There For Tomorrow

There For Tomorrow will be making their first trip to Australia next month as a part of the Soundwave Festival, as well as playing sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne with Sum 41, The Blackout and Veara. The band's front man Maika Maile answered a few questions for us about the tour, as well as their upcoming album.

Start off by stating your name, your role in There For Tomorrow and your favourite record that was released in 2010?

I’m Maika Maile. You’ll find me singing and playing guitar in the line-up. I enjoy and respect a lot of the tracks off of Yeasayer’s ‘Odd Blood’ album, but my favorite release was Miike Snow’s remix of Vampire Weekend’s ‘Kids Don’t Stand A Chance’.

Next month you will be making your first ever trip to Australia, are you excited about this?

Very very merry on the subject.

You’ll be playing alongside some massive bands as a part of the Soundwave Festival, what are you looking forward to the most about this?

Lurking Queens Of The Stone Age.

What has your experience been like so far playing festival shows?

If the audio is powerful, it all goes over very well for a well-sized audience. If the presence of sound is not impactful, it’s a tough miss.

Do you change anything up when you’re playing a festival compared to what you would at a normal show?

We have to accommodate for the atmosphere a little more with the bare essentials of being a band. In a club, you have things to hide behind (lights, fog, small surroundings). It’s a perk for us because there’s more to see for the crowd. We’re allowed to share the energy on a larger scale.

What can we expect with the band’s live show at the festival? Have you got anything special lined up for us?

Wildness, Energy, No-Autotune, Substance. We enjoy the shows that become an experience, due to the crowd’s involvement. We love the clapping, dancing, singing, but if the general interest of the audience as a whole is pleased, we’re honored.

As well as the Soundwave shows, you will be playing a sideshow in Sydney and Melbourne with Sum 41, The Blackout and Veara, have you played with any of those bands before?

Never! So adamant to feel out a show in Australia. I’ve only heard through the grapevine about the excitement of a small club environment over there, but I never trust the rumors. Looks like we’re not the only ones that have some proving to do.

Do you like playing the smaller, intimate shows more than the bigger festival shows?

The atmosphere is what really matters in setting the tone for a show to us. We could be in the most monstrous and extravagant venue situation, but if the sound doesn’t suffice or the interconnection is lost with the crowd, we’d rather hatch open our garage and play a show out of there.

You will be releasing your new album in the coming months, what was the writing and recording process like for the album?

Swift and barely questioned. When reflecting on what exactly happened in this writing process for our next, ‘fire’ and the imagery that comes along with it always comes to mind. We were amidst something totally out of our control. The passion and drive held the reigns, while we supplied it with raw emotion. The ‘fire’ lasted 7 days and produced 13 songs.

Did you approach anything differently compared to what you have with previous records?

Our previous records were more along the lines of a singer/songwriter showcase, carefully constructed bit by bit and month by month. Letting go was a huge inspiration with this record. It is important to us that we establish the live and true sense of a band, rather than the usual mechanical and bot-type records that come out today.

Are you planning on playing any new songs at any of your shows here?

Oh yes. By then, we’ll have the whole thing delivered and ready for distribution in the following month. We won’t have any lead tracks rolled out online yet, but we will be putting a few of the songs on display anyways. We’ve already taste tested a few on our FL holiday headliner run and they were pure highlights of the shows.

Will you be releasing the record through Hopeless Records once again? What makes Hopeless the best label for the band?

We shall! Hopeless has been very willing to let us accumulate what we really are. We’ve seen mini glimpses of sub-success, but we’ve always had the big picture in mind. It has taken years, but they believe that we’ve found our honest mark with this new music. 2011 is a new dawn.

Your “Re:Creations” EP that contained a few remixes and things has been out for a few months now, what made you decide to release that EP?

Our first full length had been out on circulating and organically building for well over a year. We began really finding a lot out about ourselves along the road of 2009/2010. The feeling of being pigeon-holed into a certain association of music was very unsettling, so we decided to do something left field to sweep that away.

Were fans receptive to the remix tracks?

Very. We made it known from the start exactly what it was. It was just a self-executed experiment with the qualities of our sound and the new offerings of technological music. It had a considerably large impact on our fans perspectives of us because it built our profile in their minds. They now know we do what we want because we want to, and it’s a blessing that they have followed our lead.

To coincide with your tour here Down Under, Hopeless will be re-releasing your debut album “A Little Faster”, with five bonus tracks taken from the aforementioned EP, what is the reasoning behind this re-release? Promotion for the tour?

Just to update the awareness and keep the story building upon what already exists. We’ve come to find that we have quite a few fans that have developed naturally in Australia, but we need to show for it with our first visit. A bit of back story goes a long way.

Do you have anything that you would like to check off your to-do list before you leave the country?

Finishing music for a musical venture I’m doing on the side with Chris and our friends in an electro-duo called Chromattic this week. Have started on developing the artwork for the new TFT album this week. We go back into stamping the recording process with mixing the album next week with Elvis Baskette, who produced as well. We’re also filming a live session the following week with a video director here in town to support the release of the record. Mixing a few tracks for my friend, doing a guest speaking at an out of town university in FL, kiss the family goodbye, then board a plane! Maybe I’ll sleep then.

Are you planning on coming back here sometime this year after the album has been released?

Once we pop, we don’t stop! We owe it to you beautiful souls over there.

Who are some bands you have been enjoying lately that we should be checking out?

Washed Out, Phoenix, Yeasayer, Grifta, Alice In Chains.

Do you have any goals that you would like to achieve with this band?

We’re all about keeping a certain motivation and integrity with what we do. We’re on the hunt to escalate that lifestyle into expanding this undying and loyal global fan base we’ve already created.

What are your plans for 2011 after the tour here and releasing the new album?

We’ll be heading to the UK/Europe with Silverstein directly after our Soundwave trip. Upon our return home, we’ll be in the process of shooting the first vid for the record. Touring for the rest of the year in support of the album!

Thanks for the interview, any last words or shout outs?

Thanks mom!

Oh, and…

Twitter.com/therefortmrw

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