Let It Happen – The Highwire Daze Legacy Interviews
Let It Happen – The Highwire Daze Legacy Interviews
Let It Happen – The Highwire Daze Legacy InterviewsOriginally Published: 05/18/12
From the press release: The Ohio based pop-rock quartet, Let It Happen, is breaking into the national scene with the recent release of their new EP, “It Hurts, But It’s Worth It.” The band teamed up with producer Bryan Beeler (Cinematic Sunrise, Chiodos, The Swellers) to create this 6-track EP, which is already being compared to early Jimmy Eat World and Paramore. Let It Happen is Drew Brown (Lead Vocals), Sean Highley (Drums), Michael Vogel (Lead Guitar), and Nathan Joiner (Bass). The band hopes to bring a positive light to a generation through their music.
Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Let It Happen, and how long the band has been together.
Hey! I’m Drew and I’ve been singing and playing guitar for Let It Happen for a long 3 years.. Ha ha.
Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We all live in Cincinnati, Ohio near the University of Cincinnati campus, but we play right across the river in Kentucky at a few venues quite a bit. The scene here was mainly metal for a long time but as of late pop punk and rock have been making a comeback. A few of our friends’ bands that you definitely want to check out from here are Belle Histoire, Mixtapes, and Aristo!
Is there any story or concept behind the EP title It Hurts, But It’s Worth It?
The album as a whole is really just about life and some of the things that we experience along the way. We tried to create a relatable soundtrack to living life to the fullest with ups and downs and nothing but honesty. Life lessons often come in very ugly packages but in the end we thrive from our trials, errors, and mishaps. I’ve learned a few of these lessons in the past years and the most important one thus far about life is that it hurts, but it is absolutely worth it. Thus, the EP was titled.
Select any two Let It Happen songs and what inspired the lyrics?
The two most meaningful tracks on the album to me are “You’re Killing Me” and “Hide and Seek”. “You’re Killing Me” really encompasses the truly bittersweet taste that life can leave in your mouth and how I seem like I can’t get it out. It portrays aspects of worldly attachments and emotion self-sustenance and how hard the two are to manage. I wrote the lyrics to “Hide and Seek” shortly after I returned from a trip to Red River Gorge with a few of my friends. The trip provided me with an abundance of clarity and rejuvenated my spirit. It brought a much-needed hopeful closer to the EP, and it comforts me to know such hope came from the love I share with my friends and family. I want anyone who hears this song to feel the same sense of hope and motivation to better themselves in order to have a better impact on the world around them, including those that we love.
What could one expect from a live Let It Happen show?
Just as we do in our music, we want to create a personal, interactive experience. We want to be seen as equals, therefore we encourage anyone at our shows to get involved whether it be rocking out as hard as us, singing along, dancing, or simply hanging out with us at the merch table or after the show! And whether I like it or not, I feed completely off of the people I’m playing for, so if you want to see an awesome show from us, you better be ready to be a part of it!
What kind of touring have you done so far, and do you have any interesting road stories you could share?
As of right now we have several few week tours and dozens of weekend runs under our belt, both independently and with some great bands including our friends in Squid the Whale, Aristo, and Call It Fiction. We played in a town called London in Ohio and after the show there was this shirtless metal head guy hanging out at the venue and he came up to us and asked us for a free shirt. Now, we aren’t against giving out free things, but he decided to sweeten the pot and perform a stunt for it. We accepted his wager and he went outside, RAN UP A WALL AND DID A BACK-FLIP OFF OF IT. Yeah, that kid got a shirt. Ha ha.
What other bands were you all in prior to starting up Let It Happen?
It might be odd to say, but we were all in and out of metal bands together for a while. It started with a band called The Grave. I played guitar, Sean played drums, and Mike did vocals and we were kind of going for a sound like The Chariot and other noise metal bands. After that Mike and Sean started another metal band called Beyond the Blight. Seriously, though, if you like metal look up the song “Colossus” by Beyond the Blight. You might be surprised.
What was it like opening for Hit The Lights and did you get to meet and hang out with the band at all?
We’ve opened for Hit the Lights several times now and I used to listen to them all the time so it was awesome to get to share the stage with them. They are all about having a good time and it shows both on and off the stage, which in turn makes everyone else have a good time.
Your video for Bridges is awesome! Who directed it and who came up with the concept?
And where did all the scene stealing kids come from? I don’t think I can even accurately explain how much I appreciate working with Moonbeams director Tim Nuemann and the rest of the Moonbeam team. Sean and I took some time thinking up the concept of using the kids to play adult roles, and Tim did a perfect job bringing our vision to life and the video came out better than I even hoped for. Not to mention the whole thing was a blast, they all have a great sense of humor and are fun to work with. Luckily, we had family and friends with the most adorable kids; the two blonde kids are Logan and McKenzie, my younger cousins. They had so much fun and I’m sure it will be pretty cool for them to look back on it as they get older!
If you could open up for any band either current or in history, who would it be and why?
At this point, we’re all currently on this huge Foo Fighters kick so I feel safe in saying we would all freak out if we got to hang out with Dave Grohl. He has such a hands on, passionate perspective with his music and consequently has made great strides on behalf of he music industry. Opening up for the Foo Fighters would seriously rule.
How close are you to recording and releasing a new EP or a full length?
We’ve all been writing a ton of new music for the past month and I’m really excited to get the demos all finished so we can try to head for the studio after touring this summer. You can definitely expect some new stuff from us come 2013.
What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most after hearing your music for the first time?
The only thing I truly care about is people understanding that we’re doing exactly what we want to do, and that we couldn’t do it without them. So in return, take whatever it is you want or need out of our songs, nothing more nothing less. We’re people just like everyone else and all we want to do is find a way to bring people together under positives messages, so if you’re listening to our songs or support us in any way, you’re always going to be a part of us.
Any final words of wisdom?
Like I said before, we get to do exactly what we want to do. Sometimes it really is like a dream come true and all I ever did was take a chance. So when you find out what it is that you truly want to do in this world, don’t be afraid to take that leap of faith because life has a way of working itself out.
(Interview by Ken Morton)
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