Stereoboard Talk To Miss May I's Levi Benton About Their Current UK Tour And Latest Album 'At Heart'
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Written by Matt Turner
I was given the opportunity to have a chat with Levi Benton, vocalist of Miss May I, at the Cardiff date on their headline UK tour. We talked about the current tour, plans for 2013 and the reception of their latest album 'At Heart'.
How are you finding the UK so far?
Levi: It's been awesome, the fans here definitely go 110% the whole time and go crazy, so it's been awesome.
How are you finding the difference between the UK crowds and the crowds back in the US?
Levi: The biggest thing we always say is that they appreciate music here a lot more, they just appreciate being here, which is awesome because in the US we just play there so many times and there's so many bands touring that they just get in the whole swing of seeing shows all the time. They're always tired and sometimes not really into it, but here when they come to a show they really come to a show, it's awesome.
Your latest album 'At Heart' has been a great success, how are your feelings towards the reaction from the fans and the press?
Levi: We love it. It's definitely the best reaction we've had for any record. We were really nervous releasing it because it was a lot more towards a metal crowd and a lot more mature than our other records, so when the crowd accepted it and the fans liked it, it definitely showed us that we can be a metal band which was awesome.
What are your favourite songs off the new album, and what personal meaning do they have to you?
Levi: My favourite songs would have to be 'Hey Mister' and 'Opening Wounds'. Hey Mister is really cool, nobody's really wrote a record like that before, it's about growing up with no father figure and such and it just turned out really awesome. Opening Wounds has to do with just always being knocked down from stuff, and getting back up and completing your dreams. It's just really inspirational for us because we've been through a lot of stuff doing this, and it's always nice to play that and just think about it, it's great.
What are your plans for next year? What are you going to do to progress yourself further as artists?
Levi: We're touring a lot more next year, we're touring a lot more worldwide than we did this year, going to a lot of places we've never been to which we're really excited about and touring with a lot of genres we haven't really stepped into yet, so we're excited for that. We'll be writing a new record, and since the crowd was so accepting of our last metal record we can actually have more breathing room to do some more metal stuff for this one.
What makes the Miss May I live show stand out from any other band in the scene at the moment?
Levi: I think our biggest thing is like, I know lots of bands are jumping off stuff, breaking stuff and going crazy, but we always strive to be better live than we are on record, so I think the difference is for us that we're not just out there to go crazy, we're out there to be a good live band and make sure that when you see us it's just like the record or even better. You can sing along and have a blast the whole time.
Have you got any advice for bands who are aspiring to imitate your success?
Levi: Yeah, the biggest advice I always give people is to focus on what they're doing at the moment and not focus on the big picture of things because they always join bands and want to tour right away. They want to go out and make a bunch of money and see the world, but there's so many steps you have to do before that like focus on being the best local band, focus on being the best band in your city, focus on being the best band at your local bar, and once you have that then all the steps will come to you, then you can actually advance and not trip over your own feet being excited about doing all this other stuff, so I just tell them to focus one step at a time.
What keeps you inspired while you're touring?
Levi: The way that the fans just react to our songs and how it emotionally touches a lot of fans, that's my biggest inspiration. It's crazy for us to headbang and write these songs and me express myself, yelling at the top of my lungs and all these kids have been through the same things and it helps them get through things, that's the greatest thing ever. We've got the coolest job ever, I'm running around with my five best friends headbanging and making a living, it's pretty awesome.
Any final words?
Levi: Stay metal.
'At Heart' is the third studio album by Miss May I. The album is available now.
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