ARRRGH, it be rough waters in the metalcore scene mateys! Ya got hundreds upon hundreds of blokes chasing the same booty and so it’s no place for a scallywag in such a turbulent living!
Obnoxious pirate-speak aside, I was recently given the opportunity to talk to Luke Kilpatrick of Parkway Drive and was able to ask him questions. Being in one of the most successful bands in a scene plagued by mediocrity and genericism, I was interested to hear what he had to say.
To get things started, please introduce yourself.
Hi, I’m Luke, or Pig as my friends like to call me.
What was the last thing you ate? Was it any good? I had some Cocoa Puffs a few minutes ago. They were alright.
Cocoa Puffs are shit. It’s all about Cocoa Pops, and they only seem to be good in Australia, they taste weird everywhere else. Last thing I ate was a chicken burrito at Chipotle. It was unbelievable!
As we know the new record, Deep Blue is set to be released June 25th in Australia, June 28th in Europe, and June 29th in the US. From listening to Deep Blue as well as Horizons, you all (as a band) have succeeded very well in creating a very engaging, almost ambient vibe. How was the writing process similar or different to “Horizons” or other past albums and is creating these vibes a conscious effort or something that comes naturally?
A bit of both I think. We wrote the songs fundamentally the same as in the past but we definitely brought in some new ideas and writing techniques. Winston actually tried to write the CD lyrically as a concept album. Whether kids get it, or care will be another story. It was good for us to do it like this, created a bit of a challenge and a new way of thinking. Winston [McCall - vocals] would have certain ‘feels’ he would like from a song and we would get to write the song to try and suit. Usually it’s the opposite… Write the music, add the lyrics. Maybe this created some ambiance?
I’m also aware of some studio updates from the recording of Deep Blue, would you care to speak about how the recording process was for Deep Blue in comparison to your older albums?
Almost the exact opposite. The focus was on playing as a band, getting the feel for the song and tracking it as we played it. Rather than concentrating on getting every hit on the drums, every note on the guitars and every word unrealistically perfect Joe preferred to have us play the songs as we do. It really worked for us and was a fun and challenging time really. It was something different in the studio and we loved our time in there.
Now, there has been a lot of talk going on about your new music video for the song “Sleepwalker”, I know I speak for many when I say it’s quite interesting as well as out of the ordinary. Is there a message being expressed? How does it correlate with the song and/or album? Any sort of clarification is helpful, this video has me stumped!
Yeah it seems a little confusing. It ties in with the theme of the album. The guy basically realizes the world is fucked and the city exploding represents that. Our friend is this crazy graphics dude so I guess that’s why it looks cool. I like the fact that it’s different. It’s not a band in a shed or on a rooftop with complementing semi-hot girl walking or running through the street. Those are so fucking boring and done to death.
