Opting to carry on regardless, the first three shows of the UK tour went ahead with bassist Dave Meilo filling in on vocals in his place. Luckily, Shaant is back on the tour in time for our scheduled interview, and we meet at the Carling Academy in Birmingham ahead of their show with We the Kings and Boys Like Girls.
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Whose decision was it to go ahead with the shows when you couldn’t make it over in time?
It was all down to the guys. I wanted them to do whatever made them happy, and I even asked Dave if he wanted to do a Dave-set but he was like, ‘no, we need to do this set, it’s what we’re over here for’. So they did it, they pulled it off. Plus they wanted to practice the set so that when I got there it was perfect
How did the fans at those shows react?
In Leeds they were really awesome. I think... I dunno, I think maybe Manchester was the only one where people were really upset, but everywhere else was awesome.
Does it annoy you that people reacted badly?
It doesn’t annoy me at all! If I saw my favourite- [stops] If I saw a band I liked without their singer, I wouldn’t be too stoked. I would love to have rescheduled for the kids who wanted to see us, but I think it was the right decision.
So how are you feeling about the tour now that you’re finally here?
I have such a good feeling about tonight. Every single show so far has just been amazing so I’m really looking forward to it.
Can we expect a typical Cute show tonight then?
“A typical Cute show..?” Phhft. Is there such a thing? [laughs] No, I don’t know, we’ll find out. I’ll have my voice tonight, though, which is a step up from last night’s show.
And you’re in the country...
Annnd yess, I am. [laughs]
Where do you prefer playing then, here or at home?
Here. Here… [laughs] Here kids… I dunno. Music is everything to people. It’s just… it’s not comparable. A lot of people [at home] are just fickle. You guys – Europe. Europeans are just music lovers, they’re very passionate. If they hate you they HATE you… but if they love, they’ll give it everything. I watch Oasis DVDs - and even people like Robbie Williams - you just see that… that passion.
Does that not happen in America then?
Even with us having 350 million [people], when was the last time we had 150,000 at a festival? 120,000? It just doesn’t happen. Never.
Why do you think that is?
In America it’s very me, me, me, fulfilment in the media... I don’t know. But I can even relate it to the way you guys drive – you don’t need many stop lights, it’s just constant give ways and roundabouts because everyone’s cautious of their surroundings and of other people, everyone knows what the other drives are doing because you HAVE to.
As opposed to...?
In the States, there’s always a STOP! Or a red-light, you can’t move. Rarely is there ever a sign that just says yield because y’know… people are on their cell-phones, they’re picking up the kids from soccer practice, they need to be told. It’s so self-absorbed, I find.
Is that reflected in the media at home?
Of course, of course, especially the whole MTV bullshit like Danity Kane – sorry if they’re on Atlantic but whatever – I just don’t… Call me crazy but I just really like it when the performers kinda write it and go through it and… anyway I’m going off on a tangent. Ask another question [laughs]
Are you happy with how you guys have been received by the UK press?
Yeah, I guess. I haven’t read much, but the shows don’t lie… to an extent.. .maybe? [laughs] I guess we’ll see in a month when it all comes out.
Is there a show you can pinpoint as a UK favourite?
London’s always my favourite. I dunno why, there’s just something about playing there as an Ameican. It’s like… London.
When a lot of US acts talk about coming to England, they seem to really mean coming to London. Is it like that for you?
No no no. As I say the English as a people… the people that come to our shows here, they’re on a different level, a different tier. It’s amazing.
Is there anything you don’t like about the UK?
I’ll start really simply; I don’t like the dreary weather and the food is... heinous [laughs]. Apart from that, I think the culture is marvellous, the way people behave…. I love observing people, and here they take pride in themselves and there’s something to be said for looking proper, for acting... proper, I guess.
Is that not the case everywhere?
In the States, I find people to be slobs a lot [pauses]. God, when people read this ... but it’s true - In the global sense, we’re like this gluttonous, excessive nation. There’s no reason to tip-toe around it. If someone’s ignorant enough to be offended by it, sorry... but it’s the truth.
So do you get a lot of down-time on tour?
I get to do my people-watching walks. I haven’t been out today, but after sound-check maybe I’ll take a stroll, get a McDonalds cause its right across the way…
Okay, so moving on to the album... what can people expect from Rotation?
What can people expect? It’s always a tricky question…. [long silence] I think we stepped it up. But I think there’s a lot to be said for people to think for themselves on that front. All I know is that I love it, the guys love it.
Was that important, to make something you were all really proud of?
Yeah, absolutely. We knew we had a foundation of kids that would support us, but at the same time we were in a bad spot as a band where we didn’t even know if we wanted to continue doing this. So we just said, ‘c’mon guys let’s do this and take whatever chances we can and…. Fuck it.’ You can only cross your fingers so…
How much of the new material has filtered through to the live set this tour?
We only do three songs. Doctor and Practice... get an awesome reaction, and we played another and by the end people were singing along. I guess its pretty – well, I find it – pretty catchy, so…
So why only three new songs?
We didn’t want to play very much new stuff, we haven’t really practiced. I mean we’ve rehearsed for our tour in America which starts in about two weeks but… When you make a record - or at least how we made this record - you do it song by song and then you forget and then its months later before you start to play it again.
Plus, we just kinda made our own decision and used our empathy when it came to picking the three, because when we go to a show and a band plays new songs, we’re like WH-… oh. You want to get into it and you can’t… But give it a few weeks. When we’re on the US tour it’ll probably be more half and half.
Have you ever considered throwing in cover versions like label-mates Panic at the Disco do?
I have, for sure. We always talk about things we’d love to do but for now we need to totally nail down our own before we start.
Is there anything in particular you’d love to give a try as part of a Cute... set?
[instantly] Wonderwall.
...could that not be seen as a little clichéd?
I don’t give a fuck! [laughs] That just means it an awesome song. It’s probably one of the most vivid songs of my life - that whole album actually. I mean, I remember when I first found out what getting high was and I was like… [gasps] WHAT?! What are you doing!? And oh! You know that line; she’s got one in the oven…? As a kid I was picturing this woman in a kitchen somewhere… [laughs]
Honestly, what would you rather play: stadium sell-outs or tiny, packed out venues like tonight?
Honestly? It totally depends. Warped tour was like 10,000 people every day when we were a main stage band in June last year. Then we went on to the Fall Out Boy tour which was like 10-15,000 every show.
What’s that like?
You can’t even try... can’t even try to paraphrase that whole thing. But yeah, then we were recording a record, so we pretty much went into hibernation immediately. So can you imagine going from that stimulation down to nothing?
Is it weird being back from nothing, then?
Now we’re putting out a record, it’s just so awesome to be back playing these kinds of shows. The guys are like, ‘it’d be amazing to play this room 3,500 capacity or this place with 5,000’ and yeah, I’d love to do that too. But hell... we get to play this! It’s amazing.
We’re here with We the Kings and it’s their first time over here so I’d been hyping them up, telling them how sick the shows were gonna be. They didn’t believe me but it’s been pretty cool and totally lived up to our expectations. More so.
Are there any downsides to the big shows?
One thing I hated… not hated… umm. I’m trying to find the right words. One hindrance… [pauses] One thing I didn’t like about the arena tours and Warped tour is that you’re so far away from the kids in the crowd. You can’t even touch them, there’s like a 20ft gap
Do you have a favourite place to play at all?
I guess I like Madison Square Garden because it’s a small venue. [laughs] Fuck, ‘small’ - it’s like 15,000 – but like, the stage area is small cause it’s a very old building so that’s cool. If I got to play there every day I’d be happy.
Are you going to take any time out for yourselves after the tour in the States?
We recorded and took a month for ourselves. I think that’s enough. Now I’m excited, I just wanna jump right in. We’re going on tour with Boys Like Girls again in the states in the Fall… I haven’t even told anyone about that yet. But yeah...
Touring with Boys Like Girls again? Safe to assume you guys get along then?
Yeah absolutely, we’ve been doing this for years. We’ve known each other for years.
Is there ever any drama on tour?
No way, no fucking way. There’s no room for drama! Anyone who wants to start that shit gets put in their place. What the hells the point, we’re all out here living the dream, why would you want to attach negativity to that?!
Do you think there are bands out there who don’t take that attitude?
Absolutely, there are tonnes of them and we meet them all the time. We use the mentality that living well is the best revenge, so… but we just focus on what we do, not other bands. Yesterday I got off and was signing non-stop for an hour and a half in the venue. I was pinned against the wall, it was total fucking chaos - but I loved it, I didn’t care. You have to factor in that if someone’s going to give us that attention, I’m going to give them the same. If they’re smiling, I’m smiling.
Is it important to you to have that link with your fans at shows?
We have a guy to run our merch stall, but the guys run around and it’s something I like to do, personally.
Is that why you run the blogs on your site yourself?
Yeah. I wish more people would respond, though. Like a lot of the time, maybe 40 people will respond but you know a couple of thousand might have read it.
Do you think that people are a bit cynical because so many bands have "someone else” run their sites for them and so don’t think it’s really you?
Yeah maybe... [Shaant fizzles out, looking slightly pissed]
Does that make you angry?
It pisses me off to think that bands don’t understand… but hey. The blogs... I’m content. It’s a medium to express and to inform and stuff, and if people want to take from it whatever they want to take, then it’s fine. I throw it out there and they can do with it what they please. Two years ago, I’d have probably been like ‘oh God, please respond to me!!’ because I really was concerned… but it’s alright.
Does it annoy you if you throw out something of meaning and just get a dozen ‘OMGILOVEYOU’s back?
No, how can that ever annoy anybody!? It’s awesome that anyone would ever even take the time. I mean sure... sometimes you’d like an intellectual response to a stimulating question [laughs] But beggars can’t be choosers.
Okay, so the album. How did the title come about?
I thought, Okay, a 180 for someone requires rotation… and I feel we’ve taken a 180 with this band - and even my own view on life, my thoughts on every facet of it. The artwork will really tell you a story, I think. If you study the front booklet – not study it, Jesus [laughs]- but if you look at it, you’ll see that everything has a cautious effort to represent change.
Who did the artwork?
The dude’s name [pauses] FUCK IT! The guys name was Chuck….Chuck... Anderson. He did the Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor artwork and that always really stuck out at me as a really vivid cover. I did drawings for the cover - and that’s something really cool, now I get to draw! [laughs] I haven’t drawn since I was a kid and now I can do it whenever I want.
Anyway, I sketched it out, and I was like a little kid, I just wanted to show it to everyone. I took pictures of it for people and they were like ‘…yeah… cool… Shaant… great. Why is there a butterfly in my email?’ [laughs]
Where did the butterfly come from?
The butterfly was an idea from my close friend. I spoke to her about the record and we talked about the things she knew about us as a band, and she suggested the butterfly as something in literature that represents change. I thought, ‘perfect. Why not?’ I know it’s maybe a bold step in a way, a butterfly, we might ostracise a few people... but it summarises everything we wanted to say. And fuck, even talking about the artwork gets me excited.
Was the prospect of writing a second album scary?
Yes, I was mortified until I heard the final product.
Is that made worse by the fact so bands on your label have produced such successful second efforts?
Oh my God, I know! Like with what Panic [at the Disco] are doing? And Paramore! But I love gauging success by peers. So if our peers are doing far greater, I want to do better. I like… I like keeping up with the pace.
Is there a sense of healthy competition among the bands at Fueled by Ramen?
I would think so. No one really discusses it, but you can bet your ass I want to get a platinum record in the States like Paramore and Gym Class [Heroes] and Fall Out Boy. But if we never do it? Fuck it. I never thought we’d sell 250,000. I mean, a quarter of a million?! Seriously?!
Do you ever think about how many albums, singles, show tickets you’ve sold?
Sometimes you run the numbers, but I try not to because when you start doing that you lose the affection for why you’re doing it and that’s not good.
Even though it’s early to be looking forward, what’s next for the band?
My outlook right now is to make the best of everything possible now, always look to the positive and always try to be smiling and content. I’m going to be in love with this until it’s time to write a new one. I think this album will solidify us in for another few efforts at least.
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