Set Your Goals Interview - July 18th, 2009

Interview: Set Your Goals
Date: July 18th, 2009
Venue: The Reverb, Toronto, ON
Conducted by: Brandon Allin

Brandon Allin, pit reporter for The Daily Chorus, had an opportunity to sit down with members of the punk rock sextet Set Your Goals before their performance in Toronto on July 18th, 2009. The band discussed their sudden, yet unexpected emergence onto the scene, their history as a touring band, and the release of their new record, This Will Be the Death of Us, which is available in stores now via Epitaph Records.

I'm sitting here with two of the guys from the punk rock powerhouse Set Your Goals. How are you folks doing today?

JS: Not bad at all.

JB: I'm doing great. We're happy to be in Toronto.

We're happy to have you here. Before we get started, why don't the two of you go ahead and introduce yourselves for those unfamiliar with your band.

JS: I'm Joe (Saucedo), and I play bass for Set Your Goals.

JB: I'm Jordan (Brown), and I am one of the co-vocalists for Set Your Goals.

We're a little under a week into this tour, where you're joined by the likes of Four Year Strong, Fireworks, The Swellers, Polar Bear Club, and the list goes on. How have things been going thus far?

JS: It's been great so far. When we kicked things off, it didn't feel like a tour at all. It felt more like an excuse to hang out with a bunch of close friends. With that said, the shows have been fucking awesome; Four Year Strong are killing it. We played in Chicago and Detroit the last couple of nights, and the crowds were insane.

What can the kids who come out to these shows expect to see from your performance on a nightly basis?

JB: Lots of energy from all the bands on this tour. The room is filled with an intense vibe for probably 3-4 hours every night. From our set, you can expect to hear a lot of new songs. I'd say about half of the set is made up of new material, and the other half is old songs. We're just trying to spread the word on the new music we've written, and hopefully people get into it like they did with Mutiny!

Do you prefer organizing and routing your own tour in the summer, as opposed to something like Warped Tour?

JS: I think we definitely prefer it this way. We get to bring up the towns and cities we're interested in playing, and our booking agent tries to work around that. On the other hand, being on Warped Tour is kind of like a constant headache. It's always so hot, and you're constantly working, so it's a little bit draining. This way, we kind of get to do our own thing and hang out in different cities every night.

Your debut full-length, Mutiny!, garnered a pretty incredible response upon release. Was that kind of recognition and success something you expected, or did it all come as more of a surprise?

JB: In part, it was definitely a surprise. We had no idea it was going to take off the way it did. When we were writing the album, all we wanted to do was tour and play shows. We were psyched enough on the music ourselves, that through our own excitement over our material other people started to take notice, and it all kind of just escalated from there.

You have a new record entitled This Will Be the Death of Us prepped to hit shelves on July 21st via Epitaph Records. What can fans expect from your sophomore effort?

JS: I think it's a more mature record, from which you can expect very similar lyrical content. We've always been about having a good time, but at the same time, expressing what's on our minds. With that said, the musicianship is definitely miles ahead of where it was. The songs are faster, and a lot heavier at times. It's more mature, but it still has the whole Set Your Goals vibe to it.

From what I understand, you had a handful of guests lending their vocals to the album, including Jon Gula from Turmoil, Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory, Vinnie Caruana from I Am the Avalanche, and Hayley Williams from Paramore. Did they come to you expressing an interest to join forces, or how did you go about selecting who you wanted to appear on the record?

JB: Well, we're all such good friends with everyone, we approached each of them individually and invited them to hop aboard. They all knew what we were up to, cooped up in the studio working on the record. As far as deciding who appeared on the album, we kind of just thought to ourselves about whose voices would sound cool where as we were developing the songs. We'd write a part, and then an idea of having someone make an appearance would pop into our heads. It was a lot of fun, because everybody was really excited when they were recording their parts. Hayley, Jon, and Vinnie did their parts in other studios, and Chad and I worked on his part in the studio with Mike (Green).

In the past, you've drawn what feels like endless comparisons to Four Year Strong. How do you feel about those, and do you think This Will Be the Death of Us will help to further bridge the gap between the two bands?

JS: It's interesting you say that, because we feel like everyone who listens to our bands is constantly trying to compare one another. It's like there's always been a tiny bit of tension between the two bands, which has nothing to do with any of us, but because of what people say about our bands. With that said, I don't find that we're clones of each other or anything along those lines. To me, we have two entirely different sounds. Not to mention, they're from the Boston area, and we're from California.

JB: As for the new record, I think it will help separate us a little more, and I also think that their new record will have a similar effect. I think we're both developing our own sounds. However, musically, we both come from the same backgrounds, so there's always going to be slight similarities between the two. With that said, we're both slowly establishing our own identities. It will be cool to look back in a few years on how we were both apart of the same scene, but we both went on to do our own things.

Musically speaking, you seem to blend punk rock, hardcore, and pop punk almost seamlessly. Is that kind of diversity in your sound something you strive for when writing a new album?

JB: Definitely. We want to write music that's a lot of fun to play, so whatever we're having fun listening to ourselves, that is what is going to make it onto our records. I think our sound just kind of comes together itself through the wide array of music we all listen to. With this new record, I think every song holds it own. Mutiny! was more of a cohesive effort, whereas here if you take a song like "Gaia Bleeds," which is heavy and intense, and holds a powerful message, and then you skip to the second to last trick, it's made up of nothing but an electric and acoustic guitar. We wanted to focus on one sound per song, not a set sound for the album as a whole.

Earlier this year, you inked a deal with Epitaph Records. What fueled the decision to sign there?

JS: For us, I think it was kind of a no-brainer. We had other options, but everyone in our band has been listening to Epitaph's roster for years now, and we wanted to be a part of that. Not to mention, Brett Gurewitz has been an amazing guy since day one, and everyone else who works there are great people who are willing to work just as hard as we are. We love that they put the same amount of attention into their roster as an entirety, whereas other labels might just primarily focus on one band. They're just a hardworking label, and with Brett being in Bad Religion, he knows what it's like to be in a touring band. That's why for me it felt like a no-brainer.

When you found yourselves as free agents, were there a handful of labels trying to scoop you up?

JB: Not really. The only other label that has ever really looked out for us was Fueled by Ramen. John Janick has been behind our band since the very beginning. For a while, we wanted to see if we could work something out with them, but signing with Epitaph felt right from a musical perspective. Not to mention, as Joe said, all of the people there are a lot of fun to work with.

You folks joined New Found Glory earlier this year on their headlining tour. How did it feel to share the stage with arguably the undisputed kings of modern pop punk night after night?

JS: It was amazing. We've become pretty close friends with the guys in New Found Glory over the years, but it's still kind of crazy to think about, considering the reputation and success they had built for themselves while we were growing up. Not to mention, they are a lot of fun to watch every night. They put on an unbelievable show. It seems like no matter what kind of days they're having, as soon as they hit the stage the music speaks entirely for itself. They have crowds hyped from the minute the first chord hits to the very end. It was an honor to go out with them.

With that in mind, is there anyone in particular you're itching to tour with?

JB: Well, we've already had the opportunity to tour with so many great bands, it's hard to think of someone. In fact, I could probably list every band we've ever played with if I tried to. For the most part, we've played with every band we've ever wanted to, including Less than Jake, Anti-Flag, Gorilla Biscuits, Paramore, Lifetime, Crime in Stereo, No Trigger, and the list goes on. With that said, it would be exciting to go out with somebody like Jimmy Eat World or The Offspring, or someone like that.

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

JS: If you haven't already, check out the new Fireworks record. It's been out for a little bit already, but it's definitely one that will grow on you. Also, The Swellers have a new album coming out pretty soon on Fueled by Ramen, and Four Year Strong are putting out a cover record in a couple of days. Lastly, take a listen to Smartbomb, a band from Worcester who are good friends with Four Year Strong.

JB: Also, check out Canada's own, Grave Maker. They're on this tour, and they've been killing it every night.

Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us today.

JB: Thank you.

JS: Thanks a lot.

Set Your Goals' new album, This Will Be the Death of Us, is available in stores worldwide courtesy of Epitaph Records. For more information Set Your Goals, please visit MYSPACE.COM/SETYOURGOALS, or follow the band on Twitter at TWITTER.COM/THEREALSYG.

The Daily Chorus would like to extend our utmost gratification to Juan Ramirez for his hard work in coordinating this interview.