In honor of the 2014 Vans Warped Tour announcements, we have been reaching out to all of the artists on the lineup and arranging interviews. We interviewed The Maine last month, so our next artist is Tear Out The Heart! Check out this great interview with Tyler Konersman, vocalist for the band, below!
You guys, only a few days ago, released the video for your song “Dead By Dawn”. Can you explain the concept behind the video for me a bit more?
Absolutely! It’s really a song about insomnia. So the video itself isn’t supposed to make complete sense. It’s kind of one of those things where your mind is wandering, time is always against you. It’s really one of those things where I wrote down a list of things that typically run through my head while I’m experiencing a very rough, sleepless night. That kind of came together with working with our director, Eric Richter. We came up with the concept of feeling helpless and tied down, of not really being able to be in control of your own destiny. That’s where [the shots] of us with the bags over our heads shows us being tied down, being tormented, being teased by someone who’s got the freedom to do as they will. That’s kind of where the dancing girl came in as well, showing that we’re restricted by our own limitations through sleep deprivation.
You also just released a full-length album entitled Violence through Victory Records. How has this album been different from anything you’ve worked on before?
Our first full length record is the only thing I would really consider “ours” as a band. Everything we did before was pretty premature. Depending on the time period, it could have been a different lineup. It’s just kind of a collaboration of all of the current members of the band working together. Violence, for that time period, was the best that we could represent as a whole. So that’s why I would say it’s different. It’s also more well thought out and delivered. It’s just better all around. It’s more mature, and we hope to take stepping stones to continue to build from that sound.
Where does the title Violence come from?
Violence is basically, when you really think about it,… all of the most basic human emotions can kind of be broken down into violence. Like, if you’re doing something full-fledged and full-forced, it’s violent. Whether it’s a negative thing or a positive thing. I feel like the record speaks very loudly, and whether it’s through something that’s supposed to be inspirational and uplifting, or something that’s just depressing or down, either way feel like it’s delivered very violently.
The 2014 Vans Warped Tour is set to kick off on June 13. Stray From The Path will be playing the entire tour. What was your initial reaction when you got the news?
It was awesome! We’re very honored to be a part of a long lasting tradition. I believe that this is their 20th anniversary. I know that a lot of kids start their love for music at Warped Tour, and it’s such an honor to be a part of that. Growing up, it was the same thing for me. I love the fact that we’re being given the opportunity to share our music with the people who will be attending the shows.
The tour features an extremely eclectic lineup of artists. In your opinion, what sets you guys apart from any other band out there?
If someone were to happen to stop by and watch us perform live, I think they would see that what we do is very genuine. It’s in no way shape or form a gimmick. I feel like a lot of times, people will do music for the wrong reasons, and I feel like within twenty seconds of seeing us live, you’ll understand that we can bring something refreshing to the table. It may not be a different sound as to what other bands are also bringing to the table; we’re not doing anything revolutionary or groundbreaking, but the songs are there. The songwriting is there, the emotion is there, and the feeling is there. I think people will latch on and respect that. It’s not really about shock value, it’s about representing ourselves with how we are feeling, what we are about, and the audience connecting with that.
What kind of message would you like fans to walk away with after listening to your music?
That no matter what anyone tells you in life, you can be what you want to be, do what you want to do, and you can think and love exactly who and what you want out of life. If someone tries tell you any different, then they are honestly not worth your time.
What does music mean to you?
For me, personally, it’s an emotional outlet to the constant feelings that I have every day, the thoughts and beliefs that kind of go through my head. I’ve always been big on writing, and writing lyrics has been the best outing to my literature. To me, music is my way of venting. It’s my way of giving something to the world that’s mine. Something that I branded, something that I helped create, something that is truly genuine and different from what somebody else can do. Honestly, no two people in the world are exactly the same. That’s me. The music is me. This band is me. This band is also our guitar player, Josh, our bass player/vocalist, Isaac, our drummer, Matt, and our other guitarist, Matt. It’s living your life and doing what you wanna do. If they can relate, that’s awesome, and if they can’t, then whatever.
Tear Out The Heart
www.facebook.com/tearouttheheart
www.victoryrecords.com/tearouttheheart
This has been another shameless promotion.