by Deb Rao
– Senior Columnist —
We As Human is gearing up for the Carnival Of Madness Tour slated to kick off on August 11th in Asbury Park, NJ. The tour will make a special stop in Bristow, VA on August 21st and conclude in Las Vegas on September 15th. The Carnival Of Madness Tour features Shinedown, Papa Roach, In This Moment, Skillet and We As Human.
We As Human has released their self-titled debut on June 25th on Atlantic Records Via Hear It Loud. The album features guest appearance by Lacey Sturm of Flyleaf and John Cooper of Skillet. Also it is interesting to note that John Cooper discovered We As Human. Be sure to arrive at the concert early to hear what all the buzz is about regarding We As Human. They have a refreshing new sound and positive message.
In this Carnival of Madness Interview, lead singer Justin Cordle from We As Human discusses the upcoming tour, the importance of writing meaningful lyrics and new release.
HRH: Justin, tell us about the Carnival Of Madness Tour and your set list.
Justin: We are absolutely looking forward to it. We have done a lot of touring. I am probably more excited about this tour than any other tour that we have gone on. There going to be Shinedown, Papa Roach, and the guys from Skillet. There is going to be a lot of Rock and Roll. We are getting ready for it.
HRH: It is going to be one of the best tours of the summer. I heard that John Cooper from Skillet discovered the band?
Justin: Yes, I love that dude. We have known each other for a couple of years now. My band got discovered. I didn’t think it happened anymore but it happened. It was kind of a dream scenario. We had been playing for a few years. All of a sudden our road manager ended up being a runner a driver for a Skillet show in Washington State. He gave John our CD. He said look man I work for this band We As Human. I would love for you to check them out. John listened to the CD and he said he was really pleasantly surprised. He called his manager up, after he listened to my band. He said this is a band called We As Human, I really like them. They are not signed. His manager said I have been hearing great things about the band as well. He said I would work with them under one condition if you work with me. We do this band together. That is how it started. They got a hold of us. I never thought in a million years that I would get a call saying Skillet loves my band. They introduced us to our label Atlantic Records.
HRH: That is a great story. Now the debut CD is out. John Cooper from Skillet appears on the album and also Lacy from Flyleaf. Tell us about this. That is really cool.
Justin: Yes, we were really happen that they both agreed to sing on our record. We were almost finished with the album, there were a couple of songs that I didn’t feel were finished yet. I wrote the song “Zombie how especially here in America that we are so grossly over-medicated. If you have emotions or feelings there is something wrong with you. We have a pill for that. We wrote that song “Zombie” about that. I said I would love if you could come and sing on it. Lucky for us he agreed to it. I wrote this song “Take The Bullets Away.” I have been a huge fan of Lacy’s since the band started. We asked here if she could sing on it. We had met a couple months before. She loved on it and sang on it with me. It is getting great reviews. The album is doing really well. We are actually a pretty happy band right now. It is getting better and better every day.
HRH: Over how long a time period did it take you to record the album?
Justin: It took about six weeks. There are a couple of songs that I had written four or five years ago. There is a couple on there; they were just so good ones we wanted to make sure they were heard. We wrote about 50 songs for this album. I would say about a year and a half of some crazy writing. When we had it boiled down to 20 songs, the band went into our little rehearsal dungeon and really started writing all of the music, tweeting, changing and making what it is now. We put a lot of time into it. We love rehearsing. We will rehears for hours and hours. We were really prepared. It didn’t take that long.
HRH: The band hails from Nashville, TN. How did your influences come into play on the album? You write such great lyrics. Would you say the band has a little bit of country vibe thrown in with the huge rock sound?
Justin: That is awesome you say that. I am a huge country fan. I love country music. Garth Brooks is my hero. I love everything that man has ever done. I have wondered how country plays into We As Human and who we are. I think more than anything it is lyrical. I love story-telling songs.
HRH: That is great. When I listen to a song. I always listen to the lyrics first. Back in the early ‘90s we kind of lost track of that. I think it is coming back full circle. Bands are writing great lyrics again.
Justin: Absolutely. You are my kind of lady if you listen to lyrics first. Some of guys in my band are like I don’t have any idea what the lyrics said. Which is great to each his own. But if I can’t understand the lyrics of a song, I will listen to that song a hundred times, every twist, and every lyric. I am big lyric guy. I love to be able to paint a picture in somebody’s mind or tell a story. As they are listening to a song, they are watching a movie play out in their mind. That is what I want to happen. A lot of my songs tell a story from beginning to the end. The country influence is the way I write the lyrics.
HRH: As a new band, you are going to be playing to the masses at Carnival of Madness. What kind of point do you want to get across in your live show? What do you want the fans seeing We As Human going home saying about the band?
Justin: I want to start a relationship. I don’t want this to be a one-time thing. I want this to be a beginning of a fan band relationship. We want to be part of their life indirectly through our music. I want them to take our music home and analyze the lyrics. I want them to be moved from what we are saying. We talk about everything in our lyrics from friends to family, trouble to great success to faith. Questions on how to be a human band. A band of character. How to be a band that honors their family and faith in God and country. All those kind of aspects to life. We want people to come to our shows and have a good time. To be entertained and step out of their normal routine and just rock. You can’t know everything about a band in one night. Every rhyme has meaning. I want to start a relationship for people who are there. I want them to find out what we are about; who we are and I don’t think this is an act. I actually know that these guys are sincere in what they are talking about.
HRH: That is awesome. We wish you much success with your debut album and tour.
Online: www.facebook.com/weashuman
