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Publication: SaintRocknRoll.com
Date: July 3rd, 2007
Title: Meg and Dia Interview
Author: Cecilia
Original URL: http://www.saintrocknroll.com/interview.php?band=Meg%20and%20Dia&date=2007-07-10
There weren't a lot of female fronted bands walking around backstage at the Vans Warped Tour this year. In fact, we only saw Paramore and Meg and Dia...or are they the only two? So while it's natural for us to assume that the girls grew up idolizing Joan Jett, the reality really isn't so...
1.It's hot on the Warped Tour; so was it hard for you to adjust?
Nick: For the first few days, yeah, definitely, because obviously we're not used to the heat because we're playing night clubs, you know?
[Something smells like pot]
Meg: What is that crazy smell? It smells like...that! [Points to some bushes.]
Nick: Trees? [Laughs]
2. How has this year been different from last year's Warped?
Meg: Last year we played in a tent and this year we played on a big stage. Last year we didn't know anybody and this year we know a lot of different bands that we've toured with. And just having last year's experience made this year a lot easier.
Who are some of the bands that you hang out with now?
Meg: Bayside...
Nick: BAYSIDE!!
Med: Anberlin, New Found Glory, Paramore...We only know one or two people from a lot of these bands...We just met a lot of them...
Dia: Mostly our friends are in Bayside and Anberlin.
Meg: Yeah. We know those guys best.
3.So you were touring with Bayside and Anberlin a few months ago actually. When your gears got stolen, they pitched in a helped out...
Meg: Yeah. I think that just being away from home and on the road, people just help each other. I guess it depends on the band. There are some douchbags. When you go on tour with a band like Bayside, who's awesome, they really help when things happen.
Who are the douchbags?
Nick: [Laughs]
Meg: We can't say...but there are many of them.
Nick: We've been lucky because the bands we've toured with have been really great people.
4.You guys were the MySpace band on last year's Warped Tour. What's it like being aligned with something like MySpace?
Meg: I think that's one of the biggest things that helped our band grow last year besides doing our set and having 20 or 30 people coming to our tent each day. I mean, just being on the front page for a week BECAUSE we played Warped Tour probably helped us get a lot of fans.
Nick: We were getting 10 000 friend requests a day, just because we were on the front page. Everyone would just log in and check out our page. We still get 200 a day now, which is way up there.
Do you get the time to respond to your MySpace messages and such?
Meg: Yeah! We respond them...when we are not on the Warped Tour. [Laughs] We don't get internet up here. We're actually really good about checking the messages and replying. In the earlier stages, we actually wrote back to every message. I think that helped out a lot in the beginning.
5.Last year, Joan Jett was the only female headliner on Warped Tour. Did you guys look up to her growing up?
Dia: No, I don't really like girl singers very much. I think she's good, like I don't discount on her. I think she's awesome, but I don't like girl singers.
Meg: I actually didn't know who she was. I know that song...but...
Nick: Obviously I look up to any bands that's giving it all and doing great things. Joan Jett, obvious, is classic, like everything she's done. I definitely do.
6.You guys are sisters. Would you say that music runs in the blood?
Meg: Yeah we are...but no, not really. I wouldn't say. It just sort of happened...
When did the two of your pick up music?
Dia: eight, nine?
Meg: She started piano and I started singing.
7.How was it like self releasing your debut a few years ago?
Meg: It was hard work. We only had 1000 copies so we had to self promote ourselves on MySpace and set everything up by ourselves. We didn't know how to put on our own shows and we'd just go to show and in the intermission, I'd go up to people and go like "Hey can we play right now?" or something like that.
What did you learn these years?
Nick: How to play together.
Meg: How to get along together. Never give up. How to interact with people from other bands. How to not sick on tours. Drink a lot of water. Get a lot of sleep. Don't stress yourself out...[Laughs]
8.I heard that your last album was mostly inspired by books. Is there a reason?
Meg: It just happened. I think that books are naturally inspiring to me. When you get your heart broken, you get too much emotion coming out of you and when I sit down and read, it's just really inspiring.
9.What role did Doghouse Records play in your career?
Meg: They're kind of like the springboard.
Nick: [Laughs] Kind of like a trampoline...kind of propelled us to level number two.
Meg: Yes. They discovered us and showed up the rope and was really supportive of us in the early stages when we weren't quite sure what we were doing or what we are writing, singing, or playing. They would always say "This is what our other bands did. This is normal, just keep on going..."
10.You signed with a major label earlier this year. Why did you decide to go major label so quickly?
Meg: They just made us feel comfortable and they had distribution that was right at the time and we still get to make up pretty much all of our decisions. I mean everything goes through us. If anybody has suggestions, they always check with the band.
11.Have you started writing new material yet?
Meg: We wrote a couple of songs.
Are they still inspired by books?
Meg: Not...really. Actually now, we're more into the movies.
Nick: Die Harder, Live Freer? Just saw it yesterday. It was like action packed.
Meg: [Laughs]
12.I heard that Dia has a project called Yellow Butterfly. Is that going anywhere?
Dia: Umm. No. That's something I do with my friend for fun. I mean we just wrote a couple of songs and played, just for fun. He has his own band and I have this [Meg and Dia]. I mean, if we ever have time or when we feel like it, we might write a couple more songs.
13.You guys are with To Write Love On Her Arms. Has suicide or depression affected you?
Meg: Depression has. I haven't been feeling suicidal lately...
Nick: 'Cos Warped Tour has been great! |
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