Post-hardcore rock band Pierce The Veil are slowly working their way to the top of the rock world, one album at a time. In 2012, their album ‘Collide With The Sky’ was released and was met with huge success. With nearly a quarter-million copies sold to date, the album scored #12 on Billboard’s top 100 albums and took the #1 spot on the Hard Rock, Modern Rock/Alt Albums, and Rock Albums charts.
Following the release of the album, Pierce The Veil had a 100% sold out headline tour in October and November of 2012, and were also named one of MTV’s Buzzworthy Breakthrough Artists in that same year. ‘King For A Day’, a single off the album featuring Kellin Quinn, has recently gone gold and has racked up over 38 million views on YouTube.
Recently, the guys have been working on a new album and have just kicked off a co-headlining world tour with Sleeping With Sirens. AltWire had the chance to talk with Pierce The Veil bassist, Jaime Preciado, about the upcoming album and their world tour. Check out what he had to say!
AltWire [Mattison Keesey]: When I reached out to your publicist about doing the interview, she sent me a bunch of information on you guys. One of the things she mentioned that really stood out is that you have a very ‘rabid’ fan base. I must admit, your music is very contagious, but ‘rabid’ is a very intense word. Would you describe your fan base as rabid?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: That’s crazy! I was unaware of the term, of “rabid.” I guess in general, our fans are just very, very aggressive, they let us know all the time how much they care about our music and the guys in the band. We’ve been putting ourselves out there and we don’t really hold anything back as far as who we are. For social media, we’re not trying to make an image, we’re just trying to be ourselves and I think kids really respect that. I feel like they can really relate to us. I guess in the best way possible, rabid is accurate.
AW: I like it, It’s different and nothing like I’ve ever heard. I would definitely say that your song ‘King For A Day’ featuring Kellin Quinn is rabid, considering it has 37 million + views on YouTube. Were you guys expecting this song to blow up the way that it did?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: We knew from the very beginning as the whole thing came about to us through social media. We started getting emails and posts from the fans saying “Hey, have Kellin in one of your songs,” you know? We didn’t know Sleeping [With Sirens] or Kellin at the time, but we kept getting requests to do it. So we were just in the studio, like, what if we did it? It’d be fun. We’ve always been a band that liked to work with other artists and do some writing with different people…just to keep us fun and interesting. When we were growing up, and when I was growing up, we always thought it was really cool [when bands collaborated] and you always wondered about bands that went on tour together. Like, when I was younger, I wondered if they were friends, if they jammed together, and those things. So we try to keep that out in the open. So, yeah, ‘King For A Day’ turned out awesome. I think Kellin took that song to a whole new level and it shows. So we’re really excited to have made that happen.
AW: ‘King For A Day’ actually just went Gold! Congratulations! That’s Awesome!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, thank you so much! We were pretty stoked on that.
AW: Speaking of Kellin Quinn, and Sleeping With Sirens you guys have an upcoming tour with Sleeping With Sirens. If I’m not mistaken, you guys have done one show so far?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Actually, we’ve done three so far. We’re in Lubbock, TX right now; and we actually have a day off today. But we’ve played in Fresno, Pomona, and [most recently] New Mexico last night.
AW: Well, I know it’s hard to say with just three shows, but how’s it going so far?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: It’s going awesome! My body feels like it got hit by a truck, but that’s because we haven’t played a show in almost a year.
AW: And you’re only three deep!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yes, well, that will happen. But, no, it honestly felt like we were never gone. It’s been almost a year since we played a show. So going back, you have a kind of nervousness, like, do we still have it? Are we still good? What’s going on? But when the opening song starts, the kids remind us, like, “Hey man, were here to rock,” and we have a really great time. It’s been so far so good.
AW: You guys have a lot to go, so I’m happy to hear it’s off to a great start!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, it’s going to be fun, especially being out with these guys. We’ve toured with Sleeping [With Sirens] in the past, and being able to come back when our bands are in a different place than we were when we toured 2 or 3 years ago is really cool. The fact that we’re doing a full tour, and having different legs and stuff, is very unique in our genre. Bands don’t really do things like that, but we’re really excited to be a part of it.
AW: Can we maybe expect some Pierce The Veil/Sleeping With Sirens collaborations on stage?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah! That’s a very big thing to expect. We try to get together and do as much cool stuff as possible to make the shows really fun and make them different. If you might have seen us before, or not, you’d definitely want to come out and check out this show because it’s a little bit different.
AW: I actually haven’t had the pleasure of seeing you guys yet, I will be next week in Lancaster, and I hear you guys put on an incredible live show, so I’m pretty excited. Can you maybe give some spoilers about what else to expect from this tour?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Tons of nudity.
AW: Nice! That’s what I like to hear!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: But, no, your close to Philadelphia right, it’s like an hour and 45 minutes from Lancaster?
AW: Yeah, about that.
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Ok, so going over there is always a good vibe. We’re from California so the weather is always fun. We like the cold.
AW: What!? Why?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Not that we like the cold, but we’re used to 70 degrees and sunny all the time, so it’s cool to visit all these other places that have so many different types of weather. But, the kids are awesome, and the shows are always great. So we’re really excited to go there.
We’re really appreciative of all our fans and we try to give them that 5 minutes of our time to just say thanks, and I think they really appreciate that.
AW: I know Philly is known to get pretty wild. I’ve never heard a band or artist that is disappointed with Philly.
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, definitely. Philly gets pretty wild, and you guys have the cheesesteaks, which is just a treat. Yeah, we’ll wait two hours for one. I can’t wait!
AW: I think it’s not until February that you guys will be in Philly, I think?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: I believe so, but I’d have to check. I don’t know off the top of my head. But we’re definitely coming there soon, I think we’re actually going to be there for two nights, if I’m not mistaken.
AW: Yeah, I did see that, at the Electric Factory.
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, that’s going to be the best. I’m going to eat like, 48 cheesesteaks! It’s going to be amazing!
AW: Yeah, Maybe take some to go?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, take some to go, mail some to my friends!
AW: Aside from Philly, is there any one place that you guys are most excited to go?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Honestly, I think in the past, like last year, we toured so heavily and got to go to a lot of places we’ve never actually been to. We went to Southeast Asia and we also went to South America, so that was crazy for us. We also try to go down south to see how the kids are, and we’ve got a couple fans down there, so we were really, really, really, excited for that. So I think [we are excited] just going to places like that, places that we’ve always wanted to go to, but never had a chance to. Whether, the market wasn’t there yet, or the band wasn’t there yet. Those places for us were just intense. Those kids, man, there’s something in the water down there. Those guys are freaking rabid. I love it! They’re insane.
AW: Rabid, there it is again, it must be accurate!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, it’s awesome, and they make you feel really special out there. [It’s] like you’re more than just a guy in a band. I don’t really know how to explain it, but it was awesome. If we could go back to those places again, it would be really sweet.
AW: Will you guys be hanging around to meet the fans after the show?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, actually we’ve been doing meet and greets, and we’ll be doing this for the entire tour. If it’s possible, we try to go and check out the city that we’re in and meet some people. There were a couple kids outside the bus so we all came out and said hi to them. We’re really appreciative of all our fans and we try to give them that 5 minutes of our time to just say thanks, and I think they really appreciate that. What’s 10-20 minutes out of your day to say hi and take a couple pictures? We really like doing that. It’s a great way of saying thanks.
AW: Your 2012 album, ‘Collide With The Sky’, blew up upon release. Do you think your upcoming album will have the same result?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, we worked with the same producer and we’ve never really looked at it, while in the studio, as trying to top another record. We want to make a good record, but it’s more like a different record..a newer, more mature record. We always try to get better at being musicians and songwriters. I think it’s a natural, growing kind of thing. It’s kind of in the back of our heads because we know people are thinking, “Are you going to top the last record,” but I think we just use that to grind it out. Working with Dan Korneff again, our producer on ‘Collide With The Sky’, we went back with him. I think having that kind of comfort zone, going back to the same person, is something we have never done on any other record. You kind of get used to how the producer works and how he notices what the band does. We got to skip that stuff [this time around]. We just went in, said our hellos and got to work. It was awesome. Dan’s really good at just making things sound good. I don’t know what he’s doing over there, but he could record a shoe hitting the wall and it sounds beautiful. It’s amazing. I don’t know how he does it. So we’re really excited to be working with him.
AW: How far along are you guys in the process?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: We’re done. We’re literally just finishing up the final little bits and pieces. Just those tiny little things that need to be done. We’re trying to get together a single to be released so we can start playing some new music and hopefully get it out early next year.
AW: I’m definitely excited for the release. It’ll be a good start to 2015!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, it should be a little fun thing, and we’re really excited about it, and for people to hear it.
AW: Is there any one song you are most excited for the fans to hear?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: I think we’re really excited for the fans to hear the whole record in general. For lack of a better word, we’re just really slow writers. We take our time and make sure that we don’t put out something super fast. We’d much rather take the extra time and we’re very lucky to have that time. Some bands have to put out records really frequently and we’ve gotten really, really lucky that our fans have stuck with us. We can take a year off, and still be relevant. We’re super, super fortunate to have that. I think the record will be great. It’s gonna be fast. It’s gonna have some heavy stuff. It’s gonna have some pop stuff and just be an all around record.
AW: ‘Hold On Til May’ was the last song on ‘Collide With The Sky’, and I think it was really different than what you guys normally do. It really showed your vulnerable side. Can we expect another song like this on the new album?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: It’s not so much like we’re trying to make the same record with the same parts, but there’s definitely some songs that have more of that vibe. If you ask me, I don’t think it’s a similar song, but the mood might be similar. I definitely think it’ll be a new record and I think there will be something for everyone, which has always been our kind of style. We’ve never really been one genre. We bounce around. We’re kind of like the black sheep at shows; which we enjoy. We’ve toured with a lot of heavy bands, and a lot of not heavy bands. We’re stoked to be in the middle of that.
AW: Well, Jaime that’s all I have for you, but is there anything else you would like to add about the tour or upcoming album?
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: Yeah, just that we’re gonna be on tour for a little bit. We’ll be releasing new legs soon, so come check us out.
AW: Definitely, I can’t wait to see you guys!
Jaime Preciado / Pierce The Veil: And we can’t wait to come out and get some cheesesteaks!
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