The Devil Wears Prada

Leading the charge of faith focused metalcore bands in 2008 is Ohio’s “The Devil Wears Prada”.

In the lead up to the band’s maiden Australian tour, Jeremy (Guitar/Vocals) was kind enough to answer the following questions…

For the record, can you please

state your name and what you do in “The Devil Wears Prada”?

Hi, I’m Jeremy and I play

guitar and sing in The Devil Wears Prada. 

I’m sure you’ve been asked

this a thousand times, but can you explain your band’s name?

Yes, I have been asked this

a thousand times… But we got the name from the book, before the movie,

and we put our own meaning to it. To us, it means that there are more

important things in life than material posessions. 

Was there any legal red tape

when it came to registering the band name? I don’t suppose it scored

you free tickets to the movie’s premiere and a chance to meet Anne

Hathaway?

Haha, no, we didn’t get any

tickets or anything. We’ve had no problems so far. 

Name aside how did you guys

actually get together?

Well, a few of the guys made

the band just as something to do, and put up a myspace for it. 

The 6 members of “The Devil

Wears Prada” are all quite young, was that ever an issue in the bands

early days? Did other bands or promoters ever give you a hard time and

assume you couldn’t cut it because of your age?

Always! We couldn’t tour

much due to highschool, so the band wasn’t able to be full time until

we all graduated. 

What’s your local scene like

back in Dayton, Ohio? Are there any other bands from back home that

you think kids should be checking out?

The scene is pretty good in

Dayton, there is an awesome band called From the Shallows from Toledo,

OH. You should check em out! 

Your most recent album “Plagues”

has quite an open biblical element to it. Were you (as a band and as

an individual) ever concerned that you could deter secular musical fans

from listening to your band?

No our lyrics aren’t really

that biblically open. But some with other beliefs might feel uncomfortable.

Christian bands are nothing

new but traditionally they seem to deal with the more positive aspects

of their faith, yet “Plagues” features a particularly ominous bible

verse (Exodus 7:12) on the back of the artwork. What do you hope to

achieve by portraying the more vengeful elements of the bible?

Plagues was to reflect the

fear and wrath in god. 

Obviously retribution isn’t

the only lyrical subject that TDWP cover, do you think there’s a healthy

balance between positive and negative in your music?

Honestly its more negative,

but we do have songs based on optimism.

A lot of bands have comical

song titles, but do you think something like “HTML Roolz Dood” might

discourage listeners from taking the band’s message as seriously as

they should?

Possibly, BUT we are not worried

about it! A serious message doesn’t require serious song titles. 

Your Rise Records debut, “Dear

Love: A Beautiful Discord” received an overwhelmingly positive response.

Did you expect the record to be as well received as it was given that

you’ve openly stated that the band “isn’t here to push the envelope

or do anything different” and that you just want to “write well”?

No we didn’t expect that

at all. 

“Plagues” showed a marked

maturating in song writing. Were there any influences within the band

that weren’t present a couple of years ago?

Yes for sure, we’re always

into new bands. 

TDWP have been able to tour

with an extremely diverse group of bands, having clocked up shows with

everyone from Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster to Whitechapel. What’s

been your favourite tour so far and why?

The Silverstein tour and our

first headliner ‘The Ultimatour’! 

Have you ever encountered any

backlash from other bands because of your faith?

Sometimes, but mostly no. 

In a few short weeks you guys

will be hitting Australia for the first time. What are you looking forward

to most from this tour? Have you heard any tour stories from any friend’s

bands who have been here before?

Im looking forward to koalas

and kangaroos, thanks to Maylene. 

What can Australian audiences

expect from a TDWP live show?

Hopefully good energy. 

What are your 5 favourite records

that you’re listening to at the moment?

Oh, Sleeper – When I am God

Underoath – Define the Great

Line

Anything Interpol

Anything Jimmy Eat World

Anything Sage Francis 

That about wraps it up, is

there anything else you’d like to add?

See you soon!

For more info on The Devil Wears Prada head to www.myspace.com/tdwp or check out a full list of tour dates/venues HERE.