real Talk’?
Zac: It’s not much different. ‘Real Talk’ was songs I wrote when I was 17, these are songs I wrote when I was 20. They might be a little bit more mature, but not by much!