by Deb Rao
– Senior Columnist —
Devour The Day featuring former members of Egypt Central, Joey “Chicago” Walser and Blake Allison, have released their debut album Time & Pressure on Fat Lady Music. Their first single “Good Man” Is currently heating up the Active Radio Charts. Devour The Day take it to the road for their first show on May 11th.
In this exclusive interview with Hardrock Haven, Joey “Chicago” Walser talks in-depth about the making of Devour The Day.
HRH: Devour The Day is made up of former Egypt Central members Joey “Chicago” Walser and Blake Allison. Tell us how this all transpired. What made the members of Egypt Central disband?
Joey: In 2012 we went on a Christmas break, while in the middle for touring on the White Rabbit record. John gave us a call saying that there was a strong chance he wouldn’t be able to continue. Then by March he gave us the final deliberation that he wouldn’t be able to tour or be a part of the band anymore. It was for personal reasons. He felt like it was something that he had to do. Blake and I felt the statement of Egypt Central was to never give up. That is the way we have always written songs. We weren’t done playing by any means. We started to write songs about what we were going through. We were dealing with the end of one band and the beginning of a new project. It was a really amazing experience to see how fast this was able to come together with the team that we have behind us. This isn’t a side project by any means. It is a new identity and a new future for us. We are really excited about it.
HRH: You have a new album coming out on May 7th entitled Time & Pressure. Tell us about the writing process. Are you recording down in Memphis?
Joey: No, we recorded the first 80 percent of the record at my home. Blake recording vocals and I am doing guitar all in the living room. We finished up in Nashville with Skip Mills who worked with us on White Rabbit record. He helped us add the final touches and mix the record.
HRH: Now the first single is “Good Man”. How would you describe the sound of the band? Would you say it picks up where Egypt Central left off?
Joey: It so many ways, it is loud guitars. It’s rock and roll what we grew up with. For us it takes a lot of chances that we never did before with Egypt Central. It gave us the chance to remove the shell that was placed on us. It is a really diverse record. It is really the evolution of Blake and I with songwriting and the band that we want it to be.
HRH: Also “Good Man” is a lyric video. I noticed it is the going trend for so many bands to come out with lyric videos.
Joey: Yes, I think the fans like to know exactly what they are singing a long with. For bands it is a quick way to get music to the fans as soon as possible. That is the really cool evolution of it.
HRH: Who else is in the touring band?
Joey: We do have two touring musicians Jeff from Egypt Central and Dustin Schoenhofer from Bury Your Dead/Walls of Jericho.
HRH: Do you plan to do a few shows when the record comes out?
Joey: Absolutely. Our first show is May 11 in Michigan at The Machine Shop. We will be doing shows with Buckcherry. Then a tour with Hinder in June.
HRH: As a new band what do you hope to accomplish in the music industry? I know Egypt Central had a great following. Hopefully all the fans will cross over to hear Devour The Day and support the band.
Joey: Absolutely. Those fans have been so supportive of Blake and I. It really helped support the band. Also the risk that we took, I think we have a chance of capturing a much larger audience. Much larger than we ever were with Egypt Central. We deliberately wanted to show that we were going to take some chances. People may not expect it from us. It is nerve-wracking but it is exciting.
HRH: It is great that you decided to branch out. How did you come up with the name for the band Devour The Day?
Joey: We were working for three or four months. We started to realize we needed a new entity and new idea. We wanted to take the opportunity with Devour The Day to wake up every morning and be a part of it and make the most of our day. That is the challenge that will never go away. It really spoke to us on such a real level.
HRH: We wish you the best of luck. Is there anything else that you would like to say regarding Devour The Day?
Joey: If you guys want to check out the tour days or order the album go to www.devourtheday.com We have brand new merchandise coming out. Come out to the shows!
For tour dates visit www.facebook.devourtheday.
Special Thanks to Amanda from ABC-PR for arranging this interview.
