1. Whose idea was it have the 3 surprise shows in one day? How did that go?
It was kind of a joint idea. Jay-Z and Fall Out Boy have done it in the past and we just thought it was a cool way…um, I don’t know, it’s kind of just a cool thing to do. We’ve never done anything like that before and it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose other than us just wanting to play three shows in 24 hours but it was a great time. And I wouldn’t do it again; it was pretty tiring. But I’m glad we can say that we did it. It’s pretty cool and Myspace got behind it and made the whole thing into a bigger event than it was originally. There was a lot of filming of it and everything so I think it will be something that sticks with us for awhile which is awesome.

2. I know this is only your second day on tour, but so far so good? Which songs are you most excited to play?
Yeah, I’ve been really excited about playing new songs actually. We’re playing a couple of the new songs from the album and they’re going over really, really well so far. The tour in general is great. I wish it was longer. We’re good friends with Cartel and We the Kings. The Days Difference dudes seem nice. So I think were we to have a long time doing it I think we would have a good time.

3. People are starting to compare you with Fall Out Boy a lot. Someone even went through this detailed comparison of your albums with theirs and fan reactions etc. I feel like the ways FOB and you are similar can be said about so many bands and people just compare you because of your connection with them. To me you two are very different bands. How do you guys feel about it?
I mean I definitely feel as far as our growth goes is very similar. Both bands have come up touring and building it from the ground up. Which is something Fall Out Boy did and something we’ve done. But as far as similarity in music, I think these days we’re pretty different. Having toured with them, like it’s refreshing to see that they’ve gotten where they are and still be humble and they’re really great people. Which is very cool.

4. With Blink-182, I’m sure a lot of people have already brought up the point that you guys started out covering them and now you’re in contact with them. I know it must be weird knowing them now and everything but in a way do you feel it’s natural? I see a lot of bands I listen to that were never connected before talk to each other on twitter and everything and it seems like it was just naturally going to happen in a way.
Yeah, you know with the internet and just bands growing up, it definitely happens. You’re in a small network. A lot of bands are fans of other bands so it becomes very easy like to meet and talk with people.

5. In the recent MTV article, you talked about the end of “Fall Out Boys” and “Paramores. ” You kind of got slammed for it but I agreed with most of it.
Alex: I think a lot of people misunderstood it.
MLM: Yeah, I was reading the comments and everyone thought you were making fun of Paramore.
Alex: Yeah, no, it was the complete opposite. I was saying that the bands that made that effort to build up their fanbase in a natural way… I was complimenting those bands such as Fall Out Boy and Paramore. I love those bands and I was just kind of saying that day is sort of dwindling I think. A lot of bands are just being handed their popularity.
MLM: No one who really loves music looks at bands like Millionaires and Brokencyde and thinks they’re good.
Alex: Yeah, no.
MLM: I feel like people who don’t really care about the music are being attracted to those bands, away from the more genuine bands. While it may not help bands financially do you think in a way it’s strengthening some of the crowds of the more genuine bands?
Alex: Maybe, uh, I don’t really know. I just think it’s a weird trend that some people are jumping on and unfortunately I think it’s going to last for a little while which kind of sucks.

6. Are songs like “Lost in Stereo” and “Come One, Come All” your response to the way the scene is heading?
“Lost in Stereo” not so much but “Come One, Come Call,” sure. I’ve never really been one to speak out about things like that because it’s not my place in my opinion. But I would say “Come One, Come All,” in the past was.
MLM: More of a personal response than a statement?
Alex: Yeah.

7. When I interviewed you at Warped ’07, you were kind of on the verge of “breaking out” and I asked about your relationship with your fans as you become more popular. Now that you’re bigger, have things gotten harder or easier with dealing with everything?
Um, I don’t know. We’ve never really paid that much attention to it. The people that get mad because this band is growing, I don’t think it’s fair for people to expect a band to stay small. You know what I mean? I don’t think anyone starts a band, well most people don’t start a band with the intention of keeping it in a garage. You do it for a reason. Like people who like to perform want to be in the spotlight and want to be in front of bigger crowds. The mission of this band is always to play the biggest arena or the biggest place. We embrace the success and don’t really pay attention to the critics.
MLM: As far as the connection with your fans goes, you said you were kind of worried about losing touch with your fans.
Alex: Oh, losing touch with our fans. Um, I do worry about it a little bit but less and less with things like Stickam and Twitter and the ability to organize private events within our fan club and stuff like that. Um, it does kind of suck that some people can’t afford to pay for the fan club and things like that because they do get excluded. But as of right now that is kind of the easiest way to take on a large group and condense it and plan accordingly I guess. We do our best. We’re always trying to come up with new ideas.

8. A fan asked if it creeps you out when fans ask you to marry them and stuff like that or do you brush it off?
It’s flattering. I laugh at it and brush it off. It doesn’t creep me out. I do get a little weirded out when people get hysterical just ‘cause I don’t get it. You know what I mean? I don’t consider myself anything special. So it’s something I guess I’ll have to get used to. But it’s definitely a little weird.

9. You’ve always been a band that promised straight pop punk/pop rock and that’s exactly what you deliver but in the beginning your music was rougher (probably mostly just because of mixing) and now it’s more pop. Did you decide as a group that that’s the direction you wanted to go in or was it more of a natural progression?
It’s definitely a conscious decision but it’s definitely also sort of just how we’ve grown up. We’re all big fans of pop. If you ask any of us, even when we were growing up, who were the pop band we listened to, it was never on the hard side really. It was always like Homegrown [and] Allister. It was always the “poppy” out of those bands. We didn’t come from a hardcore scene. We didn’t come from any of that so we don’t try to pretend. We don’t try to throw breakdowns into songs that don’t make sense or anything like that. So I mean, I think it’s a natural progression to sort of lead a little more “poppy” for us but at the same time we never set out to prove anything. With our last record we did want to make just a solid pop punk record. But with this one I’ve always said we through that out the window. We don’t really care anymore. We know and we recognize where we come from but we’ve done the pop punk thing a couple of times now. We definitely wanted to expand our horizon and step outside that comfort zone for once which was actually really fun to do.

10. Since the new album came out some fans had questions about meanings behind songs. Someone specifically asked about “Therapy.” I don’t think there are any misunderstandings yet, but is there anything you feel like explaining?
Um, not really ‘cause that one’s kind of fun to leave up in the air. I think one of the important things with this record is that people take their own meanings from the songs. I know what the songs mean and I’ve always been the first one to sort of explain what the songs are about but with this record I’m kind of enjoying leaving it behind the curtain I guess because I think the songs are so open ended that a lot of people can find a lot of different meanings from the songs. I think I’d rather leave it that way.
MLM: That’s cool. So overall there wasn’t a specific message for the whole album? Or what did you want people to get out of it, maybe not a specific message…
Alex: Um, there’s not any centralizing theme except to embrace your youth I guess. That’s one of the main themes. And don’t waste your time.

11. In regards to “Jennifer’s Body”, what is the song for the movie going to be like?
That song’s awesome. It’s one of my favorite songs we recorded during the recording sessions. It’s called “Toxic Valentine” and I kind of wish the soundtrack would come out a little bit sooner ‘cause I want people to hear that song so bad. It’s one of my favorite songs that we wrote. It’s definitely another different vibe for us but it’s a lot of fun. It’s kind of like Maroon 5 meets All Time Low. It’s interesting.

12. What was the MTV Unplugged experience like?
Really cool actually. First of all it’s incredible to be included in something like that ‘cause MTV Unplugged has been running for years and up till now it’s been reserved for bands that are huge like Nirvana and all kinds of massive of bands. Dashboard. And the fact that we were then thrown into that mix is just so cool and so flattering and I feel like we’re part of history now. Like one of those legacies that actually means a lot of the music community I think. Which is really, really cool.
MLM: What was it like crowd-wise?
It wasn’t awkward at all. It was actually a lot of fun. I enjoy playing for small crowds sometimes. It’s kind of cool. It’s a good way to connect with people. I didn’t mind it.

[random banter about the Paramore Unplugged, crowd setup, and how I got stuck in an elevator there ensues]

13. I know with a lot of bands diehard fans are familiar with the band’s crew but I feel like this is especially strong with your band like your fans almost treat everyone who works with you like part of the band. I always see people trying to get pictures with Flyzik. Why do you think this is? How do you react to it?
I think it’s awesome. I just think this band is more of a family than a group, you know what I mean? All our crew has been with us for a long time, well most of them. And when we hire crew, we hire crew we believe are going to stay with us. We had Geirco forever and Danny for a long time now. Matt’s been with us since the beginning. Evan, our sound guy, has been with us for awhile now but we’ve known him forever. Like he did sound at local shows in Baltimore. So it’s just kind of one of those things [where] we’ve made this more like a family than anything else. I think people see that and I think people appreciate that. They want to be a part of that whole thing.

Part 2: TMI

1. What would you do in the event of a zombie attack?
I would probably bar myself in Home Depot. Because Home Depot has a lot of power tools to kill Zombies: axes, chain saws, stuff like that. I would feel safe there. Or Dick’s Sporting Goods.
MLM: That would be good. Hockey sticks…
Alex: Yeah, hockey sticks and bats and sometimes they have rifles there if you’re in the South.

2. What was your favorite childhood television show?
Uh, I would have to say the original…no. What was my favorite childhood show? Probably “The Flinstone’s”. “Flinstone’s” was good.

3. In light of recent events, if the whole band got stuck in an elevator, who would be the first to lose it and why?
I think I would probably be the first to lose it. I hate small… like I don’t like feeling like I’m trapped. I think I would freak out.

[more complaining from myself about being stuck in an elevator at MTV Unplugged]

4. If you were female, what would you carry in your purse?
Uh, that’s a good question. Gum, because that’s always one thing I never have on me so if I had a purse I would definitely have gum. Pepper spray. And I don’t know, edible lip gloss. I’ll go with that.

5. Do you have anything ridiculous on rider or what’s something you wish you could have on your rider but can’t?
We have a puppy to play with on our rider but never get it. It’s kind of sad.

Word Association
Cat: Mouse
Camera: Shins
Robot: Chicken
Island: Love
Doctor: Pineapple
Friday: the 14th [laughs] Friday the 14th.
Secret: Valentine
Cereal: Killer
Switzerland: Mountains