Exclusive: I Call Fives Interview

I Call Fives have been relatively quiet lately, however after announcing their current Australian tour and some progress on their upcoming debut full-length, they've definitely re-gained their fans' attention. Below is our interview with bassist, Drew Conte, where we talk about the band's past, present, and future.

Can you start by introducing yourself and your role in I Call Fives?

Drew: I'm Drew and I play the bass guitar in I Call Fives.

Earlier in the year the band was on a major tour with We Are The Union, Handguns, and The Story So Far, plus separate runs with Sparks The Rescue and The Dangerous Summer. What can you tell us about these tours? Were there any particular dates or moments that stood out for you?

Drew: It was a really long summer. Basically, we started the first tour in the beginning of June and didn't finish up until mid-September. The tours were really awesome though - for the most part we didn't really know those bands so to get a chance to play with new bands and become friends with them along the way was awesome. All of the guys we met this summer were awesome. Some of the shows definitely stood out..The Space in Hamden, CT with Sparks the Rescue or Garden City, NY with WATU, The Story So Far, and Handguns both sort of come to me at first for being awesome shows. We spent the 4th of July in Reno with We Are The Union and had some serious volleyball games...

You guys are also gonna be coming down to Australia in a week or so for a national tour with Heroes For Hire. What are you looking forward to the most about taking the band overseas?

Drew: I'm just excited to get the chance to play there. We owe a lot to Heroes For Hire and I Am Villain for having us on the tour and we're stoked to get over there. We went to the UK last November so to get to go to Australia this November is really cool.

In April you guys released a 4-song split 7" with Rust Belt Lights, how do you feel the crowd, and fans in general, have reacted to the new songs? It seems you guys went for a slightly more energetic approach this time around.

Drew: I think people have been cool about it, we only did 2 songs so I'm more excited to get the full length out and see how people are with that. Based off the two songs though people seemed stoked that we did have more of an energetic approach..basically, we like playing faster and having more of a straight up feel. I think some of that was lost on Bad Advice and we didn't really intend for that.

Were the songs specifically written and recorded for the split or were they leftover from previous releases?

Drew: They were new songs we had been working on with no real idea. We knew we had to start getting ready for a new record and then the idea for the 7" came up.

It's also been mentioned that the band's upcoming full-length won't be released on No Sleep Records. Have you guys made any progress with lining up a label, or producer for that matter?

Drew: We've definitely made progress with both of those things and are just sort of finalizing everything and getting ready to announce what's going to be up with us for the next few months after Australia.

Has it been more of a situation where the band has been contacting labels or have you received different offers that are being considered?

Drew: It's been both I guess. We've gotten lucky where we've never really had to work with someone we didn't know, or some random label or something. Usually we work with our friends and it's cool knowing they'll do everything they can to help your band.

I understand you guys will be entering the studio in November or December. How many songs would you say have been written at this stage? Can we expect to hear all-new material, or will previous songs make appearances?

Drew: We've got about 8 songs done and are going to write a couple more on this tour and when we get back home around Thanksgiving from the tour. After that we're going to take December off and then plan to hit the studio and do the record. It's going to be all new stuff.

I noticed you were also in charge of booking Challenges' current full US tour. Is this something you'll be doing more often or just a once-off?

Drew: Their manager has been a friend of mine for a while so I was able to help them out a little bit. It was the first tour I've booked that wasn't for ICF so it was definitely a challenge. Maybe I'll be able to get more involved in booking in the future but right now it's just too time consuming with everything else going on.

The band has definitely gained a good amount of traction over the years, despite only having released a few EPs. Do you feel that if you had put out more material but toured less it'd be a different situation?

Drew: That's a question I've talked about a lot lately. Honestly, I don't know. It's really hard because at the time my mindset was always to just stay on tour. I dropped out of college to pursue the band so I always assumed that touring was the most important way to stay active, stay busy, and to do something for the band..but I guess it could have been done differently with less touring and more time spent on writing songs and really situating the band as people. We've been a band for 5 years now so there was a couple times where we could have just worked on a full length and taken some serious time off. It never really presented itself like that, though. Before I expected stuff from everyone out of the band, kinda assuming everyone had the same passion and wanted to give the same amount of work...I was wrong. It led to a very not ideal situation and a lot of fights, member changes, that kind of stuff. Maybe constantly touring wasn't the best thing for us in the long run, but in the end I'm glad we were able to tour as much as we did and that some people came out at all. It's been fun. It's interesting to wonder what could have been but things worked out the way they did and I'm happy that this band doesn't function like it used to and I'm happy with the people that are here now.

Aside from working on the full-length and touring, does I Call Fives have anything else planned for the future?

Drew: After we finish the record and record it we're going to take a little bit off time off and gear up for the Spring and Summer where we'll be back on tour full time.

Thanks for your time, we really appreciate it. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Drew: Thanks for having me! Sorry for the wait, but the full length is coming and we will see you guys soon.

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