Thee Armada Interview - August 4th, 2009

Interview: Thee Armada

Date: August 4th, 2009

Conducted by: Brandon Allin (www.twitter.com/brandonallin)

Brandon Allin, pit reporter for Bandology/The Daily Chorus, had an opportunity to chat with Bryan Shelton, a member of the steadily-rising pop rock act Thee Armada. Bryan discussed how his band emerged out of a tough Houston crowd, their induction into Toyota's Rock the Space contest, and the release of their latest EP, Sweet Tease, which is available now via digital retailers.

Before we dive into things, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself for those who read this who may be unfamiliar with your band.

I'm Bryan (Shelton), and I play guitar and sing a little for Thee Armada.

Tell us about how the band got its start, the meaning behind the name, and where your inspiration as musicians came from.

In short, we rose from the ashes of three local bands that all coincidentally broke up at the same time. I was looking to get back on stage and play music. I knew of Brian (drums) and Mike (bass) from other bands, and I decided to contact them. We jammed for a while, and then picked up Taylor (guitar). After that, we were on the hunt for a vocalist. It took nearly six months, but after we found Josh, we knew he was the one.

We got our name from the Coheed and Cambria song "Welcome Home." We decided to throw an extra 'e' in there to make it just a bit different. As for our inspiration. that all came from not just wanting to be different, but something that says it all when you see our logo, or hear our name, Thee Armada.

From what I understand, the scene in Houston is centered predominantly around hip hop music. Musically speaking, did you find it difficult to make an impact in a city with such a dissimilar core?

It is extremely difficult in a city as diverse as Houston is. To make an impact musically on this city, you either have to make waves nationally, which allows for people to recognize you quickly, or be a part of the in crowd. Then, when people hear about you, they realize you're from Houston, and it generally comes as a bit of a surprise. With that said, we put a positive spin on it all by realizing that there are over six million people in this city, and recognizing that we can use that to our advantage.

As your band has flourished, you've been given opportunities to perform on select dates of the Vans Warped Tour and Rockstar's Taste of Chaos. Do you feel that being a part of such established events has helped open your eyes as a band to the world of possibilities in front of you?

It was awesome to have been invited to play both of those events. We learned a lot about how big tours worked, all about set changes, and the possibilities of what could be in store for us if we never give up on our dreams. With that said, we’ve had a nice bite, but we want to finish the meal.

You're currently a finalist in Toyota's Rock the Space contest, which will award the winning band a record deal with MySpace Records. How do you feel about that, and how can fans lend a hand?

To be honest, I had no idea it was going to be this huge of a contest. It's giant. Toyota has paid for full-page ads in Rolling Stone and other online magazines and such. As for lending a hand, it’s very simple. All you have to do is log in to your MySpace account and go to myspace.com/toyotamusic. When you're there, find the Thee Armada demo tape, and underneath it, click vote. Keep in mind that you can vote once a day, every day.

With that in mind, to what extent has social networking and the internet in general helped your band develop?

This is a new era of communication with the world, not just bands. Social networking has changed the way people live their lives, so we try and use that to our advantage by watching trends and seeing the way people move via social networks. With that being said, we also know that these sites won't be around forever, and if they are, they will most certainly undergo changes, so having a good ol’ website never fails. TheeArmada.com will be up and running very soon.

From what I've read, you currently have the most-voted song in a particular Houston radio station's history. Did you ever fathom your band would reach such a distinct level, and how do you feel about your accomplishments to date?

It’s such a great honor to have a local radio station standing behind what you’re doing. We were on their (KRBE) new music face-off for five nights in a row, where they pit the champion from the previous night against a new song. We beat Brittany spears after twenty-two nights of her winning in a row. We were so shocked. From there, we ended up beating out Fall Out Boy, Rhianna, and One Republic. In terms of our accomplishments, that one is up there for me, because radio is still arguably the biggest tool to “break” a band.

You recently released a new EP entitled Sweet Tease. How has the response been to the new material thus far?

The response has been great, but after writing the EP, we started to realize what our sound really is. While Sweet Tease has a lot of elements of what we understand our sound to be, it lacks in other areas, and we as a band recognize that. Nonetheless, we had a blast recording it all, and we love showing it to people.

From my perspective, you seem to be a band hell-bent on touring and spreading your music to as many listeners as possible. What can fans expect from a Thee Armada show, and what's your secret to winning over new faces on a nightly basis?

Well, for a long while, we were very hell-bent about touring and whatnot, but at the moment, our van is broken down. In the meantime, we’re going to stay home, write, record some more songs, and have Texas behind us 100% when the time comes for us to hit the road again. As for what fans can expect from our shows, basically just a high-energy performance filled with sing-a-longs, smiles. and rock 'n' roll. The secret is no secret at all. We make the connection with listeners. When they have the connection, or something to remember us by, it makes it a winning situation for us, so to speak.

That's all I have for you today. Is there anything you'd like to add before we go our separate ways?

Just a quick reminder for everyone to please vote for us daily in the Rock the Space contest at myspace.com/toyotamusic. We’d also like to thank Tim Towner for being somewhat of a guiding light in how we moved on certain fronts. He has supported us, and we support him.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us today.

Thanks so much.

Thee Armada's new EP, Sweet Tease, is available now via digital retailers. For more information on Thee Armada, please visit MYSPACE.COM/THEEARMADAMUSIC, or follow the band on Twitter at TWITTER.COM/THEEARMADA.