Halloween is quickly creeping up on us, and while most of us are spending our time preparing costumes and securing party plans, The Maine will spend the holiday working.

The band began their last tour of the year, Farewell Forever Halloween, in Pomona, CA, where Garrett Nickelsen and Kennedy Brock sat down to talk with us about the tour and catch us up on what they’ve been doing this year. Farewell Forever Halloween ends on Halloween night and following the tour the band will begin recording their fifth studio album.

Check out the video below to see what Garrett and Kennedy had to say about their Halloween plans and more.

Photography by Rosemary Vega.
[See image gallery at hollywoodtimessquare.com]

When The Maine released Forever Halloween in 2013, the band’s maturity as musicians was immediately evident. Though the band is still frequently labelled as “pop punk,” (even four years after the release of their last album which can be labelled as such, Black and White) Forever Halloween showed a transition to a more indie alternative sound, especially with songs like “These Four Words” and “Kennedy Curse.”

This year, the band released the deluxe version of Forever Halloween, which features 5 new songs. The songs show a varying mix of genres, from their “pop punk” roots all the way to classic rock reminiscent of Pink Floyd. With a re-arrangement of song position (all the new songs come at the end), the tracks add a more subtle transition from their 2011 release, Pioneer to perhaps of sneak peak of the direction they’ll take next. The upbeat “So Criminal,” “Vanilla,” “Ugly on the Inside,” and “Bliss” almost seem out of place on album, which is made up of softer rock songs. All four of these songs play with an interesting mixture of The Maine’s more pop punk days, like “Time” from Pioneer, and the alternative sound on Forever Halloween. If played right after the last song on Pioneer and before”Take What You Can Carry” (the first track on Forever Halloween), these songs would make sense.

Photo by Rosemary Vega

“So Criminal,” is a break up song filled with catchy guitar riffs, and some serious drumming by Pat Kirch, but lead singer John O’Callaghan’s gritty vocals as he calls out whoever the unfortunate “Christina” is in the chorus, really make the song. While “Vanilla” and “Ugly on the Inside” are songs that should have been around when I was in high school. Musically, “Vanilla” is less pop than the other new tracks, but the lyrics are full of angst. The chorus sings, “You’re boring, complacent / At your best, you’re still basic / You’re everything I hate about our youth,” which is a perfect anthem about being unique and staying true to yourself. Although “Ugly on the Inside” is more pop influenced, lyrically, it speaks to points, encouraging inner beauty (something that whoever the song is about lacked). Lyrically, the songs don’t seem to fit the maturity of songs like “White Walls.” But, with a fan base made up of with a lot of high school kids and young adult, the songs will probably resonate. “Bliss” is a perfect example of the maturity. In a similar vain as “Vanilla” and “Ugly on the Inside”,  the song empowers to do whatever makes you happy without fear, (“Just take the right/Allow yourself to give in to this bliss”).

The last song song on the re-release is a song many fans have heard live, but never recorded. The Maine has been playing “Ice Cave” during their live set for a while, allowing each member to shine, Garrett Nickelsen on bass, Jared Monaco and Kennedy Brock on guitars, Pat, and John. The song shows heavy influence from the “psychedelic” rock of Pink Floyd. The band adds a darker tone, heavier guitar, and a mid song break, to make for a sound much different than anything they’ve released so far. The experimentation works for the band, and seems like a natural next step. (Or maybe I’m just hoping they continue with this sound).

While the new tracks may not be exactly groundbreaking for The Maine (minus “Ice Cave,” which is perhaps one of my all time favorite songs by the band), “Forever Halloween” still proves how much the band has matured musically; most notably in the poetic lyrics, and yet still how much they can grow given their talents.

Score: 4/5

The past few years have been hard work for The Maine, as they’ve transitioned from a teen pop punk band, into a more alternative band that allows showcases its artistry. Since leaving Warner Bros. Records following the release of their album “Black and White,” The Maine has released two albums: “Pioneer” and “Forever Halloween.”

The band released the music video for the single “Love and Drugs” today, along with a link to a free download of the song. The video, directed by Daniel Gomes, who also directed their music video for “These Four Words,” follows the band and some friends as they sneak into a house for some free alcohol.

Watch here:

The popular pop-punk band, The Maine stormed through the House of Blues in Anaheim on Friday with one mission –entertain the hell out of audiences–and that they did.

The show was only the second stop on the band’s national 8123 tour, but the energy was already in full swing.

Even before The Maine made it to the stage, the crowd grooved along with opening acts Brighten, This Century, and A Rocket to Moon.  Each band had fans in the audience, making the night a pleasurable experience for everyone.

Although, the night was a little bittersweet for Rocket to the Moon fans since this is the final tour they will be performing together.  It was definitely a little sad for me because I wasn’t familiar with their music before the concert and they won me over right away. During the show I overheard someone saying “I like them, why is this their last tour?” The group played some of their signature songs like “Dakota” and “Like We Used To”–which was featured on an episode of “Teen Mom.”  They closed their set with a bouncing rendition of “Mr. Right.” Maybe, I’m crazy, but the chorus to this song reminds me of the George Harrison song “Got My Mind Set on You.” It was a great lead into The Maine’s set.

The crowd went absolutely bonkers when The Maine finally hit the stage, it was almost like being at a boy band concert…almost.  They opened with “Love & Drugs,” from their latest album “Forever Halloween.” It was a good first choice since “Love & Drugs,” is one of the few songs off the new album that is reminiscent of the group’s classic pop-punk sound. The audience was very into it and most knew all the words even though the album just came out three days ago (albeit the song was released a month ago…it’s still impressive).

The group did a good job of switching back and forth from their newer songs to the older stuff. No matter which The Maine album is your favorite, they played something you liked. My personal fave was “Happy,” the hooks are extremely catchy and John O’Callaghan’s voice sounded impeccable. Of course, not everything is all fun and bright tunes in The Maine’s world; they also performed the emotional ballad “These Four Words.” Everyone got a little emo for this one. The lights were turned down and O’Callaghan hid behind the piano. It was just his voice and his sadness. The song was extremely powerful and it was easy to spot a couple of fans crying.

The sadness didn’t last long though, O’Callaghan quickly reminded everyone why The Maine shows are so much fun. He interacted with the crowd and gave them pep talks. He actually started a monologue with, “this is me being your dad right now.” He was also looking out for everyone asking, “Hey can I get you anything? What can I get you?” The security guards proceeded to bring people in the front rows bottled waters after he said that. It was cute to see how much O’Callaghan loves his fans.

Sadly, the night couldn’t go on forever and the group closed out the night with “We’ll All Be.” They surprised the audience by bringing up all the opening acts to perform with them. It was clear to see how much the bands like and respect each other by how much fun they were having on stage.

All in all, if you’re a fan of The Maine, this is a show worth catching. The tour gets bonus points for bringing in very talented openers. Even if you’ve never heard of any of the opening acts before, you are sure to go home wanting to know more about them.

The 8123 tour is going on throughout the summer with the last stop in Austin, TX on July 20.

Set List:

1. Love & Drugs
2. Misery
3. Inside of You
4. We All Roll Along
5. Into Your Arms
6. Right Girl
7. Happy
8. Some Days
9. Kennedy Curse
10. Heroine
11. These Four Words
12. Whoever She Is
13. Identify
14. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cover)
15. Count Em 1, 2, 3
16. Like We Did
17. We’ll All Be…

Contact reporter Frances Vega and follow her twitter.

Photography by Rosemary Vega
[See image gallery at hollywoodtimessquare.com]

The Maine is releasing their 4th studio album, “Forever Halloween” this coming Tuesday, June 4, 2013. To celebrate (and since their June 7th show in Anaheim sold out so quickly), they are giving 80 lucky fans the opportunity to attend a secret show in Hollywood on June 6, 2013.

All you have to do is be among the first 80 fans to buy the new album at Fingerprints Record Shop in Long Beach, CA (420 E. 4th Street) on June 4th.

GOOD LUCK!