Exclusive Interview with I See Stars frontman Devin Oliver
by Michelle Oberg
I See Stars won WHOOZNXT artist of the month and was awarded a guest spot on Jimmy Kimmel Live, May 31, 2011. We sat down with lead singer Devin Oliver before the show to talk about their new record, The End of the World Party, their first national TV gig, and some good ol’ fashioned gossip!
Before getting into the dirt, we were invited to stay for the live performance. Don’t be fooled by the smoke and mirrors that is Hollywood. I’ll let you in on a little secret: it’s live, but time delayed for content purposes. While I See Stars tuned up, the audience from Jimmy Kimmel’s studio was shuffled into their indoor stage area, including curious I See Star’s first-timer Wee-man from the Jackass bunch. As they would any other stage gig, they were unfazed by the cameras, waited for their cue and broke right into “Glow.” Devin’s high-pitched voice, reminiscent of Chiodos [see interview] original frontman Craig Owens, hits all the right notes as the band gets heavy alongside. Zach Johnson jumps off keys mid-song to unleash the demonic screams, that few can successfully belt out, while beating on his chest like an angry gorilla. After another ‘take’ we got to hear “What This Means to Me” as an added bonus.
Now, here’s what Devin had to say:
RUKUS MAGAZINE: What are your feelings about being on national TV for the first time?
DEVIN OLIVER: I’m a little nervous. But, I try to turn that into something positive rather than negative.
RM: You’ve been on stage many times so I can’t imagine it would be too far off from that?
DO: Yeah, you just have to keep the persona that there’s only 75 people watching you as opposed to the 2 million people watching from the cameras. If you’re on stage enough you just have to block out the cameras and play like you’re playing any other show. We did a sound check so that eased the nerves a little bit. It sounded really good so now we’re really excited.
RM: Let’s talk about The End of the World Party. What’s the story behind the title?
DO: We’re a band that likes concepts when it comes to records. We don’t just want to release a record like how a bunch of bands nowadays just pick a stupid name with a bunch of dumb song titles because they’re funny; and while I like that, we like to have a theme. I like the whole 2012 conspiracy right now. I mean, do we believe in it? Not really, but it’s about taking all those stories and looking at them through the most optimistic way that you possibly can. It’s a dark concept but you should be looking at it that if something does happen, do you want to look back with regrets or just do what you love and live it up.
RM: So, this album is your party album?
DO: This album is definitely our party album. It’s about cutting lose and living every day like it’s your last, until it’s the last. It’s cool! I think it’s a good concept!
RM: You spend all of your time together between touring and making new music, what is the secret to making it work and not want to kill each other?
DO: It’s one thing to be like “I love to tour with my best friends,” but reality is, you’re living with them, you’re waking up to them, you spend your entire day with them, eating with them, sleeping right next to them… There was a point in time where we had a van with no personal space whatsoever, and the secret is that you have to be able to trust people that you’re bringing into this project. We’re obviously lucky enough to have known each other for our whole lives and our ability to stick together was our own natural choice before the band. We had hung out with each other every day so when we starting touring it was exciting at first. We butt heads every once in a while, but at the end of the day we’re pretty understanding and compromising people. I think that’s what it takes to really stay with each other.
RM: Do you have any advice for other bands on how to make it work?
DO: When it comes to music, it’s just a hard business. You’re trying to start up in one of the most dangerous industries. You really have to be in it for the love of music, otherwise, just turn around and walk away. If you don’t love it for that than you’ll hate it because it’s tough, you don’t make a ton of money unless you’re a big band/artist and there’s a lot of ground work—so be prepared. So my advice: love music, because if you do, you will love it ’til the bitter end.
RM: The Scream It Like You Mean It Tour will be starting up soon. What are you expecting out of the festival?
DO: I am expecting to see a lot of I See Star’s fans, that’s what I’m hoping for. And that the tour does really well but that I see Stars carries a lot of the weight. I think that’s important. I love the bands that are going to be on the tour so there’s going to be a lot of kids and I’m hoping that we bring our fair share of kids and that it’s noticeable that we can bring a lot of people to these shows. Because that’s ultimately what’s important is that people love it and they keep coming out to your shows.
RM: Have you worked with the other artists on the line-up before, like Chiodos?
DO: Chiodos is from Michigan (I.S.S. home state) and we’ve been fond of them since we were little kids playing, but haven’t played. We just toured with Craig’s band Drugs on the AP tour but all the other guys I met at the Never Say Never Festival and they were really nice guys, so I’m excited to get to know them a little better.
RM: Do you have any stage rituals?
DO: Not really, I just huff and puff and sing a whole lot before I go on stage. I warm up a shit ton so I make sure I’m where I need to be to play a good show. The other guys have rituals that I’m not going to tell you because they’re not legal but it’s nothing too crazy; just a little weed. I guess I don’t really have any rituals, and I don’t smoke weed— weed and me don’t get along too well.
RM: If you could have dinner wi…
DO: Natalie Portman!
RM: …with any one person who would it be? Okay!
DO: Yeah, Natalie Portman. Definitely Natalie Portman.
RM: With child or without?
DO: Oh, dude, I don’t care. I watched No Strings Attached on the plane and I was like, “Dude, this girl is fucking cute.” I didn’t like it but I thought she was adorable in it. I would like to sit down and tell her why she should divorce whoever she’s with and just get with me for a little while. I’m not looking to be a homewrecker, but I’d definitely take her to a nice seafood dinner and call her back the next day.
RM: What was your first record?
DO: That’s tough. I remember buying Blink 182’s “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.” I don’t know. I feel bad but I haven’t really bought anything. A lot of music I get for free from the bands I tour with who give me records. I get a lot of stuff on the Internet too. I’m such a hypocrite; I’m always telling people “help the music industry and buy CD’s,” and I get mine for free.
RM: What are 5 things that most people don’t know about you?
DO: Well, I’m 110% terrified of The 4th Kind. I watched it and I couldn’t sleep for a week and if I pass it while flipping around on channels I’m reminded of how scary it is and I can’t sleep again for a week [grunts]. God, what a baby fear, it’s not even manly at all. Another one is, I can’t fly…
RM: Like sprout wings or be on a plane?
DO: Just jump and fly away. I’m a big conspiracy believer and I do believe conspiracies like 9/11 being an inside job and government related theories. That’s three, let me think of one more. I’m trying to think of things that people don’t know…Oh, I love Spongebob Squarepants, it’s fucking hilarious! It’s like the Ren and Stimpy of our time. Oh, I got 5. That reminds me: I played the clarinet in high school.
RM: What has to come with you when you tour?
DO: Obviously my phone and my wallet but I would never forget my Tempur-Pedic neck pillow. I’ve had horrible experiences with touring and pillows and my neck always killing me so I went and bought this Tempur-Pedic pillow and I have never had that problem again. So, it comes with me everywhere.
RM: What was the most disappointing concert you’ve ever been to?
DO: I’m going to go ahead and say two. One band is probably less known than the other so I’ll say two. Lydia is the first one. I figured most people wouldn’t know but their singer is sick and I was so excited to see their show. I went in hoping to hear epic music and the singer couldn’t even do the first song and walked off stage so a girl vocalist stepped in. I was so fucking pissed. The other was, we played with Lil’ Wayne at Bamboozle and it just wasn’t that sweet. I thought it was going to be so sweet. Bruno Mars too. I thought that both of them would be so off-the-wall amazing. Maybe it was because of the rock and roll environment they were playing, but it was not that cool. But, I’m not bashing, I’m just saying I was disappointed.
RM: What was your most embarrassing stage moment?
DO: That’s easy: we were on tour with A Day To Remember and every show was sold out. This was the first really big show that we’d ever played. The floor monitors were on wheels and I didn’t know they were on wheels. Right in front of the crowd, and I was singing a song and went to step on it. It moved forward and I fell right on my back. It hurt so bad that I couldn’t move and I had to finish the rest of the set on my back on the floor. I was so embarrassed and so hurt and didn’t want to stop playing.
RM: Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
DO: I hope to become a rock and roll legend. I want to know that I accomplished something big in the music industry, whether it’s as a producer, manager, artist…something. I see myself doing something successful in this business and I will bring it back to life.