“You are my song and you are where I want to be…”
The Dangerous Summer is one of those bands who have perfected the art of touring and it shows. They’ve been touring heavily lately to promote the release of their new album, Reach for the Sun. I took a well-needed break from the heat, pits and madness of Warped Tour to catch them on their BBQ America Tour with Ace Enders. These guys are a treat to see — especially in such an intimate venue like the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. When the crowd was asked how many had heard them before, only about half raised their hands. I can safely say, The Dangerous Summer probably gained a huge following last night.
I had the chance to talk with lead vocalist/bassist, AJ Perdomo before the show for a quick interview. Check it out…
Your newest album, Reach for the Sun has been out since May. How’s it feeling so far?
It’s awesome. We’ve gotten a good response from all the kids and stuff like that and all the reviewers have been treating it well. We’re just real happy with it.
Reach the Sun is really autobiographical, does that make the release of it even more tense in how the audience receives it and how it gets reviewed since it’s pretty much you putting your diary on the line?
I mean, like, it’s like, kinda crazy putting myself out there that much. All the kids have been taking it well, they’ve been like, “that really relates to my life.” They’ve found pieces of it that really pulled parts of their lives together. It just feels good. I just put as many honest things as I could down and people seem to be treating it rather well.
Other than it being super autobiographical, how does Reach for the Sun compare to your other work?
I think we really grew up a lot. We wrote If You Could Only Keep Me Alive when we were seniors in high school. Now we’re two years out of high school and touring. We didn’t even tour on the EP.
While you were in high school, you were working with a producer who has worked with All Time Low, Dashboard Confessional, etc. How did that feel?
It’s awesome, I mean, when we were in 9th grade of high school we were working with him. He’s like, the local big guy. We became really, really close with him and it just became natural to work with him. It wasn’t even like going out to do an album — it was like hanging out, writing some songs while you’re at it.
So, you have a new album out and you’re touring right now. What’s after that?
It looks like we’re going to be touring pretty much all year and after that. We’re going to be doing some writing this fall just testing some new ideas out. Maybe in a year or two releasing some new material”¦
Lots of bands are out on Warped Tour right now. Do you consider The Dangerous Summer to be a potential Warped Tour band? Is that something you guys eventually want to do?
Oh yeah, we eventually want to do the whole Warped Tour stint but this year we got the Ace Enders tour and we just couldn’t pass it up. So many good bands, it’s like legends that we grew up with. We’re just so happy to be on this tour. Not looking past that, really.
Do you guys have any friends on Warped Tour right now?
Not too many ““ but All Time Low‘s joining up eventually, they’re going to be off having fun.
Can you believe they just played three shows, in three different times zones in the same day?
Yeah, that’s intense. I heard it went off without a hitch, too. That’s awesome.
Who do you see as the next big thing in music right now?
There’s this band, Paper Route we really like. They’re AMAZING. I think they’re going to be like, Coldplay status. They’re good, definitely check them out. They’re going on tour with Paramore this fall.
Anything else to add?
Check out the new album if you haven’t already!
Check out some photos shot by Al Morales from their set at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood – 07.09.09
