Citizen Interview

I recently had the opportunity to interview Mat from Michigan's Citizen. Check them out at http://citizenmi.bandcamp.com/

PPND- First off, thank you for joining me for this interview.

PPND- How would you describe your sound to someone who's never heard of Citizen?

Citizen- Aggressive, and solemn in a way. We like to play music that will keep the energy level up, but really means more than just that on an emotional level.


PPND- How's the pop punk scene in Michigan? There's a lot of bands I listen to from there.

Citizen- The pop punk scene in Michigan is great. We have some awesome bands like Bike Tuff that really give the scene a push. The majority of shows are hardcore/metalcore shows, but when there is a punk or pop punk show, it's never disappointing.


PPND- I really like how your sound has evolved from easycore to a more well rounded sound. What were the reasons for the drastic changes?

Citizen- The reason for such a big change was a change in musical taste, and different ideas being brought to the table. The first Citizen demo was written/recorded by myself after I had quit my previous band, and at that time I was really into the whole "easycore" scene. But, as I started finding members, we all blended our ideas together to push our music in the direction we are all proud of.


PPND- Do you have any plans on recording a full length album?

Citizen- At the moment, no, but we are planning to release a 7" this summer, and another split with the UK band Starters on City of Gold Records.


PPND- How did you get involved with Either/Or Records.

Citizen- Before we went and recorded with Vince at Skylight Studio, we sent him some demos that I recorded at my house. Rob just happened to be there when Vince was checking them out, and Rob really liked the songs so he contacted us. We're pretty happy about that.


PPND- I plan on road tripping to Bled Fest this year. I hope you guys don't play at the same time as Transit. How did you guys get involved with this diverse festival?

Citizen- Ha hopefully not! I'm pretty sure we got involved because we emailed the promoter about it, then he asked us to play a show up in Howell, Michigan, and after he saw us he just asked us to play. Which is great because Bled Fest is awesome every year and we love that we are going to be part of it.


PPND- What has been your favourite show that you've been involved with?

Citizen- I'd say our favorite show so far was at the Rathskeller in Kent, Ohio. That was a rough night for us, but it was awesome playing with bands like Transit, Hostage Calm, Tigers Jaw, and Louder than Bombs.


PPND- Do you have any plans on playing in Canada? Toronto's only 4 hours from Michigan.

Citizen- As of now we don't, but hopefully in the near future we can get the chance too. We haven't really looked into it that much.


PPND- What's the craziest thing that has ever happened on tour or at a show?

Citizen- We haven't been on tour yet, BUT, we have had our radiator blow up on the turnpike about 2 hours away from home on the way to Philly. This sucked real bad. Everything was going wrong, my phone wouldn't work, the tow truck took like 3 hours to come get us, the shop couldn't fix our car that night, and I broke a clothes hanger off of a hotel wall on accident. But, we eventually got everything situated and we made it to Philly alright and recorded our EP.


PPND- What can your fans expect from you in 2011?

Citizen- A 7", a split EP with Starters, and hopefully a tour during the summer.


PPND- Do you have any final comments for your fans?

Citizen- Thanks for reading, and check out The Fragile Season, Louder than Bombs, and Seahaven. Thanks!