My American Heart are out on the town with the Explosions in Your Pants Tour, remixing Tupac, releasing a new album, and dealing with lineup changes and the stresses of touring. It's all in a day's work.
Dixon Christie
April 14, 2008
PunkTV.ca: Ok we are going to be talking to Dustin from My American Heart. Hi Dustin.
How you guys doing?
PunkTV.ca: Super good man, how are you?
I am fantastic. We are just in New Orleans today walking around Bourbon Street.
PunkTV.ca: What is New Orleans looking like?
Oh, it is great. We have the day off today actually, which is nice, and I am just kind of exploring the town a little bit.
PunkTV.ca: Can you tell that there was major destruction in it or is it all rebuilt?
As far as I can see it is all taken care of. I know there is still a lot of stuff that is pretty permanent, but it is hard to tell that anything has ever happened. It was five years ago but it seems like they have built it up pretty nicely.
PunkTV.ca: You guys are playing down at the House Of Blues there tomorrow night, so what do you guys got planned for tonight?
We are just kind of exploring a little bit. We are probably going to go to a nice restaurant tonight and then hit the bars.
PunkTV.ca: You just did a cover of "California Love" by Tupac. Can tell us about remaking that song and how did Punk Goes Crunk come about for you?
That was just a compilation Fearless records was putting together, and they just approached us and asked us if we were like to cover a song for it, and we were like, "Hell yeah!" We sat around and debated what songs we wanted to do for so long that we were just like, "We love Cali so let's do it."
PunkTV.ca: It is not a small production; you guys did a really good job and you made a big production out of it.
Yeah we had a lot of fun with it, and we recorded it with a friend of ours from San Diego and he is unbelievable at sampling and just mixing, so we kind of put that together with the actual rock music and it came out pretty funny. But we like it.
PunkTV.ca: The big news lately is your drummer Steve's departure. Can you tell us about that?
It was a pretty mutual thing to be honest with you. We were having some issues internally, and it is one of those things when you are together for so many years people tend to grow up in different ways, and we sort of grew apart from Steve and that is life for you.
PunkTV.ca: It must be difficult to maintain the quality of relationship when you guys are on the road day in and day out.
It is definitely one of the most difficult things in the world, but we just keep a positive attitude and stay strong so it always works out.
PunkTV.ca: So you guys are on the road now on the Explosions in Your Pants Tour with Mayday Parade.
Yes, that is exactly right. It is probably one of the most fun tours we have ever been on.
PunkTV.ca: So that has been a good time for you guys out with them?
Yeah, we have been just exploding in our pants.
PunkTV.ca: The new album is your second album and it is called Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather. Can you tell us a little bit about this record and conceptually what you guys are trying to do with it?
This record is honestly just about the experience that we have been through up until the point of the record itself. Just like I said, the whole experience of constant touring and doing this and that for a few years while you are under the age of 18, it really hits you in a lot of ways good and bad. Most of the songs are about us growing up in a band and trying to seek the positive in all the bad things that can happen.
PunkTV.ca: Now did you have all the songs written before you went into the studio?
Yeah, for the most part I would say. James Paul Wisner really brought out the best of them and working with him was unbelievable. He did exactly what a good producer should do. He took the songs that we had written, he didn't change them or re-write them, but he helped us make those songs really sing and come out the way that a good song should.
PunkTV.ca: Did you know coming out of that experience that you had something that was really great?
We were the ones making it, so of course we weren't going to go in there and make something that we weren't going to be proud of, or write songs that we didn't want to write, so regardless of what people are going to say or think about it we are proud of it and we did the best we could.
PunkTV.ca: In the song "The Shake" there is a keyboard in the song but not in the video. Do you guys take a 6th player on the road to handle the keyboard parts?
We have experimented with the keyboard and we have tried it out a few times, but actually we have been just throwing it in a sample while we play live. We have a few samples and we usually bring that up a little bit just because we didn't really feel comfortable with it being played live and we don't want to bring out a 6th member just to play like one part of one song. While we were in the studio the keyboard would be pretty cool, so we threw it in.
PunkTV.ca: So, of course, the band is My American Heart and the album is Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather. Kids can check it out at www.myspace.com/myamericanheart. The video and single is called "The Shake". We have got two questions that we ask everybody and the first is which of the following experiences have you had: have you seen the face of God, have you had an alien encounter, or have you seen a ghost?
I don't know man... I think I see ghosts everyday.
PunkTV.ca: Last question is what would surprise kids most to learn about My American Heart?
I would say our singer is only 5'4". We have a midget as a singer and nobody knows it until you see him. I feel bad for him because he is a great looking guy and everything, but he is so insecure and really uncomfortable with it and always out buying those shoes that make him feel two inches taller. I feel like he should be happy where he is at because he is a good looking dude. I think that is one thing that not everyone knows.
PunkTV.ca: Well thanks a lot dude.
It was good talking to you.