Interviews: Protect Your Heart

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Pop-Punk/Easycore band Protect Your Heart from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

It kind of just came out of nowhere one day. There's not really a remarkable story behind it, to be honest. We had been thinking of names for a bit and nothing really felt right, and then one day during a writing session we were throwing more ideas at the wall and Jake suggested Protect Your Heart and it just kinda stuck. At the time, we felt like it captured the vibe of the music we were writing, and like a concept that we could all relate to as individuals, and we felt like others could, too. And with Kean coming from the branding and design world, it gave him a lot to work with visually as well. With our entire body of work out there now, we're really happy that the accident happened because it has really allowed us to create an identity that's cohesive across both the music and the visuals.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

Everyone in the band learned how to play instruments and write songs from growing up in punk or metal bands, so this project and this record have kind of been a full-circle return to form for all of us. We all met through the dance music scene, as we had been producing and DJing for a number of years, and through playing shows together, collaborating on music together, and living together, we kind of formed this little family before PYH was even an idea. We all decided to make a trip to the final Warped Tour, and that was the ultimate catalyst that started this whole process. We all wanted to try and write a handful of pop-punk songs just for fun, as a challenge to ourselves as producers and songwriters. When we realized how much fun we were having, and how many demos we had written, we decided to take it more seriously and pursue it as a creative outlet, and we're so happy we did because it's been one of the most fulfilling creative experiences any of us have had.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Jake, Ant, and Kean all knew each other for almost a decade before the first PYH demo was ever written. We were all making and playing dance music, collaborating with each other in that realm, and Jake and Ant actually lived together for a few years. We met Matty about two years into the writing process of this record, though we had known about him through another one of our dance music friends, HIGHSOCIETY. Matty collaborated with HIGHSOCIETY on the original version of the song Fireproof, which came out on Play Me Records, an independent dance music label that we've all released with. So we had this sort of "family you get to choose" thing going on well before PYH started, which has made working together so easy and so fun.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Matty: Coldplay

Jake: Metallica

Ant: Trent Reznor

Kean: Blink 182

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

We all have this intense, insatiable need to be creative and to be productive. The work ethic individually and as a group is really strong, and we just love collaborating together. When all of us get into a room together and get into the writing mode, it's really fast-paced, really high-energy, and really fun. We all complement each other really well, but we also push each other really hard to try and get the absolute best out of each of us that we can. For us as a band, it's never been hard to find inspiration. We wrote over 50 demos for this record, and have continued to write new songs as we released the singles over the last year, so the creation never really stops. We just love making things and trying to do them at the highest level we possibly can. Our #1 mantra when we started this project was to "just make cool shit," and we all abide by the idea that we just want to make the music we wish existed. As long as that energy is still there, we will always be on to the next thing and trying to make the best music we possibly can.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our first (and last) gig was on the LA date of the Sink In tour at the Moroccan Lounge with Sink In, Good Terms, and Cold Weather Kids. We got thrown on the bill the week before after another band canceled, and lucky for us, we had scheduled a full-day rehearsal months prior for the day before the show. So we rehearsed for 12 straight hours, went home, woke up the next day, and did it all over again. The entire experience was a bit of a whirlwind, but it felt so good to play these songs out after so many years of not being able to. We really couldn't have asked for a better first show, and we owe a massive thanks to Sink In for giving us the opportunity, Good Terms for reaching out to get us on the bill, and all of the bands for being so incredibly gracious and supportive of us. It was one we'll never forget.

7. Where would you like to act?

Right now we're in the stage of just wanting to get out there and play. Our ultimate goal is to tour, to share the stage with our favorite bands, and to play cool shows in cool venues. As an LA band, we'd obviously love to play the big rooms here like Avalon, Palladium, Novo, but we're also equally excited about the legendary small rooms like the Viper Room and the Whisky. Who knows, maybe you'll see a PYH flier for both venues in the near future.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

If we had a wishlist of bands to go on tour with it would probably be Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember, Blink 182, Four Year Strong, Chunk! No Captain Chunk, New Found Glory, Kenny Hoopla, Calling All Captains, Silverstein, We Were Sharks, Dear Youth, Point North, and our LA easycore buds Good Terms. We love all of those bands and think we'd fit right in with one of their tours, and would have a great time doing it.

9. Whom not?

We'll never turn down a good opportunity. We just wanna have fun and play the music that we love! No country acts though. That's not for us.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

I think with all of us having toured and played live so many times in our pasts, none of us really suffer from stage fright. It's become a habit for all of us and once you get in the swing of performing, it becomes second nature. The best advice for overcoming it would probably be to just come prepared. Get prepped the night before, practice every song, and establish muscle memory so that it just comes out naturally. And then from there, just have fun. Crowds react to your energy on stage, so if you're standing there nervous and stiff, they will do the same. At the end of the day, nobody will notice if you are boof a note as long as you're moving around, and they're moving around. They'll remember the good time they had let loose and not the minor mix-ups that you may fixate on after the fact. 

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

This is a loaded question because we obviously have a long list of bands we love and are inspired by, but we're also inspired by artists well outside of our scene. The easy ones you'll hear us reference often are Blink 182 and Metallica, New Found Glory, and bands like that. But we were also inspired by pop artists like Ariana Grande, and dance music acts like Drum & Bass artists Noisia and Pendulum. Because we've all produced electro, dubstep, trap, drum and bass, hip-hop, and rock, our influences are extremely broad. We always try to bring our EDM production techniques and knowledge to the table when we're creating too, which hopefully gives our music a unique flavor in comparison to other bands out there.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Since we're a relatively new act, we haven't really received any weird or random requests yet, other than the daily Instagram bots asking if we'll wear their jewelry and be a brand ambassadors or whatever. I'm sure the weirdos will come eventually if we do this long enough though.

13. What do you think of your fans?

We love our fans. In fact, it feels weird to even say that we have fans. We just treat everyone as if they're an extension of the little family we've built. None of us started making music to have fans or be famous. We just wanted to make music we liked, that we wished existed, and share that with anyone like us who was looking for the same thing. We never set out to write songs for anyone other than ourselves, so to us, it's a blessing that anyone, anywhere listens at all. We're always happy to connect and chat with anyone that comes our way and we make it a point to respond to everybody, even if it's as simple as a handful of purple heart emojis. For anybody that's willing to like, share, comment, and support our project, the least we can do is acknowledge them with a reply and be grateful for that. 

14. What do you think of our site?

It's rad! It's so cool to see the support of so many up-and-coming bands that span an array of genres in the scene. Pretty sure we're gonna find our next favorite band right here on this site. We're super appreciative that we've been given the platform to share a little bit about us here, and hopefully, someone will find this article and we can become their new favorite band as a result.

15. Something to add?

Nothing other than a huge thank you for having us and for giving us the opportunity to share our work with you, here. This entire body of work was 100% DIY, and we couldn't be more proud of the end result. We wrote every note, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered every song. We produced all of our music videos and visualizers. We created all of the visuals, the album art, the logos. Absolutely everything you see and hear from PYH is done by us, in-house, and it has been an absolute labor of love throughout the entire process. So with that said, this record is obviously extremely meaningful to us, and we hope it becomes just as meaningful to anybody who listens to it.