This spring four bands toured on the Monster Outbreak Rock Tour. The bands were Night Verses, ONE OK ROCK, Crown the Empire and Issues.

I sat down with lead vocalist of Crown the Empire, Andrew “Andy” Velasquez, to discuss the tour, the new album and band rituals.

Hofstra Chronicle: Tell me what the tour is like? How many shows do you have left?

Andy Velasquez: I think we’ve only got about a week, maybe a week and a half left. This is one of those tours that seems to feel like really short because everyone on the tour is really nice, so it’s just been super easy.

HC: What’s it like touring with Issues?

AV: Oh, kickass. We did a tour with them in the UK a while back and it was amazing.

HC: I love Issues, I’ve seen them perform a couple times now.

AV: Yeah, there’s an honesty about them. They’re not divas, they’re not too cool to hang out and that’s something I really appreciate.

HC: You guys are playing Warped Tour this year. What do you think of this year’s lineup?

AV: I’m stoked! Honestly this seems like the first time in a while that I haven’t seen many complaints, which is a good thing. It seems like everybody on the internet has something to bitch about every tour ever but I think it seems well-received.

HC: Well, you guys just finished recording a new album and you performed your new song “Zero” at Self-Help Fest, how was the reaction?

AV: It was surprisingly a lot better than we expected or we could have anticipated. We wrote that song as the one we wanted to put out first and put our best foot forward essentially. That one was just the best one to pick and it was fun.

HC: So tell me a little about the new album.

AV: It took us about nine months in time. It was the longest time we’ve ever had to work on an album. A lot of the times were, well, we didn’t really have a lot of time to reflect and think about it. This is the first time we had enough experience and actual life to write songs about, you know, real things instead of these fantasy stories. Before we were like 16 and 17, we hadn’t lived yet. It was a risky thing stepping out and doing something different and “Zero” was kind of the first step in that direction.

HC: Do you guys have any pre or post-show rituals?

AV: I’ll usually just have a shot of whiskey before the set. I used to get really nervous and I would just get s***faced everyday. But now it’s like a ritualistic sort of thing; I obviously now have had more experience and I’m a lot more confident on stage, so now it’s just more like the ritual of it. We also do this thing where we “heat it up.” It’s a chant. Explaining it to people is always weirder than actually doing it.

HC: Do you guys ever butt heads when you’re on tour or making new music?

AV: Oh, all the time. I’m an only child so I’ve never had a brother or sister or known what it’s like, so this is how I imagine it would be having six brothers. It’s like we’ll beat the sh*t out of each other, not to bleed but you know, we’ll slap each other around.

HC: I get that I have brothers and we used to beat each other up.

AV: Oh yeah, so it’s bound to happen. The thing is we’re so close we can work past any issue we come across.

HC: What do you guys like to do on your days off?

AV: Not hang out with each other. Sometimes we’ll go to the movies, stay in a hotel and get laundry done. If there’s something around the area, something cool, like if we’re in Paris obviously we’re going to go out and do something.

HC: Do you ever get recognized on the street or do people ever follow you around?

AV: One time I got recognized in New York! Actually it was the day after we played a show and we had an off day and I was walking around. I went to that Toys R Us actually and some dude was like “No way?!” and I was like, “Is this really about to happen, did I get recognized in a normal place?” This guy was like “You’re in ..” and I was thinking “Here it comes,” and he goes “Capture the Crown!” I was like, ugh not the band, but I’ll take it though.

HC: Do you have any advice for bands who are trying to get their music heard?

AV: Oh man, to start, there are so many things. It’s a thousand times harder than I thought it was originally. So, if you’re trying to be a musician, practice your ass off. That’s all it is. Just get [to] the best you can be and if you come across something then it will happen. If you’re in a band, social media is God now.

———————————————–

The show took place at Irving Plaza in New York City.

As a live band Crown the Empire completely rocked out and played a well-rounded set. I don’t think the fans could have asked for a better show. Hopefully next time they’ll be headlining and even more people will know the lyrics to their songs.

Make sure you check out Crown the Empire on this summer’s Warped Tour.