Interview by Miriam C.
Straight from OC [Orange County, yeah like that eponymous The CW’s series], California, comes the alternative rock band New Years Day. Although their proved live experience on the 11th June 2013, the band will debut on Century Media Records with their second album “Victim to Villain”. Read some thoughts from Ashley, the singer, about the album’s genesis.
Hi Ashley, first of all. How are you? I hope everything’s fine.
Hi there! I’m doing great! Very busy planning our upcoming music video for the song “Angel Eyes” and our upcoming tour with the Vans Warped Tour. So busy!
Would you mind presenting the band with some biography?Well…. Ah. Well… We attended Juilliard… We’re graduates of the Harvard business school. We travel quite extensively. We lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. We’ve seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME WE SEE IT… NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU’RE TALKING TO A DEAD GIRL… NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK?!?
Just kidding. We formed in Orange County California a few years back, tour our asses off, spreading our love of all things fun and spooky to the towns we visit and basically have a wildly creepy good time.
“Victim to Villain” is your second album and marks the debut on Century Media Records. How and when was your first approach with the label?We started out as being friends with the people at Century Media, We would BBQ and hang out at shows and creep around the streets of Hollywood… and it took awhile, about a year to get signed. We met them through our good friends William Francis of Aiden and William Control and he kind of pushed the issue of us to them and it worked out!
Then, when you have started to nail your first lyric for this album?I’m always writing lyrics, so the process started years ago… I just gather thoughts and feelings until theres TOO much to choose from. This record was so easy to write tho, I had so much to say that it just came spilling out of me.
I’ve read from the press release that “Victim to Villain” is produced by Erik Ron [Panic At The Disco, Saosin]. How was working with him? From this experience what you have learnt?Erik Ron is THE MAN! The problem we have had in the past with trying to work with other producers or song writers, is that no one really get us. No one understands that we are trying to make our own sound and NOT trying to sound like a band thats already out there. Erik took who we were, and made us better, instead of trying to change us. He is a brilliant song writer and now one of my best friends. I learned not to be so hard on myself, I second guess a lot of what I write, and think its not good enough, and he is just very GO GO GO when it comes to writing, he doesn’t give you a lot of time to dwell or over think. I’m a better musician now because of the whole experience.
Well in the years between the two releases, I have changed a lot as a person. I’ve become more comfortable with the dark side in me that I used to hide. Now I wear it on my sleeve and our music reflects that now. I really took the darkness in me and ran with it to the edge and then jumped off the cliff, and I’m only getting started!
I was intrigued by the title album: “Victim to Villain”. Does it refers to something autobiographical?Yes, actually. I had a very rough year. It felt like that scene in Carrie, where she is so tired of being abused and mistreated that she just snaps and goes from this innocent shy girl to a killer bad ass. This year I had to learn how to stand up for myself and stop getting pushed around. And so the album title reflects my transformation from allowing myself to be a victim, to deciding to become the villain.
The album features a guest appearance by Motionless In White frontman Chris Motionless on the track “Angel Eyes”. How’s did this duet come to be?I’ve played two warped tours now with Motionless In White, one tour where we were van on the same stage, so I always sort of knew who he was, but I didn’t really know him personally. And I don’t know what happened! IT just, happened! Mutual friends got us in touch with each other and he agreed to do it. It’s my favorite song on the record to be honest. He’s a really sweet and genuine person, I’m very happy to have had him involved.
In addition to the title, I really love the cover album. I’m wondering what is your personal interpretation of it.Well, I get these visions about what I want and once its in my head, I obsess over it until it comes out exactly how I see it. I had this image of a pale corpse like female, being taken over by the darkness inside of her, like her body parts turning black and the black spilling out from her mouth and eyes… This whole album represents becoming comfortable with the dark parts of ourselves and visually this explains that idea perfectly.
What are the next band plans? Any thoughts to tour Europe after the Vans Warped tour?UK is definitely one of our goals! We shall see tho.
Unfortunately we reached the end of this interview, Ashley. I hope you enjoyed your time with us and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. If you want to leave a message or anything that comes to your mind to fans and readers, this is the place.Stay beautiful, but keep it creepy. Be your or die. Always stand up for yourself and what you feel your deserve and never let anyone take your dreams away from you. I love our creeps, and everyone else can either get on board or stand by and watch us turn this nation into Halloween Town.