This week on Emo Nite, Derek Discanio and Ryan Scott Graham of State Champs called in to talk to show host Morgan Freed all about their new album, among a few other things. Noting he’d be doing things a little differently this interview, Morgan started off with “the normal questions” asking Derek and Ryan about their current attraction to TikTok, wondering “what is the reason behind it and do you think it’s important for bands to be on the app.”
Listen to the entire State Champs interview below
After being “hesitant for a long time to get on the app,” due to the normal older crowd fears Ryan admitted that after being “a hater” he realized he “loved being a clown,” and that TikTok was just “another platform for me to do it.” Adding, “and I was just like we would be stupid if we weren’t at least trying, at least putting ourselves out there, and it’s working.”
And good thing too, because State Champs are gearing up to release a brand new album, Kings of the New Age, due out May 13.
As for the album name choice, Freed asked how and why they settled on that, wondering “isn’t it a little cocky?”
“Ummm, yeah, it’s cocky and it’s supposed to be, the band admitted. “Kings of the New Age is kinda like us making as big of a statement as we could. It’s our fourth album, not a lot of bands even make it to this point ten years plus into their career, let alone being able to make their fourth full length album. We’ve been a humble exciting new young band forever, and now it’s kinda time for us to cement our own legacy and carry the torch in the scene, and let people know like ‘we’re the s***.’”
“We’re allowed to be rockstars, a little bit, without being like d***heads, it’s just saying — we’re good at what we do, we know it, and we’re kinda like not afraid to say it anymore.”
After asking the band what is their least favorite question they are always asked, Morgan followed it up by asking “What’s the secret to a successful relationship when you’re out on tour?” Which led State Champs to quickly catch on to what “doing things differently” meant that Freed mentioned earlier.
After joking, “you guys had our girlfriends write these f***ing questions,” they took the time to answer it. Saying, “the secret is… communication, honesty, love, trust and everything in between.” After which Morgan confessed he did indeed have Ryan and Derek’s significant others submit a few questions, that of which was the last one.
Next up for discussion — State Champs’ upcoming tours, starting off in the UK in May, as well as a bucket list appearance for them at Red Rocks, alongside blackbear, Neck Deep, and MOD SUN, later that month.
As many artists did over the pandemic, State Champs took their time to write without the added pressure of deadlines. “We were lucky enough to spend a lot of time writing and recording songs… we could just take our sweet sweet time and write as many songs as we could, Derek said. Adding, “we didn’t really think about a certain style or certain direction we wanted to go to. There was no specific ‘we want to make a heavier album or a poppier album, we just wrote a s*** ton of songs.” Recalling that the “challenge was kinda like finding the which ones made the tracklist that was gonna be the new chapter of us.”
Last time around with Living Proof, State Champs admits they were trying to sound more “mature,” and in doing so didn’t stay 100 percent true to themselves. But “Kings of the New Age is State Champs through and through,” and anything but mature. And furthermore, as the band revealed their upcoming fourth album is also “sonically the best sounding album that we’ve ever made, production wise… it’s nowhere near mature, it’s us being a little more immature, showing off the youth in us, and like y’know, no stress.”
Kings of the New Age is set to drop May 13, so in the meantime check out the album’s first three singles - — “Just Sound,” "Outta My Head,” and “Everybody But You,” and obviously also listen to their entire Audacy interview above.
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