Devour the Day member Blake Allison recently spoke with Concert Crap about many things about the band, including their new album, touring with Three Days Grace, and their loyal fan base.
CC: How did Devour the Day come to be?
Blake: The band started out of the ashes of our previous band. We were in a band called Egypt Central. That band broke up and Joey and I wanted to continue to make more music. In that previous band, Joey and I were doing a lot of the writing. We recorded a lot of material with our last band and we took a look at what we had from those recordings and formed Devour the Day. This was years and years of demoing out songs and we realized then that might be a different band. We were lucky enough to keep a lot of the same industry people that worked with us with the previous band. They were very excited about something new. We had sent out some demos and the people that had listen to those demos really enjoy the music.
CC: That’s pretty exciting to hear.
Blake: Haha yeah. It was all over one moment and the next day, we were back in it. It was [a] very, very, very “roller coaster like” time of our lives. Since then, things have smoothed out and we are working on another record right now. It is going amazingly. We are turning the corner on it so we are hoping to see it out in the hands of the people very soon.
CC: A new album? Is there a projected release date for the album that you had just mentioned?
Blake: The release date is still up in the air. We don’t have anything specific, but it will be soon.
CC: How is this new album going to sound and how will it comparing to your previous release?
Blake: The game plan was to focus on what was working for the band in the live setting. After two years of touring, we feel like we have a good idea of what works for us and what works for our audience. We focused more what works than the sound. The sound has changed, but we are not doing a disco record or anything like that.
It’s pretty cool. It’s heavier, bigger, faster and louder. The topics are more intense and more in depth. We are getting lucky enough that we are able to spend this amount of time on a record. We have a lot to say and we think this record is going to be amazing.
CC: That’s amazing. What also is amazing is your upcoming run with Three Days Grace. How do you guys feel about that run of dates?
Blake: We are super excited since we did a run with them before. As a touring group, you always wonder where you fit in and what other bands are you well matched with. We shared a lot of the same fans as Three Days Grace and on our first tour with them, we realized this. There was a lot of people in the audience that listened to us, as well as Three Days Grace. It makes it super exciting to go out, knowing we are going to do a full month with them and possibly some more, since we know it’s going to be a great show night after night after night.
CC: Sounds like lots of fun. Speaking of fun, what has been your favorite moment touring with Devour the Day and, on the flip side to that, your least favorite moment?
Blake: Good question. My least favorite moment is not being at home with family and friends. The other side to that is that we have been touring so much that we have such a good group of people with us and good fans. I don’t even want to call them fans since they are more like friends now that come out to see us. Fans are slowly becoming my friends and families. The best part about touring is the people that we get to see every day.
CC: That’s understandable and interesting. Surely you guys must have had some goals to get to where you guys are today. What do you personally feel is the ultimate goal for this band?
Blake: The ultimate goal is to create music that our fans can be proud of. Everything else besides that is what comes with connecting with the audience. Let me start over…The most important goal for this band is to make a connection with our audience and never disappoint them. That is why we work so hard to make sure our music is as good as it can be.
CC: Do you personally feel that connection is currently strong with your fan base or do you feel like there is room for improvement?
Blake: I feel like people that have connected with us have found something that they have really liked within the band and it seems like when we play shows that the audience that comes to see us are very, very, very passionate about a number of these songs. It’s like almost every time we play, there are at least a handful of people that come to see us and tell us about how our music has changed their lives. They say our music saved their lives and it helped them to get out of rough times in their lives and that, to me, is the biggest and best connection we can possible have with our audience. Even if fans tell me they listen to our music when they work out or drive their car or anything like that, the personal connection is beyond just a music listener. It is like a conversation between us and them and it helps them. It’s amazing.
CC: How is it to have half the live band comprised of touring members? Is it difficult that the band is really just you and Joey?
Blake: It is both easy and difficult. The difficult part would be that there is a lot of responsibility on Joey and I. The easier part is that what makes it happen is that the guys in our band trust us to not disappoint. It is truly a little bit of both.
CC: Well, you guys pull it off quite well. Is there anything else you want to let your fans know?
Blake: We just released our live music video for our latest single called “Faith” that is in the top 15. Well, what I mean is that it is working it’s way up the charts. Other than we are working on a new record,… actually, to address the previous question, thinking back on that, I saw the hardest part is that there is a lot of responsibility but the easier part is that it is just the two of us so ideas can move around fairly quickly without having too many “cooks in the kitchen.” This helps us make decisions easier and our band members trust us to do that. We very much appreciate that from them.
CC: Amazing. Thanks again for your time and responses in helping us get to know Devour the Day better.
Blake: Absolutely. I appreciate it. Thanks again for asking these questions.
This post is courtesy of Matthew Saunders
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