The New Year is in full swing and many of us are setting our sights on making our New Year’s resolutions a reality. Of course, being everyday folk, our resolutions usually range from “keep my room clean” to “shed a couple of pounds.” What if your resolution was “I’m going to try not to die?” It sounds dramatic, but that is the life of a musician. At least that’s what Pat and Garrett from The Maine told us their goal was when we caught up with them in December to talk about the upcoming year. We’re not completely convinced that “staying alive” counts as a yearlong goal, but the two did give us a lot of insight into what the band has planned over the next few months and what they like to do when they’re not working.

Check out the interview below to see what they had to say.

HTS: Since you guys finished the tour not that long ago, how did it go? How has the reception been?

Pat: It was awesome. We kinda weren’t sure what to expect cause, you know, us and Anberlin, I think, like have different fan bases and things like that. So we weren’t sure how the mix was going to be, but um. It was good. Can’t complain about that.
Garrett: Yeah. It was awesome. It was pretty short, so it went by pretty quick. But you know, all the bands are awesome so it was good hangs and stuff. Really fun.

HTS: So when I was talking to Lydia, I heard that you guys have a little backstage ritual you guys do. What is that ritual exactly?
Garrett: We do this little chant thing before we go on. Uh, it’s just like a clap/chant thing, but.
Pat: Besides that, we kinda just hang out and get in the mood to do a show I guess.
Garrett: Yeah, not too crazy.
Pat: We don’t have like set things that we have to do everyday or anything like that.

HTS: No one wears the same underwear for like a week type thing?
Garrett: Well, I do that, not on purpose.

HTS: Sanitary.
Garrett: Yeah, just cause I don’t shower. But I showered yesterday, so I feel good.

HTS: You guys just came out with an acoustic EP, yesterday. So why did you decide to release an acoustic EP?
Garrett: Um, it was something we’ve talked about for a long time. But our fans kind of always would say that we should do one. And then, we had a little bit of time off before the Anberlin tour, or the tour we just did. So we built a little studio in the back of our manager’s office. And we just recorded it, in like 5 or 6 days on our own. It was just us five, which we’ve never done. And it was a lot of fun, you know. Just kind of something we threw together pretty quick.
Pat: Just trying to explore a different dynamic of what we do as a band, try something else, and push what we do. Having a restriction on a set of songs kind of helps makes you think of things in a different way than you would if you knew you could make it sound big and whatever. So, I think it just made us think outside the box a little bit.

HTS: And you guys are doing an acoustic tour for that. Is your set going to be dramatically different with what you do?
Both: Yeah.
Garrett: We’ve sort of done something like that before. When our record “Pioneer” came out, we played that record full band, and then split it in half and came out and did an acoustic set of like 5 or 6 songs. But this will be the full set. So we’re going to re-work everything and make it work so it’s not loud, in your face, and its more, you know … calm.
Pat: And it’s a good chance to play tunes that don’t normally make it into the set. So we’re planning some small shows. It’s going to be like the hardcore fans that have been there forever so we’re going to play some things we haven’t played yet before, or haven’t played in years.

HTS: So which one do you prefer, acoustic or regular?
Pat: Full band shows…
Garrett: That’s what we love doing. But it’s going to be fun to do something different.

DEC 11- Fans started lining up early in the cold (yes, there was a “cold” week in Calfornia) to see Lydia, Anberlin, and The Maine at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Some fans had been waiting months to see the show, as it was originally scheduled for October. Due to scheduling conflicts, the showdate was change to December. Since the show was now during holiday season, the bands teamed up with Toys for Tots, and encouraged fans to donate toys for less fortunate children.

After an opening set from From Indian Lakes, Lydia took the stage. Lead by singer Leighton Antelman, the band is made up of Justin Camacho on guitar and Matt Keller on keyboard. The band performed songs from their latest album “Devil,” including “The Exit” as well as old fan favorite, “This is Twice Now” from 2008’s “Illuminate.” Lydia’s sound is very mellow, which is always interesting to see translated live. The band pulled it off changing up each song to become lively enough to captivate the crowd. Leighton remarked, “There are some Lydia fans in here,” after the crowd was noticeably singing along to every song.

Co headlining the show with The Maine, was Anberlin. Singer Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young have played together as Anberlin since 2007 (although the band formed in 2002). With a discography consisting of 7 studio albums, the band played a variety of new and old songs. Songs like “Feel Good Drag” and “Paperthin Hymn” were clear favorite among the crowd. The band’s sound, distinctly different from the other bands on the tour, is more reminiscent of Taking Back Sunday, or Switchfoot. To say the band seemed a bit out of place is an understatement, but you couldn’t tell from the crowd’s enthusiasm.

I’ve been a fan of The Maine for a long time (John and Garrett were actually my first interview!), and as expected, the band has matured significantly from their start. While the band played an array of songs from each of their four full length albums, the change was especially evident at the end. The band played, “Girls Do What They Want,” from their debut album, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” followed by an encore of “Misery,” from 2011’s “Pioneer.” Although the songs were released just three years apart, the transformation from teenage kids in a band to musicians was clear. These guys are in it to play music, constantly, anywhere, however. And I really hope more people will begin to recognize their talent.

The band added some holiday cheer to the show, performing their “holiday” song, “Ho Ho Hopefully,” which lead singer John O’Callaghan prefaced with, “Oh gosh. Um, I’m not 100% sure I still know the lyrics.” 

Check out some photos from the show below:

Photography by Rosemary Vega

[See image gallery at hollywoodtimessquare.com]