Mayday Parade talks Sad Summer, tour injuries, & new music -- exclusive interview w/ Jeremy Lenzo
Emo kings Mayday Parade are one of the headlining acts for Sad Summer Fest 2022 presented by Journeys. Mayday Parade is our favorite emotion, and we are pumped to see them perform live this summer. Catch up with all that Mayday Parade has been up to and check out our exclusive interview with Jeremy Lenzo below!
Our Conversation with Jeremy Lenzo of Mayday Parade
Your latest single “Losing My Mind” & the acoustic version of “No Heroes Allowed” are just beautiful. What else can fans look forward to from Mayday Parade?
Thank you! We are actually releasing a new song “Thunder” in the next few days, and we will be starting up writing again this fall to try and get back in the studio at the start of next year. Hopefully we will have a lot of new music to announce before too long.
Amazing solo projects & song features have come from multiple band members recently. What has it been like to collaborate with other artists? What has it been like to branch off into your own music?
It’s always fun to collaborate with other artist. Most of the time you’re collaborating with friends who you respect musically so you’re really excited to work on it. As far as solo work, a few of the guys in the band have released some solo albums and I’m all for it. When we’re writing we are writing with Mayday Parade in mind, but if it doesn’t end up getting used with Mayday Parade, well then why not release it yourself. We all collectively probably have multiple albums worth of music from songs that didn’t make it with Mayday.
How has it been trying to balance your passion for Mayday Parade and the side & solo projects?
Well like I was saying before, Mayday Parade gets all attention when we’re writing. It actually makes it very easy in that sense, because you write as if you’re writing for the band and if it doesn’t make it, then you can decide whether or not you want to release it yourself.
If you could write and record a new song with anyone on the Sad Summer Fest lineup, who would you work with and why?
I would say Neck Deep. They’re one of the only bands in the genre we haven’t really toured with or got to know personally, but I always hear great things about them and I think they’re talented musicians, so I think we could make some cool music.
What are you looking forward to on this year’s Sad Summer Fest tour?
I’m most looking forward to getting getting to see everyone we know, and playing earlier in the day will be a nice change of pace from a normal tour.
Which cities/venues are you most excited about performing at?
I’m excited to play Massachusetts again. That was a really fun venue last time we played. I’m also looking forward to New York because we play on top of this really cool roof with a great view of the city.
Share one of your funniest or craziest tour stories.
I've been hit in the head by bottles twice in my life, and both times were at Warped Tour. Once was when we were just starting the band selling CDs in 2005 to the line outside Warped Tour, and someone chucked a glass bottle out their window while they were leaving the festival and knocked me right in the back of the head. Second time was when we were playing Warped Tour, maybe 2010 or 2012, we were playing on stage and someone chucked a unopened Monster Energy Drink that clocked me right between the eyes. Neither of these are funny stories, just thought about them since we were talking about festivals.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with your fans or All Punked Up viewers?
Same thing I always want to tell our fans. Thank you for your continued support, it truly means the world. Also, we should have some new music out soon, so if you want to check it out, there you go.
Catching Up with Mayday Parade
Lately, Mayday Parade has had a LOT going on:
7th Studio Album What It Means To Fall Apart dropped late last year
Toured Europe & the U.S
Played album anniversary shows for A Lesson in Romantics and their self-titled album
Derek Sanders & Jake Bundrick pursue various solo & side projects:
Jake Bundrick released an EP and several singles under the name Via Fiori. What started as a creative outlet quickly developed into a full-blown solo band.
Derek Sanders released a solo record & featured on various songs, including a track with Magnolia Park
Recently dropped a few incredible singles including "Losing My Mind" and "Thunder" (Check out Thunder above!).
Be sure to keep up with Mayday Parade & Sad Summer Fest 2022 on social media!
Mayday Parade: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Website
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