SHREDnews

By: Jay Rowland

Jay Rowland: Tell us about how the band got started.

Dillon Gorden: The band got started back in 7th grade, when Evan Rudman(drummer) and Jay Saper(Pianist) decided to start jamming. Shortly thereafter, they added Drew Irwin(lead vocals/rhythm guitar) to the band, which back then was “Found on the Doorstep.” A few years later, the band needed a bassist so they decided to reach out to Trevor Bell(Bassist), changed their name to “A Letter To You”and had a set lineup for a few years. In January of 2009, the guys asked fellow classmate Dillon Gorden to join the foursome as lead guitar and backing vocals, finalizing the lineup as a 5 piece.

Jay Rowland: What’s the writing process? Who does what?

Dillon Gorden: Drew will usually write ideas for songs on an acoustic guitar, usually just a chorus or verse, and we’ll go from there helping to finish write the songs as well as our own parts.

Jay Rowland: What are your influences and inspiration? (not just band influences, but also anything at all that has an influence on the songs)

Dillon Gorden: We’re influenced by The Early November, Coldplay, The Starting Line and many other bands out there. A lot of this record was written in the midst of a major transition in all of our lives, graduating high school wondering, “What’s next?” Some songs are about the heartache and loneliness that comes with being out on the road, away from a loved one and family.

Jay Rowland: What would you say the strongest motivation for the entire band is?

Dillon Gorden: We’re all motivated by the love we all have for playing music and meeting new people. We’re all very outgoing so meeting new fans and friends is the best thing in the world to us. Music, whether it be listening to or playing, has helped us through some of the most challenging times in our lives. We would love to be that escape for people. Kind of like a giving back sorta thing

Jay Rowland: You guys are playing shows all the time, how’s it feel on stage?

Dillon Gorden: Well, it’s kind of the same answer as the last question asked… We love playing music and meeting new people. Live shows are the best way of accomplishing both of those tasks. When people sing along to our lyrics or come up to us after a show and say, “Man… that song is exactly what I’m going through with my girlfriend/boyfriend right now… thank you.” Or any other way they relate to our songs… There’s just nothing better…

Jay Rowland: So, Aimless; The new EP. Tell me about the writing process for Aimless and the inspiration behind the EP.

Dillon Gorden: The first song we wrote for Aimless is called “Closer,” it’s the last song on our record. That song kind of set the tone for the rest of the album. Aimless was written right around graduation time for us, and talks about our fears and asks “where will i be five years from now?” in a concerned, almost scared voicing. This goes without saying, but a good majority of the songs on aimless relate to a relationship/heartbreak of some sort. And mainly just missing whoever, while being totally out of the loop with our lives. It was a weird feeling

Jay Rowland: Now that the new EP is out any plans already for another EP or a full album?

Dillon Gorden: Oh man, we just released this on Tuesday! A new album definitely is in the back of our minds, but we’re just trying to enjoy the ride right now. We’d love to gain some label support with this album so we can fund a full length sometime next year.

Jay Rowland: Tell me about how the recent CD release party went.

Dillon Gorden: The CD release show at The Small Planet went better than we could’ve ever dreamed. We were expecting to hit 250-300 kids… we ended up reaching 429 paid, plus guest list and crew and all that. It was just great to have so many people at one place, supporting us. We played an hour long set that night, so we slept well after the show!

Jay Rowland: Any large tours planned? Or just staying local still for a while?

Dillon Gorden: Right now, we’re working on getting a winter tour going. We were put in the running to open for Unsilent Night 3 at Dr Pepper arena in Dallas, TX. We’re waiting to see if we got the gig or not. We’re kind of planning our tour accordingly once we know for sure whether or not we are playing that show.

Jay Rowland: You guys have already played with some pretty big bands. Are there any bands would really like to play with that you haven’t yet?

Dillon Gorden: Well, we’d love to open for Coldplay haha. I don’t really know off the top of my head what bands we’d like to play with.

Jay Rowland: Anything we didn’t cover that you would like your current and new fans to know?

Dillon Gorden: We want all of our friends (fans) out there to know that we love them very much and they’re what keep us going. We would like to thank everyone who has ever visited any of our pages, anyone who has been to a show of ours, and every person who got our self titled EP on iTunes or at a show. Your support means the world to us, more than you’ll ever know. Our new CD, Aimless is now on iTunes! Please check it out

Also, support your local music scene. There are so many other bands out there, all trying to accomplish the same thing, so it gets hard to chose what shows to go to and all of that.. But just be sure to go to local shows and support everyone, regardless of their skill level, appearance, etc. Without local fans, there is no local scene.

And continue to have an opinion… don’t let the television and radio affect you as a person or sway your views on whatever issues are out there.