“I think everyone’s matured a great deal, but in the sense anyone would over a decade,” he says. “We have mortgages and families and pay our taxes on time. We’re responsible, thoughtful adults. We can spend time with our wives and our families, but it’s better for our bodies that we don’t destroy them playing 200 shows a year. They’ve found a host of things to keep them busy in the meantime. None of us are very sedentary; we like to do things.”
Indeed, it seems that the band have a collective fear of sitting still. Dan has his solo side project Aaron West And The Roaring Twenties. Matt occupies his time off with his side project Cold Climb It, carpentry and studio work. Fellow six-stringer Casey Cavaliere assists on photoshoots and works in recording studios. Keys man/guitarist Nick Steinborn has his Why Bother? project, plus mixes bands (“If you send him something you’ve done, he’ll make it sound phenomenal,” says Dan). Bass player Josh Martin co-owns a record shop, while drummer Mike Kennedy moved back to Philadelphia from Seattle, released his own EP and paints.
So what’s the glue that keeps the band together, focused and moving forward with the same enthusiasm?
“They’re my best friends,” the vocalist says. “There isn’t a day when I don’t talk to those guys. It’s basically two groups of three people in two neighbouring high schools – Casey and Josh were friends since first grade. Matt, Nick and I have known each other since we were 12, 13. Those groups collided when we were 17 and we’ve been best friends since. Casey lives 200 yards from me. Josh is a five-minute walk away. All of our girlfriends and wives are best friends.”