Straight Up Random

Female Fronted Band Feature: Hey Monday

Interview with Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday

How has the [Bill and Trav’s Bogus Journey] tour been so far?

It’s been amazing. The stages are nothing like we’ve ever played on. They’re a lot bigger than what we’ve played on before, like the House of Blues and everything, so that’s a plus. And then all the bands are just so nice and welcoming. It’s just been a lot of fun.

How was playing in Ft. Lauderdale, so near to your hometown?

It was probably the best show so far for us. I mean, there was a lot of people that we knew there than there was a lot of kids who have never head of us before that were just excited to see us because we’re from West Palm. There’s a lot of kids that knew of us that new all the words to our songs. It was a lot of fun, and we were selling our cd; it was a few days before our cd came out and just because it was our hometown show. It was insane, kids were going nuts for us, it was great.

How have the other bands been treating you?

The other bands have been awesome! The first night was really funny. We found out that it was all The Academy Is… but on our van, on our windshield, there was silly string everywhere, and there was a note that said “Welcome to tour with We The Kings,” and then we recipricated and had a few fireworks in here; we had smoke bombs, and I went into We The Kings bus and I was distracting them, making sure they were all in there, and then I gave Jersey the go ahead and he put a smoke bomb on their bus which, you know made a lot of smoke and it looked like something with the bus, that there was nothing wrong. So we all ran out and I told them, crap, your bus looks like it’s on fire and something, and they were all freaking out, and then somebody lit fire crackers. Then the fire crackers went off and everybody realized it was a joke. And then we ended up finding out that The Academy Is… has TAI TV; it came out and it showed the behind the scenes, and what really happened, and it was Butcher who put the silly string all over our van. It was really funny, they tried to make it look like it was We The Kings. So, we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves, we’re still planning out what we’re going to do, but We The Kings and Hey Monday vs The Academy Is… right now.

So are there any upcoming dates you’re looking forward to?

Well for me, I’m looking forward to the California dates. I’m pretty sure all of us are. The House of Blues in Anaheim is supposed to be amazing. Also, my mom and my grandma are coming out for those, so I’m really excited to see them.

How did you guys make the transition from recording, to constantly touring?

It was pretty easy for us just because we knew that that was going to be something we were going to do for a long time after recording, and we just kind of prepared ourselves for it. And we recorded in New York City, so we were already away from home, and we already got used of living together for like a month and a half. So I mean, we all got used to being around each other 24/7. It’s a lot different playing in a different city every night, but it was a pretty easy transition, and we all love tour, so it’s not that hard to get used to.

How was the recording process for Hold On Tight?

It was basically us living in a little apartment in New York, and we recorded with Sam Hollander and Dave Katz in the Crush Management building, in the back where their studio is. It’s called Freshkill Studio. It was basically just knocking out songs. We actually wrote in April, and came back early June, and finished late July. It was just a lot of hard work and focusing. A few times we had weekends off, but most of the time we just worked the whole week straight. But it was a lot of fun. We learned a lot about writing, and a lot about the recording process.

What would you consider your favorite song off the album to be?

It’s really hard for me to pick just because they’re all the songs I love, and then there’s two that I wrote by myself that are really close to my heart, but if I had to pick one, I’d probably say, overall, I’d have to pick “Run, Don’t Walk” because I feel like it’s the best presentation of our sound, and lyrics and melodies and everything. That’s my favorite I think.

Which one is your favorite to perform live?

To perform live, right now, my favorite is “Homecoming” just because the crowd gets really into it and sing the words back, but there’s a few songs that we don’t play live right now, that are going to be a lot fun to play in the future, but right now “Homecoming” is my favorite.

How would you summarize your album for people who haven’t heard it yet?

I have to say, if you want to be put in a good mood, and you want to just have fun listening to our record, then definitely get it. We aren’t an intricate, crazy band with crazy music or anything like that, but I mean, it’s still from the heart, and a lot of people get us mixed up and say that our music isn’t very intricate or hard to play, so that means we have no depth. But all the songs mean a lot to us, it comes from the heart. All the lyrics are real, and things that happened to me and things that happened to people close to me, and we just really want people to listen to our record and be able to relate, and let it affect them in a positive way.

What made you choose Homecoming as your first single?

We really just wanted it to kind of be a soft single and let it out there, and not really push it too hard, just because we want people to slowly but surely get to know us. We thought it would be a good choice for a single and plus, it has the most plays on MySpace, and kids seem to like that the best.

How’d you come up with the concept for the [Homecoming] video?

A lot of directors sent in treatments and everything, and we like the treatment that Noah Sholeman, our director came up with; we added a few things to it, but we wanted to give off that vibe that it’s a homecoming show - a hometown show after a long time. And I definitely wanted there to be a guy in there that’s a jerk just because I wanted to paint that picture for everybody because a lot of people were getting mixed up on what the song was about. It is about you leaving home, whether it be on tour, or a business trip, or whatever it is, and coming home to someone you’re not sure if you guys are dating or if you guys are committed to each other or what’s the deal. And then you come home, and in my case, I come home and the guy that I guess I was seeing, or the guy who blew me off a long time ago is seeing my friend, so I get kind of protective over my friend, and I step in and throughout the video, you see him being a jerk to the girl, and checking out other girls, and everything like that, and then I kind of step in and take care of it.

How’d you guys get hooked up with Decaydance and Columbia Records?

Columbia actually came in before Decaydance, and our old demo was being played in the Crush office, and Pete [Wentz from Fall Out Boy] was in there and heard it, and he was like Oh, I want to sign them, and someone was like well, Columbia’s already interested, and he was like I want to be a part of it, so Columbia and Decaydance are doing a joint thing for us. I think we’re the first act to work on the same thing. It’s awesome. It’s such a good thing to be a part of, we’re real excited.

How has life changed as a band since you’ve gotten signed?

I guess everything, life in general has changed. Going from being in Elliot’s garage everyday, practicing, to going on tour and having a cd out as of three days ago. It’s like the craziest feeling ever, but it’s awesome and we were all ready for it for a long time and even thought we’ve only been a band for like seven months. All of us were in seperate different bands, and knew of each others local bands, and so we’ve all been working hard for something like this for a long time even thought it wasn’t together. Life has changed drastically, but in a really good way.

How did the band come together?

Like I said, we were all in different local bands, and I knew Alex from high school, we went to the same high school. I’ve known Elliot just from the local scene for a few years, and I’ve also known Mike since I was in eighth grade because we went to the same area of middle schools. I think I met him at a basketball game or something. Jersey came a little later, but school was over, and all of us graduated high school, and all of us knew what we wanted to do, and we kind of stayed behind, and everything was moving along, music wise, and industry wise, so we just all came together and we called it the superband [laughs]. I always looked to Elliot as an amzing drummer, and Mike as an amazing guitarist. Same with Alex, and I’ve known of Jersey’s past band. I knew all of us were musicaly capable of doing something like this and now that it’s happening, it’s just like the greatest thing ever. I mean, I’m in a band with all my best friends, it’s a lot of fun.

A while back, you guys had a contest on friendsorenemies.com for the fans to submit a new name change because you were changing your name from Blake. So, was Hey Monday really a name a fan made up, or was it a name you guys made up yourselves?

No that was a fan! That was a girl named Hilary from San Francisco. I don’t know her last name, but thanks to Hilary.

Can you give us one Straight Up Random fact about each of the band members?

Sure. Alex can’t go somewhere to eat without making a second trip to go get something to eat. I dont know, it’s something he does all the time. Elliot sleeps every second were in the van, in the backrow, and he snores really loud. Jersey gets chicken nuggets everywhere we go. [laughs] Or chicken tenders, ‘cause that’s just his favorite thing. Mike brags about how he can grow a beard more than the rest of the band can. I mean, he doesn’t brag a lot, but I usually say that in interviews because that’s the only thing I can think of. Also, I love shoes. I love crazy shoes. I don’t think it’s my thing but that’s something that I guess, I’m trying to make my thing I guess, like crazy shoes every night. I like to wear crazy high top shoes. I know it’s pretty lame, but I’ll think of something for another interview, and be ready and prepared! [laughs]