Pierce The Veil has released one of the year’s most discussed records. After a long wait for its release, the group says it's grateful for its fans, and for each other.
San Diego-based band Pierce The Veil released the album Misadventures in May of this year after an extended wait. Bassist Jaime Preciado says that the record’s title came, in part, from the start-and-stop approach to recording that the group went through this time.
"It took us a really long time to finish this record," he says. "We kept taking side steps and side steps, whether it was writing two songs in the studio from scratch when we had no idea we were doing that to having a tour booked in the middle of the recording sessions. Things like that kept happening that were so unorthodox for us. We had this plan [when we started] and it just went haywire."
The San Diego-based quartet was formed a decade ago. In an industry where many acts don't make it to the 10-year mark, Preciado says he knows that his band is lucky. He adds that he and his bandmates still see plenty of goals on the horizon.
"It's so funny because everyone's like, 'Man! You guys are veterans.' It's so funny because I still feel like a kid," he says. "I still feel like a child in this industry as far as what we want to do. There's so much more that we want to accomplish. Ten years is a long time, don't get me wrong, but a lot of that time was us learning the band that we're supposed to be and the band that we're trying to be."
He continues, "It's always hard, especially when you're a younger band and the main thing is touring and opening up for other bands and trying to build a fan base. Now it's more about keeping that fan base and keeping them surprised and keeping them on their toes. The more shows you play, the more it forces you to be creative and really step up your live game. That's how I feel every band should look at that. It's not about playing the same songs, again and again, every time. It's about you reinventing your show and making it really entertaining."
Not only has Pierce The Veil been a band for a decade, but it's also been a band that has not undergone any lineup changes in that time. From the start, Preciado says, the members verbalized their commitment to keeping the group together.
"I don't know what restaurant we were at or what diner we were at, but we all sat down and started chatting about what we wanted to get out of this band when we were young," Preciado recalls. "We said, 'You know what? If we're all going to do this, we all have to go 100 percent. Full commitment. Full force and not hold anything back. I think that was the moment we all realized that we were in it for the long haul."
He adds, "I think it's a good thing to put out there. A lot of bands, these days, I think, whether they know it or not, are on different paths. They don't know each other's paths very well. You get three or four years down the line and all of a sudden the band starts splitting up just because the ideas were different. So it was really lucky to have that kind of conversation and get so lucky and be where we're at today."
When Misadventures appeared online and in stores earlier this year, it was greeted by a very receptive audience, one that sent the album to the top of several charts, including peak positions for rock and independent albums. It also made it to number four on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart. Preciado says that he's thankful for the fans who waited for the record to arrive. Though, he says, they were sometimes less than patient. Almost daily, Preciado notes, there were fans posting to the band's social media sites with one question:
"There'd be kids just saying, 'Where's the record? Where's the record?' Hounding us. At the time I was, like, 'This is rough.' But then in the grand scheme of things, you think about it and go, 'Man, those are real fans. They're foaming at the mouth for this new record because they want it.' It would be a different story if people didn't say a word but the fact that they were hounding us for this record meant that we had to finish the record because that's how loyal are fans are."
Pierce The Veil has come to be known for more than its music in the last decade. More than a few critics and fans have taken note of the group's humor.
"You have to find humor in things because otherwise the industry, the touring, all of that will just eat you alive. You have to have a smile on your face. I've seen so many friends of mine – in bands, musicians – that would kill for this opportunity. You gotta smile and really enjoy it. I think that comes from us being who we really are. It's always sunny, man, we have nothing to complain about."
Pierce The Veil performs at The Cotillion Ballroom on Monday evening. The group's latest album, Misadventures, is out now.
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Jedd Beaudoin is the host of Strange Currency. Follow him on Twitter @JeddBeaudoin.
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