The members of the California based band Stitched Up Heart are no strangers to hard work. The band has been busy since its inception in 2010 while crafting its sound which is a clever mix of rock, pop and punk. Their unique sound combined with their hard work ethic and passion for what they do has established the band a loyal following that continues to grow. The band’s DIY approach is not always the easiest, but it puts the control in their hands as they guide their vision of what the band is supposed to be and how it’s supposed to sound. With the release of their new EP Skeleton Key in May, the band is poised to continue their climb upwards. I sat down with the entire band before a show in North Carolina recently and we talked about all things Stitched Up Heart.
Mixi: I remember RockRevolt! You guys did something on us about a year ago.
Yes we did and thanks for remembering. This tour that you’re on with City of the Weak will have come to a close by the time this interview runs, but can you give us some insight on how it’s been?
Mixi: We all hate each other, but that’s beside the point. (laughs)
Decker: We like the people who pay us what they say they’re going to pay us.
Mixi: We’ve had a lot of people stiff us on this tour. It’s been really difficult when they don’t give us the amount that was already confirmed. Then, there are blessings in disguise where you get an angel, like the one who came to our last two shows and gives us $100 for gas, cooked for us and let us stay with them.
Grant: It’s kind of up and down because we get a lot of shitty people, but we also get a lot of amazing people as well.
Mixi: I guess the good people help to cancel out the really bad ones.
I know that has to be pretty tough because it would be no different than any of us going to work and not getting paid for what we do.
Grant: Yeah, it is pretty tough and here’s a true story for you as an example. We drove five or six hours to play Vegas and we were barely going to break even on the gas money. I think we were promised $500 and after the show, the promoter said he was going to the ATM to get our money and he never came back.
Mixi: There is an honor system and there was even a contract written out, but we don’t have the time right now to go sue somebody. Stuff like that happens and ultimately we pull through, stay on the road and make it work.
I think a lot of people don’t realize that stuff like this happens; they think it’s all glitz, glamour and living the high life.
Decker: Well, I mean it’s only Cristal champagne and caviar for us.
Grant: You’re right about that; those people really don’t get to see the flip side to that.
Mixi: There are a lot of people that I know who have families and it looks so comfortable to have a real house. We live in a studio apartment in Hollywood that’s $950 a month and then we go to these giant mansions for two grand a month and we’re like ‘Really? We could have this?’
Decker: I don’t understand what it’s like to own and need a lawnmower.
Grant: When we meet someone who owns a lawnmower, we are flabbergasted.
Mixi: That or a grill!
The EP Skeleton Key has been out since May. I wanted to ask you about the video for “Frankenstein”, which I absolutely love. Was the video your vision?
Mixi: The director got the idea for the video out of me, which is a love story. There’s the bride and a monster and it’s also trying to relate to the people who look like us and aren’t normal looking; we’re not mainstream and we get looked at funny wherever we go. People just don’t accept the fact that we like to wear all black or that the guys like to wear makeup and paint their nails. Frankenstein was a monster and all the normal people didn’t want him around because he didn’t look like everybody else and they didn’t understand him.
STITCHED UP HEART FRANKENSTEIN HD OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
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Isn’t it weird that we’ve come so far as a society, but we still have so much further to go?
Grant: Oh yeah, there’s definitely still a stigma there. Obviously, there’s little to complain about in comparison to 40 or 50 years ago, but there are still plenty of people out there who judge us and I just don’t get it.
Mixi: You can’t see him, but Decker has a Mohawk and has his face painted up like he just went through a car windshield. Things get really interesting, especially in the mid-West when he tries to go into a store. They usually just lock the doors (laughs).
Grant: We get the “We’re Closed” a lot as well.
Mixi: It’s fun to people watch the people who are watching us.
Grant: It’s great to catch them looking at us and then they turn away quickly.
Decker: I like to stare back.
Do you guys have any upcoming plans that you can share with us?
Mixi: We go back home for about a month and a half and get some rest. Then, we’ll go back out for another East coast run with dates in the southeast in the Florida area and also dates in the northwest in the Washington area. After that, we’re going to work on recording the new album and hopefully have that ready by next summer and then go back out on the road again.
Have you been writing for that already or will you wait until you’re off the road and then focus on it?
Grant: I’m constantly writing, all the time.
Mixi: He’s got like 50 songs ahead of us and we already have about 30.
Grant: Yeah, I’ve got about 50 songs that they haven’t even heard yet. It’s not something that you can turn on and off; when inspiration strikes, you write and if you don’t, you lose it.
Mixi: The only reason that we haven’t come out with three albums already is that it’s really expensive to get the quality recording that we want. We could give someone a crappy quality demo of our stuff, but we choose quality over quantity. We have tons of songs to choose from, we just wish that we could hurry up and get it to the people.
I know you’ve had some personnel changes since you first started, so how would you compare where you are now as opposed to 2010?
Mixi: I didn’t know anything back then; I didn’t know what I was doing and I definitely didn’t manage the band like it is now. We all get along and understand each other and communicate really well. In the past, there was negative energy within that was never confronted or addressed. With this line-up, everybody is really good about communicating and making sure to get things out in the open instead of letting it build up.
Ok, we saved the really hard questions for last; we like to call this true confession time. I’d like each of you to tell your fans something about yourself that they may not know.
Grant: It’s difficult for me being on the other side of the mirror and not knowing how people perceive me. I’m a bit of an introvert and I don’t like being around people, so I guess it’s surprising that I chose this career.
Decker: I hate raisins. I don’t like to eat them, I don’t like to touch them, keep them away from me.
Grant: Ok everybody, bring raisins to our shows.
Decker: I’m racist (everyone laughs).
Merritt: I trained to be a cage fighter when I was in high school and I did a lot of martial arts. I went to nationals a few times as well.
Mixi: He looks skinny and scrawny, but he can kick some ass.
Merritt: Also, this may surprise a lot of people, but I am actually 500 pounds; I just wear a lot of black.
Mixi: I have an obsession with My Little Pony right now and I keep accumulating more and more of them. Since everybody knows I love them, I tend to get a new one at each show. I really, really love Princess Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash of course.
You may have already answered this one at the top of our conversation, but I will ask it anyway. What’s been the toughest part of this journey so far being an indie band?
Mixi: Financial backing because a lot of labels will help bands out when they’re on the road, but we’re just doing it with our own money somehow.
Grant: Yeah, it’s not like we have day-jobs that we go back to.
Mixi: You can’t keep a job when you go back because they’re just basically going to fire you.
Grant: Who wants to hire someone who’s going to be gone out on tour all the time?
Decker: Or who looks like us and hates raisins?
Grant: So, don’t be afraid to give us money.
Mixi: Yes, money instead of raisins. So, the backing is the biggest thing. Of course, with the internet and social media, you can do this on your own, but that money that goes on behind marketing, PR, recording and touring is also really important.
Grant: Also, getting the right gear to make you sound half-way decent. I’ve probably spent $2500 this year fixing things and upgrading things, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is for me.
Mixi: Decker’s going to wait until his drum kit totally disintegrates into this pile of ash on the ground.
Decker: I’m about 60% there.
Well, I guess that’s a wrap. Do you have any closing words for the readers?
Grant: Yes, we just came out with our new EP Skeleton Key and it’s on iTunes, Amazon, etc. Please go check it out and buy it; it’s only $6, but that helps us out tremendously.
Decker: Check us out on Facebook and our tour dates and keep up with when we’re coming to your town and come out and see us.
