Just in case you haven’t heard (although, at this point, you probably would have already heard), American band Third Eye Blind is about to make their way to our shores for their first ever Malaysian gig! For many of us, it’s a dream come true. So cue the screams, the cartwheels, the confetti, and the fireworks.
But here’s the thing: we’ll gladly top that excitement up with the fact that our friends from The Livescape Group graciously extended an offer for us to interview the band prior to their show 😉
So here’s what went down:
Hey guys! Thanks for taking time off your busy schedule to do this with us. Where are you right now and what are you currently up to?
Hi there! We’re all over the place hahaha. I’m in Japan, the rest of the guys are in Bali. We’ve a short break right now after touring pretty much non-stop for the last year and a half.
Congratulations on your latest release, “We Are Drugs”. What can you tell us about the EP?
Thank you. The EP came together very quickly. We had a collection of new songs that we were playing and decided to put them out as an EP rather than do another full length album right now. It started out as 4 songs, then we added more as we recorded more. We’re super happy with it.
You’re also currently touring to promote “We Are Drugs”. What are some of the best and worst parts about touring and performing in different countries?
We love touring. The only part that sucks is being away from your home, family, friends, love, cat, dog, whatever. But we’ve a really strong, close crew and touring is like family for us, so it’s very enjoyable. We have a lot of awesome adventures and meet a lot of awesome people on the road.
It’s shaping up to be a pretty exciting year end for Third Eye Blind, what with the upcoming Rockaway gig. Is there anything that you’re particularly looking forward to seeing in Malaysia?
It’s my first time in KL, so I’m really excited to check it out. I’m gonna learn some Bahasa Malaysia and go cycle around the place and get lost/have fun. That’s how I discover all new cities.
I just counted and realised that Third Eye Blind in 23 years old this year – that’s like legit graduation from college! In what ways have being in a band like Third Eye Blind helped shape you as a person?
Well it’s the best job I’ve ever had! Hahaha I think when you play in a successful band, you don’t really change as a person. Or personally I don’t feel that I have, or that the other guys have. More often there’s a kind of elastic response from the people around you which takes a while to settle. Ya know? Like your friends kinda have a different response for bit, then it settles down.
Being 23 years old and all, in what ways or in which aspects do you think that there’s still more room for growth? Both as a band as well as personally.
We’re always growing. We feel like a new hungry band with a long way to go. Third Eye Blind has never rested on their laurels, so we’re still moving forward aggressively as a band.
But if you could go back in time and share some wisdom with the “past you”, what would you most likely tell him?
Wow…I’m kinda obsessed with time travel…great question! Personally, I’d have told myself to start studying Japanese earlier! Hahaha. Other than that I’m good. I mean, it’s easy to say I’d go back and not date that girl that turned out to be a total lunatic, but honestly, everything I’ve done and has happened to me lead me to this point in my life, so I can’t really complain ya know?
A lot of your songs are related to current world or social issues. Which of the many, many Third Eye Blind songs would you say you hold nearest and dearest to heart, and why?
Gosh, I can never really pick one over another really. In terms of socio-political content, there are elements of that in so much of our material, so a lot of it is dear to me.
What would you say were some of the biggest misconceptions about the music that you make or the most misunderstood meanings behind the music that you make?
Probably that we’re an overtly political band. There is political content in Stephan’s lyrics, and he’s not at all shy about letting people know his opinions. But there’s a huge amount of poetry in our songs and that gets overlooked sometimes just because we have a new song out that references the Black Lives Matter movement.
Last but not least, leave a shoutout for all your fans in Malaysia who can’t wait to see Third Eye Blind at this year’s Rockaway!
We can’t wait to see you all there! It’s gonna be amazing! Thanks!
Catch Third Eye Blind at their Malaysian debut on 19th November 2016 at Rockaway Festival. More information here.
