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American Vanity (formerly Burn The Jukebox) · Caught on the Mike...

• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Let's find what stuff crap receptive and what it costs to.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mic.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Caught on the Mic.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: And today we are joined by a band turning modern rock into a mirror, American Vanity, featuring dual vocal powerhouses, Virginia Franks on bass and vocals, and Luke Hoffman on vocals and guitar, alongside Luke Van Cherry on lead guitar and Carter Dennis on drums.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: This four-piece is stepping into a bold new era.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: From their widespread exposure, Asburn the Jukebox to working with Grammy nominated producer Matt Squire.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: We're diving into identity, image, and the sound of their next chapter.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I had to write all that down because there's a lot to share.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I've been following you guys for a while.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: How the heck are you?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Who is somebody that has shared or liked one of your videos or interacted with you on social media that has just left you beside yourselves?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, there's a lot of good ones, but okay, so this one's special to me because it's my favorite artist.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: The band Motionless in White is actually banned from NPA.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Chris Motionless commented on our cover of a motionless and white song, and it was amazing.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that was pretty fan will and Ian Farnley hasn't done any videos.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there we've had plenty of it.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: So you guys built an identity as burned the jukebox and just recently changed names to American Vanity.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: What made this the right moment to step into a new era with this new name and this new identity?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, with our new upcoming studio out, like with our new upcoming album, and well, some of it's already out and the rest is to come.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: We decided that it's since it's such a new vibe that this would be the time to like if we're gonna change anything, let's do it now.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then we decided January 2026, new year, new band name, whole new look.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we thought that would be an ideal time.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And now we have all of our all of the songs coming out from the album for now for like the next couple months every six weeks.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: So wow.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, that's an aggressive release schedule.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like, do you have guidance?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like somebody kind of saying, okay, hey, look, this is your strategy, or is this something you guys kind of adopted on your own, this every six-week release schedule?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: We have a really, really good, strong team of management.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_02: So I feel like without that, we wouldn't be I don't know, I would at least me, I wouldn't be right.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't think of that.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: Like I wouldn't think of all the um possible algorithmic things that happened.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: So what does the name American vanity represent to you guys personally?
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like we all might have a little deeper, deeper meaning.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: What?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know first.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, to me it's exactly what we are.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think, okay.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: So I think the biggest thing, so I can relate the the band name, not just by itself, but in relation to our song.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um the way I kind of see it is us being it's formally like a bigger social media band.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's always eyes on us, right?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_02: So it's kind of kind of representative having eyes on you at all times and not having to like form to fit any certain type of mold, right?
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: It's kind of like we can still be who we are and do what we love without really worrying about a lot of the outside factors that bring us down.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, to me, American vanity is kind of like it's definitely about showing people that you don't have to fit in to like make a difference, or you can just be like who you are and you should be proud to show people that and you don't need everybody's approval.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, your bio talks about image approval and identity getting tangled in the attention economy.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: By the way, I love that phrase, attention economy, and kind of going to your point about social media band and things being algorithmic.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Was there a specific moment where you felt maybe a little bit of tension to adhere to what the algorithm was doing and kind of the attention you were receiving online?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't been the band for that much.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna leave it to the DFL.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, experience.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say definitely like earlier on when we were doing mainly covers, it was very like make sure you get this right, because like we don't want people getting like really upset if we mess it up, because that would be like really, really sad.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: So that was definitely a time when it was like make sure getting this as close as possible to the thing, which is also like now we are excited to be going into this like new original chapter because it's us and we don't like it's ours, so we don't have to like adhere to very specific like standards.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I talk about this with a lot of big name national acts pretty frequently, and that's the silver lining to the era of streaming.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like back in the day, people used to have to live in one lane and one lane only.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: If you were a punk band, you had to play punk music.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: If you were a rock band, you played rock music, metal band, so on and so on, so on.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: But now that everything is so algorithmically driven and you have things like Spotify and such, you don't really have guardrails as far as what your you know options are as far as songwriting goes.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think getting those reps in with all the covers that you did online and the meticulous nature in which you critiqued yourself, do you think that better prepared you for this original music?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think it makes you I think specifically going on to like different styles of music.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: You're putting out those covers.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's very, very it's very, very good thing in the aspect that I mean it's easier to get well routed, right?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: Like you're not just playing one specific thing, like you're kind of opening your eyes to um different genres, different styles of playing.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I think overall that kind of led us into this tunnel vision of like, okay, this is the style of music we want to create, uh what originals we want to put out, what messages we want to get behind them.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like it all helps for sure.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like learning like other songs, like you get like different vibes.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: So like I really enjoy like as a drummer, I enjoy like playing different vibes.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: Like if like I'll I'll hit like an RB kick, or like I'll hit like a metal vibe, and then like I feel like I'll learn something, like I'll learn a song, and like, oh, I learned that, so let me try to incorporate it into my playing as we progress.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: So I think on the albums I've done that.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, how does having dual vocalists shape that songwriting?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: So um having dual vocalists, it makes it so interesting because we love to like do duets and go back and forth, like you do a verse, we both do the chorus, then I do a verse, and like basically that whole thing.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: I know I've I believe I've said this before, but obviously we're not Lincoln Park, but we like to take elements from like their kind of vibe, like we love how like back and forth it is, and it makes it like super diverse, and I think it keeps people interested for sure, because it's like, okay, once you get to like through the first verse and the first chorus, then you're like waiting for the second chorus, but it ends up being a different singer, and I think that kind of like adds a little bit more shock value and keeps everybody like hooked.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely it's different, and we like doing all the harmonies, which is also super fun when you have multiple vocalists because you could just lay down like different kinds of voices and like different um people with different ranges, and it's really it makes it like it makes the project a lot more like in-depth.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's like it also the way I kind of see it, like I guess I'm a more like I'm like a really like technical focused person on like I don't know, intervals and stuff and like uh vocal ranges, but like the way I see I mean it takes so like I mean I have lower a lower kind of like tenor slash like baritone voice, and Virginia obviously is a higher, like um I don't know, all tone, maybe a little bit higher than all tone, but it takes us from being put into this certain uh in this specific box of what notes we're able to sing, what style we're able to sing, how much grit we have behind our voice.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: And it takes that and expands because there's there's a lot of stuff like RRF unseing a lot of the lower stuff, and then she takes over at the higher level some of the grittier stuff, and it makes a lot more pause, you know, and I think it also like with the lyric the lyrics contributing to like it's like the better way to storytell, you know, because we're not just telling a story one side, we have two people, two different stories.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's a good way of looking at it.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, since you're the newest member of the band, how has the dynamic changed from the moment you joined until now, given all of those things?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, when I first auditioned for the Ventilague, going back like a year ago, like so much has changed.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I got into it, um, and it was kind of not always changing, but as soon as I got in, it was like hit the ground running.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like we kind of knew what was in the future, and I mean all of us just worked really well together, so we just hit the ground running, and like the main priority was just writing, writing, writing, and figuring out the new sound that we wanted to get down.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like I feel like I want to give like a more in-depth answer, but it was to me, it's all clouded by as soon as I got in the band.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: We were touring that whole summer, but we were also like writing as much as we could, and that's kind of all I really focused on, I think, as a whole.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sometimes those repetitions in just playing with somebody, your your sound kind of develops organically, and uh yeah, it it sounds like that's where things are at.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now, how do you feel the sound itself has evolved?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think you're still kind of a wide array of different styles, or do you guys feel you've honed down your focus a little bit more, specifically with this upcoming album?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've definitely honed down our focus a little bit more.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So before we had like we had a lot of different stuff going on, and I'd say now in this new direction, it's definitely alt-rock centered.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's heavier than what we've done.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Not too heavy, but heavier.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we really, we really love it.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: We think it's really fun to play.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Not to like group it like crazy, but that centered like alt-rock, alternative rock, alternative music.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: I mean it's kind of like a combination of all of our influences, yeah, for sure.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: And like it was just like back to what you're saying, like it wasn't like it kind of happened organically too.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like the music that we listen to and the styles that we play in it kind of all blended together to get this all round sound.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: Like you're taking all into the spectrum, like the really, really happy music that we listen to, and the more mellow just like collided, if you will.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: So, who are some of the artists that you subconsciously find in the DNA of this current iteration of the band?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: Such it's such like a so much that I can think of.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: The top of my head, probably definitely paramour.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um paramour all-time low, that kind of vibe for sure.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: I would go with those two.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I know earlier I said like some Lincoln Park E elements with like the dual vocalist type thing.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's what I got for me.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I was gonna say I put tidal fight up there, some flesh water up there.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: If you know fleshwater, man, if you don't, you're missing out.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: You're turning people on to flesh water right now.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, some uh beauty school dropout that we discovered.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean there's a lot that like as I come back to what I said before, like there's there's influences where I take stylistically, but like I like as you guys said, like I think as a band sidewalk.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: I I can't think of another one that I couldn't I I'm sure there's plenty, but you better much water.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, you guys just finished working with Matt Squire, or at least you're working with Matt Squire, and he produced Panic at the Disco, All-Time Low, Ariana Grande.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: He's like got a pretty wide catalog himself.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: So, what did he challenge you guys to do differently in the studio that you weren't doing before?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think back to the repetition side.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like Matt is crazy, insanely talented.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: So and being with that, like that level of producer I don't know, there were so many more uh repetitions and recording states involved than I could have like ever imagined, but it all obviously worked out to benefit us.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: So that was a challenge and writing well in the studio, like we were still doing that, we're still writing, and kind of just let us do our thing for the mesh part.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I loved having um like his outside opinion.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, this is great, why don't you try this also?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, her his ideas are incredible.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: He's so nice, he's so nice.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: We were there for six weeks.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was definitely it was such a fun experience, and I've never really had that kind of like experience in a studio before where it was just like it was crazy.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: We were like so much like behind the scenes footage on my phone of like us and Matt Squire just doing absolutely ridiculous things.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like amazing.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was amazing.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I was about to say, like, it was so like obviously, like, when we went in, it was like very like polished style-wise, like, because like okay, we're gonna do this, this, this, this, but also like it was very just like fun.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the first two days we were like just figuring out a game that I don't want.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, basically.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I I really like the first two days, like obviously I wasn't like, oh my god, it's I'm shaking, but like I was like, okay, this is gonna be like we're working with you know like a very awesome break.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Like just by the end, it was just like Yeah.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: He brought out the uh Panic at the Distel guitar that they used, like on the first album.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we recorded a little bit of Ryan off and yeah, they used to be also throw out there.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like a bit uh another big thing too was we went into the studio with uh whether they were like full drafted demos or just bits and pieces, like we went into the studio with a ton of demos and a ton of stuff.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: So that was a big thing too.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're writing more and more.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because we're starting was like cracking down on really what what we wanted to push.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean a lot of the stuff we brought into the studio and we changed to something totally different.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like Wi-Fi is one of those examples, and then the song you have coming out, Boys in your cup, those went through a lot of work as a whole.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna ask that because sometimes that happens when you go into a studio and you have a ton of demos.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes two ideas become one or two songs get married into one song.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: Was there a moment where he pushed a song further than what you guys had expected?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, after that.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: There's a few on there.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you guys know me.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: He's he was awesome to work with.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: He was just such a good person.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: There was like a it was so cool.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: So like some of the stuff, like to answer like the question specifically, song's not out yet.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: We have one song in the record, like that.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Matt came in with a riff, right?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_02: And we we were like, okay, we're listening to this uh this riff in the bandhouse, we're like, what can we turn this into?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: And at the same time we we were working on it, Matt was co-writing with us.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: That completely I don't know if we want to say the name, but that completely took a turn from what I expected.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: I also feel like there's songs that like we went from it was just like a demo, like obviously everything gets recorded and like we were like, okay, yeah, that's cool.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: But like you never like we we didn't email, like we had as Luke said, like there were so many demos that we had that's like, yeah, I think we should do this one, you know.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember like there's times where we were like, okay, you know, we'll take this song that's like not you know 100%, and like we just needle on that, and then it's something that's a lot.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say there's also like like uh like remembering the bridge in Lifeline was not there.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I I think it I think the bridge from Lifeline came from one of the other demos that we had.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of material to work with.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's like there was stuff that wasn't there one day and the next day it was all flushed out.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: I remember listening back to the chorus trying to figure out a lead for it, and that's just like thinking in his head, and the chorus comes up and he's like, he's like just how in the valley, and then everyone was like, Oh my god.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was about to say, like, like me, could be times like in in like Cupid Night where like you you just take a bike, and we're all just sitting on a desk and just like and then like there's that, and then like a few days later, they're like whatever guitar's been ready, and then like they'll play back mini-green value, and then and then look later, you know.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's a lot of like school.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: We like to call Matt like the Pro Tools wizard, because I've never seen anybody be able to like work that software like like that.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like that was crazy.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it was just insane.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_02: I remember like honestly, I'm not uh a computer producer by any, but like I I I like to do my recording stuff, and I remember like just sitting behind them and he's just honestly, and I'm like, how are you like there's just stuff that's like is insane.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: So you guys have described this album as being more deliberate, sharper, and very hook-driven.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: What changed in your writing process to push that stylistically forward?
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like when we were writing this album, we started listening to like different music, and I definitely think that had an effect on how we were writing and like what we were writing.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: And as for like the process goes, we would like go into Carter's basement for band practice, and we just sat and we were like, okay, we need to get five ideas for five new songs today before we leave.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we did for probably a good two months until we had a bunch of demos, and then we eventually like and then we eventually brought them into the studio, and then we narrowed them down to the 10.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: And to like kind of piggyback through the first thing, like you said, sharper and more hook-driven, like specifically, like like the audible hooks, like writing a song, besides from like the whole music video aspect when you could throw in visual hooks, right?
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like that was a really big thing that like when I was writing music on my own, like I never had anything out, but like it changed so much because kind of just sitting down writing with these guys, writing with Virginia, so lyrics, like there was kind of the thought how do we make people connect with this in a way that I can't think of right now.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: Or like, I mean, it just how many ways could somebody connect with this by this one hook or this one phrase in the song?
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's kinda it's kinda kinda always in the back of the head like how can I make somebody connect with this target song?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, and what's funny is we're we're an instant gratification world now because Because of social media.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I've talked to people in the music business back in the day, it was like you have to get to that hook within the first 45 seconds to a minute of the song.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: And now songs are getting shorter and shorter and shorter because of social media.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: So now you have to get to that hook within the first 20, 30 seconds.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, do you guys feel that pressure whenever you're writing songs?
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, a little bit.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like you want to make sure, like, when you're writing the song, yes, like there's something that almost immediately needs to like catch somebody's attention.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it's gotta be catchy.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, it's almost like sometimes when I think about like writing, I think about like, how can somebody use this in a TikTok?
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how can I turn this song into a TikTok trend?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if it was a TikTok trend, what would it be?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of the mindset I think I go into sometimes, like, especially when doing like lyrics and stuff.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, okay, how can I connect with people as fast as possible and like make it as like hooky as it can be?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: And there's no shame in that.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like old schoolers, like old heads will be like, man, that's that's like homogenizing the artistic process if you're thinking about things like that.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: But the people that'll tell you that have never tasted success a day in their lives, you know?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like you have to you have to think about things like that to a certain extent, right?
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say, like, as much as we try and think of like tailoring the music a certain way, we're also trying to say ourselves.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like approval addiction, like that is huge, like at all-time highs.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like I it would go, I would say, hand in hand with the instant gratification.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_02: People they're speaking out others' opinions and trying to make people happy by people pleasing or writing your music for a specific group of people that'll say good things about it.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: But as much as we were thinking about tailoring our music to a specific group of people and writing hooks this way, at the same time in the back of our heads, you're like, how can we still keep this unique and keep ourselves in this music?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think, at least to me, the biggest thing about this record was staying ourselves and keeping our style and whatever kind of flowed naturally inside.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, with that said, did you guys cut songs that maybe would have made the old version of the band?
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't say the old version.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think the other thing that we had in a similar style that we were already writing it for the album, but because it's like a you know, it's like a this discrete note, it's cool.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's just like nice rippage and stuff like that, good melody.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: We do like simplistic stuff, but it's also has technical elements to it and the way they match together.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: I think as far as cutting, I think if I like I I listen back to the demos sometimes, I would say in the complete opposite, like some of the demos are too heavy, you know?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: Like we had a couple and drop C.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: So a full step and then in C, right?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: So that's my favorite.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: I love doing stuff.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was just gonna say you're getting your Atreyu on with that, man.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like a different side of the spectrum where we would probably have to be if we used all the demos, we'd have to be a band with like seven strings, eight strings that might you know, I'd have to have start using 13 to 57s on my uh wouldn't be able to use my autumn jazz master anymore.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: No, honestly, I think like, yeah.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's it's just like what's not on the album, it's just like you know, it's either too heavy or like it's not like the perfect style that we wanted there, or it's it would just yeah, these ones that we picked just wouldn't do you think the band could evolve into some of those heavier songs?
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think there's always potential to like I definitely don't think we're gonna be like Screamo in three years, but you know, I'm gonna get really good at blasphemy.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like that's like 280 Bpm blackies.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: Like I feel like we're at this like happy medium where we're like we're very like as of right now, we're I don't want to speak as a whole, but I I'm gonna we're pretty happy like with the sound that we have now.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_02: And if anything evolves, I think it'll be like slower because at the end of the day, Carter's an insanely technical drummer, Virginia is an insanely technical bass player, Luke's an insanely technical guitarist, and we're trying to keep those elements in it and not kind of push it too fast with a something.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Again, like not to be repetitious, you have to evolve organically, or else you stop being authentic, too.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: And there's also the live element of the show as well, you know, of your your material and kind of going into live performance.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: Do you guys ever feel like you're playing a character on stage or are you always authentically yourself?
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, you should uh like I wish we should really start filming or like recording our entire performances because recently I've noticed like our sense of humor on stage is I would say it's very authentic.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've heard some of the best jokes I think I've ever heard like come from like Luke and Luke.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's fantastic.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_02: No, honestly, like I think on stage is like more of like okay, this is my time to like because like I have a tendency to just like just go insane.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_02: Not like, but I'll just like just like throwing snakes around.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like I think it's just like live.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: We just like have God do us.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we choked in stuff.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was gonna say, like, at the same time, like we still also keep that like professionalism, like it's an art, right?
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like live music is an art.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: You have to keep that sort of artistic, those artistic values in it, you know what I mean?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_02: But like, yeah, we just kind of like we say this all like we're just having so much fun.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I would have just as much fun if they stuck me behind a curtain, me and Luke behind a curtain.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_02: We'd still be doing the same thing.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: I'd still be jumping up and down and still be bullshitting with him on the side.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: Hell yes.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think without being ourselves, it wouldn't be as fun as it as it.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, I love hearing that.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta I gotta give you guys some props because I mean it is no secret that you're all young, like you're all incredibly young, and you've experienced a lot of exposure in a short amount of time thanks to social media, and um, you're talented.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I I I tell my friends all the time, you know, a bunch of old dudes that gather and talk about the good old days of playing playing the metal core and all that stuff.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, you know, younger musicians now are way more talented than we were when we were the same age as you guys.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think it is that has enabled you to be so refined with your artwork at the ages that you guys are at?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us started when we were like, no, not most, all of us started when like playing when we were really young.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I know for me, I started playing bass when I was 10 years old.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: I am I'm 18 now, so that's eight years for me.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Carter, I would definitely think started the youngest.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, uh yeah, kind of go, but whatever.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_02: My dad was a drummer, so like drums are always around.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: And then I think like my grandmother's someone bought me a drum kit for my first birthday, and then that was really tight.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then actually the kit that's been in this video the entire time, that green drum kit was my first actual drum kit, and I got that at stage five, and then yeah, I I started like truly playing with you all, uh like I was playing full songs and everything, so like five and I'm 19 now.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I think like specifically, like to answer this question specifically, I would just say if you look at a I don't know, uh 2000 Jeep Cherokee, right?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_02: And then you look at a 2026 Jeep Cherokee, so much evolution has evolved, so much stuff has become more accessible, like whether that's lessons or virtual learning, YouTube.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_02: Agreed.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_02: The imprints get easier to play with.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_02: You get fractals and quad cortexes and different books.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: Like there's just so much out there, you know?
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_02: So it there's just so much you can get a hold of.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_02: It makes the process easier, more enjoyable to it.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a really good point, a really good call out.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: I just didn't want to be the one to call it out because I don't want to be the old guy saying, well, they have much better tools than we had when we were younger, you know.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: But I was gonna ask if if anybody's parents were were musicians.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Carters for sure.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: Me too.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: Virginia?
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, what did your parents really?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: So did it have an did that have an influence on all of you guys?
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my parents, they were in a band together.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I grew up around it, and like when I was like six, I would be like at their band practice, and I was like, I wanna do that.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: I would say you're just not even should I I don't know.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_02: Should I point out the uh elephant in our house?
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_02: Her parents were the three of her parents were in a band together at one point.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: No kidding.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_02: But I mean I think a big thing was just one of those that was like a short period of time, like I don't know, my dad started playing uh guitar at like 15, and then I don't know when your father started playing a long time.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_02: Like same same as me on Aaron.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: I think it definitely probably I I I definitely think I don't know about you guys, but I like I was I was a kid, like I don't know, I have a picture when I was four or five years old of my dad Randy Rhodes Jackson V around my neck.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: And he posted on Facebook in 2010 saying like he's gonna play guitar when he's old.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: And um nine years old who wanted to be like my dad, I said, Hey dad, play guitar.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, take some aspects of your parents, and that's cool.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: I I think it's great that all of our parents played, you know, because yeah, I think part of me is like damn man, like if our parents didn't have such musical influences on us, we might not be where we are.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'd probably be raised in BMX or something.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: I would be like a Disney World travel agent.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: When can fans expect the record to drop in totality?
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Or are you just gonna trickle out all the songs and then that's that's that?
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_02: So like we we have uh as of now, specifically, we have a si six-week in-between release schedule.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_02: So we have Lifeline that dropped almost three weeks ago, and then March 6th, today poison dropping, and then six weeks after that, we have another single dropping, and we have two more, and then from there it's kind of either the same thing or we drop the record, and it's uh I know for sure the um in the summertime is when the full vinyl version of the record comes out.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, got it to we're gonna be torn on that album.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_02: That'll be so cool.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's where I was going next, is like can like how aggressive are you guys gonna get with the tour cycle this summer?
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: We're hoping to be very busy.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_02: I was playing every day.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're playing, we're playing every weekend of the summer.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like stuff's just adding, adding up.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it'll keep progressing.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's still a few more months before somewhere.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_02: We got a bunch of time, and we still already have a lot of days.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, building.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: And they're pretty spread out right now.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_02: Just be a talk.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, but like the summer, like we should, even if it's all not released on its own, the vinyl will most likely be out, it will be out.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then we'll be touring off of that record.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_02: So even if you haven't heard it on Spotify, you come to a concert, you're gonna hear one of those songs you've never heard before.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, amazing, amazing.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you guys don't have to reveal this, you can just answer this with a yes or no.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: But are are there bigger plans at hand that you're not able to share yet as far as some of your touring plans?
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm gonna say yes right off the bat.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: I can kind of read between the lines.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can I can read between the lines, and everybody loves to know a little bit of a good secret, right?
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: So one year from now, let's just kind of manifest some things.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: Where do you see the project one year from now?
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: Would love to be, I think Okay, I don't want to speak for everybody, but I think we would love to be definitely on to the next album, new project, new songs, still obviously playing this album that's coming out now, but we'd like to, you know, be working on more ideas, definitely obviously lining up summer tour dates, and that's where I would like to be.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I would like definitely to um have like a good social media like standing, specifically tour still touring on that record, and then still writing for the next EP or record, whatever happened.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, just getting more experiences, yeah.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: I already have playing some cool festivals and cool cool bands, some cool uh West Coast shows, get out on a kill the court, that'd be cool.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: It is an outbreak.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_02: This one I'm great.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's giving us things.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think I think just like taking what we've already had and just keep running with like this.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, my closing question that I ask everybody that does the show, you guys all one at a time, I want to hear an answer from every single one of you through your experience with American vanity and everything that you are looking forward to manifesting, so on and so on.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: What's your advice for making the world a better place tomorrow than what it is today through your eyes?
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm such a music-focused person.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_02: So I think specifically to make the world a better place, in my eyes, music is a is a universal language.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think we just have to keep pushing out music, different styles of music to make people feel different things, you know.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_02: Music I mean everybody kind of relates to it.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_02: I think to kind of make the world a better place, we just need to get on this cycle where new music's coming out.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_02: There's new stuff to be discovered, you know.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: I guess that's an odd answer, but music is such an important thing.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: So I think keeping music at the forefront.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: I would say um to make like the world a better place, I think everybody should promote being themselves and not like conforming to what you're supposed to be or like how you're supposed to act or what you're supposed to do or listen to or whatever.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think it would be like the world would be a better place if like you weren't everybody wasn't constantly looking for like approval.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like you don't need to be liked by everybody, and I think just keep that in mind.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's important to not stop yourself from being successful.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_02: Listen to the music you want, perform the music you want, write the music off, be yourself, be a better person.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_02: Now there's always room for improvement in every aspect of life.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you what, like a couple of weeks ago, I got on one of those late night diatribes where I was just sitting doom scrolling on my phone, and you know, I got so sick of you know reading about socio-political divide and everything ugly that's going on in the world right now.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I posted some long diatribe that kind of summed up everything that you guys were just saying.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's like if more people shared joy and the things that brought them happiness in the world instead of all the negativity, there would be a lot less conflict and a lot less, you know, bad.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: So so awesome.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, why don't you guys tell anybody that's watching or listening to this where they can find you guys online?
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you are watching or listening to this, you can find American Vanity at this is American Vanity on all social medias: Instagram, TikTok, whatever you have, we're on it.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you want to listen to our original songs, make sure you check them out on Spotify and also all other streaming platforms, and there will be more to come shortly.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome! Guys, Virginia, Luke, Luke, Carter.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you guys for tuning the show.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: The world's a much better place with you guys in it, and everybody, please go follow American Vanity.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: March 6th.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: March! March 6th, everybody.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: Once again, I'd like to thank American Vanity for doing the podcast.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: That was a fun conversation.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: They have a bright future ahead of them.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you are following them on all social media platforms.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: You heard it.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna be trickling songs out once every six weeks with the next song dropping on March 6th.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you check it out.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: While you are being so generous with the follows, likes, and what have you, make sure you are following at Caught on the Mic on all social media platforms.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: Visit me www.cotonthemic.com.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_01: Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and shoot me an email at cotonhe at gmail.com for all focusing inquiries and anything else you might want to learn about the show.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: This has been Caught on the Mic with Michael Clark.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Michael Clark.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, thank you.