Four Year Strong is an American beard-core/pop punk / melodic hardcore band from Worcester, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalists and guitarists Dan O’Connor and Alan Day, bassist Joe Weiss, keyboardist and back-up vocalist Josh Lyford and drummer Jackson Massucco. They have released four studio albums with the latest, Enemy of the World. Four Year Strong will be playing in Singapore on 18th January 2011 at the *SCAPE Warehouse. Our Rebecca Lincoln spoke to Dan O’Connor about the band, the new album and the upcoming gig.
What are you listening to now?
I’m listening to the new Jimmy Eat World album and I’ve also been listening to a lot of older stuff I remember from high school, bands like Saves The Day and Coldplay.
Which bands have had the greatest influence on the band?
We’re influenced by a combination of a lot of bands. We grew up listening a variety of hardcore bands from the Boston area and bands like New Found Glory and Midtown. Our influences range a lot more now, from classic rock and pop music to influences from all over of the place
How has that translated into the albums?
It has helped us to develop our songwriting methods and it’s a conscious reminder to make sure we’re always pushing ourselves to be better songwriters.
What went into the making of Enemy Of The World?
A lot of things went into the making of it. We worked with Machine, who was our producer and helped hone the band in what we were doing. He helped us stay on task with the things we wanted to do and it took almost 3 years to put out the album. It took awhile because we were writing songs while on a tour but it work out pretty well.
What’s the songwriting process like?
Alan and I would work in a room to come up with the songs, different parts and lyrics. After that, it is brought to band and they can put their spin on it and give their input.
Which is your favourite song from Enemy Of The World?
That’s a tough question. I really like playing “It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now” and “Enemy of the World” live because it has fun guitar parts and melodies, which makes it fun to be played to audiences.
With your current touring schedules, will there be new material in the works?
There will be new material coming soon. We took some weeks off to write material in the studio and we’ve been doing a lot of writing now. We plan to record late Winter, early Spring and will try to get a new record out by next Summer.
What has been your most memorable tour experience?
That’s another tough question. We’ve been a very lucky band because we’ve had the chance to tour with lot of other cool bands and we’re going to tour outside of the States, going to places in Asia like Singapore in January next year to play for everyone. It would be a big experience for the band.
How do you feel being able to play in Singapore?
I’m so excited! We played in Japan once 2 years ago and ever since, I’ve wanted to go to that part of the world. A lot of bands that come back from Asia say it’s awesome and the kids there are so cool. The people there are stoked and have a great time at shows!
What can your Singapore fans expect from the show?
A lot of energy! The band likes to put up high-energy shows that allow the audience to feed off our energy. We want them to leave tired after the show and happy that they had a great time.
Thanks for the interview.
Thank you and see you in Jan!
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Check out the band here!
Thanks to Sarah Ismail (Universal Music Singapore) for setting up the interview.
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