Interview: Forever The Sickest Kids

Prior to their sold out show at the London Borderline, Alter The Press! sat down with Marc, Caleb and Kent, of the six piece pop/rock collective, Forever The Sickest Kids.

The guys spoke to ATP about being back overseas, the concept behind their three part mini-LP series, being on this year's Bamboozle Roadshow, the first time they heard their music on the radio, Appletiser and more.

Alter The Press: How does it feel to be back in the UK?
Kent Garrison (keyboards): Like we were born from a different mother and now home in our nursery. It's like being babysat by Nanny from Muppet Babies (90's cartoon show). It's like England is the Nanny, and we are the Muppet Babies.

ATP: Which Muppet Baby are you then?
Kent: I was Fozzy Baby.

Caleb Turner (vocals/guitar): I was the cutest one.

Marc Stewart: Right now, I don't really care about Muppet Babies because I'm pouring myself a nice cold glass of Appletiser (English soft drink.)

ATP: Last time you were here, you headlined the Camden Underworld. How have your experiences with the UK been so far?
Kent: Every time we've come over here, it's only gotten better. I don't think we've had a mediocre show; they've all been outstanding to be honest. The kids really respect you for taking the time to travel over.

Caleb: The fans over here are more passionate about pop/rock and rock in general. In the US, I think people go to shows to take pictures; here they come to rock out. I thoroughly enjoy it here.

ATP: In the US, you've already released the first of three mini-LPs, 'The Weekend: Friday'. Is there a story/concept behind the, 'The Weekend,' series?
Marc: We wanted to have a lot of music come out really quick because we know how ADD we are, and we know how ADD fans are, so this way, we'll be able to send out a CD with seven songs every six to nine months, or through the course of a year.

Kent: It's a modern day pop/rock concept record. It's in three parts because we didn't want to release twenty songs and wait two years to release any more. We decided to release them all separate so that way, kids are anticipating the newer release. It's a more foreseeable future then two years down the road.

Caleb: It also gives us a chance to develop ourselves. We are always writing so, if we want to put a song out that we didn't have six months ago, we can put that on the record at any point.

ATP: Is everything already written for the next two?
Marc: The first one is done but the second one is being demoed out and we are kind of narrowing it down. We’ve got a lot of tracks written, but we are just narrowing it down to, 'The Weekend: Saturday,' right now.

ATP: How did you end up signing to Universal Motown?
Marc: They were the first label that contacted us. We put songs online and they contacted us. After that, a lot of labels started to but we felt like, them being the first ones, they were the most interested.

ATP: You recorded songs for, 'Punk Goes Crunk' and 'Punk Goes Classic Rock'. Are there plans for another release in the 'Punk Goes...' series and will you be on it?
Caleb: I think 'Punk Goes Classic Rock' is the new one and I hope they do 'Punk Goes Country' next. I'm surprised that hasn't happened yet, we are suggesting it now. It needs to happen. I want to put it out that Marc is responsible for 90% of everything on the new track (they covered 'Crazy Train' - Ozzy Osbourne). I didn't do crap on that song.

ATP: How did you get involved with the 'Punk Goes…’ series?
Marc: I love doing cover songs, and I met one of the guys that put it on at a bar. He said they were about to start it and I said, 'I want on it!'

ATP: How are you coping with the success of the band in such a short space of time?
Caleb: That short space is definitely expanding. At first, we were all kind of shocked at how fast we grew, it was a new experience that took a little bit of time to get used to. We're doing well now and loving life. We've written songs, been on the radio, we know how it all goes now. We are trying to focus on what we want for our next record now.

ATP: What was it like, for example, going into Best Buy (US electronics store chain) and hearing 'She's A Lady' being played? What was your first reaction to that?
Kent: The first time we heard it, was when we were in the van driving home to Dallas at 3am. We were all sleeping, then we heard our song blasting, our manager was driving, and we all woke up. It was crazy and after that song, Katy Perry's, 'I Kissed A Girl', came on. That was the first time I heard that song. It was crazy. I remember seeing the, 'Whoa', video in Journeys (US shoe store chain) and in Best Buy.

Marc: The craziest time was when we were in Calgary, and saw a movie at some random movie theatre, and we were standing there in line, getting snacks, and the 'Whoa' video was playing on the screen, in the most random spot. We looked up at the screen behind us, and we asked a guy what band it was and he said, 'I think it's the Sick Kids?' and we turned around and everybody around us looked at us and kind of knew. It was crazy to see our video in a random movie theatre in Canada. It's surreal.

ATP: That's definitely the perk of being on a major label.
Caleb: It's definitely a good date maneuver. I'd take a girl out, the movie would start, our song would play, and I'd be like, 'I had no idea this would happen!'

ATP; You've just been announced to play on this year's Bamboozle Roadshow across the US with All Time Low and Boys Like Girls. Big tour, big shows and a huge line-up. Who approached who?
Marc: I think our booking agent helped us book all the Bamboozle stuff. We did the Roadshow last year, so we kind of had a shoe in there.

Caleb: That's how we got on. We have a good relationship with Bamboozle.

Kent: We've been meaning to tour with Boys Like Girls and Good Charlotte for a long time. It's just about timing.

ATP: Do you think it's quite surreal looking at the line-up and seeing yourselves higher then bands like Good Charlotte?
Caleb: It's weird to see Simple Plan's name smaller then our name on a flyer. I thought I'd never see the day. We used to see them in the seventh grade.

Marc: Good Charlotte and Hanson, you know.

Caleb: One of my first shows were Good Charlotte. I saw them at Warped Tour and I was thinking, 'Holy crap, this is incredible.' Just the fact we are playing with them is a gigantic step forward. We're excited.

ATP: What's the plan for the rest of the year?
Marc: After this tour, we are going to record, 'The Weekend: Saturday', going to Brazil, the Bamboozle Roadshow and after that, we don't have anything locked in.

ATP: Have you got plans to do a full headline run of the UK?
Marc: After this run, yes.

Kent: We definitely owe the UK, Australia and Japan a headline tour. Hopefully in the fall, or late summer, we can do something like that.

ATP: Thank you guys.
Marc: I would like to add: 'Not only is Appletiser an alcohol free alternative, unlike champagne, it counts towards your five-a-day.'

'The Weekend: Friday' is out in the UK on March 29th via Universal Motown.

- Jon Ableson