Tag: "derek sanders"

The idea of being on tour for the majority of the year with barely any breaks might sound closer to a nightmare than a dream, but road warriors Mayday Parade are all about staying busy and bringing their energetic live show to audiences far and wide. The Tallahassee rock outfit have been a staple in the modern rock scene since their inception in 2005 and are responsible for scene favorites like “Jamie All Over” “Three Cheers for Five Years” and “Miserable at Best.” Their most recent album is self titled, a choice reflective of how the band took the reins and made the most autonomous release of their career.

OurStage caught up with frontman Derek Sanders at the dawn of 2012, a year which is filled with months of Mayday Parade tour dates. Read on to find out how he feels about non-stop touring, why he loves the Vans Warped Tour and why Mayday Parade is his favorite record to date.

OS: You’re currently out on a co-headlining US tour with We The Kings. Are you satisfied with how the first few shows have gone?

DS: Yeah, overly satisfied! It’s been great. All three of the shows so far have sold out and just been so much fun. We had a day off yesterday, but the day before that was Nashville, [we played at the venue] Rocketown there. Really good times. It’s good to be back on the road again and good to be out with all of these bands. It’s a great tour.

OS: After these dates in the US, you’ll be heading over to the UK, where a lot of your shows are already sold out. Do you think that the shows overseas have a different feel than in the states?

DS: Yeah, in certain ways, they do, but it’s really cool. In some ways, at least in our experience, the crowds have almost been a little better in the UK. Even if they don’t know your band or they don’t know the words, they’ll still have a good time and jump around and get into it, whereas you don’t really see that as often over here. If people don’t know the band, they just kind of stand there and watch. But obviously, the crowds here are amazing and the crowds over there are amazing as well, just small differences, I guess!

Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Mayday Parade Hit The Road’

It’s been ten years since the release of Punk Goes Metal, the first of a nine-disc set of cover compilations released by Fearless Records. Today, the tenth installment in the series, Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3, hits shelves.

Upon first view of the tracklisting, you may be surprised to see which artists appear on this record. While the early Punk Goes… albums featured scene staples like Yellowcard, The Starting Line, Thrice and Taking Back Sunday, Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3‘s lineup includes few artists that the average music listener would know (and certainly no bands that truly qualify as “punk”). The question from here on out, then, is: Can the underdogs pull their weight?

The album starts off with a cover of Jay Sean‘s “Down” by “crunkcore” duo Breathe Carolina. Unfortunately for Breathe Carolina, the very mention of “crunkcore” will be enough to keep many from giving this track a chance.

Crunkcore duo Breathe Carolina open the record with their cover of Jay Sean's "Down"

“Down” does set the tone for most of the record, though, which reflects the hottest trend in pop rock: the electronic-meets-screamo style made famous by bands like Attack Attack! and 3OH!3. If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, be warned: you probably won’t like most of Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3.

The third track, a cover of Lady Gaga‘s “Bad Romance,” comes to us from OurStage band Artist Vs Poet. Though it’s been covered a million times already, this is a solid version of it and remains very true to the original.

Another highlight of the record is Mayday Parade‘s cover of Jason Derülo‘s “In My Head.” Vocalist Derek Sanders can hit all the high notes without relying on autotune, and the track as a whole is refreshingly straight forward and not overproduced.

We Came As Romans' cover of "My Love" might just give JT a run for his money

After the harmony-laden pop vocals of Sparks the Rescue‘s cover of “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum fade out, you may be caught off-guard by the growls of We Came As Romans vocalist David Stephens. Romans’ cover of “My Love” actually ends the record nicely, though, with clean vocalist Kyle Pavone’s Justin Timberlake-like croon going head-to-head with breakdowns and synth riffs.

Unfortunately, covers do not always do the original song justice (you’ll probably find yourself skipping The Ready Set‘s bland version of B.o.B and Hayley Williams’ “Airplanes”), but if you’re a fan of teen “popcore,” you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised with this collection.

Pick up Punk Goes Pop, Volume 3 in record stores and online today and check out Mayday Parade’s cover of “In My Head” below!

Tracklisting:

1. Breathe Carolina – “Down” (originally recorded by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne)
2. Woe, Is Me – “Hot ‘N Cold” (originally recorded by Katy Perry)
3. Artist Vs Poet – “Bad Romance” (originally recorded by Lady GaGa)
4. Mayday Parade – “In My Head” (originally recorded by Jason Derülo)
5. Asking Alexandria – “Right Now (Na Na Na)” (originally recorded by Akon)
6. This Century – “Paper Planes” (originally recorded by M.I.A.)
7. The Word Alive – “Heartless” (originally recorded by Kanye West)
8. Family Force 5 – “Bulletproof” (originally recorded by La Roux)
9. Of Mice & Men – “Blame It” (originally recorded by Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain)
10. Miss May I – “Run This Town” (originally recorded by Jay-Z ft. Kanye West and Rihanna)
11. The Ready Set – “Airplanes” (originally recorded by B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams)
12. Cute Is What We Aim For – “Dead And Gone” (originally recorded by T.I. ft. Justin Timberlake)
13. Sparks The Rescue – “Need You Now” (originally recorded by Lady Antebellum)
14. We Came As Romans – “My Love” (originally recorded by Justin Timberlake ft. T.I.)