Closer And Closure

(10) Do You See Good Intent?

Parker's P.O.V:

"The Story So Far formed in the Winter of 2007, and I know there have been a few line up changes, how have you changed as a group since your formation?"

Sitting in front of a camera, the interviewer beside me asked the first question, and I thought for a moment about it before answering.

"When we first started our band, we played local shows every other weekend, just whenever we could got the chance and time. We were busy ourselves going to see the bands that we love, and our main focus wasn't on our band yet. It was still sort of a hobby for us. Once our senior year of high school came around, it was more of... 'Okay, what does everybody want to do? Do we really want to go forward with this and push it or do we want to go to school'. Our guitarist Kevin wanted to go to college, and that was totally cool with us. We were supportive in anything he wanted to do. We wanted to go on tour, to write, to put out a record. Kevin went to school, and our friend Will, who previously booked shows for us as our friend, was always ready to jump in on guitar whenever we needed him. After he filled in on some shows, we gave him the go ahead and he joined the band. After that, we all started writing. The way we changed as a group is just growing up I guess. Leaving the bubble of high school and going on the road for the first time and playing different shows and meeting all these new people - I think it's about growth" I answered, thinking back to high school and how we began as a band.

"Your album Under Soil and Dirt was released last year, and it's a lot about growth too. Can you talk about where it got it's name?" The interviewer asked, passing the microphone to me.

"The name for the record came from the things I wrote about. You know, a girl, growing up, and moving away from home and leaving my friends. I guess the name came from wanting to put everything, all those feelings, away - to put them 'under soil and dirt'. It was a weird title for it. We went through a couple titles, but that one just seemed to stick."

"One of the themes is growth but another seems to be the friendship among The Story So Far's members. Would you say those are the two main themes of the album?" The interviewer asked, and I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, definitely. I was sad and melancholy at the fact that even though all my friends were still my best friends from high school, we all had to move on and do our own thing and go away and not see each other every day anymore and not have that bond. It's pretty much those two that are the strongest components on the record" I answered with a small shrug.

"How are you hoping the next album, whenever it's released, will differ from this one? Have you started writing?" The interviewer asked with a friendly smile.

"We definitely have started writing. Kevin, Will and I have, anyway. We have two acoustic guitars we bring with us on tour, and we'll be jamming in the van before, during, or after shows. We've written a good number of parts, and we're waiting to get back to Kelen and Ryan to jam out. We love to write our songs collectively, so we don't want to write all these songs without them. We're trying to get parts and go and collaborate with Ryan and Kelen and really just make another solid album."

"You have really emotional shows. How do you maintain such high energy during your shows and how does it feel to have your fans singing the words back to you?" The interviewer moved onto the next question as he read off of the paper in his hands. "They get really into your music", the male continued, looking back to me with another smile.

"It's incredible. I used to be a kid at the shows going to see my favorite bands and I'd yell every single word. I remember the room just being filled with so many voices screaming the same thing. It was the best feeling in the world to be a part of it in the crowd that - I couldn't imagine what it would feel like if I was the one being yelled at. Now, it's a reality, and it's numbing every single time it happens. After shows, I'm always in a kind of strange state of calmness from it. It's awesome. I can't describe it. I don't know how to describe it. It's great. It just means so much to you at that certain point. To be able to connect with that many people on one line or maybe an entire song, it feels amazing, and it's just the best reward for all the hard work we put into our music, y'know?"