FOURLETTERLIE

In the time between your last album and yournewest one, Four Letter Lie went through somemajor line up changes with the departure of gui-tarist/co-vocalist Kevin Skaff and drummer DerekSmith. How did losing Kevin as a songwriter affectthe band?Losing Kevin just meant that he was no longer here,and that life goes on. It meant the rest of us had tostep it up and take on more of the writing process.Connor and John did a great job writing these newsongs and even for me, this was the first time I hada chance to write vocals by myself. It worked outreally well.

Did the sound or direction of A New Day changeafter Kevin's departure?Yeah, I'd say so. We didn't go into this record tryingto write a certain way, or sound a certain way by anymeans. We just kinda wrote and demoed, and this iswhat came out. But more importantly we were writ-ing what we wanted to write.

Did anything written before Kevin's departuremake it onto A New Day?The last song we wrote with Kevin actually is on therecord. It's called My Surrender . We switched itup a bit, changed the vocals and lyrics and evenadded our friend Jesse Barrera from the band MyAmerican Heart to sing on the track.

Kevin sang parts on most of 4LL's songs, are youstill playing songs that Kevin sung on from previ-ous albums at shows? Who is picking up the extravocals?We definitely are. We do a mix of some old songsand some new songs live. I just do all the vocals,switch up the style and make it my own. It has beenworking out really well.

Derek's departure to pursue his rap career wasjust a couple weeks before you entered the studioto record A New Day. Was his departure some-thing you knew was coming or was it a surprise?Derek is a great dude and he had a chance to pursuemusic he is really passionate about. We kind of knewit was coming and it wasn't a bad thing by anymeans, we supported him and what he wants to do.Luckily, our good friend Tim Java was able to fill inand help us out with the record! He drummed inDead To Fall.

Ex-Dead to Fall/With Dead Hands Rising drummer,Tim Java, was eventually recruited to play drumson A New Day. How did Tim get involved and werethe drum parts already written for the albumbefore he joined or did he come up with new partsin the studio?He was a friend of ours for awhile, and Tim actuallystepped into a pretty big spot. We had the songs allwritten, but there were no real drums to them yet.We pretty much had 3 weeks before we went into thestudio to get it all locked down. But it worked outand he did an amazing job!

Who's the new drummer your playing with nowand has he played in any other bands aroundtown? How does his drumming style compare toDerek's or Tim’s?His name is Tai Wright and we actually got hookedup with him through Tim Java. He was a friend ofhis. Tim and Tai's style of drumming are real similar,very jazz oriented!

With the departures of key band members, doesthe title of A New Day indicate a new direction ornew beginning for Four Letter lie?Definitely, and that's kinda what the record is about.Not exactly about the band members but just thewhole idea of putting the past behind you. You can'tlet what has happened yesterday affect who you aretomorrow or today. You have to live in the momentand understand that life goes on. The world doesn'twait so make the most of it and be the best that youcan.

Lyrically and musically, how does A New Daycompare to your previous albums?I want to say that this is a pretty emotional record. Ihate to use the term, but it really is. We poured a lotout into this album. The lyrics are all just real life andemotion and same goes for the music. If you can'tfeel something when you listen to a record, why lis-ten at all?

Solo artist and ex-My American Heart guitaristJesse Barrera sings on the chorus on the song "MySurrender", how did he become involved in thealbum?It was pretty sporadic. We knew we had a song thatwe wanted some singing on and I just shot him atext message asking him if he would be down and hewas stoked! He has been a friend for years and welove everything he does so it was pretty cool to get

him involved. We sent him the track and he record-ed the vocals in his home studio and sent it back tous. The rest is history!

I've heard you use the term "Strugglers" quite afew times and it's the name of one of the songs onA New Day, can you explain what a struggler isand where the term came from?Haha, it is sort of an inside joke I guess. But every-one can work it into their daily vocab. It is prettystraight forward. A struggler can be anywhere, any-thing. Just someone who struggles. Let me try andput it into an example for ya....You're at a gas stationabout to pump gas and you notice the person infront of you at the other pump overflowed their tankand gas went everywhere on the ground, thus leav-ing a mess for the gas station employees to cleanup. That would be a struggler.

This was your second time working with MattGoldman, what made you want to work with himagain on A New Day ?Well we love his work for one, but we also wanted towork with someone who we would be familiar with,especially after going through these changes.Someone who knows us and would be familiar

working with us! It worked out well, he is an amaz-ing producer and a great friend.

In the studio updates you posted while recordingA New Day in Atlanta, there are a few shots ofJohn and Conner drinking and rolling joints, but noshots of you doing anything except one scenewhere you jokingly say something about havingyour "red cup of alcohol that helps you sing". Isyour participation in those vices off-screen or doyou not participate?Haha, that scene is just me being the sarcastic idiotthat I am. There was only water in that cup. I leavethe heavy stuff for the big dogs.<br/><br/>

In the last few years, Victory Records has had itsshare of bad press when it comes to relations withtheir bands. In the few years you've been onVictory, how has the label treated Four Letter Lie?They treat us well. We haven't ever had really anyproblems with the label. Bands have problems withthe label when bands try to screw with the label.That goes for anything in life.

Has Victory's bad press had any negative affectson the band?Ah, not really, sometimes agents or managers don'twant to work with us because we are with Victory,but that's a part of the business and we get that. It'sout of our control.

With so many bands on the label, do you ever feellike Four Letter Lie gets lost in the shadows of thebigger bands?Definitely. But all we can do is work hard, continueto grow and get better each day.

You were in the studio for A New Day for a monthfrom July to August and within a couple days ofreturning you were back at work. And the samework ethic applies to when you tour, you'll be gonefor a few weeks and you'll be back delivering acouple days later. Is there any kind of mental tran-sition you take from being a musician on tour or inthe studio to just being an everyday Joe?Haha, Sometimes it's weird, the transition betweenthe two. But I guess I have gotten used to it. It's justsomething I have to do. I wish I could be on the roadall the time, but sometimes it's nice being an every-day Joe!

In 2008, you toured nearly 10 out of 12 months, isit hard to maintain personal relationships whenyou're away for long stretches?Oh god, yeah. It definitely can be. We have watchedplenty of personal relationships come and go. Whenyou're on the road there's only so much calling andwriting you can do when most of the time they justwant you to be there all the time. It's hard. But youhave to be patient and strong and know you'realways coming home. If you want it to work, it willwork. And if you want to give up, you can alwaysgive up.

If someone looked at your twitter, they'd noticethat you post practically anytime, day or night?Would you consider yourself a night person? Whydo you keep such late hours?Haha, I am always posting random stuff. It's fun,keeps me amused and entertained. I am a total nightperson, I don't get much sleep and it's partiallybecause I do all the night driving on the road so Ihave sort of adapted to these hours. I am a mess inthe morning, just don't even bother with me!

You've got some pretty eclectic tastes in music,what are a couple of musicians that others may besurprised to hear you rockin'?I love a lot of chill feel good rock stuff like JohnMayer, Acceptance, Third Eye Blind, but I also lovemy heavy stuff. One of my faves is Lower Definition.And always My American Heart.

Our history extends back quite a few years to whenwe used to skateboard and film videos. A littlewhile after that I learned that you were doing aband and were getting ready to release the HerEscape EP. When did the transition occur from "LilNagan" the skater to Brian Nagan Four Letter Lievocalist?Haha! Man, I don't even know. It was almost likeovernight. Once I got a taste of music and doing thisband stuff, I just ran with it. That's kinda how I amthough. I was like that with skateboarding too. Butonce music and girls took over and infected my life,that's kinda where the transition occurred.

When you, John and Conner decided to start aband, did you ever imagine that it would bring youto where you are today?Haha, no way, never. We were a joke.

Was there anyone that really gave you the push topursue music or supported you throughout theformative years of Four Letter Lie?The beginning was hard because no one ever reallytook us seriously. They looked at us like what theheck are these kids doing. And I mean we were badat first but ya gotta start somewhere. We knewwhere we wanted to go and just always worked hard.It's true that hard work goes a long way. Thingsdon't just happen in life, you have to make themhappen.

Would you ever consider doing a music projectwith your brother Evan, who was one of the vocal-ists in the respected Minneapolis metal bandNehemiah?Yeah, we have always tossed around the idea. He isso busy with work, but it would be cool to even justrecord some stuff for fun.

You toured quite a bit in support of your lastalbum, will you be touring a lot in support of ANew Day?Definitely! Back on the road, grinding, and living thedream!

Interview

with

BrianNa

gan•Photosby

Evan

Dell

•www.flick

r.com

/photos/evan

dellphotography