We haven’t been on a proper tour since last August so we are VERY excited for this tour. It’s our first full North American headline tour since the end of 2013. I think we are all itching to get on stage. Fans can expect a fairly diverse set list including some songs we haven’t played in five years or so. We are reaching back pretty far on some of these songs. It’s been fun relearning some old tracks. You won’t be hearing any new songs on this tour. We prefer to play songs people are already familiar with. I think that’s more fun for the audience.
The new record is actually finished! We did the tracking during November and December and have been tweaking the mix a little bit during the beginning of 2015. It sounds so sick. I’m itching to get this into people’s hands!
I think this new record is our most balanced album to date. It’s heavier than R&R but at certain gets more experimental than we ever have before. Jake Luhrs gave his best vocal performance to date. I’m really proud of what he was able to do. This record is our catchiest album ever, but it’s also lengthy with a lot of material to digest. I think our fans will really enjoy spending some quality time with these songs.
98%. We really just need to tweak a couple tiny things that no one who wasn’t actively involved with the project would probably even notice. It also hasn’t been mastered yet but it’s nearly completed.
We haven’t titled the record yet. We have begun those discussions internally. I imagine we will have it titled before long.
That is to be determined. We have a lot of material. I think we have too much to put on one album so we need to decide what isn’t going to make the cut, which is difficult for us. We kinda love them all. Haha!
Yes. I think there are a bunch of little surprises throughout this record. ABR loves surprises.
The process has been very relaxed. We budgeted our time carefully and had a few months off to solidify the songs before heading into the studio. Also, the record was recorded at Atrium Audio where we did Rescue & Restore and Sleddin’ Hill. It’s a familiar location in our hometown with producers we are comfortable and confident in working with. Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland are awesome producers and we’re lucky to have such talented guys in our hometown. We blocked off two full months to track the album which was more than we needed. As a result we were able to take our time and not work crazy days. We worked 10am-6pm during the week and 10am-4pm on Saturdays. Sundays were always off. It was chill.
We always track each part separately. We’ve always done it that way.
Heavy, Diverse and Catchy. If I explained why, it would require more than three words.
Well we learned so much about how a full time touring band operates, simply by being on the road and in the thick of it. We have literally been a family of brothers together for the better part of a decade, living and working together. We are closer than I think we probably even realize. We have learned how to work together to put on a live show, how to write music together, how to run a business together. Really, there is so much that has transpired between all of us since 2006 when this line up was solidified. I’ve been honored to experience so much with these guys.
HeartSupport is a non-profit that Jake funds and operates with the help of a small team of people. Together they run a website that is a community for people who feel they have nowhere else to turn. Victims of domestic abuse, rape, addictions of all kinds, etc. are all welcome with open arms at heartsupport.com. It’s changing lives in a good way and we are proud of Jake for taking the time to do this.
2015 will be a busy year upon the release of our new record. We will be hitting the road hard, all over the world. It’s too far out for me to give specifics, but we will be much busier than we were in 2014 as far as touring is concerned.
Lets end this interview on a different note and less serious…
Redd’s Ashes, referring to Jon Hershey’s dog, Red, who was burned alive by August.
I’m really into collecting and organizing my baseball cards. It’s a hobby I had as a kid and rediscovered as an adult. It’s silly but I love it!
I think I’d pick the song “Provision.” It’s one of my favorite tracks and is a pretty good representation of our sound, encompassing the fast, the heavy, and the dynamic, all in one neat little package.
JB Brubaker (twitter.com/JB_burns_red)
Brent Rambler (twitter.com/stubbornbrent)
Jacob Luhrs (twitter.com/jakeabr)
Dustin Davidson (twitter.com/dustinabr)
