Interview: A Skylit Drive

Whilst back overseas supporting their good friends in Alesana, Alter The Press! managed to catch up with Jag and Kyle of A Skylit Drive before their set at the sold out London O2 Islington Academy.

The guys spoke to ATP about their cover of Journey's 'Separate Ways' for the upcoming 'Punk Goes Classic Rock' release, plans for the next album, tales from the band's first trip overseas and more.

Alter The Press: How does it feel to be making your second appearance over to the UK?
Kyle Simmons (keyboard): It feels great, very stoked to be back again. The first time we were here, it was awesome, and so far, it's been great. We're just going with the flow really.

ATP: Do you have anything in particular you remember about your first trip over?
Michael "Jag" Jagmin (lead vocals): Something happened to me on the actual airplane, I don't know if it was on the way here, or the way back. I was going to the bathroom, it was nighttime, and it was pitch black. I was waiting to use the restroom. It had these two curtains that blocked off where they have the drinks and the food, but that's where you had to go, to get to the restroom. All of a sudden, the curtain rips open, and I see this women's foot sticking out. She was up against this guy in his seat, completely passed out, and he was like, 'What do I do?' Nobody else was doing anything. I took her off the guy and put her on the ground, and was shaking her, and even gave her a slap, and yelled for her to wake up. After that, two flight attendants came up, pushed me out of the way, and did the same thing I was doing. I was standing there, and so out of it, it took me a couple of seconds to realize what happened; everyone around didn't know what do to. All of the band were sitting in the back, and I went back and told them.

Kyle: I just saw a bunch of people standing around, wondering what was going on.

Jag: After I got to her, people were surrounding her. She was fine; she was just dehydrated or something, or way too tired, and just passed out. I saw her walk off the plane and was thinking, that she has know idea that I was trying to help her, that if she saw me, she'd probably just think I was a punk or something like that.

Kyle: There was another incident with Brian (White - bass) in Amsterdam.

Jag: Brian got way too stoned in the first hour of them going around town, in one of the coffee shops, at nine in the morning, and had just passed out. He cracked his head on a table, in a gift shop, and didn't get up for fifteen minutes. It was kind of scary.

Kyle: It was pretty gnarly. He had a pretty good bruise, but he was fine.

ATP: You are here supporting your friends in Alesana. How did you meet them?
Jag: Ever since we did this tour with them, Chiodos, Silverstein and Escape The Fate, in late 2008. We were always thinking why we never toured with Alesana, we both have similar fan groups, and a tour with them is pretty ideal. We were just waiting for a tour with them to happen, because we are both pretty well known in our genre, the same fan base pretty much, and it'd be a pretty strong tour.

ATP: You are featured on the forthcoming 'Punk Goes Classic Rock' album. What made you want to choose Journey's 'Separate Ways'?
Jag: Journey is a band all of us love, and have listened to, since we were kids. We didn't want to pick a typical Journey song like 'Don't Stop Believing' or 'Faithfully,' or a song you would expect; so we picked an unexpected, darker, Journey song, that fitted our sound more.

ATP: If not Journey, who else would you have done?
Jag: We probably would’ve never picked a song, because there were so many songs. At first it was The Who, then we changed our minds, we tried to do a Skid Row song, but then they told us it wasn't classic rock. Journey was the one band everyone in our group wanted to do. Other then that band, there is no other classic rock band we would have agreed on. Some of the guys wanted to do Zepplin, Foreigner, Boston, Kiss, and sometimes it's hard to get a full on agreement, but when Journey gets thrown into the mix, everyone is in full agreement.

ATP: In the summer, you said the band will be writing a new album. Do you have any ideas, or anything done, at this stage?
Jag: There isn't too much done right now, we have a couple of choruses and intros, written here or there, but I'd say, expect it to be faster and heavier, not more screaming, but a more upbeat album. We’re gonna try to learn from the songs that gain the most popularity, try for to steer down that formula.

ATP: When will you start recording?
Jag: September.

ATP: Will it be on Fearless in the US?
Jag: Yes.

ATP: Hassle in the UK?
Jag: I don't know; we hope so. I can't see why not.

ATP: After this tour, what's planned?
Kyle: A small headlining tour, two weeks after we get home. After that, we get to go home, have some time off and start writing our new CD. I think we might have stuff planned later on this year, but we don't know, it depends.

Jag: I'm sure we'll hit the road in October because we usually take the winter off; so we don't kill ourselves driving in the winter.

'Adelphia' is out now on Hassle Records.

- Jon Ableson