Most of you are aware that Madina Lake is one of my new favorite bands of the past few years, and I was stoked to see them on the Warped lineup. Check out my interview with singer Nathan Leone after the jump!
Madina Lake is Nathan Leone (vocals), Matthew Leone (bass), Mateo Camargo (guitar), and Dan Torelli (drums).
I wanted to ask you about the new record, Attics To Eden. How are things going with it?
Nathan Leone: Things are amazing. One of the things that is kind of like a blessing and a curse with our band is we've had a lot of success overseas, namely the UK, Australia, and France, places like that. So we spend a lot of time there. Unfortunately, we haven't been in the States in a year. Nowadays things move so fast that if you're not constantly up in front of everybody...
They forget.
Nathan: Yeah they forget. So it was like mandatory for us to do Warped Tour. We really wanted a big U.S. tour that hit every dirty little city in the country and obviously we're very lucky to be a part of this. It's just an amazing event. It's good for us to be back in the States because Attics just came out a month ago and we just started touring a week and a half ago here. So it's like a big effort between the label and us, we're really trying to build the whole thing this summer and so far it's been great.
How has the response been?
Nathan: It's been amazing. We have this really passionate core audience. I don't think the kids that support our band are the kids that support whatever they think is cool on the internet or whatever they see in the media or whatever is the next big trendy band. That's not the kids that support our band which is great because then they stick with it and actually pay attention.
They're passionate and don't follow whatever the current fad may be. They stick with what they care about.
Nathan: Exactly and we feel really lucky for that.
LET'S GET OUTTA HERE
Madina Lake | MySpace Video
So how has Warped Tour been so far?
Nathan: Crazy. I really need to control myself.
It hasn't been that long, brother!
Nathan: I know! It feels like an eternity already! [laughs] It's our first U.S. tour in a bus, so we've gone from a van to an RV and now a bus.
I remember the van!
Nathan: Yeah?
Yeah man, each bench was decorated by each of you...
Nathan: You remember!
And you had to go shower on somebody else's bus! I don't remember whose bus it was the last time we met up. I wanna say it was Saosin or somebody like that.
Nathan: Yeah Saosin, The Bled hooked us up a couple times, Mindless Self Indulgence, they are all great people.
Do you miss the van?
Nathan: Oh no. That wasn't easy. The air conditioning only worked if it was moving, so like on Projekt Rev when we would get to the amphitheater at 5 AM whoever was up would just drive around in a circle so the rest of the dudes could get some air while sleeping!
Oh man that's not cool.
Nathan: It was bad.
Especially in Phoenix where it was like 130 degrees that day and you played at like noon!
Nathan: That's right! Wow that was the worst.
So what kind of set list are we going to hear tonight?
Nathan: We're going to do like 2 to 3 new ones and the rest old ones. We've got to make the transition slowly but surely. Eventually, maybe in 6 months to a year, we'll start changing to more new than old. Right now we're keeping it kind of old to appease everybody.
Click on the album cover to purchase Madina Lake's new album, Attics To Eden.
HEAD OVER TO THE PHOTO GALLERY TO SEE LIVE PHOTOS OF MADINA LAKE AT WARPED TOUR!
Check back tomorrow to read my final Warped Tour '09 interview, Buddy Schaub of Less Than Jake!
