Interview: Pat Kirch – Drums
Interview By: Shaia Moore

You grew up in Tempe, Arizona. To me, AZ seems almost like a lost land for many teenagers. There isn’t much motivation to do anything except to one day escape. Was this true for you and has being in a band provided you with that escape outlet?
Yeah, I mean, definitely. But I think if anything, we actually miss being home. I mean, me and all of us, we love Arizona a lot. Me personally, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. But it’s definitely a daze. And obviously, being in a band has given me the opportunity to travel the country and I guess that is getting me out of Arizona.

How did you set out to make sure that The Maine would become more than just another local teenage band?
I’ve been in other local bands in the past, but I think when we started this band, from the first day we knew that this was going to be something different and that we were going to try something different. Not just be a local band, but do something bigger than that. That’s still the goal I guess. At the time we started, there was a big hardcore scene, and all of the Arizona bands played together and all of the same kids came to see them play. And I think we wanted to play other places besides Arizona and focus more on that rather than playing at home. I mean, we’ve played more times in Dallas, Texas, than we’ve played in Arizona. We weren’t just focusing on playing at home is the big difference.

Just out of high school and already a major touring band, growing up seems unavoidable. What’s been the strangest or hardest part about entering adulthood while also being a musician?
I don’t feel like I’m becoming an adult, I guess. We started touring when I was still in high school. I graduated like halfway through Senior year and I don’t think much has changed. I haven’t really grown up. We’re just having fun and working hard. Doing anything it takes.

Do you think that being a musician stunts you from growing up in the ways that someone who goes straight to college and/or works a day job does?
I think its definitely different. I think the big difference is that I do what I enjoy and I think a lot of people that work in an office probably don’t do what they enjoy. Maybe it seems like they’re grown up because they’re pissed off about where they’re working.

What one band that you’ve toured with gave you the most helpful advice or were the best example to you of how a band should act on the road?
Definitely Good Charlotte. Definitely. They’ve just been doing it for so long and they made us feel so welcome, and if we ever needed anything we could go to them. From the first day of the tour, we didn’t know what to except. We were all big fans of the band and nervous, but they showed us that they’re just regular people. I think what they showed us is how to treat other bands and how to treat your fans. They were nice to everybody, and if you needed anything at all, they’re there to help you.

Tell me about your average interaction with female fans at a show.
Everyone that comes out to the shows are awesome and supportive. We couldn’t ask for anything more than that. We just like to hang out with the fans as much as possible, just talk and stuff. Nothing too crazy happens to us with fans, we’re just like them. A lot of them are the same age. There’s definitely the times where [girls] seem almost, like, amazed that we’re standing next to them or talking to them. I just try to make them feel as comfortable as possible and make them realize that we’re the exact same as them. We’re just people.

Your music is all over MTV this year. It seems like every episode of The Hills now features The Maine. Did you all sit down and have a Hills watching party when the episodes aired?
We’ve been on tour so I don’t think any of us have even seen it, or heard the songs on TV or anything! But my mom called me to tell me that she heard it, and I told her to watch it. So that was kind of cool. It’s awesome and I’m sure all of the shows will be recorded when I get back.

Was it surreal putting together the video for “Everything I Ask For”? Seeing the video set, was it an, “I’ve made it” moment?
Yeah, it was crazy. I didn’t even know what to expect — the first time coming in and making a real video. It was the first time we’d ever had direction and people telling us what to do. Everybody had their little job and it all came together with everybody doing their part. We had a good time. I don’t think there’s one particular moment, just the entire process in general was awesome.

In publicity photos, your band looks very stylized. This caught the attention of both Wet Seal and Hurley, who struck a deal with The Maine to produce limited edition tees. How important is style to The Maine?
I don’t think to The Maine, as a band, that style is that important. But we all like clothes — anything that’s comfortable and looks cool. I think we all just wear what we like at the time. We tried to do the whole matching thing for photo shoots. It was just our idea to look more as a unit, but that’s not something we’re going to do all the time now.

Tell me about the EP, …And A Happy New Year, coming out December 9. How does the process of writing lyrics and producing holiday tracks differ from putting together a pop album like Can’t Stop Won’t Stop?
I think the Christmas EP is kind of more of a fun thing, a more rushed thing that we recorded in like four days or something. We just wanted to do it to give the kids some more songs. I always get sick when bands won’t put out a record for 2½ years before they put out the next one, and you might want to hear something new in between. So that’s basically why we did it: To give the kids something new to hear. I think the biggest difference is we didn’t take this too seriously. It was just a fun little thing. Something to buy for Christmas, to have for cheap. We just wanted to write some songs and had some ideas and basically just wanted to have something new and fresh to listen to.

On Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, you worked with Producer Matt Squire, who’s had a hand in developing the sound of many popular bands today. Based upon what you learned from working with him, what elements do you believe make a song album worthy?
Working with him, he taught us what was necessary in a song: To take away parts that don’t necessarily need to be there, that don’t do anything for the song. And the parts that are good, to make sure that they stand out. I think he taught us what is essential for a song, rather than just having parts that are just there — filler stuff. It varies on every song which parts, but the goal is to have all good parts.

Would you agree that the makings of a perfect The Maine song include a theme of romantic infatuation or entanglement?
Yeah, but with a lot of the songs, people can take what they want out of it. Some people think a song is about some super romantic thing, but in reality, it’s probably about something completely different. We try to keep them open ended so people can take what they want away from the songs that make them feel a certain way.

How will you approach writing music for the next full length album after finding such quick success with Can’t Stop Wont Stop?
I think we go with what comes out. Our music isn’t anything that we’ve talked about. We write it, and whatever comes out, comes out. I don’t see any big change happening, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. As we’re getting older and touring, obviously there is going to be a natural progression, but we’re just going to write the songs that we want to write.

Between every accomplishment you’ve had this year (MTV, Alternative Press 100 Bands To Know, Hurley, music video, album on Billboard chart), which one have you felt the most proud of yourself for?
I don’t know, it kind of seems like it’s all a blur because its all happened so fast. And being on tour, you’re so disconnected from all of that stuff anyway. We don’t have Alternative Press or stop at the store and buy it. So we don’t really see. You know, at home it was a lot easier for me to see. You can watch TV and be on the Internet and I have a subscription to Alternative Press, so, I can see an ad or an article about us. But on tour, you’re disconnected from all of that. So I think more than anything that playing a show and seeing kids sing along has become the most rewarding thing — the thing that sticks out the most. Seeing kids coming to our show, knowing who we are and knowing our songs, has been the best part. Without kids coming to the shows, we wouldn’t be doing this. This will always be the most important thing to us. It has to be.

Say you had to stop making music as The Maine. Based solely on the music its already released, do you think that most people would say, “The Maine was a band that went beyond being a cliché pop punk band”?
I guess I would hope so, but there is no way of really knowing what people will say. I think we try to write the songs we want to write, but beyond that, we try to connect with our fans as much as possible — talk to them as much as we can and hang out with them and just be their friend more than anything, because we’re just like them. I want to do this as long as I possibly can. And I hope in the future we can continue doing this and more and more people will come hang out with us and join our little family.