INTERVIEW: MISS MAY I

Since their inception in 2007, the small-town Ohio boys that comprise the band MISS MAY I, have been tearing up the music scene year after year. They released their debut album while still in high school which charted at 76 and 29 on the Billboard charts, propelled them into the spotlight and out on the road – and they’ve never looked back. Touring almost non-stop, MISS MAY I have managed to defy and redefine the music spectrum, while earning the reputation as one of the hardest working bands  along the way. 

With the release of their highly acclaimed fourth studio album, Rise of the Lion, via Rise Records earlier this year, MISS MAY I has played on some of the biggest tours and festivals around the US and beyond. And they’re not done with 2014 yet…not by a long shot. 

Their headlining tour starts tonight in Little Rock, Arkansas with special guests AFFIANCE,  and they’re counting down the days to KNOTFEST 2014! 

We were fortunate enough to catch up with them prior to the first ever Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky where we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with lead singer and lyricist, Levi Benton, about all of the things the band has been doing thus far in 2014 and what they have going on rolling into 2015! 

MISS MAY I –  Interview with Levi Benton

MISS MAY I are: Levi Benton (vocals/lyrics), Justin Aufdemkampe (guitar), BJ Stead (guitar), Ryan Neff  (bass/vocals), Jerod Boyd (drums)

 

It’s been a very busy year for MISS MAY I. You guys have been out tearing up the U.S. touring circuit this summer. You were at Rock on the Range, Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, and now Louder than Life. How do you do it?

A lot of coffee! (laughs). We like to tour pretty hard – and tour our record hard. We’ve had some time off now, which is nice. It’s a nice break for everybody. It definitely helps.

Any secret to touring heavily and staying sane? 

Not really. You have to make sure you’re happy with what you’re doing, and not playing music that you hate. If you’re happy with what you’re doing, you’re going to have a good time.

Excellent. You’re still out there promoting your latest release, Rise of the Lion, which is an amazing album. I understand it was inspired by fan letters. Can you give us an example of a fan letter that moved you the most?

We get a lot of fans who have a rough time at school, feeling like outcasts, and they feel like they can relate with us over the songs, and it makes them feel like they have a place to be. We weren’t the cool kids in school, by any means. It’s cool that they can feel like one of us, and hang out.

Kids can be cruel. I was not on the cool kid list for sure. Have you ever had a close encounter of the third kind with a fan? Is there any bizarre moment? Fans can get fanatical!

Not really. I take that back. The most dramatic experience was in New York City. During a meet and greet, I got a letter from a fan. It came with this big envelope. She said not to read it until she left. I read it when she left. She had put her last razor blade in the envelope, and asked that I hold on to it; she promised she wouldn’t do it anymore. I’ve seen her again since, and she says she’s kept the promise, and now we stay in touch.

That’s really an amazing story. Now, Terry Date produced Rise of the Lion. His work is legendary – Pantera, Deftones, White Zombie, Bring Me The Horizon). Tell us what it was like to work with him.

Yes.  Oh my gosh, it was crazy! He really just wants to get the live sound on a record, which was really great for us because we’ve always been about that. Even down to the piano! (He did not let us use a MIDI piano. He brought in a real grand piano, miced it, and it was really great.) He made it sound like we do live, and that’s all we really wanted. He specializes in that. It’s cool to see the way he does that. That was the most fun thing working with him – not including his crazy stories from the past.

I’m sure there are tons! Are you all going to be part of his stories that the next band he records with will hear?

I don’t know. We didn’t do anything crazy-wrong. We just wanted to finish the record, so we worked nonstop, really. Hopefully he’ll be telling a story that we became really good friends.

What did you all do differently, besides work with Terry Date, from the first album to this album? I’m sure there’s a big difference between Monument and Rise of the Lion, experience-wise.

The main thing was that we really wanted to write that first record. We had never written songs that way. We just wrote the heaviest and faster songs. This time around we got to sit back and try to make every song sound different. That was the biggest difference that I could really pick out for all my records. I think it really stands out. There’s a slow song, a solo song, fast speed song. There’s a song for everybody on this.

MMI just released a lyric video a couple of months ago for “You Want Me.”  I read that this was one of the more personal songs on the record. Would you tell me about that?

There are two ways to look at it. There’s the perspective of the bullying. For kids who just get picked on, that’s the song that’s special. The other way to look at it is because I get so aggravated with Instagram and Twitter; everyone has an opinion on how bands should post. I get so upset and try to do my own thing. That’s another place where the song came from.

Miss May I – You Want Me (Official lyric video)

[embedplusvideo height=”350″ width=”600″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1C6zPIe” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/hlN3nIO8xXU?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=hlN3nIO8xXU&width=600&height=350&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep2893″ /]

With the lyric video; do you feel that you hit the mark?

Yeah. We really wanted to have more of an adult way to look at the bullying stuff, but not make it so cliché, with kids in schools and lockers. We used the imagery of fighting and pushing around. The modern thing to do for this was using boxing. Not everyone is in school anymore. There’s a lot more stuff going on.

How excited are you about playing Louder than Life?

I’m really excited because it’s the first time that they’ve had it, and I’m going to be a part of it! I think it would be good time for everybody.

Will this be your first time in Kentucky?

No. We’ve played at Expo5 a lot in Louisville. This will be our first time doing a big festival in Kentucky. Kentucky doesn’t get a lot of festivals, so I’m really excited to be part of that.

By: Alice Roques, Co-Founder/Managing Editor

Miss May I – Louder Than Life Festival – Live Photos

From the looks of these photographs captured at Louder Than Life by Peter Lizano of FallingFearlessPhotography, it appears that MMI enjoyed the Louder Than Life Festival, indeed! They rocked it like BOSSES!

Invalid Displayed Gallery

 Want to SHARE or COMMENT on these pics? Click on the ↗↗↗↗↗ or comment bubble at bottom /right of slideshow!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MISS MAY I’s new album, Rise Of The Lion, is out now via Rise Records! Get your copy via iTunes here.

MISS MAY I – Headlining Tour STARTS TONIGHT!

For tickets, information and to connect with MISS MAY I (click links):

TWITTER |  FACEBOOK  |  WEBSITE  | MYSPACE